Wimbledon Tennis And The Sky Garden - 8th August 2015

 Today I went to London on the train.

I would like to eventually travel on all the different lines into London.  So today we went on the Chiltern Mainline from Solihull to Marylebone station.

Then the fun and adventure began.

Solihull station.

Arriving into London Marylebone.

A little walk to Edgware Road which is on the District line.

All the way to Southfields, actually the closest station to Wimbledon.




Then  we walked to here Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum and Tour.

 Wimbledon.

First time for a stop in the cafe. Do  you like my Daddy's mug?

My favourite, chocolate cake!

Who's playing who?

Waiting for our tour to begin.

First we visited Court 1.

Then out the back of Court 1 to  Henman Hill.

The view of the city in the distance.

Looking down from Henman Hill.

There are some really big fish in this pond.

3000 people normally sit on the hill eating strawberry's and drinking Pimms.

This camera man looks a bit funny.

This is Court 18 where the longest match of 11 hours and 5 minutes took place in 2010.

All of the flowers around the courts are always the famous purple, green and white colour of Wimbledon.

Look how perfect the grass is on some of these outdoor courts.

I listened very carefully to our tour guide, he told us lots of facts and figures.

Looking back towards Court 1.

This is the outside of the players changing rooms and club area.

Some of the outer courts being played on by the Wimbledon club members. There is a waiting list to join the club of over 1000 people.

This is the entrance where the players arrive.

Next into the media and interview area.

I got to speak into the same microphone as all the famous players.

Finally we got to explore Centre Court, can you see the edge of the roof?

The grass has only just been reseeded since the tournament ended in mid July when it is all replaced.

Can you see where the score board normally is?

There are 15000 seats in this court.

Next to explore the museum, here is the men's singles champions trophy.

The ladies singles champion trophy.

Finally to the souvenir shop.

I now have my own Wimbledon tennis balls and magnet.

Back to the tube station (via the 493 bus)

Back on the District line to Monument station and our next adventure.

20 Fenchurch Street.

The Walkie- Talkie building the fifth tallest London Building at 38 storey's.  But guess what's at the top?

The sky garden.  It's free to enter, but you have to book in advance.

There is a lovely restaurant where you can make a reservation too.

Also there is a cafe to enjoy.

This is the outside viewing area   But you get a great view out of the windows all around the building.

Look at that view!

What buildings can you see?

Canary Wharf.

Tower Bridge.

Olympic Park.

Wembley.

Look how close we are to this A380 aeroplane.

You can see everything across London.

The floors actually get wider as they go up the building.

Having a well earned rest, we walked nearly 8 miles around London today.

Next we  travelled on a brand new  (number 15) route master bus to Leicester Square for dinner.  I was so excited to be able to use the back steps.

 Today is International Cat Day 2015

To celebrate here's a special picture of 'Auntie Willow' my cat and me.