Horses, Hunting and … Museums

Chigwell Riding Trust
Team at Chigwell Riding Trust

Chigwell Riding Trust is set in an adorable English town, way back in the woods and only accessible via dirt road. Dogs, ducks and chickens roam everywhere, alongside amazing horse instructors in honest-to-goodness Wellies and comfy wool sweaters.

This picturesque and registered charity was the first riding centre for people with special needs in the world and provides riding instruction for people of all ages and abilities.

Instructors are intelligent, riders are sweet, and the entire ethos of the trust is inspirational. Chigwell Riding Trust was a perfect outreach experience and I’m thrilled I had the opportunity to visit.

Yup. That's me.
Yup. That's me.

And although they wouldn’t let us ride the real horses, we all took a turn cantering on the mechanical horse at Chigwell Riding Trust. And I may not be a professional equestrian, but I held my own!

The British Museum
The British Museum

Besides my new career as a horsewoman, I’ve also fallen under the spell of  The British Museum.

The building itself is huge (approximately 9 football pitches, I’m told) and it houses over 8 million museum objects. And although I saw maybe .02% of the exhibitions, I’m still in awe of the history, beauty, age of the pieces this gorgeous museums displays.  I just wanna throw down my sleeping back and camp out until I see everything . . .

Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge
Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge

Hey Dad, this one is for you: Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge is a Tudor timber hunt-standing that dates from 1543. Looks just like the farmhouse out in Florida, Mass!

Busy, yes?

We’ve been seeing, doing, watching many sites around London, yes? (Why do many Londoners insert the question “yes” at the end of their sentences? I’m genuinely entertained and curious.)

Recent visits include:

Parliament
UK Parliament

Ray, Steve, Sarah, Bruce and Amy (ME!) with Big Ben
Ray, Steve, Sarah, Bruce and Amy (ME!) with Big Ben

Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey

Much, much, much more to come soon.

Courtesy of McDonalds

Today was my only completely free, totally unscheduled, and absolute alone day during the whole of my GSE trip. And let me say: the freedom felt nice.

Unfortunately, spending a day alone is synonomous with spending a day lost beyond belief. I was armed with maps and two weeks of London experience, but still managed to turn myself in circles.

Trying to find the National Gallery, I ended up in SoHo. Looking for the British Museum, I wound up in Trafalgar Square.

I fought through insane crowds before realizing I was stuck in the hell of Oxford Street, wandered around Borough Market twice because I wasn’t sure where the food stalls ended, and walked back and forth across the Thames a zillion times, not sure where I was going or even where I wanted to be going.

I’ve decided I need a GPS (excuse me, SatNav) chip installed in my brain.

But on the plus side, I finally got the camera / computer working! Here are a few photos from the past week.

City view from London Eye
City view from London Eye
King & Tinker Pub
King & Tinker Pub
Fern window overlooking Capel Manor.
Fern window overlooking Capel Manor.
Burrough Market
Burrough Market
Cambridge (UK not MA)
Cambridge (UK not MA)

PS: I’m hiding in the corner of a McDonalds, stealing their free WiFi. How American of me.