At the deli
The day started damp and cloudy but that was to change and the rest of the day was dry and warm. We started in ritual fashion by visiting the deli for coffee.
Wharton Street
Afterwards, we walked down Wharton Street and…
Percy Circus
…passed through the lovely Percy Circus.
St Pancras Station
Following a path through a maze of streets that only Tigger could negotiate with aplomb, we arrived at St Pancras Station where we were to meet a relative arriving by train.
King’s Cafe
We three made our way to a cafe that we had “discovered” during an earlier visit to the area (see Strolling Somers Town).
In King’s Cafe
There we enjoyed a late breakfast, early lunch or brunch – call it what you will.
St Aloysius RC Church
As last time, we passed by the RC Church of St Aloysius with its curious drum-shaped body.
St Mary’s Church Somers Town
We didn’t visit St Aloysius but a bit further on we came to St Mary’s. This posed a question: was it C of E or Catholic? It looked Catholic but didn’t say so on its information boards which Catholic churches usually do. We went in for a look.
St Martin de Porres
Inside we found Stations of the Cross and statues of saints with candles in front of them – all suggestive of a Catholic Church. St Martin of Porres (1579-1639) is apparently the patron saint of public health workers, social justice, race relations, barbers, innkeepers and the lottery. One busy saint.
Perorate from here
The font
It turns out that St Mary’s is an Anglo-Catholic church. Don’t ask me to explain what that is as I am not well informed as to the ins snd outs of all these sects and denominations. It seems there is nothing quite so good at dividing people from one another as religion.
Old cinema
Continuing on, we cane to Camden Town where this handsome building stands. I imagine it is an old cinema which has found a new purpose in life.
The Carreras Cigarette Factory
We came next to this unique building, the Carreras Cigarette Factory. Built in 1928, its design is inspired by Ancient Egypt. It is so large that it is difficult to photograph in its entirety.
Egyptian cats
Egyptian cat
The entrance is guarded by a pair of large and rather splendid Egyptian cats.
Cat motifs
There is a row of cat motifs along the length of the building though these are not so obviously Egyptian in inspiration.
Downstairs in Costa
We tarried awhile in the downstairs lounge of a local Costa Coffee.
Camden High Street
We walked up Camden High Street which was quite busy – I took this photo during a deceptively quiet moment.
Aboard the 214
We now caught a number 214 bus which carried us to Highgate Village.
Alleyway
Leaving the bus, we walked down this alleyway to…
Pleasant square
…this pleasant square where the trees are shedding their leaves for autumn.
Highgate High Street
We walked down Highgate High Street, quite a long hill with lots of interesting sights to explore, to a bus stop.
Finsbury Square
A longish ride in the number 271 bus brought us here: to Finsbury Square in Moorgate. The tower on the right is the one I mentioned in The globe-trotter of Triton Court.
Broadgate – in a mess
We walked through Broadgate which was in a mess because of building works. It seems that all open spaces are being “developed”, that is, made to disappear under buildings. Such a shame as they will never be recovered.
A pause for coffee
We made another pause at a branch of Costa that we used to visit quite often but haven’t been to for a while. It has changed and the atmosphere is different but, then, everything changes, does it not?
Liverpool Street Station
We crossed through Liverpool Street Station to Bishopsgate.
Aboard the 205
Here we caught a number 205 bus which carried us back to…
St Pancras Station
…the fairytale palace that it St Pancras Station.
Is it art?
We deposited our relative at the station and, as we were leaving, Tigger spotted this object suspended above the hurrying crowds. You can’t really see from the photo what it is but it seems to be a model of St Pancras Station.
Midland Road
We left the station into Midland Road where we caught a 214 bus back to the Angel, completely the circle of our outing.
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