Visiting UK in a couple weeks

[dchenard]

I finally received office authorization for my planned trip to the UK. Unfortunately, it will not be all fun, as my colleague and I will spend two weeks in London at the Ministry of Work and Pensions for an exchange of best practices between their microsimulation model and ours.

However, I will have most of my evenings free, and also the weekend between the two work weeks. So I plan to "ingest" as much woodworking-related information as possible...

One place I definitely want to visit is the Victoria & Albert Museum, hoping that they still have some of Grinling Gibbons' work on display (ten years ago I was in Cambridge, and missed out on Gibbons' work displayed there, I didn't know about him at the time, darn...)

I would like to see as many places as possible, museums, galleries, woodworking stores, shops, etc.

If you have suggestions as to interesting places to visit, please let me know. I am open to the idea of visiting venues outside of the city, however I will be constrained by public transit availability...

TIA,

DC-C

 

[Karl]

Why don't you pop in on Her Maj - sure she'll make you a nice cup of tea....

Hope you enjoy your visit.

Cheers

Karl

 

[dchenard]

Why don't you pop in on Her Maj - sure she'll make you a nice cup of tea....

Hope you enjoy your visit.

Cheers

Karl

Yes, but does she have infills in her collection? :wink:

Actually, we won't be very far from Buckingham Palace if I read my map right, my hotel is on the Strand...

DC

 

[Mr T]

Hi

Petworth House down in West Sussex, about 60 mls from London, has some good Grinling Gibbons. They have a few Turners (paintings not bowls!) as well. Not sure about getting there by public transport though.

What dates are you here? In August the Celebration of British Craftsmanship and Design at Cheltenham would be worth a visit, 16th to 25th August.

Chris

 

[Jake]

St Paul's has some famous Gibbons, as does (a little out of town, but worth the visit) Hampton Court Palace.

What else are you interested in, stylewise?

 

[Jake]

my hotel is on the Strand...

It isn't woodwork, but if you are based there and can manage to escape for half an hour or so during the working week, the Royal Courts of Justice are worth a wander around for some high gothic victoriana - wander down some of the random corridors, it's a bizarrely preserved-in-aspic place - even if you can't get into those, have a wander around the Temple and/or Gray's Inn in the early evening - an odd old world charm just off the busy streets.

 

[lurker]

This is not woodwork related, but may I give you some good advice :

DO NOT even think about UK Dept Work & Pension's model for client data security :lol:

 

[Gary]

This is not woodwork related, but may I give you some good advice :

DO NOT even think about UK Dept Work & Pension's model for client data security :lol:

Well said. :wink:

 

[NickWelford]

It seems to me that most UK governmental practices are a model of how not to do something......

 

[Jeff Gorman]

You will need to scroll a longish way down, but there are some London tool dealer addresses at:

http://www.amgron.clara.net/addresses/addresses.htm

 

[mr]

I suspect parts of that list are well out of date. The first name I noticed on it was THe Bosham Tool Shop which hasn't been in Bosham for some years.

Cheers Mike.

 

[RoyS]

Hi - the only tool shop I know in central London is Buck & Ryan in Southampton Row, which is about 10 minutes walk from the Strand. They have a good selection of hand tools and some power tools. But I doubt you could buy anything cheaper than at home. http://www.buckandryan.co.uk/index.php

Apart from St Pauls and Hampton Court, some of the London churches have work by Gibbons - a quick Google may help.

A few other possibilities -

- Nelson's staircase at Somerset House. The old Navy Office is in Somerset House, with a magnificent spiral staircase said to be used frequently by Admiral Nelson. Entrance to Somerset House is off the Strand, just east of Waterloo Bridge.

- can the contacts you are working with fix a visit to any of the Departments of State (Foreign Office, Treasury)??

- The Old Naval College at Greenwich. The Painted Hall and Chapel are very well known. http://www.oldroyalnavalcollege.org/

- Geffrye Museum - shows English domestic design with a series of rooms representing periods from 1600 to today. http://www.geffrye-museum.org.uk/
The museum is off the tourist track and I think not easy by public transport but is very popular.


If you are planning on using public transport, I recommend you buy a Travelcard or an Oyster card as soon as you arrive. Cash prices are much higher than those using the cards, especially on the Underground
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/oysteronline/2732.aspx

(I hope the links work - all new to me!)

Anyway, have a great trip - Roy

 

[marcus]

Cheltenham Gallery & Museum has a wonderful collection of early arts and crafts furniture http://www.artsandcraftsmuseum.org.uk/ which is well worth a visit....

Marcus

 

[sniks7]

As a slightly off the wall suggestion, check out the auction calendar for Sotheby's and Christies furniture sales (and maybe Bonhams) and check out how stuff was made a few hundred years ago.

If you go on viewing day you can poke around to your heart's content for the price of a catalogue.

 

[CNC Paul]

It seems to me that most UK governmental practices are a model of how not to do something......

UK governmetal practices are based on an instruction manual......1984 by George Orwell 8)


DC-C

Hatfield House is worth a visit


Paul

 

[dchenard]

Thanks for all the pointers, I'm now in my hotel in Regents Park, dealing with jet lag and trying to get some rest for work tomorrow...

DC-C

 

[Harbo]

DC-C - enjoy your visit - sorry about the weather!!

Rod