London Travel 02: One Packed Day, from Red Phone Boxes to Big Ben and a Soho Pub

On April 5, up from Bournemouth, the sky over London was grey. The day started at 12:01 with red phone boxes, and the daytime part ended at 4:17 p.m. across the Thames from Big Ben. As the light went, I moved on to Soho and was still sitting in a pub after 10 p.m.

In part 1 I flew via Dubai and went back to my Bournemouth homestay. Part two is one day in London.

If Bournemouth is the second hometown where my English began, the UK as a whole is simply the country I love. This is my day in London after four years away, in the order it happened.

The route in this post

Time	Where	In a line
12:01–12:30	Red phone boxes → The Laughing Halibut	Three phone boxes, a laughing halibut
13:22–15:28	St James's Park	A Jack and Coke can, Buckingham Palace, a napping swan, blossom
15:33–16:17	Big Ben → Parliament Square → across the Thames	The English Tea Bus, Churchill, 3:52
17:10–19:06	Outernet London → dinner → Chinatown → Palace Theatre	An LED room, New Year and Ramadan greetings
21:15–22:12	The White Horse, Soho	Taddy Lager with its own label

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12:01: Three red phone boxes

At 12:01, next to a white building, stood three red phone boxes with crowns on top, in a row. I'd have photographed one. There were three.

At 12:30 I stopped again, this time for a sign: THE LAUGHING HALIBUT. Underneath, it says "THE BEST TRADITIONAL BRITISH FISH & CHIPS."

Inside, the first thing I photographed was the yellow menu board. As of April 2023: cod £9.00 / £10.50, haddock £9.50 / £10.50. Taped underneath, handwritten: Cheesy Chips £5.50.

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St James's Park: a can, a palace, a swan and blossom

At 1:22 p.m., on the grass in St James's Park, I took a photo of the can in my hand. Jack Daniel's and Coca-Cola, in one can. On the plane I'd mixed my own; in London it came ready-made. Cherry blossom blurs behind it.

When I photographed the lake again later, the sky had clouded over, but it was still worth it. White daffodils lined the banks, and beyond the willows, Buckingham Palace and a gilded statue appeared small in the distance. From the bridge over the lake, the palace sits straight ahead at the end of the water.

On the gravel by the lake, a swan slept with its head tucked into its back. Next to it, a pigeon.

At 3:28 I photographed a pale pink cherry tree standing alone on the lawn. Petals had started to fall, and people were sitting on the benches. In early April, the cherry trees in London were in bloom.

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3:33 p.m.: Big Ben

Five minutes after the cherry tree, at 3:33, Big Ben came into view. Phone box in front, clock tower behind: everyone takes this shot, and so did I. The "TELEPHONE" lettering and the crown came out big enough to almost hide Big Ben.

Three minutes later, a pink double-decker drove past the square: THE ENGLISH TEA BUS. Beside it, a silver taxi. Scenes like this are why I love the UK.

Parliament Square had metal fencing around the lawn, so you couldn't go in and sit down. Statues stand around the edge of the square facing Parliament. The one I shot from below has CHURCHILL carved into its plinth. In a long coat, leaning on a stick, he suited the grey sky.

I got one of myself in front of Big Ben too. The clock reads 3:52, and a red number 148 double-decker passes behind me. Checking the photo's timestamp later, my phone said 3:52 as well.

Towards the bridge, you see Parliament's river front. I caught the moment the sun hung right above a spire through the clouds. The Thames is muddy brown; the building is ochre.

The last daytime photo: 4:17, from across the river, where the whole of Parliament and Big Ben fit into one frame. The finger of whoever took it crept into the bottom right. In the photo I'm grinning. The grey sky was no problem at all.

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5:10 p.m.: Outernet London

The evening began at 5:10 p.m. at Outernet London. The walls and ceiling are all LED screens, and inside a piece called "THE SPACES IN-BETWEEN," shards of red and purple light burst in every direction. Even the photo I took looking up makes me dizzy.

5:41 p.m., dinner. A yellow sauce dish in an earthenware bowl sprinkled with green herbs, a heap of flatbread strips, and glossy fried chicken coated in sesame. Bread for dipping in the sauce.

A New Year greeting in April, and a Ramadan one

At 6:49 I came out at a crossroads to find a dragon ornament hanging off the corner of a London brick building. Beneath it, "KUNG FU NOODLE"; across the road, "LEON." Further down the street, red lanterns were strung in rows.

The lantern street has so many lanterns that the sky barely shows. The gate read "KUNG HEI FAT CHOY" and "新春快樂," Lunar New Year greetings. It was April, and the New Year greetings were still up.

At the other end, a green-tiled gate is wedged between a red-brick building and an all-glass one.

A few minutes later, "Happy Ramadan" lights hung across the sky. Crescent moons and stars, the green neon of a SHAKE SHACK burger sign, and below, a tour bus booth with "Buy Your Tickets Here!" I saw a New Year greeting and a Ramadan greeting on the same evening.

By now the pavement was wet and umbrellas had appeared. Lit-up brick buildings reflected on the wet ground, and my photos came out shaky. The passing red bus was blurry too, but I kept it. The advert on its side read "TRAVEL IS BACK." It was spring 2023, and I had just left my job.

At 7:06, the thing glowing reddest in the grey evening was the Palace Theatre. Lights washed up its brick front, and over the entrance hung "Harry Potter AND THE CURSED CHILD." Crowds with umbrellas stood outside, and I took the photo from across the road.

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9:15 p.m.: The White Horse, Soho

At 9:15 p.m., at The White Horse, a pub in Soho, I got a Samuel Smith's Taddy Lager. The glass has its own label, and on it: "INSIST ON SEEING THE LABEL." The 4.5% VOL. is printed on the glass too.

When I went to the bar and photographed the taps, every one next to the brass handles, Double Four Lager and Pure Brewed Organic Lager included, carried the Samuel Smith name. Every beer in this pub is Samuel Smith's.

The last photo, at 10:12, shows the inside of the pub. Bottles hanging upside down, a gold ceiling, a dark wooden bar. At the bar, a customer in a flat cap and checked scarf. A "TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD" poster reflects through the window, and an "ARCHER STREET W1" sign hangs on the wall. A pub in the middle of theatreland.

The day started with three phone boxes and ended with a labelled lager. With this glass, the UK part of the trip was over.

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Visitor info

📍 St James's Park → Big Ben → Parliament Square · Westminster, London

• 🚶 Route: they're close on the map, so they're easy to do as one walk. Going by my photo timestamps, my first Big Ben shot was five minutes after the cherry tree in the park.
• 📸 Do Big Ben twice: once from the square, once from across the Thames. You only get the whole of Parliament in one frame from across the river.
• 🏰 Buckingham Palace head-on: from the bridge over the lake in St James's Park.
• 🗺️ Maps: St James's Park, Big Ben

📍 Soho and Chinatown · West End, London

• 🐟 The Laughing Halibut: prices above are from my April 2023 photo. Google Maps
• 💡 Outernet London: the artworks change over time. Google Maps
• 🏮 Chinatown gate: photos from the gate end and the far end look completely different. Walk both ends.
• 🍺 The White Horse (a Samuel Smith's pub): every tap is from this one brewery, so just choose between lager and stout. Google Maps

How to get lost a little less

• ⏱️ Only one day in London? Westminster by day, Soho by night. It all connects on foot and fits a day perfectly.
• 🌧️ On the day I went, the sky clouded over in the afternoon and the pavements were wet by evening. Pack a folding umbrella in London.
• 🌸 In early April, St James's Park was full of cherry blossom and daffodils. Give the park plenty of time.

Jayden's verdict

The sky was grey, and it didn't matter. A full day in the country I love.

• St James's Park: a palace, swans and blossom, for free.
• Big Ben and Parliament: see them once more from across the river.
• A night in Soho: New Year greetings, Ramadan greetings and a labelled lager.
• Tip: with one day, do Westminster by day and Soho by night. It all connects on foot.

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Next up is Nice in the south of France, the city with the best weather of the whole trip.

19 Days After Quitting series

1. The UK, part 1: via Dubai, back to my Bournemouth homestay
2. UK, part 2: A day in London, from Big Ben to a Soho pub (you are here)
3. France: Nice and Saint-Paul-de-Vence
4. Italy, part 1: Milan's Duomo and San Siro
5. Italy, part 2: Venice, San Giorgio and Burano
6. Italy, part 3: Florence, Pompeii and Positano
7. Egypt: Escaping the rain to Sharm El Sheikh
8. Rome again: Italian food and the way home