We had planned to go to Barking Riverside and Shenfield today, but the weather forecast was a bit varied, so we opted for a more “indoor” visit to the British Library.

It’s located a stones throw from St Pancras International station, so caught our usual fast train to London Bridge and a Thameslink train to St Pancras – the latter train was very busy with holidaymakers travelling from Gatwick.

We finally escaped onto the relative quiet of Midland Road by the side of the station, and a short walk to the library itself:

By now, it was time for our morning coffee:

We then had a quick tour of the library itself – much more a working environment than a tourist attraction!

We visited the “Treasures of the British Library Exhibition”, a collection of some of the more significant works in the library. I was impressed that it also included modern culture; as well as some Beatles memorabilia, this is the original script for Monty Pythons’ Spanish Inquisition sketch:

Artifacts from around the world were also included:

It was quite dark in the exhibition space, so after a while we had a break and some fresh air, just in time to see a very heavy downpour – luckily there was plenty of shelter!

Then back to see the rest of the exhibition, including a Magna Carta:

The rain had now (mostly) stopped, so we explored the Plaza a bit more:

These are the towers of St Pancras peeking above the library:

We then tried to find a beer, but the only pub at St Pancras was VERY busy, so we gave up and caught a train to Blackfriars and had a beer in the Black Friar pub nearby – noted for its interior and external decorations:

Then back home for a cup of tea!