Our prize winning Spooky Break from Talktalk began with an early train from Blackburn to Euston via Preston, then a short taxi ride to the Morgan Hotel on Bloomsbury Street which was to be our base for the weekend.
After a quick freshen-up we set off on a self guided walk taking in the Bloomsbury area. We stopped for a quick lunch at the Lamb Inn on Lamb's Conduit Street, a lovely Victorian Pub.
We dined at the Il Posto across from the Apollo Victoria Theatre where the next part if our prize was to be experienced. We had good seats in the circle for the musical 'Wicked'. The musical was over-hyped and I was underwhelmed. I'm sure many people would have enjoyed it but it was not my cup of tea. Nice theatre though.
The following day we arrived at the Thames Embankment ready for the next part of our prize, a trip on the London Eye. As we were early we had a stroll around the perimeters of Westminster Abbey and the Palace of Westminster. After some queuing we boarded the London Eye. This time the experience was beyond my expectations, great views of some of London's greatest cityscapes.
We continued our morning with our second self guided walk, this time along the Southbank. We particularly enjoyed lunch at the Tate and our visit to Borough Market.
In the afternoon we enjoyed our third self guided walk. This time we took in Blackfriars pub, a fantastic Art Deco pub, apparently it was due to be demolished at one time, but was saved by Sir John Betjamin amongst others.
We then walked along Fleet Street and visited The Old Cheshire Cheese pub, which dates back to the 1600's and was frequented by Dr Johnson, Dickens etc. After much exploring of the area we had a lovely snack at the Fleet Street Bakery - well worth a visit for what must be the finest carrot cake I've ever had (and I've had quite a few).
We dined at the Tas Restaurant in the evening, a very pleasant Turkish Restaurant in Bloomsbury.
We spent Sunday morning in Hyde Park and took tea in the Orangery at Kensington Palace. After lunch we boarded our train home.
A lovely weekend with fantastic weather and areas of London visited which we hadn't previously explored.
