Howdy My Western Hearts, in this post of Tales for the Trail, I will tell you about the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace, I hope you all are having a great week and if you are celebrating Christmas I hope you are hanging in there with all the hustle and bustle that the holidays bring.
As promised in my last post, I would tell you about my visit to The Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace. First of all, I had never heard of the Royal Mews until my amazing, well-traveled friend told me about it as were bouncing around on the Big Red Bus in cold, foggy, grey London.
Never had heard of a mews before, let alone a royal mews.
The definitions of a mews, primarily a British noun
The Royal Mews is responsible for road transport for The Queen and members of the Royal Family by both horse-drawn carriage and motor car. Incidentally it is one of the finest working stables still in existence, responsible for the training the horses that pull the royal carriages.
The Royal Mews houses and maintains all state vehicles, including carriages used for royal and State occasions, such as weddings and State Visits. If you would like more detailed information regarding the Royal Mews, please click here.
When you walk in to the Royal Mews the first thing you see is some of the royal carriage horses. A real feast for a horse lovers eyes, these beautiful Windsor Greys stand on average 16.1 hands high (a hand is 4 inches) and they are known for their calm quiet temperament. Obviously a good match for pulling the royal carriages we would see next on our tour.
We got to meet 2 of the royal horses, Storm and Claudia. Now Claudia seemed perhaps a little bit shy or maybe just bored with the whole, “ooohhh and aahhh” all day long but Storm was breathtaking. I know, I am a horse women, I shouldn’t get so caught up in this but REALLY? He was cool. He really seemed to be proud to stand and have his photo taken, Claudia on the other hand was in the corner staying out of the lime light. Typical dude…Poor Claudia probably does all the work…At any rate here is Storm, isn’t he gorgeous?
I have to say seeing these carriages up close was a thrill, sure you see them on the telly but to see them live was really something. The craftsmanship and attention to detail was amazing. Nothing at all like my little 2 seated cart that I bounce around in on the trails around home, these are so fancy, elegant and truly amazing pieces of art.
Take a look at some of the photos
Queen Alexandra’s State Coach
The Irish State Coach
And last but not least the
The Gold State Coach
The Gold State coach has been used at every coronation since that of George IV in 1821. Amazing!
The tour is a self guided tour, you can rent head phones and get all the information that you want…or not.
There was other coaches, autos and a fabulous indoor riding arena that I would just once in my life love to ride in, it even smelled inviting.
As all things, there must be an end and we ended up in the gift shop for a little shopping. The items in the shop, as you can imagine were very fancy, full of tea and beautiful wares. I didn’t have much money to spend but I decided to purchase this cute little guy and I proceeded to take many photos of him the rest of the day in London. Sadly I left him in the taxi at the end of the evening and he has not been seen since…He was for a very special someone waiting for me at home…ah the disappointment. Really quite sad…
So I did what I thought I should do…I contacted Santa, yep the man in red, wanted to know if he could swing by the Royal Mews before he heads to our house on Christmas eve…Will Christmas magic pay off…Will keep you posted on that one, wish us luck!
Here he is last seen with his buddy…if you see him, tell him we miss him and we hope he finds his way into Santa’s sleigh
I can’t believe this year is coming to an end, I will try to do one more post before the craziness of the holidays is upon me next week, if I don’t get to a post, please have a happy and safe holiday and many, many blessings in the New Year! Any resolutions you care to share? Fill us in! Comment now!
Until next time, happy healthy trails! Look forward to continuing our UK adventure with you all next year!
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Storm is a gorgeous horse and those carriages! So sorry you don’t have your little Storm with you – hope Santa comes through. The pictures are beautiful.
I hope Santa pulls through too! Was a fun post to write…Thanks for stopping by Tami! Loved your Christmas Tree post on your blog
I’m sure this post will be an eye opener for a lot of tourists who visit London, Lisa, because there is so much to see! My favorite as a child was Madame Tussaud’s Museum and I loved the changing of the guards.
You have made me curious Vatsala, I need to investigate Madame Tussaud’s Museum…going to Google it now… Thanks for stopping by!
Love the photos of the carriages and the history and definition of what a Mews is. I had no idea before reading this, Lisa. It sounds like anyone visiting London would miss a fabulous tour it they chose not to visit the Royal Mews. It must have been so wonderful for you to see the horses so close up and personal and to have this inside look at what sounds like one of the amazing places (among many) to see while in London. Hope Santa come through for you. Happy Holidays!
Hi Beverley Thanks for stopping by My Western Heart. I am curious how many tourist see the Royal Mews, even if not a horse lover, it was fun to see the royal carriages and even the cars are housed there. We will see if Santa comes through…keeping fingers crossed…I have a feeling it will be a late Santa gift.
What a beautiful time you had there, Lisa; the horse is so precious!
Oh, and the self-guided tours are the best. Many museums and other places in Europe are offering them more and more. I think we can learn a lot this way, better than from reading – at least in my experience.
Yes Delia, the nice thing about the self guided tour was I could go at my own pace…and take pictures Yay!! Thanks for stopping by!
What a great trip. I love horses too. You are very lucky to see those beautiful creatures! thanks for sharing
Thanks Renee Fuller for stopping by, it was really something to see and a great learning experience