Battersea Power Station

Anyone who is vaguely familiar with London will recognise these chimneys.  Battersea Power Station has been an iconic sight in London since the 1930s.  Today we paid it our first visit.  It is, of course, no longer a power station, it ceased generation in 1983.  After many years as a 'ruin', it was converted to a retail space.   I understood this before we arrived, or even decided to book on to the BDRA trip.  Nevertheless, I found the trip slightly disappointing.  The amazing building has three levels of high-end retail.  I'm not one to shopping unless I know what I want.  I didn't go with that agenda.   Jo went up the chimney lift, which gives you a few minutes to look out over London, to Wembley, Wimbledon and the city centre.  I stayed in the museum, with my 'carer ticket' issued for free.  Nice of the very young lady selling tickets to let me in for nothing. This is where the disappointment comes in.  The museum is poor, or perhaps extremely basic.  There is the briefest history of the build, a simplistic explanation of the process of generating electricity: coal in, steam out, turbines generate power, the synchronising controls that match requirements for the grid - voltage, frequency and phase.  That's it - what a missed opportunity.

The inside is truly impressive, if you look above the shops.  The crane was used to move materials around the power station.  It would be lovely to see it working, providing views of the interior of the building.  It simply supports a walk-way, that we could not find access to.  It's also worth mentioning that the direction boards in the retail space are wrong.  Twice we tried to find the nearest toilets.  Both times we were directed the wrong way.  Once said go left (should have been right), the other said turn around.  I don't know what that should have been.  Outside there is a land train that circles the building and plays a short recording describing some of the power station.  I don't know if it was any good because the background noise of London and the surrounding area made it impossible to hear most of it.

Outside there is a land train that circles the building and plays a short recording describing some of the power station.  I don't know if it was any good because the background noise of London and the surrounding area made it impossible to hear most of it.

Outside, at the site entrance, there is a sculpture made of metal fins.  I couldn't find anything describing it.  Maybe it was there to symbolise the turbine, but I immediately thought "What is Smaug doing here?".

The Army Museum and Chelsea Hospital

NOBODY expects the Chelsea Pensioners! Amongst their weaponry are such diverse elements as: fear, surprise, ruthless efficiency, an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope, and nice red uniforms.

The above statement is almost, but not quite, entirely untrue.

After a long coach ride to Chelsea, we finally pulled into the Chelsea Hospital grounds and disembarked. The first visit of the day was the Army Museum.  A fairly modern building dedicated to showing the British Army through history.  Time is pressing, as always on these trips, there is more to see than we can possibly get to.

Outside is a challenger II tank, in urban warfare colours.  A terrifying beast close up, but in the grand scheme of modern warfare, a bit long in the tooth.  I believe it might still be in use in Ukraine.  The museum is spread over a number of floors, we started at the bottom.  The displays were good, but the organisation of them made them more difficult to understand.  I would have preferred them to concentrate on major campaigns so I could follow through the progression.  Instead, we had a weapons display, a supplies display, a medical display, etc.

We came out of the museum after a cup of tea in their lovely restaurant and sat on the seat opposite the tank, where we ate our lunch.  We then went back in and did another floor.  The final floor was 'dashed around', and we left to wait for our tour or the hospital, set for a 13:45 meet.

The bright red uniforms are known as 'scarlets', don't call them red.  There is a particular qualification to get a room in the hospital, you must have been posted to an active theatre, though not necessarily been a combatant.  You must be single, and have few resources.  If you qualify, you are well looked after.

 Charles II founded the hospital, there is a statue of him dressed as a Roman Centurion, it is gilded, and really stands out in the main square.  The original rooms were tiny (6ftx6ft), now they have fewer rooms, but better size and certainly more than a bed and a coat hook.

The guy who led our tour certainly knew his stuff and apparently enjoyed himself.  Which makes for a great tour for those of us who know next to nothing.  The highlights are undoubtedly the great hall and the chapel.  The grounds no longer go all the way to the river, but the path down to the road is still impressive.

The most important thing though is that this charity looks after those that have given a part of their lives to their country, and would otherwise be struggling.  This is regardless of their beliefs, some may be devoted to the Pope, most are not.  They hold other beliefs or none.  There is a whole organisation around the hospital dedicated to raising funds and supporting the residents.  While we were there, they were preparing for some event in the great hall, so our access was limited.

We finished our tour late, because we had started late.  While the military men might work with precision, it doesn't look like the supporting staff quite manage the same. It seems that too much was booked in that afternoon. 

Bletchley Park

On the coach at some unearthly hour of the morning, it was shortly before 10am when we arrived at Bletchley Park courtesy of the Billericay Resident's Association. 

The house and grounds are stunning, if a little odd at times, as the building is relatively recent, with older features added in as the owner decided he liked the idea.

Bletchley Park is, of course, the place where the code breaking was done in WWII.  It was selected because:

- it was available

- far enough from London to not be a target

- between Oxford and Cambridge, where the employees would be selected

There are fascinating displays all around the place about espionage and code breaking.  How the codes were broken, for Enigma, and Lorenze.  There are stories of the code breakers, the conditions they lived in, and the 'unique skill sets' required for the different functions.  Most of all, the secrecy they worked under, being unable to tell even their spouse what they were doing.

We were on a tight timescale, as is the way with organised trips, so we did not see it all.  Maybe I missed the computing parts that I was so interested in, or maybe they are elsewhere.  We did, at least, get to see a model of the Bombe machine, apparently 'working'.

There are also some vehicles on display in the garages. This is my favourite:

1947 Sunbeam Talbot

1947 Sunbeam Talbot description

We were early enough to get the last two tickets for the guided tour, on the way to the meeting point, we passed this amazing copper beech.  I wonder how big it was in 1939, or if it was even there?

Alan Turing is now well known, because of the film Imitation Game, but he features only in a small part of the whole story.  The Commander Alistair Denniston features much more prominently, and was apparently very good at managing his group of brilliant 'mis-fits'.

Another lovely day out, thanks BDRA.
 

 

Brooklands Museum

1991 McLaren MP4-6 show car

On Thursday, 20 February 2025, we got up early for us (me), and made our way to the bus stop.  The coach arrived on time, and we made our way around Billericay, then off to Brooklands Museum. The journey was about 2 hours, and comfortable enough despite us sitting further back than usual.

On arrival, we were greeted by the guides, who split us into smaller groups.  The weather was threatening rain, but the stopping points are mainly inside.  We saw a few old F1 cars — a replica of James Hunt's championship car included, and Ayrton Senna's McLaren. A lot of aeroplane engines and aeroplanes.  The highlight being the Hawker Hurricane, and the Rolls-Royce Merlin.  There were more Hurricanes in WWII and at the Battle of Britain, than there were spitfires.  That was because the company took a risk and prepared for the big order they were hoping for before it was signed.  It meant there were enough planes in the sky to win the fight.

We also saw the test chamber where planes and other vehicles could be tested at very low temperatures and very low air pressures. We learnt that Barnes-Wallace was a dedicated family man and saw his office — from the outside.  

The tour ended outside on the pit straight, in clear view of the awesome and terrifying banking; it's there because they couldn't test the speed without it, being unable to corner well on the narrow, primitive tyres of the day.

We ate our lunch undercover because the drizzle had started, then queued for way too long for a cup of tea.  We now had not-long-enough before the Concorde experience.  We visited the bus museum and paid homage to the Routemaster, among others. Waiting for the Concorde, the heavens opened, so we 'hid' under the plane.

Concorde 003

The experience felt hurried; it was well put together and good to see how Concorde looked to its passengers. There was much to look at and read, but the narrow gangway and the number of people meant I did not get to see most of it.  The 'flight experience' was underwhelming in today's simulator world.

On the return journey, there were RTCs on both the southern and northern routes on the M25, so we took a route inside the motorway.  The journey time approached 4 hours, I'm so glad I wasn't driving.

 

Lunch on the Thames, a walk in Windsor

Boarding the "Windsor Sceptre" On 10 September 2024 we boarded a coach at the start of our journey to visit Windsor.  About 2 hours later, we were parked in the Windsor Coach Park, with only one other coach there.  That is the benefit of off-season travel.  It is only a short walk across Alexandra Park to the river's edge.  Here there are a few ducks and plenty of swans.  They congregate around the boats because people feed them.  In this instance they were disappointed, but one bad experience does not change a life-times experience. On the boat, it was touch and go if we would get a seat together - after some people moved around (not for us!) we did.  The ploughman's lunch was already laid out.  It was a good lunch, with cheese, ham, pork pie, and plenty of salad.  The boat moved off, upstream, at the regulation speed of 5 MPH or less.  We ate lunch and chatted to the couple on the other side of the table. Nearly at the M4 bridge, we turned for home.  I'd call it a U turn, but that's not quite right.

A view of Windsor Castle from the river On the way back there was a running commentary, telling us about the big houses, churches, a film studio, and other feature along the river.  Most of it, although very interesting at the time, I have not retained.  One piece of the commentary I do remember was his long description of the lock and how the water that moves through it is entirely moved by gravity.  This was presented in a way that made it sound exceptional, although it is the way the vast majority of locks work.  The gates, however, are powered, which is relatively unusual.  The boat was stopped and turned through 360 degrees so that we could all take pictures of the castle.  We later confirmed the flag was the union flag, not the King's Standard, so our King was not resident in the castle that day.

A swan's head looking sideways at the camera On our return, just before 2pm, we were greeted by the swans, this one looking suspiciously at my phone, judging correctly that it was inedible.  We didn't stay with the swans for very long, soon making our way back across the park and up the stairs to go over the railway station bridge and on into Windsor.  We had 2 hours to look around before the coach left for home.

Us on the bridge, with the castle behind Most of the way up, I was trying to get a selfie with the castle in the background.  Happily, one of our fellow travellers offered to take the picture, so I have a much better result.  After the stairs there is a station and a shopping mall, in which is a replica railway engine.

Engine 3041 "The Queen" The locomotive is a full scale replica of the GWR Achilles class 4-2-2 locomotive No. 3041. It was built in 1894 and originally named "Emlyn" after Lord Emlyn, Chairman of the Great Western Railway Company. Repainted in 1897 in GWR livery, the great locomotive, 57 feet long, was renamed "The Queen" especially to pull the six new carriages of the Royal Train. No examples of these locomotives survive today, and "The Queen" (later renamed "James Mason") was withdrawn from service in 1912.

The Last Supper - Francis Cleyn We were trying to wander around the Queen's Walkway, but we were not sure exactly where we were.  We found and went inside St John the Baptist church, where this painting was displayed above the main entrance.  The real painting shines out at you.  I suppose that's a combination of the skill of the painter and the lighting designer.  It's worth a visit if you're in the area.

The Long Walk     Finally, we strolled along the 'Long Walk' for a little while, then left the grassed area and returned via the surrounding streets. As we got back to the park, the rain started.  We had been fortunate that the forecast rain was much later than expected.  Now, the coach driver took the strain of the drive round the M25 and back to Billericay.  We picked up fish and chips in the high street and enjoyed them at home. A thoroughly enjoyable day!

Blickling Estate

We visited Blickling Estate with the Billericay and District Resident's Association (BDRA).  The coach took about 3 hours to get there and a similar amount of time coming back.  Such a distance is not really a viable day trip in a car, because I would be exhausted by the drive and not enjoy the place we were visiting.  It is a National Trust property, so we knew what to expect. 

We were met and greeted by a member of staff (volunteer?), who gave us guide sheets with a gold sticker to identify us as the coach party. After this, we ate our lunch and got a cup of tea from the outside café.  15p extra for a take-away cup and a discount for a re-usable (bring your own) cup. The cups are good quality, but there is no way they cost more than a couple of pence each. I appreciate what they are trying to do, but that price is too much.  

The into the house:

The grand entrance staircase was not always here, but was moved from another location by one of the former owners.

In the ceiling above the staircase is the Boleyn Bull.  A sign that the Boleyn family live here at one time.

Oriental artefacts fill the house.  One room is particularly impressive, with had painted Chinese wall paper.

This tapestry has a 3D element, and is shown under a special light in a darkened room.  It is on an angled table so that it can be easily seen, but not easily photographed.  The picture doesn't do it justice.  It will soon be wrapped back up and put in storage for 5 years.

The stained-glass window above the main stairs was once given to a church, but has now been returned. it is visible from the corridor opposite the tapestry.

The final picture to show here is the Peter the Great room.  Russian influence is also important in this house.

There are many other treasures and a lot of work is done by the National Trust to look after them and restore them.  There are displays about the work.  

Outside, the grounds are lovely, and the walled garden is ready for planting in most places.  Some plants are already in, and others are perennials and are always there.

There is also a museum dedicated to the air force troops who were billeted there in WWII.  They flew bombers from Oulton Airfield and made important contributions to the war effort.

A very good day out.