Temple Church (Knights Templar), Twinings Tea Shop and the River Thames in London

In the freakish autumn heat last week we ventured to the Strand in London one afternoon. Situated next to the river Thames we wanted to visit three locations during the afternoon, and below I cover all three.

Temple Church and Knights Templar Effigies

Firstly we visited the Temple Church, an ancient church that many of you will know from the Da Vinci Code movie, primarily for the Knights Templar’s Effigies.

Situated near to the law courts, the main entrance is down a quiet walkway. Even before reaching the church entrance history was seeping into my pours and I knew the trip was going to be worth it.

For a few pounds each we ventured into the 12th century church. There are two main sections, one of which contains effigies of Knights Templars. Though there is much more to admire about this grand church. It has been restored many times, including by the great Sir Christopher Wren.

On the hot summer’s day, we sat down and took it all in, appreciating the history as well as the coolness of the church, with the heat beating down outside.

This wasn’t just another building, another location and I’m glad we visited this historic building.

Twinings Tea Shop

Afterwards we ventured to the Twinings shop (opposite the law courts) as any devoted tea lover should if in the area.

The small shop has a small history display and information at the very back, but that truth be told only took a minute to admire, it was the selections of tea that lined the shelves that were so alluring.

Some I believe more expensive than in supermarkets, but they made up for this by presenting choice, including Twining teas I’ve not seen in my local supermarkets. Some of the tea were available as individual tea bags, so for ten pence per tea bag, we choose a selection to try.

Sitting along the River Thames

Afterwards we strolled down to the river, brought a couple of cold drinks from a nice lady outside the tube station, and found a seat along the pave as many others had and admired the river Thames.

Docked was a ship hosting some event or other, but other than the traffic, the location was quite relaxing with the Thames waves crashing upon the old mooring stones.

Hope you found this blog post regarding London interesting, especially as more are to follow.