Kensington Palace

Kensington Palace is a Royal Residence. The Royal Family has owned it since the 17th century. It is best known now as the home of Pincess Diana. She lived here from 1981, when she married Prince Charles, until her death in 1997.

Is is still a residence to members of the Royal Family. It is the official residence of the Duke of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent and Price Michael of Kent, along with their families. Prince Harry also stays in here on occasion.

Parts of the Palace are open to the public. There is an exhibit honoring Princess Diana. The State Apartments have exhibits covering the history of the palace from the time of William and Mary up to young Queen Victoria, who lived here as a child.

Canal Boats

Canals in the United Kingdom date back to the days of the Romans. Over the centuries they were constantly improved and lengthened. But they reached their peak use during the 18th and 19th Centuries. During the later part of the 19th century, railroads increasingly took cargo away from the canal boats.

Today, canal boats are used for mobile homes and for passenger travel, mainly tourist. It is an unique way of seeing London. Just a short distance away from the hustle and noise of the city, these boats slowly and calmly make their way through tree lined canals.

We took "Jason's Original Canal Boat Trip" along the Regent Canal from Little Venice to Camden Lock. The trip takes less than an hour. It was a nice relaxing trip, very enjoyable.

Clock Tower

This is a picture of the Clock Tower taken from the Thames. The Clock Tower is connected to the Parilment Buildings which are the Palace of Westminister. The orginial palace that was on this site was a residence of the Royal Family until it was destroyed by fire in 1512. After this, it became the meeting place of Parilment and has been ever since.

The Clock Tower is often called Big Ben. Big Ben is actually the nickname for the largest bell in the tower. The bell weighs over 13 tonnes. The nickname is often used to refer not just to this bell, but also the clock and the tower.

The first Clock Tower on this site was built in 1288. The present tower was built in 1834. When it was built, it was the largest four faced clock in the world. On the clock faces, in Latin, are the words, "O Lord, keep safe our Queen Victoria the First."