Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Wanderlust Wednesday: Changing of the Guard, Buckingham Palace

 

Today's Wanderlust Wednesday is a spotlight on the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace in London. Krista and I decided beforehand that we'd skip this while we were in London because we had a million other things to do and didn't think we'd have time. 

However...on our day trip to Windsor, Bath, and Stonehenge, our tour guide (who was absolutely fantastic) gave us ideas for things to do in London, plus tips for some of the more touristy things. She told us that if you want to see the changing of the guard but don't want to get to Buckingham Palace ages in advance or stand in a huge crowd (which is usually scattered with pickpockets), you should stand on the Mall, which is the long street leading straight from the palace.

So on Saturday morning, we set out with my friend JaimeKristal (who I mentioned in my London Fandom post) and headed to the Mall. I honestly thought the changing of the guard was basically a ceremony switching out the guards at the palace, but it's actually a parade. There was the Welsh Guard, the Household Cavalry, and all kinds of different types of guards. A couple of the groups were marching bands. The whole thing lasted about an hour and was really cool to see! We couldn't see the stuff going on at Buckingham Palace, but we had a great spot otherwise and there was hardly anyone around us (you can see in some of the pics that there were a lot of people across the street, so we picked the right side!). Next time I go to London, I think it'd be worth it to arrive at Buckingham Palace early, clutch my purse tight against pickpockets, and see the ceremony close-up. 

*Please note: Krista and I finally exchanged pictures when I spent part of Labour Day weekend with her, and since she has an incredible professional camera and I was just using my phone (which is awesome, but nothing compared to a pro camera!), all the pictures in this post except for the first two are Krista's*

The Mall

Me, Krista, JaimeKristal
The Household Cavalry...these are one of the only ones I can identify, and it's because Krista is obsessed with horses + men in uniform, so we ended up at the Household Cavalry twice during our week in London lol
I believe this is the Welsh guard, but don't quote me on that!


The ceremony starts and ends from St. James' Palace, which is off the Mall, so we followed them when it was over and got to see them going in there and doing some ceremonial things.

Another tip: the parade is cancelled if the weather is crappy, and it can be cancelled with little to no notice, so aim for a nice day if you plan to go. It looked like rain the day we went and Krista was worried, but luckily it didn't rain until later and the ceremony went on as usual.

 
Have you seen the changing of the guard? Did you stand at Buckingham Palace, the Mall, or Birdcage Lane? Or maybe you've seen the changing of the guard somewhere else? We saw part of it at Windsor Castle, which was really cool. If you haven't seen it, would you like to someday? I know it's not something that appeals to everyone, but if you're hesitant or on the fence, I'd say it's totally worth it! Let's talk here or on Twitter!
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4 comments:

  1. That's so cool! And yay for more pictures. <3 I want to experience it all when I travel. :)

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  2. I remember trying to figure out what the big deal with the changing of the guard was when suddenly the household cavalry came riding out. Girly sigh! We were there in the winter so they had these awesome cloaks on. I swooned!

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    1. I showed your comment to Krista and she was like 'I need to be friends with her' lol. CLOAKS. Oh man I would have swooned too.

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~Marie

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