• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Alice Dishes

Adventures and Real Food

  • Design
  • Life
  • Recipes
  • Reviews
  • Travel

July 4, 2017

6 London Experiences: From the Very Old To The Very New

During our recent time in the UK we were fortunate enough to have more than a fleeting visit to London, spending four nights in Hammersmith at my dear aunt and uncle’s. This has become a second home to me and Monkey, and I love having it as a base for our explorations.

While our visit was primarily about connecting with beloved friends and family from the UK—and most importantly, meeting my new nephew—Facebook worked its magic and it turned out that buddies from New Zealand and the US were also in town. Net, net, we enjoyed much revelry and managed to take in some brand new and age-old experiences.

1. Back to Holland Park

When we were in London at the end of last year, we had a lovely, frosty walk/jog around Holland Park on Christmas morning. With both my mum and I feeling antsy one morning we decided to walk over to the Park again, drinking in all the amazing Victorian homes along the way. I really love the use of color in British exteriors, especially for front doors. Matte, vs. gloss, seems to be the thing these days.

It was a real pleasure to see that the gardens had come fully to life after their winter dormancy: fragrant roses in bloom, lush vegetation in the Japanese garden and the trees beautifully green. All accompanied by the cacophony of the resident peacocks.

We also discovered that Opera Holland Park is in residence – a summer-long series under a semi-permanent tent attached to the main house. Worth remembering for next year.

Entrance to the Park is free.

2. The Design Museum, Holland Park

While wandering around the Park, I saw signs for the Design Museum, which piqued my curiosity as I hadn’t heard of it before. Turns out that the old Commonwealth building at the end of Kensington High Street was refurbished a few years ago and now houses temporary and free permanent exhibitions.

The original Gay Pride flag included two extra colors: pink and indigo.

The top floor is dedicated to global design icons, think the London Tube map, the keyboard, the bicycle and much, much more. A California Designing Freedom exhibition is underway. It pays homage to the impact that my home state has had on our lives from the evolution of technology from companies like Apple, to digital design and social movements like #blacklivesmatter. The names of many people, product, and companies, I’ve worked with over the years are lauded. It was a bit strange to fly 5,000 miles to see my day-to-day life from a different angle, but pretty cool nevertheless.

Upstairs is a free Cartier exhibition which not only traced the jeweler’s impact on watch-making and precious stones, but also on the industrial design of early aircraft. It’s an interesting to think about the juxtaposition between innovation from 100+ years ago and today’s breakneck speed technology cycle.

Entrance to the permanent exhibition and the Cartier exhibits are free. All others charge an admission fee.

3. One Ham Yard & Soho Hotel Bar

I have never been much of an aficionado of London hotels, but I’m always happy to discover new places and there seems to be trend towards large, lounge-like hotel bars and restaurants. I met one of my best friends for drinks and a bite at Ham Yard Bar & Restaurant, a new-ish spot I hadn’t heard of before. On a warm London evening—in a pedestrian courtyard just off Piccadilly—surrounded above and below by twinkling lights, this was the place to reminisce and catch-up.

We opted for the set menu which was great value at 24 pounds for three courses, or 19.50 pounds for two, and included a glass of Prosecco. The grey mullet was absolutely delicious. And we made light work of the warm bread and butter, and the cheese plate.

The grey mullet at Ham Yard.

Another night, I met a group of friends at the bar at the Soho Hotel. Another lively spot, coincidentally owned by the same hotel chain, tucked down a little alleyway in Soho.

4. Ham House 

There is no geographical link between Ham Yard and Ham House (and I should figure out if there is some other connection), and they are separated not only by miles, but also centuries. Located on a gorgeous bend in the River Thames, near Richmond, Ham is a Tudor enclave that boasts numerous 400+ year-old buildings, a National Trust property in Ham House, polo fields, and a riding stables, which we took full advantage of. Frankly, I was in heaven.

The house itself was built in 1610 and has survived pretty well, considering. Of course, the kitchen is the area that holds the most fascination for me, not least because the huge, original kitchen table—thought to be crafted from an elm tree grown in the grounds—is still going strong. Apparently the kitchen maids used to sleep under the table, tasked with keeping the fires burning through the night.

We didn’t have as long as I would have liked to explore the house, but it has been kept in as close-to-original condition as possible, and was used as a residence up until 1948 when so many stately homes were turned over to the National Trust.

If you’ve watched Downton Abby you’ll know that ‘being in service’ wasn’t an attractive vocation post-war, and the upkeep and taxes was no longer viable for the families who had owned these properties, in many cases, for centuries.

Entrance to Ham House is around 12 GBP for adults and half that for children.

5. Ham Polo and Ham Riding Stables

If you’re anywhere near Ham during the summer check out the polo every Sunday, and if you like to ride, then I implore you to have a lesson with Minette Rice at Ham House Stables. She is practically a national treasure.

Minette is poised, elegant, full of decades of horse knowledge, insistent that riding should be fun, tireless, and clearly a mentor to generations. Monkey and I learned a huge amount in the 45 minutes we spent with her focused on improving our seat and balance.

Minette adjusts Monkey’s legs to show him correct positioning.

Minette told Monkey he had a natural seat and could go far as a rider. I hope he listens to her. I, on the other hand, have a number of bad habits that I need to get rid of. #naturally

We had a semi-private lesson for two at 58 pounds each. (Not cheap, but worth it)

6. The Summer Exhibition At the Royal Academy of Art

I’ve always been a fan of the Royal Academy and its Summer Exhibition is often a fun way to see a boatload of art, ranging from the fairly amateur to the serious. Unlike most exhibitions at the RA, the works on display are for sale. You can pick up prints from a couple of hundred dollars, oil paintings from a couple of thousand and there are a few items with “price on request” – way out most of our price range.

Dodging heavy rainstorms, I had a fun time wandering around critiquing the exhibits with a dear ex-colleague, now turned artist—Debra Royston, check out her work here—and a friend from New Zealand.

It can be overwhelming with so much being displayed in one space, but I managed to find an affordable photographic piece I liked and hope it will show up in Petaluma one day in the not too distant future.

Tickets for the Summer Exhibition are around 14 GBP and can be bought online in advance.

Filed Under: Reviews, Travel Tagged With: Ham House, Ham Polo, Ham Stables Riding, Ham Yard Hotel and Restaurant, Holland Park, London, London Design Museum, Minette Rice, Royal Academy, Summer Exhibition

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

About Alice

A bit about me... I grew up in the UK and moved to Northern California in the late 1990s, drawn here, like so many others, by the lure of ...

Read More

Popular Posts

  • holey_grail_donutsThe Best Places to Eat in Hanalei, Kauai
  • 10 Things to Do in Sea Ranch, CA10 Things to Do in Sea Ranch, CA
  • When All Is Said And Done: 7 Things That Really Matter in LifeWhen All Is Said And Done: 7 Things That Really…
  • Stunning Beet and Cauliflower SoupStunning Beet and Cauliflower Soup

People are Talking About

No People Food

A Lesson in Salt From Samin Nosrat

Madeleines by Monkey

When All Is Said And Done: 7 Things That Really Matter in Life

Alice’s Favorites

101 Cookbooks
Chef on a Mission
Cook, Taste, Eat
Food Politics
Golden
Good Eggs
Healthy Cooking
Jamie Oliver Food Revolution
Mary Vance
Michael Pollan
Nina Planck
Not Without Salt
Nourish Network
Samin Nosrat
The Healthy Home Economist

alicedishes

Lover of life, Labs & horses. Visit AliceDishes.com blog for travel, recipes, design & life. Area VI #morganhorse #blacklab #eventing #interiors

Alice Dishes. Eat, Bark, Ride
Roger was a very good boy yesterday to get a 75.6 Roger was a very good boy yesterday to get a 75.6 at our local schooling show 😍 #dressage
This boy is teaching me so much. And I love the fa This boy is teaching me so much. And I love the fact he always has his ears forward and is enjoying his job again. Excited to head to @horseparkatwoodside to show him next weekend for the first time in a year. He’s ready!! #eventinghorse #areavi
Staying alive and getting it done on xc - so much Staying alive and getting it done on xc - so much fun 🤩 #areavi #eventinghorse #morganmare
A little bit of our dressage and SJ action from th A little bit of our dressage and SJ action from the weekend @twinrivershorsepark - Q and I were either great or mediocre during dressage to give us a 36.4 which made it hard to be competitive, but the goal was to finish on our dressage score and feel confident all weekend ✅. We moved up 4 places over the weekend and jumped double clear in both SJ and XC for a top 10 finish. Our rhythm and timing in SJ was probably our best yet. #eventing #areavi #comeback
The sunset was spectacular last night in Paso Robl The sunset was spectacular last night in Paso Robles! #sunset #pasorobles
So fun to watch @tommygreengard on these two speci So fun to watch @tommygreengard on these two special boys: Barry and Josh. 😍
The boy is back in town! Rogee had a blast doing X The boy is back in town! Rogee had a blast doing XC schooling for the first time since February. He was relaxed (shocker!), said yes to everything and although he wanted to shred up the track he listened and was a very good boy 😍😍😍 - so happy with him and I think he had the best day ever 🙌  Looking forward to showing him at @woodsidehorsepark in Oct! #xc #eventing #eventinghorse
My little pocket 🚀 was on 🔥today! I couldn’t have been happier. We jumped all the Training things and tackled some challenging questions. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs since losing some confidence. At one point in June I froze jumping a x-rail 🤷‍♀️. But we have fought our way back, filling in gaps and ultimately our partnership has become even stronger. I’m so proud of her. I have lots of work to do to be fully deserving of this brave girl, but after a day like today it feels like we could conquer anything! (Except dressage 😂 - but we are working on that too!) #eventing #eventinghorse #xc #morganmare #comeback
Fun working on our jumping at home today 1) no st Fun working on our jumping at home today 
1) no stirrups 2) trot verticals 3) adjust canter 4) work a related distance ✅. Felt great. She was keen and took me to the fences 😍 #eventinghorse #morganmare
🎉 New blog post alert! My first story about our 🎉 New blog post alert! My first story about our trip to the Baja peninsula is live - link in bio.  Read all about the fun we had staying and tequila tasting at  @thecapehotel, massages at @cabosurfhotel delicious food at @florafarms and @elhuertof2t  #bajacalifornia #vacationvibes #cabosanlucas #beachday @thecapehotel @florafarms @cabosurfhotel
My handsome boy. The many faces of King Arthur. #b My handsome boy. The many faces of King Arthur. #blacklab #blacklabrador
I would choose them both every time. It’s defin I would choose them both every time.  It’s definitely not easy having two horses and one rider. But I am going to make it work as long as I possibly can because they are part of me. 😍 Can you have two ❤️ horses for different reasons? Because I might have just got that lucky.
It makes me so happy to see Rogee fit, strong and It makes me so happy to see Rogee fit, strong and enjoying his rehabbed body. He’s really learning what he’s can do with himself these days physically and it’s also really rewarding to see his personality shift down a few gears to a generally more relaxed state… #goodboy
I planted these at the end of April - and finally I planted these at the end of April - and finally I get my first harvest!!
Burghley Revisited. What a terrific time we had. # Burghley Revisited. What a terrific time we had. #eventing #5* #burghleyhorsetrials
Load More Follow on Instagram

Footer

A bit about me... I grew up in the UK and moved to Northern California in the late 1990s, drawn here, like so many others, by the lure of the dot.com ...

Read More

More to Explore

All Posts Archive

Stay Connected

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Never Miss a Post

Copyright© 2023 · Alice Dishes

website by lobstervine