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This walk brought the history of the Thames to life for the whole family. Led by Fiona, an intertidal archaeologist we strolled along the river with stops for background facts. Then onto the part my sons had been waiting for. Clad in plastic gloves and wellies we were led down the safest path onto the foreshore outside Tate Modern and let loose to beachcomb (strictly no digging). An amazing array of items were found by the group and expertly identified by Fiona. We went home with clay pipes, a Victorian jelly mould and a piece of a 17th century 'Witch pot' tossed into the river full of pee to ward off evil spirits. And my seven-year-old son's highlight, a musket ball.
Dates and times depend on the tides so check www.walks.com and search for mudlarking. Meets at Mansion House tube. No booking needed, £8 for adults and free(!) for kids.
For macabre Victoriana take a trip round Highgate Cemetery. Sadly it is no longer open for individual roaming, but the accompanied tours are entertaining and informative. With its catacombs, statuary, grand mausoleums and famous names this latter day necropolis is a spooky but fun place to visit. Lucinda Hawksley, Charles Dickens's great, great, great granddaughter, will be giving two talks in the cemetery's chapel in February 2012.
www.highgate-cemetery.org
Swain's Lane, London N6 6PJ
+44(0)20 8340 1834
Nearest tube: Archway
Google map: bit.ly/e24iLF
London Walks is by far the best way to get to know the dramatic history of London. The informative and lively guides reveal dark secrets and hidden gems in a city you think you know. I’ve been on a number of walks and my favourites have been Jack the Ripper (go in the winter months for maximum spook factor), Little Venice and The Blitz – London at War. Depending on your particular interests there’s a walk to suit all tastes. End your walk with a hearty pub meal or a pint of British ale and you’re experiencing England at its best.
www.walks.com
* Sophie is our Been there local for London. You can view her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/london-local-sophie-mitchell-intro.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/SophieMItchell
London sightseeing in a black taxi. The guide is a licensed black cab driver and tour guide. He knows all of London and is able to take you off the beaten track too. A great idea for tourists and for seasoned Londoners - I took my boyfriend as a birthday present. Just a wonderful afternoon out.
Few of the visitors who flock to Greenwich ever set foot in neighbouring Deptford despite the fact that it too has a bustling market, historic buildings and an interesting maritime past. A good way to explore all this and more is on a new walking tour which uses information from Charles Booth’s famous study of poverty in Victorian London as the basis for an examination of how Deptford has changed over the centuries. If you’re unfamiliar with the area, the walk is a great introduction to Deptford’s ethnically diverse high street, fascinating past and award winning modern architecture. I live nearby but still learned a lot when I went on the walk recently. It is led by Sean, an actor and historian, who not only knows his stuff but can present it very well and also includes a visit to the area’s best pub. It's good value too at £10 for a three hour walk.
www.charlesboothwalks.com/charlesboothwalks/Home.html
Google map: bit.ly/nvl1Ig
I completed a tour with Context this morning (From Shakespeare to the Globe: the evolution of theatre in London), which was, in a word, fantastic. My guide, Jim, displayed incredibly detailed knowledge well beyond what I would reasonably expect his remit to have been, painting a colourful picture of the city's theatrical present and past while also sharing a great many enlightening facts about London itself in the process.
My wife and I spent three-plus hours with Lawrence Owens, who led us on Context Travel's incredibly informative "Hidden London" walking tour. Lawrence's expertise is matched by his entertaining personality, all of which makes receiving the yield of his vast knowledge quite an enjoyable experience.
Rather than offering a walking 'lecture,' Lawrence engaged us in conversation about London's past and present. It felt like we were being led around 'hidden London' by a good friend who happens to be an archaeological scholar.
It comes as no surprise that Condé Nast named Context Travel co-founder Paul Bennett a 2011 Top Travel Specialist.
Bit like a tour, but with a small group of mates. When I went, there were just four of us and a guide and we were taken around the East End of London, Shoreditch and around Old St/Brick Lane down to the canal and also went backstage to see a rehearsal. It was a really good trip.
The guide was really chilled and friendly.
My girlfriend and I recently went on a Harry Potter bus tour of London. We weren't too sure what to expect when we booked except that we love anything to do with Harry Potter. The tour went round the locations used for filming in London and the tour guide Val was really entertaining. We learnt lots about London (both real and fictional) and also picked up stuff I'd missed in both the books and the films. It was a fun and worthwhile three hours. Would highly recommend.
This website offers a web-based cycle route planner you can use to search cycle routes anywhere in Europe. The planner combines several existing, described routes to make your cycle route complete. It's a Dutch site originally, but with the English translation you can use it anyway.
A visit to London must surely include a boat trip on the Thames. Reasonably priced and interesting for everyone. I would recommend doing this early on during your trip because from the river, you can get your bearings and identify historical sites like the Tower of London that you may wish to add to your list of places to visit on land.
I’m sure that most people see the London Underground as purely functional; a means of getting to one’s intended destination with the minimum of fuss, and passing the journey engrossed in a newspaper or audio entertainment, paying little regard to the world outside their carriage.
However, I suggest that one short stretch of the network is an attraction in its own right. In fact, a journey awash with history and all available to enjoy without ever having to depart outside the stations.
Harrow & Wealdstone to Queens Park on the Bakerloo line is unique in being the only significant stretch of the London Underground which runs parallel to the National Rail network.
Harrow & Wealdstone has two station entrances. Before boarding your train, it’s worth contemplating the memorial plaque outside the main entrance. This commemorates the UK’s second worst rail disaster which occurred in October 1952, loss of life exceeding 100 people.
The newish blocks of flats at the back of the station may look prosaic, but they’ve been built on the site of rock and roll history. It is generally accepted that one of the finest bands this country has ever produced were “discovered” at the Railway Hotel, which formerly occupied this site. Who are we talking about? The Who, of course. Listen very carefully and you may hear the ghost of Pete Townshend mashing up his guitar. Take a walk round the complex and note that the flats have been named after two of the band members.
At South Kenton station facing backwards and looking out to your left, admire the Betjemanesque view of Metroland. The spire belongs to the 900 year old St. Mary’s church on Harrow-on-the-Hill.
Wembley Central station has recently had a makeover to get it looking up to scratch for the new stadium. The line now dives under the national rail network, and it’s at Stonebridge Park, facing backwards and looking out to your right that affords you a fine view of the edifice. Here you can dream for a few moments that one day your team might contest a cup final here.
Just after Stonebridge Park, you travel over the busy North Circular Road; on a winter’s evening in rush hour, the vehicle light trails can look impressive.
By the way, the tube map is misleading from here on. You train is travelling in a west to east direction, and not north to south as depicted by the map. Why? I don’t know. Send a polite enquiring email to the Transport For London people.
Approaching Harlesden, facing forward, sitting on your left, but looking out to the right, you may just see the blue corrugated biscuit factory. When independent local radio first took to the air in the 1970’s, it was to the United Biscuit Network that the stations looked to for many of their presenters and DJs, and a few later-to-become household names learned their trade at this factory.
If you’re a trainspotting enthusiast, then all along this stretch now, you’ll note plenty of activity involving shunting locomotives and their carriages. At Willesden Junction, it’s worth breaking your journey and climbing the steps to the overhead North London line, where on a clear day, good views may be afforded to the east and west, including a large car breaking plant. You can also watch the mainline trains speed on their way north to such places as Holyhead and the connecting ferries to Ireland, the picturesque Lake District, and bonnie Scotland.
It’s not really possible to see Kensal Green cemetery from the train, so here we break the rules and alight at Kensal Green station for a wander round London’s first commercial burial ground. Hopefully you’ll locate the final resting places of some famous people from the past, but one person you’ll not find is Louie The Ring.
Who’s Louie The Ring ? He got his own episode in that excellent 1970s drama Budgie, entitled: Louie The Ring Is Dead and Buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.
As the train trundles into Queens Park station via the train sheds, our journey is at an end, and you have a choice. Stay on the train which now descends into tube, and in 20 minutes you’ll be seeing the bright lights at Piccadilly Circus. Or you could cross over the platform and make the return journey and enjoy any bits you may have missed.
London duck tours is a tour bus company, but with a difference. They use world war two amphibious vehicles that were used in the D-day landings. First, you go on a land-based tour of London, with hilarious comedy, sorry did I say comedy? I meant commentary. Then you go down a slipway right next to MI6 HQ and into the Thames where you chug up and down the river for a bit. Unfortunately you cannot go too near the houses of Parliament due to terrorists, but of course there are always going to be terrorists on a bright yellow WW2 vehicle aren't there?
Get a Zone 2 Travelcard rather than Zone 1. Then go to Westminster Pier and take a boat to Greenwich (£6.80 single). There is a very informed commentary on all the sites you pass. When you get to Greenwich you can visit the Cutty Sark, market and Maritime museum, then use the Docklands Railway to get back and see all the modern sights of the East End.
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