Walking in Central London on a Busy Sunday

Busy streets and Quiet Inns

Today was my first visit to the grounds of two Inns of Court, Inner Temple and Middle Temple. I didn’t see much of the grounds, but was immediately struck by their calm and quiet. Central London was enormously busy with Londoners of all varieties and scads of tourists (I was asked for directions again today!), but the grounds of the Inns were unpopulated, often green, and peaceful. Before entering the Inn grounds, I located the entrances to the chambers I’ve been assigned to: Quadrant Chambers and Brick Court. Rebecca kindly timed how long it took us to get from our flat to chambers, and I will rely on her estimate since I opted to travel into the City by double-decker bus.

I also had a chance to walk a bit around Harrods, which was quite busy. I have been in several large department stores, but Harrods is more like a labyrinth than any I’ve previously seen. There are just so many “halls” that connect together in odd places. I looked only at the wares and food halls on the ground level and yet it nearly felt, especially in the jewelry section, as though I were in a museum. A museum where extraordinarily well-off people get to take home the exhibits!

Finally, although I didn’t stay long, I did take the opportunity to walk through “Speaker’s Corner” of Hyde Park. Here, all you need do is set yourself up on a little step stool or soapbox and start speaking loudly, and passers by may decide to crowd around you, listen, and interrupt you with questions. Although I had looked forward to seeing the place, I didn’t stay long because I was already quite tired on my feet and the overwhelming majority of people both speaking and listening were men. I will make another visit, there, however, when I am more amenable to standing in place.