Detectives' London

My third London Walk this holiday! This time we started at Green Park and explored the London of Miss Marple, Hercules Poirot and Lord Peter Wimsey, as well as the London of their creators, Agatha Christie and Dorothy L Sayers. Once again, we saw amazing architecture, although this time I think a lot of it was Georgian rather than the Gothic look of the Royal Courts of Justice et al, and the guide, Jean, was fantastically fitting, a rather Miss Marplian character herself, with a great maroon hat and tartan waistcoat, and a piercing voice, which was only occasionally drowned out by the traffic. The group was the largest I've seen - I counted at least fifty of us, but on occasions it looked more like one hundred! A discovery for me was Audley Street, which had cosy looking coffee shops that I must return to, and my favourite sight was when we stopped at Brown's Hotel, possibly the inspiration for Bertram's Hotel that I read about recently. We also got to walk through Park Lane Hotel, where those enjoying their cream teas - which looked delicious, and were being enjoyed in elegant splendour - must have wondered about the fifty or so waifs and strays that wandered through.

And, two hours later, when we returned to Green Park, the sun was still shining, a glorious 5pm evening, so I went and sat on the grass in the park, which was wonderful. Another great day out in London!