London: Home to Harry Potter, Shakespeare, Buckingham Palace and the Benin Bronzes

Dover and London

London has so many incredible dimensions to it and truthfully countless sites to see. But with only four days to enjoy this incredibly diverse city, I concentrated on those areas that I actually had not delved into on my other trips.

And, after close to 40 days of traveling through Ireland, Scotland and England, ending first in Dover to drop off the rental car and then in London felt like the absolute best way to bring this trip to a close.

In summary, here’s a bit of Dover, onto some Stonehenge, a very crowded Bath and a trip through the Cotswolds again but this time, I visited the birthplace and beginnings of the bard who wrote “Much Ado About Nothing.” Plus, the boy who lived…Harry Potter at “The Making of Harry Potter,” Warner Brothers Studio Tour.

Although I got to see some interesting London sites, including the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, the absolute pièce de ré·sis·tance for me were the Benin Bronze sculptures at the British Museum. These incredible plaques and sculptures were created between the 16th and 17th centuries for the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin in what is now modern-day Nigeria. These extraordinary pieces, which were an extreme delight to see in person, were basically confiscated by the British.

An explanation regarding the Kingdom of Benin according to the British Museum: “Until the late 19th century, one of the major powers in West Africa was the kingdom of Benin in what is now southwest Nigeria. When European merchant ships began to visit West Africa from the 15th century onwards, Benin came to control the trade between the inland peoples and the Europeans on the coast. When the British tried to expand their own trade in the 19th century, the Benin people killed their envoys. So in 1897 the British sent an armed expedition which captured the king of Benin, destroyed his palace and took away large quantities of sculptures and regalia, including works in wood, ivory and especially brass.”

Here’s more about my brief days in Dover and London and the last few days of my Ireland, Scotland and England adventures, but not my last days of travel for 2019. More on that to come. In the meantime, here’s Dover and London.

As much of a pleasure as it was to drive this new Vauxhall Mokkia 4-door automatic vehicle, dropping it off in Dover, England was quite nice too. Finding the Avis drop-off vehicle spot took going around the ferry terminal a couple of time and asking several people for help to find this drop off location. (July 29, 2019)

The original plan was to take the train to Margate but after 9-hours of driving I was exhausted and stayed at the West Bank Guest House in Dover. Bonnie went on to Margate and I stayed here less than 10 minutes from where I dropped the car off at the Dover ferry terminal. (July 30, 2019)

The exterior moat area of Dover Castle in Dover. King Henry II began the build in the 1180s and over 800 years it was adapted to meet changing demands of weapons and warfare. (July 30, 2019)

William the Conqueror built an earthwork and timber-stockaded castle in 1066 where the present Dover Castle in Dover, England, exists. William the Conqueror strengthened the defenses with an earthwork and timber-stockaded castle. Then in the 1180s Henry II remodeled the castle creating the interior Great Tower. Building work continued in the first half of the 13th century under King John and Henry III, who completed the successive rings of defensive walls surrounding the Great Tower. (July 30, 2019)

Dover Castle in Dover, England. (July 30, 2019)

Henry II’s Great Tower, also called the keep, inside the walls of the Dover Castle in Dover, England. (July 30, 2019)

Me down by the King’s Barbican entrance inside the Dover Castle domain in Dover, England. It was a cool and overcast day but walking around the castle grounds felt good after spending the previous day driving and feeling cramped. is one of the largest castles in England and one of the first to have concentric defensive walls. First built around 1066 by William the Conqueror. (July 30, 2019)

The Church of St. Mary-in-Castro and Roman lighthouse within the outer curtain wall of the medieval Dover Castle in Dover, England. The church,
a heavily restored Saxon structure, was built around 1,000 AD. The reasonably well-preserved Roman Lighthouse or Pharos, dates from around 46-50 AD (during the reign of the Emperor Claudius 41-54 AD) and, just after the invasion of Britain in 43 AD. (July 30, 2019)

The interior of the Saxon church of St. Mary-in-Castro at Dover Castle in Dover, England. (July 30, 2019)

A view of the White Cliffs of Dover in Dover England. (July 30, 2019)

The Making of Harry Potter

Although Dover, England, was a great place for me to rest from the driving and just chill for a couple of days, it was time to move on to London. Took the morning fast train and before I knew it, I was at my hotel, the Sidney Hotel London-Victoria on Belgrave Road and ready to jump right into my first day tour…the Warner Bros. Studio: The Making of Harry Potter. I walked from my hotel to the Evan Evans Tour’s Office where the bus was parked and ready to take me and a bus full of Harry Potter fans.

The Wizard Chess pieces, one of the charms protecting the Philosopher’s Stone at the Warner Bros. Studio: The Making of Harry Potter just outside of London, England. The statues seen here are the original sculptures, many of which were rigged by the special effects team to move by radio control, and even explode. These are from the first film, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.” (July 31, 2019)

The entrance hall of the Warner Bros. Studio: The Making of Harry Potter just outside of London, England. Gringotts Wizarding Bank is the only bank of the wizarding world, and is owned and operated by goblins. It was created by a goblin called Gringott, in 1474. Gringott’s Dragon, hanging from the ceiling, was used to guard the security vaults of Gringotts Wizarding Bank and how Harry, Hermione and Ron escaped. (July 31, 2019)

It’s the Great Hall, the main gathering where students and teachers dined and congregated at Hogwarts Castle at the Warner Bros. Studio:
The Making of Harry Potter just outside of London, England, featuring authentic sets, costumes and props from the Harry Potter film series, located at the studios where the movies were filmed. (July 31, 2019)

It’s the Great Hall, the main gathering where students and teachers dined and congregated at Hogwarts Castle. This is the Warner Bros. Studio: The Making of Harry Potter just outside of London, England. (July 31, 2019)

Some of the costumes of the main characters at the podium of the Great Hall at Hogwarts. From left: Professor Minerva McGonagall; Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, Professor Severus Snape and Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, Rubeus Hagrid. This is the Warner Bros. Studio: The Making of Harry Potter just outside of London, England, featuring authentic sets, costumes and props from the Harry Potter film series, located at the studios where the movies were filmed. (July 31, 2019)

Me at the Potions Classroom in Hogwarts’ dungeon. More than five hundred bottles line the walls of the classroom, many with their own handcrafted labels. This is the Warner Bros. Studio: The Making of Harry Potter just outside of London, England, featuring authentic sets, costumes and props from the Harry Potter film series, located at the studios where the movies were filmed. (July 31, 2019)

The Potions Classroom in Hogwarts’ dungeon inside the Warner Bros. Studio: The Making of Harry Potter just outside of London, England. (July 31, 2019)

Albus Dumbledore, the Hogwarts Headmaster’s office, is located in one of the highest towers at Hogwarts. This is the Warner Bros. Studio: The Making of Harry Potter just outside of London, England, featuring authentic sets, costumes and props from the Harry Potter film series, located at the studios where the movies were filmed. (July 31, 2019)

Rubeus Hagrid’s hut on the grounds of Hogwarts. This is the Warner Bros. Studio: The Making of Harry Potter just outside of London, England, featuring authentic sets, costumes and props from the Harry Potter film series, located at the studios where the movies were filmed. (July 31, 2019)

The Weasley family dining room at the Warner Bros. Studio: The Making of Harry Potter just outside of London featuring authentic items from the Harry Potter film series. (July 31, 2019)

The fireplace of the Ministry of Magic is part of the Floo Network that transports witches and wizards throughout the wizarding world, is the Warner Bros. Studio: The Making of Harry Potter just outside of London featuring authentic sets, costumes and props from the Harry Potter film series. (July 31, 2019)

The fireplace of the Ministry of Magic. The magical fireplace is part of the Floo Network that transports witches and wizards throughout the wizard Inn world. This is the Warner Bros. Studio: The Making of Harry Potter just outside of London, England. (July 31, 2019)

Diagon Alley at the Warner Bros. Studio: The Making of Harry Potter just outside of London, England. (July 31, 2019)

The Weasley twin brothers’ Wizard Wheezes store in Diagon Alley with a giant man standing through the window. This is the Warner Bros. Studio: The Making of Harry Potter just outside of London, England, featuring authentic sets, costumes and props from the Harry Potter film series, located at the studios where the movies were filmed. (July 31, 2019)

Gringotts Wizarding Bank at the Warner Bros. Studio: The Making of Harry Potter just outside of London, England. (July 31, 2019)

Gringotts Wizarding Bank at the Warner Bros. Studio: The Making of Harry Potter just outside of London. (July 31, 2019)

Charity Burbage earned the wrath of Lord Voldemort for her liberal views towards muggles at the Warner Bros. Studio: The Making of Harry Potter just outside of London, England, featuring authentic sets, costumes and props from the Harry Potter film series, located at the studios where the movies were filmed. (July 31, 2019)

The costumes for the characters in the spin-off and prequel to the Harry Potter movies, “Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find them,” also produced and written by J.K. Rowling in her screenwriting debut. From left: Tina Goldstein, Newt Scamander, Queen Goldstein and Gilbert Frindelwald. This is the Warner Bros. Studio: The Making of Harry Potter just outside of London, England, featuring authentic sets, costumes and props from the Harry Potter film series, located at the studios where the movies were filmed. (July 31, 2019)

The first poster advertising the adventures of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” at the Warner Bros. Studio: The Making of Harry Potter just outside of London, England, featuring authentic sets, costumes and props from the Harry Potter film series, located at the studios where the movies were filmed. (July 31, 2019)

Stonehenge, Bath and the birthplace of William Shakespeare, Stratford-upon-Avon

My original plan was to do a day trip exploring Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon and Warwick Castle, but that tour was cancelled, rather at the last minute. So I picked up a different day tour that included a visit to Stonehenge, Bath and the birthplace of William Shakespear, Stratford-upon-Avon.

Me at Stonehenge in Salisbury, England, a prehistoric temple of great stones raised about 4,500 years ago. About 5,00- years ago, a large circular enclosure was constructed and about 500 years after, enormous Sarsen stones were raised in a horseshoe and a circle. Stonehenge is considered an engineering feat with the stones carefully arranged to line up with the movements of the sun. I’d already seen several stone circles on this trip and had not planned on seeing this one but plans changed and seeing Stonehenge became a part of a day tour I was on from London. (Aug. 1, 2019)

This is considered as the original entrance to Stonehenge in Salisbury, England. Stonehenge is regarded as a British cultural icon and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (Aug. 1, 2019)

About 5,000 years ago, a large circular enclosure was constructed and about 500 years after, enormous Sarsen stones were raised in a circle at Stonehenge. (Aug. 1, 2019)

The Stonehenge visitor’s centre was opened in 2013 in Salisbury, England. (Aug. 1, 2019)

Yes, there’s a new visitor entrance and gift shop at Stonehenge in Salisbury, England. (Aug. 1, 2019)

During the building of Stonehenge in Salisbury, England, the people who built it could have possibly lived in this kind of recreated housing. From the remains of animal bones and pottery found near the houses it appears that people were gathering at Durrington Walls, about a mile from Stonehenge. This was not an ordinary settlement, but a place where people gathered to celebrate, conduct rituals and perhaps live while they built Stonehenge. (Aug. 1, 2019)

The interior of a recreated house for the people who built and used Stonehenge in Salisbury, England. The floors of ten buildings were excavated some within fenced enclosures. They date from the same time that the stones were being put up at Stonehenge, about 2,500 BC. (Aug. 1, 2019)

The Pulteney Bridge in Bath, England, crosses the River Avon and was completed by 1774. (Aug. 1, 2019)

The Milsom Trent street in Bath, England. (Aug. 1, 2019)

The shops down a narrow lane in Bath, England. (Aug. 1, (2019)

The Bath Abbey, an Anglican parish church and former Benedictine monastery, in Bath, Somerset, England. The Abbey, built of Bath stone, has a long and colorful history of being rebuilt several times. The present Abbey church founded in 1499, ruined after the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539 by order of Henry VIII, was completed in 1611. (Aug. 1, 2019)

An exterior door to the Bath Abbey in Bath, Somerset, England. (Aug. 1, 2019)

A section of what is called the Circus, a historic street of large townhouses in the city of Bath, Somerset, England, that forms a circle with three entrances. Designed by architect John Wood, the Elder, it was built between 1754 and 1768, and is regarded as a pre-eminent example of Georgian architecture. (Aug. 1, 2019)

Bath, England, just 11 miles west of London, in the county of Somerset is known for its Roman-built baths. The city, with its golden-colored Bath stone Georgian style buildings, is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was great to visit Bath again, but the crowds and the heat took a lot away from this beautiful little city. (Aug. 1, 2019)

Me standing by the front door of the home where English poet and playwright William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. John Shakespeare, William’s father and a glove maker, purchased the large half-timbered dwelling in 1556. At the age of 18, William married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna and twins Hamnet and Judith. (Aug. 1, 2019)

William Shakespeare’s birthplace is a restored 16th-century half-timbered house on Henley Street in Stratford-upon-Avon, where he was born in 1564 and spent his childhood. (Aug. 1, 2019)

The entrance gate of William Shakespeare’s New Place in Stratford-upon-Avon purchased in 1597 as a family home until his death in April 1616. (Aug. 1, 2019)

Peering through the closed gate to William Shakespeare’s New Place in Stratford-upon-Avon where he lived with his family until his death in April 1616. (Aug. 1, 2019)

The Guild Chapel adjoined to the Grammar School and Guildhall in Stratford-upon-Avon where William Shakespeare was educated and inspired to become a playwright. The Guildhall was built in 1417-20 as the headquarters of the Guild of the Holy Cross. The Guild’s school, re-founded as the Kyng’s Newe Scole in 1553, occupied part of the upper floor from the 1560s and it was here that William Shakespeare was educated. (Aug. 1, 2019)

This school room at the Grammar School and Guildhall, built 1420, in Stratford-upon-Avon where William Shakespeare was inspired by the power of professional theater for the first time. The plays he first saw professional theater. John Shakespeare, William’s father, was Baliff (Mayor) of Stratford-upon-Avon in 1558 with the Guildhall his seat of power. At the center of politics, local government and commerce for many centuries, this building, more than any other, must have had a profound impact on William Shakespeare’s work. (Aug. 1, 2019)

A bust of poet and playwright William Shakespeare at the Guildhall in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, where Shakespeare was born, raised and introduced to the theater. (Aug. 1, 2019)

Inside the Guildhall’s former “Court of Record” where in 1568 William Shakespeare’s father John Shakespeare became Bailiff of Stratford-upon-Avon in England. One of his duties was to preside over trials in this room. (Aug. 1, 2019)

The Guild Chapel, at the intersection of Church Street and Chapel Lane, is connected to the Guildhall in Stratford-upon-Avon had a long association with Shakespeare’s family. (Aug. 1, 2019)

The Guild Chapel, connected to the Guildhall on Church Street, in Stratford-upon-Avon is on the opposite site of William Shakespeare’s home, New Place, and has historic connections to Shakespeare’s family. The chapel offers a view of fine paintings from the early 1500s which had been covered up during the Reformation to save them from destruction. Centuries later, they were uncovered and are now visible. (Aug. 1, 2019)

The Guild Chapel in Stratford-upon-Avon offers a view of fine paintings from the early 1500s which had been covered up during the Reformation to save them from destruction. Centuries later, they were uncovered and are now visible. (Aug. 1, 2019)

The Town Hall built around 1767 in Stratford-upon-Avon was once the site of the Market Hall destroyed in 1643 by an explosion of gunpowder. (Aug. 1, 2019)

The Garrick Inn on High Street in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, is reputed to be the town’s oldest pub. It has been an inn within the current Elizabethan, half-timbered building since 1718. An earlier medieval building on the same site was also used as an inn. (Aug. 1, 2019)

The Royal Shakespeare Theater in Stratford-upon-Avon in England. (Aug. 1, 2019)

The featured plays at the Royal Shakespeare Theater in Stratford-upon-Avon in England. (Aug. 1, 2019)

The sites of London and the Benin Bronzes at the British Museum

My last two days in London, England, were spent in London, England. On one of those days, I spent the morning doing a brief London walking tour after spending time visiting the interior of Westminster Abbey, where unfortunately, photos cannot be taken. Such a shame because this Abbey holds of history and the remains of some of England’s superior minds both on the scientific and literary sense, among other highlights. I felt it was half church and half enclosed cemetery and memorial but in all, an encasement of history. And, while Buckingham Palace and a walk through just a tiny part of London landmark history, I spent my most exciting time at the British Museum. So, here’s Buckingham Palace, London sites and the amazing Benin Bronzes at the British Museum as I say good-bye to London and close the door on this close to 40 days of Ireland, Scotland and England.

Me on the ground of Buckingham Palace in London, England, getting ready to see the ‘Changing of the Guard.’ Although there were other royal structures at this location, Buckingham Palace didn’t became the London residence of the British monarch until the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837. (Aug. 2, 2019)

The Victoria Memorial is a monument to Queen Victoria, located at the end of the Mall (pronounced as Mal) and across from Buckingham Palace in London, England. It was designed in 1901 by Sir Thomas Brock, unveiled in May 16, 1911 even though it was not completed until 1924. (Aug. 2, 2019)

The famous Changing the Guard ceremony outside Buckingham Palace in London, England. (Aug. 2, 2019)

The guards procession along the Mall, pronounced Mal, is the road leading to the gates of Buckingham Palace in London, England. (Aug. 2, 2019)

The small lake of the St. James’s Park near Buckingham Palace in London, England. (Aug. 2, 2019)

The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Walk seal, 90 of them seen along a 7-mile circular walking trail in central London, dedicated to her memory. This walking trail passes through sites associated with her in celebration of a life cut short on Aug. 31, 1997 when she died in a car accident at the age of 36. (Aug. 2, 2019)

Gates and guards at the main entrance of the Prime Minister’s Office at 10 Downing Street in London, England. (Aug. 2, 2019)

The Monument to the Women of World War II is a British national war memorial situated down the street from the Prime Minister’s office on 10 Downing Street in London, England. There are 17 individual sets of clothing and uniforms around the monument, symbolising the hundreds of different jobs women undertook in World War II and then gave back for the homecoming men at the end of the war. The 22 feet tall bronze monument was sculpted by John W. Mills and unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II in July 2005. (Aug. 2, 2019)

A group protesting against Brexit and pushing for a second Brexit referendum just down the street from the Prime Minister’s Office at 10 Downing Street in London, England. DescriptionBrexit is the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. (Aug. 2, 2019)

Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett (1847-1929) was a British intellectual, political leader, activist and writer who’d was primarily known for her work as a women’s suffrage campaigner. Her bronze statue at the Parliament Square in London, England, was erected in 2018 and created by Prize-winning artist Gillian Wearing. It portrays Fawcett at the age of 50, when she became president of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies. (Aug. 2, 2019)

This bronze statue of Nelson Mandela, the former President of South Africa and anti-apartheid activist is one of several statues featured at Parliament Square in London England, and was unveiled Aug. 29, 2007. (Aug. 1, 2019)

Coronations, royal weddings, kings, queens, statesmen, soldiers, poets, heroes and villains are all a part of the history here at Westminster Abbey in London, England. The Abbey has been the coronation church since 1066, and is the final resting place of 17 monarchs. The church we see today was begun by Henry III in 1245. It’s a church and a memorial site where interior photos are not allowed. (Aug. 2, 2019)

Westminster Abbey in London, England. (Aug. 2, 2019)

The Great West Door of the Westminster Abbey in London, England, where the 20th Century Martyrs statues are located. (Aug. 2, 2019)

The 20th Century Martyrs statues above the Great West Door of the Westminster Abbey in London, England. The ten statues are of individual martyrs; but they intended to represent all those others who have died (and continue to die) in similar circumstances of oppression and persecution. They are drawn from every continent and many Christian denominations. The statues were unveiled on July 9, 1998. (Aug. 2, 2019)

A close-up of the 20th Century Martyrs statues above the Great West Door of the Westminster Abbey in London, England. From left, Elizabeth of Russian, Martin Luther King, Jr., Oscar Romero and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Seeing the MLK statue truly just warmed my heart. (Aug. 2, 2019)

That scaffolded building is the Elizabeth Tower with the great Big Ben clock at the top in London, England. The Elizabeth Tower, which stands at the north end of the Houses of Parliament, was completed in 1859 and the Great Clock started on that year in May, with the Great Bell’s strikes heard for the first time on in July and the quarter bells first chimed in September. (Aug. 3, 2019)

Walking along the banks of the Thames River in the heart of London, England. (Aug. 3, 2019)

Walking across the Vauxhall Bridge in London. The St. George Wharf residential complex of buildings (right) and the Secret Intelligence Service or MI6 building (right). It’s also the building featured prominently in the most recent Bond film, Skyfall. We see British actress Dame Judi Dench as M, head of the MI-6 unit, standing on Vauxhall Bridge watching the core of the building go up in flames as the result of a cyber terrorist attack. (Aug. 3, 2019)

The SIS Building or MI6 Building built around 1994 at Vauxhall Cross houses the headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service, the United Kingdom’s foreign intelligence agency. It is located at 85 Albert Embankment in Vauxhall, a south western part of central London, on the bank of the River Thames beside Vauxhall Bridge. The SIS Building, also commonly known as the MI6 Building, is situated on the Albert Embankment section of the River Thames next to Vauxhall Bridge. The building featured prominently in the most recent Bond film, Skyfall. We see British actress Dame Judi Dench as M, head of the MI-6 unit, standing on Vauxhall Bridge watching the core of the building go up in flames as the result of a cyber terrorist attack. (Aug. 3, 2019)

Vauxhall Bridge in London crosses the River Thames in a southeast–northwest direction between Vauxhall on the south bank and Pimlico on the north bank. The bridge opened in 1906, replacing an earlier bridge, known as Regent Bridge which was built between 1809 and 1816. (Aug. 3, 2019)

Benin Bronzes at the British Museum

These Benin Bronzes are my main reason for coming to the British Museum, which has the largest collection in the world, and they did not disappoint. These metal plaques and sculptures decorated the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin in what is now modern-day Nigeria and can be seen inside the Sainsbury African Galleriers in Room 25 of the British Museum in London, England.

“The Benin bronzes are a group of sculptures and plaques made by artists in Benin from the 16th century onwards. They were displayed in the palace of the Oba, or king, of Benin until 1897, when the British invaded the kingdom, sacked the palace and took the bronzes as reparation for British deaths during armed conflict in the country. They ended up on the international art market and many found their way into the collections of major museums in Britain and Europe. Racist attitudes towards African cultures were so entrenched at this time that many Europeans refused to believe such sophisticated sculpture could possibly have been produced by African artists,” according to a description by “Revealing Histories, Remembering Slavery,” a partnership of eight museums in Greater Manchester, England.