Day 3 - London

Distance Walked: 11km (approx)

Woke at midnight, took a sleeping tablet and went straight back to sleep.  Woke at 5am and couldn't get back to sleep even though still tired.  Don't dare take another pill since they last 4 hours and I need to get up before then.  Think it is the buses that wake me.  They are quite loud even with double glazed windows.  Might try ear plugs tomorrow night - and strong coffee in the afternoon.  Need to move my body clock forward an hour or two.

Schedule for today is buy ticket to Moreton-in-Marsh, check out Cardiff Hotel location then Tower of London tour in the morning and Geffrye Museum in afternoon.  Hope my knees cope better today.

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Didn't end up getting to the Geffrye as I didn't leave the Tower until 4pm.  Went to the British Library on my way home instead.  As well as a copy of the Magna Carta and the Lindisfarne Gospels as other big name items they had Charlotte Bronte's manuscript of Jane Eyre (open to the obvious page) as well as Jane Austen's Persuasion and some of her notebooks.  Such a thrill.

The Tower was far more interesting than I expectly - mostly.  Was vastly underwhelmed by the Crown Jewels.  Gaudy and many of the crowns decked out with borrowed diamonds that got returned after the event they were worn for was over.  All style, not much substance.  There were signs everywhere asking for donations to help maintain the Tower.  Given that they took 17 quid off me to enter and the Queen is one of the richest women in the world I figure she can pay to maintain her own palaces. 

Had lunch in the caf in the Tower.  Tasted fine and good value for money if you thought of the price in dollars, not pounds.  I had a steak and ale pie (one of the tall ones) with mashed potatoes, mushy peas and carrots.  The pie pastry tasted as if it had been made properly with lard.  Yum.  

At the Tower I wandered the walls, looked at an exhibition of Henry VIII's armour, the Tower Edward the something (first?) lived in when in London and various other towers where famous prisoners had been kept and had carved graffiti into the walls.  The "Tower" is not a single tower but a castle complex with multiple towers and other buildings.

The London Walk of this was OK.  The guide, Brian, was a bit theatrical for my taste but it was interesting to hear the history. Most of which I knew but wouldn't have connected to the various locations without someone telling me about it so worth it.  It cost more than I expected and many people were getting a discount for reasons that were not obvious to me which all peeved me slightly. However, it was only 4 GBP more than the cost of entry to the Tower so it was value for money.  There was no queue to get in, so taking the walk didn't let you skip the queue as promised, but given how crowded the place was I could well believe there are queues to get in in high season.

Before heading out for the Tower walk I went to Paddington to buy my ticket to Moreton-in-Marsh.  Opted for the 1:30pm(-ish) one so I'll get to Chipping Campden around 4pm.  I also went to look at the square where the Cardiff Hotel I was originally planning to stay in is located.  It really is wall to wall B&B's.  I didn't see a single private house, although one of the places on the corner was some sort of doctor's surgery.  The square was a much more pleasant location than Gower Street but the whole area around it was a bit seedy.  I'm happy with my choice.  

Discovered a street full of restaurants (Charlotte Street) one street to the west of Tottenham Court Road and very close to the hotel.  All very hip and mostly crowded.  Had a double espresso at 4:30pm so was feeling better this evening.  Still wasn't hungry by 7:30pm and definitely wasn't feeling hip so just bought a sandwich, some fruit salad and water from a Tescos and ate in my room.

Walked just under 15K steps today.  Feet much less sore but lower back and knees still very painful.  Very worried re knees.  If I come across one of those Chinese massage places I'll get them to have a go at my quads.