When in London, one of the things to do, is watch the Chinging of the Guards at Buckingham Palace. The websites I read recommend that you arrive by 11:15am so you see the preparation as it starts at 11:30am, takes 30 minutes and is over by 12:00noon.
Since my daughter is over her jet-leg, we actually struggled to get out of the house before 11:00am.
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| We took the tube from Blackfriars station which is very close to where we're staying. |
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| Me with ma, while waiting for our train. Photo credit: Sofia |
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| We went down at St. James station and we walked across the park. We saw a squirrel so Sofia chased it around. |
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| Sofia also loved seeing the ducks by the pond. |
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| We arrived |
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| It was cold and this was all we could see for the longest time. |
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| If you looked really hard, sometimes you can see some guards at the gate. I spy two here. |
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| But I spy more here. |
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| Finally there were some guards that marched in front of us. |
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| Patience is a virtue. |
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| Fif with the guards marching behind her. |
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| At the end of the ceremony, the guards came out again playing their instruments. |
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| The first batch of guards came out in our direction. |
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| Fif with more guards marching behind her. |
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| We started walking towards Green Park and we saw the second batch of guards that went on that side. |
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| Fif with Gammy with Buckingham Palace in the background. |
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| Sofia really wanted a picture with the Policeman because she has a soft toy like this. |
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| Fif tried to scare the pigeons away. |
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| But someone just gave them food so they were intent on ignoring her. |
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| Even as a wolf... she wasn't very scary. |
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| It was freezing... so it was a really bad day for business for the deck chairs guy. |
Sofia enjoyed watching the changing of the guards because she saw how her soft toys looked in real life. Hahaha.
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| Sofia's soft toys catching the number 15 bus. |
The changing of the guards happens every day in May and June.
You can visit the website here for the schedule.
The closest tube stops are Green Park, St James Park or Victoria.
Next time you are in London you might find Changing the Queen's Life Guard at Horse Guards worth a visit. You can get much closer to the mounted troopers without the huge crowds at the Palace and no railings between you and the ceremony.
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