Wellington Arch

We visited both Wellington Arch and also Apsley House ( by Hyde Park Corner) still owned by the present Duke of Wellington . I have visited the Arch before..you can go up to the third floor and look out…see extras. Looking towards Knightsbridge with the Lanesborough Hotel which used to be a hospital and looking towards Hyde park with Apsley House on the right....you can also see the wall of Buckingham Palace but the gardens are obscured by mature trees. . When the arch was built it was in a different position facing the entrance to Hyde Park but was moved when the roundabout was made to accommodate more motor traffic! There is a display about the Rifles Regiment on the second floor as it overlooks a big memorial to them and another on the first floor about the design of the arch and the different sculptures that have been on the top. The one of Wellington on his horse which is nearby ( in second extra) was there for a trial period but the final version which is there now was not put in place until 1912 and it was made in a forge at Walton-on  Thames( now defunct but I know the building) . 

Apsley House was much more interesting than I had anticipated…it had an excellent guided audio system with small handheld tablets. Such an opulently decorated building inside and with so many paintings on the walls, many being from the Spanish Royal collection originally looted from Spain but then given to Wellington later. I learnt a lot about the Duke of Wellington who was so admired by the British public after his success at Waterloo, more so than Nelson!