2026LON Part 4: Natural History Museum, The National Gallery, Royal Albert Hall, Chinatown & More

Welcome back to the fourth part of the series which looks at my one week in London earlier this year. In this post, I’m continuing on my quest as a tourist to make the most of the time I have, by visiting as many attractions (and non-attractions) as I can. Here are some of the pretty photos and observations I made along the way in a non-chronological way.

Chance Discovery: Brompton Cemetery

This wasn’t exactly a destination on my itinerary, instead, it was more of a chance discovery that came courtesy of my colleague. After freshly arriving in London, we felt the best way to handle being in a new environment was to stick together as we completed our “mission”. Part of that involved doing some reconnaissance and necessary shopping, but on the way back to the hotel, the map said we were close, so we dropped by for a visit.

The weather was relatively clear, the sun was shining brightly, with the bare-limbed trees casting spidery shadows on the well-kept greens. Not having visited many such locations, this was certainly more artful than I had expected, punctuated by my first sighting of a squirrel (something I had been forewarned about).

Some of the headstones are barely readable and recognisable, with some dates stretching back beyond my imagination. Are descendants still around? Do they still visit? Who knows. But it seems rather nice that they’ve been left in peace and the daffodils are not a common sight at home. In the meantime, some visitors chilled in the cafe near the entrance, while another took to feeding the wildlife with peanuts and bread.

I thought I might have a chance to come back for a better look around, but unfortunately, time did not allow for that so we left after only walking a short loop around the grounds.

On the Way: Imperial College London

On my way to the major destination for the day, I realised I was running very early, so I took the chance to take a walk around the area.

Nestled near the museums is Imperial College London, a public research university specialising in science, technology and medicine, started by Prince Albert.

However, from the street, many corners of the university look suspiciously modern. Not knowing any connections within ICL by name, I didn’t venture inside …. but around the corner …

… the entrance to the Royal School of Mines looked a lot more like how I would imagine it should – in keeping with the neighbourhood.

Just across the road are red brick houses – including a surprisingly tall, thin and curved building.

Royal Albert Hall & Kensington Gardens

This one was on the list – the Royal Albert Hall, opened by Queen Victoria in 1871. While I wasn’t here to attend a show, it’s still a significant location. Entering from the south side …

… I walked up the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Steps and past the Great Exhibition Memorial.

It is flanked by Albert Court (sorry for the perspective correction on that shot). Looking up at the round hall, it’s interesting to admire the tiling which depicts various scenes, with the “mission statement” above.

Walking towards the front, I pass by some more red brick buildings and a chimney.

I managed to stitch a panorama from the side which shows more of the ornate brickwork.

Crossing the road on the north side, I arrive at Kensington Gardens – the “other half” of Hyde Park. I suppose this is the front entrance of the hall – by modern standards, it doesn’t seem all that large, but it’s definitely got beauty and charm.

Directly facing the hall is The Albert Memorial. Even from a distance, its grandeur is apparent, especially because it is located on an elevated vantage that is surrounded by clear area.

I took a vertical panorama to capture its beauty, but a lot of things simply don’t translate into a photograph. What looks merely yellow on the screen has the incomparable bright luster of gold, without so much as a sign of dirt.

At its corners are marble sculptures representing the corners of the world.

The memorial also has colourful artworks and words – “for a life devoted to the public good.” It would seem that Prince Albert was very much beloved by Queen Victoria and the people for his deeds.

Even after all this time, it stands resplendent in the morning sun, viewed from the rear, but this is only because the memorial had been restored.

Standing here, I couldn’t help but stop and reflect at the scale and beauty of such a monument. If anything, to me, it represents the power of love and care – such a thing only exists because Prince Albert was a figure beloved by not only a Queen but the public. Even after all these years, it’s probably fair to say that the impact endures and the deeds are not forgotten.

While history is written “by the victors” (so there may be some distortion to the truth) and nobody is “perfect”, it does make me think of how the world we live in is made better by the actions of many people who do good deeds every day, who strive for a better place for everyone in a selfless way. But of course, not everyone who does good work will be rewarded with a memorial when they pass … but nobody with true goodness in their heart would be worried about that. Ultimately, it is the people who remain who decide who is worthy of being remembered. In thinking of this, I then began to worry about the state of this world once again … how many vain people are too worried about plastering their names on things. Just how do I want to live my life? Is being forgotten such a bad thing?

As I turned to leave the monument, I was once again reminded of perfection … perhaps if parks at home looked a bit more like this, I’d be outside a bit more …

Walking further into the garden, near the round pond, I managed to get acquainted with some of the local wildlife. Hello ducks!

There were also swans and ducklings … not deterred by the brisk morning temperatures.

Slightly hazy, a lone commuter cycles through on a Lime share bicycle. There were definitely a small throng of tourists, but I kept them out of my lens for the most part – I’d rather remember the tranquillity, rather than the noise of random people bickering.

The Queen Victoria statue, just in front of Kensington Palace, surrounded by dried reeds. I suspect this might have been filled with water in warmer seasons. Sort of fitting that they be commemorated so near-by one another.

Just further up is the memorial to Diana, Princess of Wales …

… the statue overlooking the sunken garden pond. This one seemed to draw quite a few tourists who couldn’t keep themselves out of eye-line – some of them inconsiderately standing by the best vantage points while chatting away aimlessly on the phone. Anyhow, my time here was up – it was time to get on with the rest of my itinerary.

Victoria and Albert Museum

It is now that I realise that I might have mistimed my morning, having spent a bit too long exploring Kensington Gardens, as I didn’t have as much time as I would have liked exploring the Victoria and Albert Museum. This museum has quite the collection and is free to enter with no bookings required. I only had enough time to take a passing glance at a few statues on my way through.

So perhaps, don’t make the mistake I did and make sure you have adequate time to explore this one. Unfortunately, the key downside is that the V&A can get quite crowded at times. That is something that will become a recurring theme.

Natural History Museum

The main event for that day was to visit the Natural History Museum. It was only walking past in the morning that I actually realised just how big this museum is. The scale is impressive.

The building looks a bit like a cathedral in a sense – but it just goes on-and-on-and-on!

A view of the main entrance before opening – a rare time of quiet.

They even have a dinosaur skeleton just chilling out in the outdoor courtyard.

To get admission, you should book tickets ahead of time for a smooth admissions process. Without pre-booking, you could find yourself in a long queue. I pre-booked and was assigned a timeslot and an entrance – not the main one. But what I was not prepared for was just how busy the museum was – in most hallways, you’ll be rubbing shoulders multiple times. Even in the main atrium below the whale skeleton, the place is bustling with activity.

At least I got to meet the marble statue of Charles Darwin. Strolling around, I found many of the collections to be comprehensive and the exhibits to be quite informative, but perhaps more targeted to the education of school children. This makes sense as it seems school groups do take excursions to the museum. But the children also prove to be quite disruptive and because of this, I didn’t think I enjoyed this as much as I had imagined and ended up leaving a bit earlier than expected. After all, there were plenty of suspicious sniffles and coughs at the time. I didn’t fancy catching something that might cut my week even shorter.

Detour: Monument & Bank

In my previous posting about looking for a view, I found myself in the Bank district. So I stopped off to take a picture of Mansion House, the Lord Mayor of London’s official residence.

Opposite to Mansion House is The Royal Exchange. Given this is the financial district, I thought it might be a trading facility – but no! Since 2001, it’s become a high-end luxury shopping mall!

I decided to come around here to kill a bit of time between my observation deck visits at the Bank of England Museum, which is free to enter and requires no appointments. After passing an X-ray bag inspection, the exhibit speaks a bit to the history of the building, the role of the Bank of England and of money in general, the production of currency and other related topics. Again, it seemed to be something that might benefit younger children, but it was nice to see some of the things exhibited – including a hand-written message included in a Chinese goodwill shipment of masks for front-line workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and single-use cash cards. The stuff about polymer bank notes? We’ve had them for ages in Australia, being the pioneers of the technology.

Having come by the Tube, I couldn’t miss the Monument to The Great Fire of London in 1966. Despite there being so many monuments in London, the tube stop is known as “Monument” and everyone just understands. If you buy tickets, apparently you can climb the steps to the top and get a view, but alas, I’m not made of gold (not like the flame on The Monument itself).

Embankment, Trafalgar Square, The National Gallery & National Portrait Gallery

It’s a different chilly and misty morning. I’m at Embankment station, to start my walk towards today’s activities. Walking out of the station, I’m immediately assaulted by the smell of stale urine and the sight of a few sleeping bags. The issue of homelessness is something that exists almost everywhere, albeit in different magnitudes.

To start the morning, I took a walk the wrong way part-way across the bridge to get a view along the Thames. The London Eye is visible in one shot, but looking the other way, it’s a bit of a wash-out.

The rail tracks passing by seem to be Network Rail tracks for Charing Cross station, with services run by Southeastern. But it would seem the fence here has somehow become a makeshift love padlock magnet with a few of them being here for a couple of years. Technically vandalism, but perhaps tolerated for now.

There is a sheltered elevated passageway with angled floors as an anti-homeless measure. From up here, I can spot another open phone booth.

The Victoria Embankment Gardens next to the station was open, so I took a walk around. But it does seem that such gardens do close on the regular – at home it’s not as common to have public spaces that are closed-off with gates.

Inside the gardens is the preserved York Watergate depicting where the bank of the Thames used to be.

Charing Cross’ side entrance has colour-coded stairs. It’s interesting as while in Australia, we drive on the left and stay left when walking, but in London, it seems that while they drive on the same side, there’s some ambiguity as to which side to keep to when you’re on stairs and escalators.

It’s a short walk to the first stop which is Trafalgar Square, just in front of The National Gallery. On the way, I spotted this pedestrian crossing signal which seems to have been modified.

Trafalgar square is home of a few fountains (both decorative and drinking), busts and statues. The stone inscription on the left makes it clear that this was done so that “their illustrious services to the state might never be forgotten.” After all, human memory is only so long …

The National Gallery is another impressive building in scale. The photo only covers the main building, with the Sainsbury’s wing to the left being cut-off. This is another highly-rated must-visit location and due to its popularity, you will need to pre-book tickets for free and be assigned a time-slot and entrance for crowd control. The queues for entry stretch around the building, but move quickly.

As I was early, I got some time to roam around and enjoy the sculptures.

Aside from the bronze relief at the base of Nelson’s Column, I spotted this tape that forms part of the lighting rod conductor system. Right next to Trafalgar Square is a giant roundabout. The amount of traffic flowing through is quite staggering.

The fountains were at least running and the area was still a bit quiet as it was still early.

Two of the statues in the square – General Charles James Napier and Equestrian Statue of King George IV.

Not long after, it would seem that tourists are already here posing for shots in front of the main entrance. Want a clean shot? Not a chance.

Here, I confronted the nemesis of 20p public toilets. It seems almost unfair, especially as in a short moment when the gallery opens, you can use the facilities inside for free. I guess they need some money for consumables and upkeep. Perhaps the truly desperate would jump the turnstile (it’s not exactly “high security”) but the thought of being caught for something so petty had me instead marvelling at the fact that these systems seem to accept coins on the left and contactless on the right. Do they not charge transaction processing fees?

Nevertheless, I came back at the appointed time only to find a queue that stretched around the building. But rather than join the end of the queue, I sat down in a random spot and chilled until the queue was completely “ingested” into the building. The security guard kindly let us know that it normally only takes about 10 minutes and he was right! After getting inside, it was a game of rubbing shoulders with school kids and tourists – but I did find the visit particularly worthwhile, having finally laid eyes on several genuine marvels. If I had to nominate one as my favourite, it would be Van Gogh’s Sunflowers – I’ve seen it before in textbooks, but I never realised the yellow is more gold and is rich, metallic and bright in a way that cannot be reproduced on an ordinary CMYK process.

I did also end up somehow running into some women that were busy getting posing and smartphone camera tuition, perhaps building up a portfolio of “intellectual-looking” photos with a few changes of clothes to boot. I didn’t think this was respectful to the art, but I suppose some people are just a bit too self-centred and too busy building their own brand to care about jumping in front of someone else’s lens or respecting queues.

Having done my tour of The National Gallery, it was time to walk around the back, passing by St Martin-in-the-Fields Church, Edith Cavell Memorial and a statute of Sir Henry Irving.

Behind The National Gallery is National Portrait Gallery. This one is free to enter without a booking and you get to see various different depictions of people’s faces and bodies in different media. It wasn’t anywhere near as impressive as The National Gallery (in my humble opinion) but at least I did have a chance to see a few recognisable faces, including that of Sir. Tim Berners Lee of World Wide Web fame.

But perhaps what was most memorable was not the artworks in the gallery, but by the greeters near the entrance. Well-presented, with the best speaking voice, welcoming you to the gallery before quickly accosting you for a donation before you’ve even absorbed where you are and what is on offer. You might reflexively decline, but they show no sense of awkwardness or shame as they suggest you reconsider and move into phase two of their persuasion campaign. I certainly liked the audacious charm of the greeter who met with me – it left a lasting impression for sure, but not necessarily one of high regard. Increasingly, it seems Londoners are not shy about requesting donations. It’s not just an ask anymore.

You might be wondering why I don’t have any images of the actual artworks from the insides of the museums and galleries on the blog? Despite this being a personal blog, I think that some would make rights-holders unhappy, so I guess you’ll just have to visit for yourself. I got the sense that they were somewhat at risk of being litigious about this, so I’m not risking it.

Theatreland & Chinatown

Without knowing it, I had crossed into another cultural centre – that of Theatreland.

Located nearby in Leicester Square is the official ticket booth.

It would seem that theatre is alive in London, with so many venues plotted on the map.

Still can’t help being surrounded by cinema though … which I thought was somewhat ironic.

Located in the middle of Leicester Square is this fountain dedicated to William Shakespeare. Interestingly, a group of French school kids were on excursion and their teacher stopped to give a short speech to the students before dismissing them to roam about on their own.

The Scenes in the Square has a few iconic statues scattered around.

Here’s Paddington Bear …

Mr Bean (Rowan Atkinson) …

… and Charlie Chaplin (in front of a McDonalds, that I’ve deliberately pushed out of the frame).

On the way in, I came across this solar and wind-powered street-light. I’m not sure how well that would work, but it’s novel I suppose? In a back-alley, I came across this square “2D” fluorescent fitting still shining brightly. Such lamps are relatively outmoded – in many places, they’ve already retrofitted LED technology, but oddly enough, I’ve seen plenty of fluorescent still “alive and kicking” in London.

A little further north in the Soho district is Chinatown. Even though Chinese New Year was a little while back, it still seems the decorations were up. The few streets here are home to a lot of Chinese restaurants and related businesses.

I took some time walking around, but since it was too early for the restaurants to be trading, there wasn’t much to see but the prices posted on the windows. When I saw them and did the mental conversion, I realised that life in London must not be easy. While at home in Sydney, we often complain of the cost-of-living crisis, the pricing in London seems even more expensive than at home and I’ve heard that wages/salaries are slightly less too. As such, I felt a bit more sympathy for the Londoners …

I did come across these two stone lions but I felt something was wrong. For one, it’s wedged in-between two rubbish bins. But look closer at the lions – spot the issue? Someone’s glued googly-eyes to not just one, but both lions. But I guess if it blends in, people don’t notice? Perhaps this is a life-lesson in disguise …

The plaques with information about the stone lions and the dedication.

Special edition red phone box with Chinatown on the sign at the top.

This one is also being preserved, but this one seems to have a bit more of a personalised note.

It doesn’t seem things are too bad – I was walking around in the early morning and stock was being delivered to the street without any security. As for garbage, it seems there’s quite the collection schedule here, with place-out windows as short as 30 minutes. I suppose they want to keep it looking clean.

A few more shots of the gateways.

On my way out, I spotted these plaques – to think such historically significant figures had “crossed paths” has me thinking of just how many important people’s paths I’ve unknowingly crossed in this life … perhaps it’s not as rare or improbable as it might first seem.

Conclusion

Perhaps the biggest thing I came to realise through visiting these tourist attractions is just how busy the main attractions are. The word overtourism can very much apply here, as visiting many of these larger attractions were much less comfortable than I had imagined. It’s hard to truly enjoy something when you’re constantly rubbing shoulders with strangers, under the constant reminder to be “on guard” in case of pickpockets. The Natural History Museum and Bank of England Museum seemed a bit more targeted at younger children and are quite educational, but that also meant I enjoyed them a bit less than I expected. But it’s undeniable – the quality of the museum’s collections so far is impressive, no matter how you cut it. Perhaps there’s some truth behind the jokes of the British “nicking everything.”

But I suppose one of the benefits of travelling might not be the act of seeing something new, but the effect of seeing that something – the inner thoughts it provokes, be it awe, inspiration, confusion or something else entirely. Seeing the Albert memorial was not only a chance to enjoy the beauty of Kensington Gardens and the memorial, but a chance to reflect on the power of love and the fact that your contribution to society is something for others to determine. We might not all get monuments – but that doesn’t mean we weren’t good people. On the contrary, is it so bad to be forgotten? It’s also a chance to get a bit more of a local perspective, to understand those “jokes” a bit better and to be able to compare and realise “it’s not all that bad at home.” In fact, the more I travel, the more I love “home.”

My seven days in London are only half-way through … as I squeeze plenty more into the remaining days. There’s still at least three parts to come …