I had to take this photo of a mailbox in London
In 1994, I had to go to London, England, for work.
At about the time I was supposed to go, there was someone lobbing mortars into Heathrow airport.
None of them exploded, but I decided to fly into Gatwick just in case.
I took the Gatwick Express into London's Victoria Station, and walked to the hotel from there.
When I was setting up the travel arrangements, I decided that I wanted to see at least one area outside of London.
I looked at the map and saw that Brighton was south of Gatwick on the same train line, so I chose to stay there the next to last night of my trip.
Then I took the train back and stayed at a hotel near Gatwick on the last night in England.
I recently found some photos I took on that trip.
It appears that in addition to a regular camera, I also had a camera with me that took panoramic photos.
There are some of both here.
However, to get the panoramic effect, it looks like it just cropped the height of the photo and didn't get a wider field of view.
Also, the following year, 1995, Karen and I took a holiday to England.
The moat was originally built by a clergyman who created something that more resembled a cesspit than a moat, so it was drained and abandonded
After buying a ticket, you wait here and a Yoeman Warder (Beefeater) will come along and be your guide -- there's one on the left
The White Tower is on the right, the building with the crown jewels is straight ahead. The White Tower is the King's palace within the Tower of London complex, and is where it gets its name. It is now used as a museum, with mostly various forms of weaponry inside. There is little to show what it was like when it was used as a palace.
Part of the tour is a visit to the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula, where many of the people who were beheaded on Tower Hill were buried. Tower Hill is located outside the castle, but Anne Boylen was executed near the chapel on Tower Green. In this photo, the chapel is on the left and the White Tower is on the right
The Yoeman Warders are retired military personnel, and are rewarded for good service with this duty on their retirement
The larger building ahead is the building that houses the crown jewels.
Here you can see the houses where the ravens live -- legend says that if the ravens leave, the Tower and the Monarchy will fall
London Bridge is just a plain bridge, so I do not have any photos of it. But the next couple of photos are views of Tower Bridge taken from London Bridge.
This is a view of a street at the southern end of London Bridge. Down below, on the right, is The London Dungeon, a museum displaying various torture techniques used throughout history.
Located near the northern end of London Bridge. I didn't know what it was at the time, I just saw it and snapped a quick photo of it. It is 202 feet tall and has 311 steps up to the viewing platform.
I took the train or underground from London, and probably walked from the station to Hampton Court. The ticket booth is on the left.
Looking in the direction of the aquarium and the pier. There are shops and restaurants on the pier, along with a game room, and at the end of the pier is a fairground with amusement rides. I had some fish & chips and spotted dick at a restaurant on the pier. In February of 2003, there was a fire that destroyed one of the rides in the fairground. Then, in March of 2003, most of the structures on the west pier were destroyed by fire.
In this photo, the Old Ship Hotel is to the right. These are some of the shops selling Brighton Rock (candy) and Fish & Chips, along with other treats and souvenirs. This reminded me a lot of places like Atlantic City (before the casinos.)