Our House in England and the Tube

The house we are staying in in England is very nice and in a lovely neighborhood in the town of Richmond.  It is a large house (the family has 4 children).

Front

Back deck

The back yard is quite large for a house in England and very private.  There is a guest house at the rear of it but we found it too mildewy to make use of.  We enjoyed some wine, cheese and crackers on the deck last evening.

Living room with Dot napping

While the house is old, it has been completely modernized and renovated.  Across the back of the house is a lovely glass enclosure which serves as the dining room.  We spend most of our time there when we are awake and at home.

Part of the kitchen

The kitchen is very modern and extremely well equipped.  I have prepared a couple of simple meals.

The town of Richmond is about 10 miles west of central London.  It is on the River Thames and there are some lovely pubs on the river here.  It is a 30 minute drive to Heathrow.  Kew Gardens is in the adjacent town - we plan to check it out on Monday.  

From our house, it is a ten minutes walk to the bus stop and then a 15 minute ride to the Richmond train station. From there we can catch the tube into London. It takes about 30 minutes on the tube to reach Westminster.  We have travel cards which allow us to pre-pay and travel on the tube and busses for half price.  We also have an annual travel pass which allows one of us to travel as much as we like for free.

The tube is a wonderful way to get around London.  It costs us 2.20 pounds to go in off-peak and 3.40 during peak travel times. (The pound is about $1.60).

Some of the stations are incredible looking - especially the newer stations like the one s shown here.  They have multiple floors, many escalators (few stairs, yeah!) and move massive numbers of people, especially during rush hour. 

 London has also put in place a "congestion charge" which you are hit with if you drive in to the center of London during the day.  Your license plate is electronically recorded and you are sent a bill for 8 to 10 pounds!  What a clever way to reduce congestion.  They have used the extra revenue to add busses and they are able to make it around their routes faster, so everyone wins.  We aren't driving into London - there's no reason to when public transport is so convenient and easy to use.

We do have a large car at our disposal and we have used it for day trips out and about.  I'm getting really used to driving on the wrong side of the road from the wrong side of the car.  God help me when I get back to the states.