Monday, 14 February, 2022
I took a rest day on Valentine’s Day. It’s just a coincidence that I took that particular day. However, it occurred to me that if we did something we might end up eating something nice, somewhere.
The winter has been pretty grey with lots of rain, but on Valentine’s Day, although it wasn’t sunny, it wasn’t raining either. We decided that it might be a good day to take the number 38 bus all the way to the end – from Hackney to Victoria. It’s a well-known route. We’ve done it many times before, but typically we get off when we reach Shaftesbury Avenue, a street which runs parallel to Oxford Street – one one side is Soho, and on the other Chinatown. Lively in every direction. Going to Victoria takes you along fancy Piccadilly and past even fancier Park Lane, and into Buckingham Palace territory.
First off, the photos seem lacklustre – because of the grey – or maybe I’m wrong, They all I have so they’re going here anyway. Secondly, I thought it might be interesting to show how the terrain changes as you move west, and I’m not sure I achieved that but here goes, anyway. All taken from the top of the bus, through the dirty window, but not too bad!
The bus diversion announcement told us after our next stop, ,Tottenham Court Road, we’d be going down Charing Cross Road, around Trafalgar Square, and up to Piccadilly Circus. A detour can be annoying but this one was nice – a scenic route for once. I can’t promise the route is accurate on the map. Maps and I aren’t good friends.
Google tells me that this is the Royal Air Force Club – we are by Marble Arch and Hyde Park
And we were there. It had taken about an hour and a half, including the detour, but just one bus from door to door. We
were ready to explore Belgravia.
Before we went out I’d explored a small area online and come up with five things to look at and photograph. One really simple thing somehow got missed but another one or two dropped in. All’s well that ends well.
First off was Market Hall Victoria food court. It’s right by the station stop, so it was very easy to find. Food courts don’t really excite me, but this one had some interesting offers. Malaysian roti, a Chinese noodle and dim sum counter, tacos… This place used to be a night club and feels like a barn. We didn’t stay at the food court. The queues were long and the ceilings very low. I loved the choices there but it felt claustrophobic. In retrospect, we probably should have stayed
One of the things that dropped into our list was Nova Square. It’s hard to miss it. It’s a modern skyscraper development amid the older Victoria architecture. This is an area that’s never really appealed to me and I’m not sure if I can explain why. It just doesn’t do it for me. Nova Square definitely adds some spice to an otherwise unattractive (to me) neighbourhood.
I saw places I could eat here but I was mindful that Krish might not feel the same way. He baulks at £15 bowls of ramen. I can understand that, but I like to try even if sometimes I’m disappointed. I suggested he look at the menu at the pub nearby. He was seduced by the pie offerings so in we went, to the Bag O’Nails, built in 1838. It was scruffy inside and the seat was torn. We made a joke about it and looked forward to pie. In fact, we ordered a steak and kidney pudding between us. It arrived looking more like a pie than a pudding, a burnt offering. The spring greens were limp and the mash potatoes were sloppy. We had some onion rings – they were mediocre. Even between us we couldn’t eat that lunch. We needed to find a slice of Valentine’s cake to compensate. I won’t torture you with the photo, not now at least. It will go on my list of reasons tourists believe British food is awful. Added to that, this is Buckingham Palace Road and likely to be the first pub you hit after leaving the palace. Likely a handy target for tourists. Oh dear.
At least we weren’t very hungry anymore so went exploring in some back streets.
We looked about and kept walking and then discovered something interesting. This house. I love these plaques.
Unsatisfied by our burnt lunch, we toyed with going into the restaurant at the Goring Hotel. Such a beautiful place. We fantasised about taking a room for the night and eating in that lovely dining room. Tempted! I checked it out and rooms go from £596 to £8,400. I could get a Michelin-Starred Dine and Stay, which includes Breakfast and Dinner for £848. Book me two!
Walking further, looking for Peggy Porschen. Who’s that, you say? It’s not a who it’s a what. It’s a pretty fancy cake shop with branches in Chelsea and right here. It’s also called ‘most instagrammable.’ It’s on Ebury Street and we did find it, that and a whole bunch of very instagrammable shop windows. I don’t know who started the trend but it’s like they are all competing with each other to be the most beautiful. This street is full of boutiques and cafes filled with beautiful goods, food, and people. Everyone we saw was dressed like they had a few thousand pounds on their body, time after time. No photos but check out the little girls in front of Peggy Porschen in the photo. Matching outfits and shiny!
With people queuing outside we decided against trying out the cake. Perhaps today wouldn’t be a cake day after all. What it was instead was a bunch of Belgravia eye candy, with all the shops to enjoy.
Next on our list was Eccleston Yards. It absolutely floors me that Krish is able to find places he’s never been before but he led me straight to it.
This was originally the location of Eccleston Place Power Station, that supplied electricity to the Mayfair & Belgravia area for the first time in 1891. After being a car park for a while, it was redeveloped to a co-working and creative hub in 2018. It was very quiet when we arrived and once again we almost sat down for cake. Instead we walked on.
We were really surprised to find ourselves at Victoria Bus Station. We hadn’t been there since 2001 when we took a really bad coach ride to Birmingham. It looked much the same.
We felt done at this point. We tossed around the idea of stopping somewhere for cake on our bus ride home It didn’t happen. Today would not be cake day.
I knew we were in for another hour and a half journey home. In fact, it took longer. The traffic was already heavy. Still more to see on our way home, this time on the lower deck. Before that, though, we walked through Victoria Station. It was my home station as an adolescent living in West Dulwich. I never go there now, but I can’t say it’s changed very much at all. It hasn’t been through the huge renovations of other stations…yet.
The rest shows glimpses from the bus. With a salute from Canada (House).
Another journey done. Nothing left to do but nap! Finally, I know that my friends and family would all love to stay in such a genteel and pretty area. Yet I wouldn’t. I recognise the differences along the route, even when they’re subtle, but give me east – every time.