Tea for Two in London and Other Adventures

I am currently sitting in a beautiful apartment in Culloden, Scotland. These apartments are in what was the old stables for Culloden House, which was, during the Jacobite uprising the lodging of Bonnie Prince Charlie prior to the Battle of Culloden. We have been in the UK now for a week and a half. I thought I would back track a little and tell you about our time in London first.

We landed in London and had a lovely time wandering the city. The weather was sunny and mild which made exploring Regents Park and the city streets easy and enjoyable. My daughter, who loves a fanciful afternoon tea really wanted an experience so we had a decadent session at Sketch in swanky Mayfair. Sat in a pink confectionery of a room with pink velvet chairs we were served up some delicious sandwiches and sweet morsels along with a choice of tea and beautiful champagne. A string trio played giving the whole experience an added sophistication. The walls are a gallery of modern art that do change periodically. Strangely enough you don't want to miss the bathroom, which has to be the most photographed ladies room in London (possibly the world…). The photos will tell you why, with each cubicle in the form of an egg and a stain glass ceiling and what they don't show you is the sound of bird song playing and a bathroom attendant dressed as a French Maid. It was a modern Alice in Wonderland experience.

We also visited The Tower of London, took a double decker bus around the city, wandered around the British Museum, met up with a friend for a lovely drink for her birthday and walked around lovely areas such as Primrose Hill. We return to London at the end of our trip for another couple of days so hopefully will fit in one of my favourites, The Victoria and Albert Museum.

I did hunt down Daunt Books in Marylebone as I had heard it was just a beautiful store and we were not disappointed. It is an original Edwardian store with a long oak galleried main room l lit from above by a beautiful arched window and skylights. On the day we visited a cuddly Golden Retriever was sitting happily inside on a Persian rug waiting for his owner who was browsing the books.

After a lovely few days we hopped on the train to Edinburgh. We were very comfortable and had drinks served when they announced that we would not make it to Edinburgh that day due to Storm Ali which had been ripping through Ireland and Scotland. The train terminated at Preston in Lancashire. A sea of passengers were unexpectedly delayed and searching for accommodation. I quickly looked up a lovely place just outside Preston and secured a room for us all. Getting a taxi wasn't easy but we managed to grab one, sharing it with a lovely Canadian couple who were off to hike around the Lakes District. It turned into a pleasant if unplanned stopover in a pretty old manor house.

In my next travel entry I will tell you about our stay in Edinburgh

Caroline xxx