From Highgate to the gates of hell

My last full day in London, at least until my brief return next week. I decided to move more slowly for a change, so after breakfast I spent some time catching up with blog posts and getting somewhat organized for packing in the morning. The weather continued overcast and with a little drizzle -- far short of a downpour.

The deluge came later in the day as I headed out for a guided walk in Highgate. You can't really know what you'll find weather-wise when you come up out of the Underground. In this case I found rain coming down in buckets, though it did ease somewhat by the time we set off. Believe it or not, I was not the only nutcase who showed up to walk around Highgate village in the rain. There were at least 10-12 others, though most (not all) seemed to be American or Australian.

It was a pleasant walk if not compelling and you see a lot of enviable houses with famous connections ranging from Samuel Taylor Coleridge (rampant drug addiction) to George Michael (sentenced in London for drink driving only this week -- do you sense a recurring theme here?), some inviting pubs, churches with various historical associations, etc., etc. If the weather had been clear there would have been spectacular views out over London. I want to come back sometime on a nice day.

I got a good walk out of it in any case, though my cheap folding umbrella finally sprung one too many leaks (there were three spokes sticking out by the end of this walk -- dangerous!). The first thing I did when I got back to Earls Court was buy a new umbrella and the nice shop lady ditched the old one for me. The new one is totally space age. It opens and closes automatically and could probably be said to have an infrastructure. You can't beat Britain for finding a good umbrella.

Next up, the fabled Jack the Ripper walk:

Again, construction work on the Underground posed a few logistical challenges. I made my way to Aldgate and kind of fumbled around some not-very-lovely streets until I found the Tower and Tower Hill, jumping off point for most if not all Ripper walks. Obviously, I needed to be well-fed before starting out, and once again it's Wagamama to the rescue, not a stone's throw from the Tower. In spite of unpredictable fits and starts in Underground travel I seem to be able to time things well, so I didn't have to bolt down my Yaki Udon. By the way, that particular branch has spectacular views of the Tower and Tower Bridge. I was surprised, but feeling lucky, that it was practically empty at 6:45 on Sunday evening and at that time the scenery was gorgeous -- high gray clouds, but no rain and lots of light.

There are indeed several companies running Jack the Ripper walking tours from Tower Hill and it was a small mob scene outside the Tube station. You can go on one of these walks any night of the week, 365 days a year. But Sunday is the night to go because that is the night that London Walks' "Jack the Ripper Haunts" walking tour is sure to be led by Donald Rumbelow, the world's foremost Ripperologist. I kid you not. I read up on this, I planned for it, and it was pretty much everything it was cracked up to be.

Earlier in the day, I had been chatting with an American business man who told me it was kind of hokey, but all Ripper tours are not created equal, and I didn't think it was hokey at all. First off, Donald is a former City of London policeman and has written two books on Jack the Ripper. He even took Johnny Depp on a private tour in preparation for playing Inspector Abberline in From Hell. He has an impressive voice, an engaging manner and he knows just about everything there is to know about Jack. Jack is, of course, endlessly, morbidly fascinating. I think there were about 100 people gathered for this tour, though a few were willing to go along with another London Walks guide. I was not about to be foisted off , it was Donald or no one for me.

We started out at 7:30 when it's light, but as you work your way from sites where bodies were found in the City (now home of glassy skyscrapers) to those in the old East End (outside the City proper), darkness falls. Donald has a great ability to set the scene and flesh out the personalities of the victims and some of the detectives who worked on the case. More than anything else, I felt so much sorrow and sympathy for the victims of such ghastly murders, who were leading such miserable lives to start with.

By the time it's over and Donald has stopped to sign books for the punters (and very graciously offered to lead those who will wait to the Underground at Liverpool Street), you feel you have had an Experience. I do recommend it!