Monday 17th March: Brockley Visit and The Crystal Palace

Monday morning's priority is to visit some of the old friends and neighbors of Evie's and her mother who reside in South East London.  So after another fine breakfast at the hotel, we walked to the corner and jumped on our first city bus, a double decker and went down to Victoria Station to change buses and get the 185 bus to Brockley, about 8 miles South of the river; we found a front row seat upstairs for the duration.


The journey took over an hour and was like taking a bus from downtown Sacramento all the way out to Mack Road from South Land Park. Whereas in Sacramento that would be mostly through residential neighborhoods, here it was city all the way, commercial buildings, apartment blocks, churches, stores, and some side street views of residences.  London is a huge CITY!!!

Only view I got of Battersea Power Station, the four towers in the distance, used on a Pink Floyd cover. The station has been closed since 1984. It was coal fired and very messy and closed for environmental concerns; it may be redeveloped into housing soon.

Street scene in Southeast London on the way to Brockley Park

We first stopped in the shopping center of Catford but having no luck trying to access an ATM there, we  headed back up to Brockley Park on another bus and got off right opposite where Evie's mother resided from 1969 to when she passed away in 2003.

The friends we were visiting had lived next to her mum for several decades and knew Evie and her mom well.  So we had a cup of tea and a chat with Les (pronounced Lez) and Molly, both in their late 80's and still living in a large, two story Victorian house; it seemed much older with antique furniture and pictures everywhere plus Les's collection of souvenir mini alcohol bottles, hundreds of them, all still unopened, of every imaginable brand and liquor.

Evie with Les and Molly

They were very sweet and gave us quite a bit of history of the area and their family. We left after two hours and went to a corner restaurant for lunch.

Workman's cafe, with Les and Molly's house on far corner (right of picture)

Here at last we encountered prices that were NOT downtown prices and were very reasonable indeed.  I had a good bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich with a coke, and it was only about 3 pounds, so about half of what tourist area prices were.  Evie had her favorite cheese and tomato sandwich with tea.

We were picked up at 2PM by another couple, Evie's old friends Griff and Tracy who she has known since the 70's.  They drove us to their house near Crystal Palace and not too far distant. After a house tour and tea,  they suggested we take a drive over to see the ruins of the old Crystal Palace, a huge glass conservatory built for a World Exhibition in 1851 which burned to the ground in 1936.

The Crystal Palace in better days

Posing amid the ruins of the Crystal Palace

Not much left of the original grand Palace

The original palace must have been a grand sight, nearly 1900 feet long, with an interior space 128 feet high and enclosing nearly a million square feet! A process for making cast plate glass had only been invented a couple of years before and made possible the building of such a large structure. "It was at the time the largest amount of glass ever seen in a building and astonished visitors with its clear walls and ceilings that did not require interior lights". (Wikipedia)

The area became a large park, with a small amphitheater for concerts (Pink Floyd appeared here in the early days), and a sports center and playing fields, and we saw lots of people walking dogs and such. The weather wasn't bad, but the warm sunny days of the weekend were giving way to clouds and lower temperatures. The palace ruins are near the top of a hill, which turns out to be the highest in the region, Sydenham Hill, at 367 feet.  We walked over the top of the hill to the community named after the palace, where Griff said I could find a good view of downtown London; indeed, after no more than a block into the High Street (England's standard name for "Main Street"), a side street revealed a very good view.

View of downtown London from Crystal Palace,
with the "Shard" prominent

Then it was back to the house as Griff cooked up a wonderful dinner for us and we had great conversations until nearly 10pm. What wonderful hospitality we are experiencing!!

Evie with Griff and Tracy

We took a short walk to the train station and boarded a very nice train for the return journey which cost a couple of pounds, because we were just past the boundaries of our Oyster card. It was way faster than the bus and there was a tube station right at the train station, London Bridge situated directly under the "Shard" skyscraper.

With only one transfer which involves some serious walking, up and down stairs, we arrived back at the hotel by 11PM, ready to kick up our weary feet!