London was dressed in all it's glory for our visit, somebody must have told them we were coming (along with many thousands of others). The pavements were heaving with people everywhere the eye could see.
After boarding the coach we set off to see the lights on our way to Master's Fish & Chip shop. The meal was delicious, with prawns, gherkins and crusty bread and butter, along with a welcome pot of tea to start with, followed by the very tasty fish & chips. It was cooked to perfection with crispy batter and lovely fat chips.
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| Nearing the end of the meal. |
After the meal we re-boarded the coach and headed towards the West End to see the lights around Knightsbridge and from there towards Hyde Park for the Winter Wonderland. Here are some of the decorations:
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| Harrods in Knightsbridge. |
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| A beautifully dressed store. |
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| Down a side street. |
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We arrived at the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park and were given an hour to look around. Some of the members elected to stay on the coach, as it was so busy. Unfortunately, it was so crowded the gates had been closed to further visitors for safety reasons. The estimated queuing time was nearly two hours, according to one of the security guards. Needless to say the area outside was heaving, I think they had transferred the crowd problem from inside to outside . There was no point in waiting around, so Loretta and I squeezed our way through the crowd and headed off to walk around the perimeter. At least I got some photos.
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| The fairground. |
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| More brightly lit rides. |
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| Can you see the swings on the tall blue tower? |
The swings went up and down the tower, I don't think it would have been a good idea to have eaten for a while!
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| A spooky tree. |
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| Father Christmas is arriving early. |
The tall colourful ride on the left went round & round with the passengers on the car on the end. I was quite glad I didn't attempt it.
When we arrived back on the coach we were each given a little goody box with a mince pie, some sweets and a small cracker. That was a really nice touch. The next port of call was Canary Wharf, here there were many more lights. We stopped where it was fairly quiet and the crew got off, re-appearing with a tray of sherry glasses. That was a very welcome gesture. From there we went back to Dagenham and home. It had been a really enjoyable trip.
