http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/ Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love, live in or have just visited - are what make this guide. http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18180 Victoria Park just down the road to sit and unwind in!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18180 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16346 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16346 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/15088 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/15088 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/13657
It is operated by GLL so facilities are spartan but it is fab and clean. Entry is less than £4 and the pool is open from 6.30am (mon-fri) or 8am to 8pm.

Lockers are poolside (20p) and changing rooms and showers are inside and out. There is also sunbathing space around the pool.

It is a blissful place to plough up and down: no gimmicky wave machines or even inflatables here.

Be aware, though, that if it really really rains, then you will be thrown out of the pool as visibility is reduced.

Sad irony that London summers mean that it is too wet to swim.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/13657 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/13570 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/13570 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/13380 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/13380 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11707
You look past the green lawns and Palladian architecture below, across the Thames, past the Dome and Canary Wharf, to the whole of north London spread out on its hills above the metropolis. Nowhere else do you get this feeling of the sheer scale of the city, and binding it all together, the sluggish grey ribbon of the river.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11707 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/7321
The National Maritime Museum is close by (at the bottom of the hill, on the edge of the park) and is also worth a look, as is the Queen’s House. The Observatory is part of the Greenwich World Heritage site.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/7321 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/7269
You can wander freely through the outdoor areas of the Inns of Court on weekdays, during business hours, and picnics are permitted on weekdays in the spacious gardens of Gray's Inn, called "the Walks”. This is a remarkable privilege since all four Inns of Court are still the main workplaces for large numbers of barristers.

The Inner Temple offers the added attraction of Temple Church (built c. 1200), one of five medieval round churches in England and as stunning architecturally as it is unusual.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/7269 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/5913 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/5913 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3401 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3401 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3293 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3293 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3271 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3271 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3224 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3224 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3222
From there it is only a short walk to Canary Wharf under the progressively larger shadow of the skyscrapers. On the Wharf there are restaurants, serious shopping in the indoor malls, and best of all the Jubilee Line and DLR to take you home again.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3222 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3208 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3208 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1734
It was an intimate, friendly place - it's lost its intimacy because it's more popular now, but its still a great place for a summer day's relaxing. Take a picnic...]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1734 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1230 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1230 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/964 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/964 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/784 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/784