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The Inside Guide To London

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Welcome to the Inside Guide to London

Hello, this lens is a mini version of the site - The Inside Guide to London - which launched in October 2009. Useful as the Internet is, you can often be swamped with information, especially if you're using peer-review sites. There's also the sneaking suspicion, on occasion that some reviewers have ulterior motives (say - the owner of a restaurant writing a glowing review for it). Many existing guides about London can also suffer from the following symptoms:

  • Dry and fusty in style 
  • Too much information
  • Patchy review sites 
  • Old style HTML 
  • Opinion-less: everything's listed

Approaching this as a traveller myself (I've been around a bit), The Inside Guide to London focuses on the must-see places. To mix the essential visitor places to go (the London Eye is hardly original - but it's a lot of fun), with unique and original places: which would ordinarily take years to discover.

The Inside Guide to London is an homage to London. With 15 million visitors from other countries per year (the next highest Bangkok and Paris - trail by 5 million). It's fair to say - it gets a lot of love.

 

If you like the lens - skip over to The Inside Guide to London. It's not selling anything. Just cutting through the chaff!

The Inside Guide to London

  1. Sights and Attractions
  2. The London Eye - Fireworks
  3. London Eye and a Riverbus Cruise
  4. Tower Bridge, the Tower of London and the Monument
  5. What's your interest in London?
  6. The Inside Guide to London's Photostream - Flickr
  7. The British Museum and the Inns of Court
  8. Motorcycle stunt-jump across Tower Bridge - 2009
  9. The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garrett
  10. St. Paul's and the Tate Modern
  11. London Docklands and Canary Wharf
  12. The Palace At Westminster
  13. Recommended Books about London
  14. The Wallace Collection - Hertford House
  15. The Wallace Collection - Hertford House
  16. Twitter Debate - Let's follow each other on Twitter
  17. Say Hello!
  18. The Kingdom of Squid

Sights and Attractions

You're probably going to want to start here. London has been a settlement of some size for about 2,000 years. Consequently, there are a lot of places to see. However, my approach is two-fold. I'm not adding anything which doesn't warrant the entry price and I like to cluster attractions together. This is handy, as sights like the Eye take about an hour or so of queuing, a 30 minute ride - then what to do? I like to balance 'charm and alarm' too - if you do something to pump the adrenaline, then maybe take it easy with the next activity.

I also appreciate lots of pictures, so there's a link to the Inside Guide to London's photostream on Flickr too. Let's begin!

The London Eye - Fireworks

Big Ben chimes and the London Eye

New Year's Day 2009 - fireworks display. Like most people watching this at the time. I expected the fireworks to be good. But not *that* good. Almost unbelievable.
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London Eye and a Riverbus Cruise

The London Eye is one of those ideas that caused outrage when it was announced. I was working for British Airways at the time and condemnation of the idea was universal (I disagreed). Since it first opened it's been drawing the crowds and visitors love it. The Eye was supposed to have been dismantled 4 years ago (just as the Eiffel Tower in Paris, was supposed to be a temporary exhibit), but those plans have since been shelved. There are higher wheels which have been built since, but few that could be located more centrally.

It rotates continuously, so you have to get on and off while it's moving (very slowly) and takes about half an hour to complete a revolution. Not recommended if you don't have a head for heights - but you hardly need me to tell you that.

Don't pay for a cruise, get a Travelcard which covers the Thames, then you can hop on and off. It's the stylish way to flit about town. Also, London was built when the river was the main form of transport. Many of the buildings show their best side to boat traffic - not car traffic.

More about the London Eye.

Current Weather in London

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Tower Bridge, the Tower of London and the Monument

These three fit well together, as you can walk between them and stretch the pins at the same time. Tower Bridge has a superb view from the upper walkway, which was shut in the early 1900s - as it was rife with prostitution. It took over 70 years to re-open. The Tower of London will be tourist -heavy but it consistently gets the highest feedback rates from visitors. The Monument (to the Great Fire) is another fascinating view, a short walk away. It marks the distance (202ft) from the base to Thomas Farynor's Bakery in Pudding Lane. One of his ovens was the source of the Great Fire in 1666. Oops. Only 6 people died however, and it did put an end to the Great Plague of 1665, which killed over 20,000 Londoners.

What's your interest in London?

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The Inside Guide to London's Photostream - Flickr

Albert Hall and Memorial by Inside Guide To London
30 St. Mary Axe - AKA the 'Gherkin' by Inside Guide To London
The Old Naval College, Greenwich by Inside Guide To London
St. Paul's Cathedral, London by Inside Guide To London
Greenwich Hill and Park by Inside Guide To London
Nelson's Column - Trafalgar Square by Inside Guide To London
Irish Guards by Inside Guide To London
Embankment Lights by Inside Guide To London
The Clock Tower - Palace of Westminster by Inside Guide To London
Greenwich Picnic by Inside Guide To London
View towards Docklands from Flamsteed House in Greenwich Park. by Inside Guide To London
Staple Inn, Holborn by Inside Guide To London
Inner Temple Gardens by Inside Guide To London
Canary Wharf, London Docklands by Inside Guide To London
Bird Perched Next to the Thames by Inside Guide To London
Trafalgar Square at Night in the Rain by Inside Guide To London
Buckingham Palace in London by Inside Guide To London
Changing the Guard - the Grenadiers. by Inside Guide To London
Westminster Abbey Entrance. by Inside Guide To London
The Palace of Westminster, Portcullis House and the Eye. by Inside Guide To London
The Palace of Westminster by Inside Guide To London
The London Eye by Inside Guide To London
Old Bond Street - London by Inside Guide To London
Chuchill and Roosevelt in Bond Street. by Inside Guide To London
Tower Bridge and City Hall by Inside Guide To London
Docklands from Greenwich Hill by Inside Guide To London
The Great Court @ the British Museum by Inside Guide To London
Millennium Bridge and St. Paul's by Inside Guide To London
curated content from Flickr

The British Museum and the Inns of Court

Everyone knows the British Museum, it's huge, has a funky interior (The Great Court - pictured) and is brimming with untold riches. There's no easy way to cover it, just wander. Highlights for me include: The Lewis Chessmen, Helmet from the Ship Burial at Sutton Hoo and the writing tablets from the Roman Fort at Vindolanda (they topped a recent poll of Britain's greatest treasure). Nearby, the Inns of Court are interesting havens of greenery and British pomp and ceremony, which few visitors see. They're not easy to find, but the Inside Guide Website tells you how.

Inner and Middle Temple house the 'Temple Church', formed by the Knights Templar in the early 12th century, to protect pilgrims travelling to the Holy Land. It's frequently name-checked in Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code", but is notoriously difficult to track down. The entrance to these Courts is via a small door at the base of what looks like a building, but is in fact a gatehouse to the street behind. Access is permitted however, so just go on through.

More about Temple Church and the Inns of Court here
More about the Inns here

Motorcycle stunt-jump across Tower Bridge - 2009

Robbie Maddison jumped across the open Tower Bridge in July 2009. The distance wasn't great, sure, but it's a long way down and he backflipped it.
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The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garrett

Nobody likes hospitals, but at least be thankful you weren't around to experience their toddler years. The Old Operating Theatre Museum is located in the roof of the St Thomas's Church, near London Bridge. Prior to its creation, operations were carried out in the women's ward, where patients would be subjected to the sight (and with no general anaesthetic - the sound) of their peers undergoing major surgery. Rest, was not a major recuperative consideration at the time, and it's difficult to imagine how they were able to sleep at all.

The Apothecary's Act of 1815, which required apprentices to 'attend', created a need for space and an environment where potential students could share and learn new techniques. This became impractical in restricted ward space, so the roof was selected as the most appropriate site for this operating 'theatre'.

The skylight above, provided ample lighting for the complex and often exploratory procedures, and the raised standings surrounding the operating table, afforded the attendees an unrestricted view. Enabling them to learn both the techniques and which tools were most appropriate for each procedure.

The Herb Garrett was originally the St. Thomas's Apothecary, and is also situated in the roof for two compelling reasons. Firstly: rats, which were the scourge of all Londoners, would find it more difficult to contaminate the valuable dried plants that were used, when stored above ground. Secondly, the large timber beams absorbed moisture from the atmosphere - preventing spoilage. Usefully, they also prevented fluctuations in humidity, because of their sheer size.

It's worth remembering that some plants - such as nutmeg, were thought to protect against the plague, meaning their value soared during outbreaks. People walking through known, plague-infested areas of the city, would protect themselves with a 'posy' (a small bag containing herbs and spices) covering their nostrils. Nutmeg was an essential component of these medicinal blends, but also incredibly rare; only growing on one small island in the Dutch East Indies. The book 'Nathaniel's Nutmeg' by Giles Milton, is an excellent account of this period in British History when herbs, spices and medicines, were both in great demand, but also, little understood by professionals and the public.

St. Paul's and the Tate Modern

On opposite sides of the Thames, these are now popular bedfellows, thanks to the addition of the Millennium Bridge. It's London's newest bridge and exclusively for pedestrian use. In its early life it was something of a wobbler, but they solved that problem and these days it's quite safe.

After visiting St. Paul's (don't forget to visit the galleries in the dome - they're the best part), cross the road and head south over the bridge, to the Tate Modern at Bankside. This was a former Power Station (built by the architect behind Battersea Power Station: Sir Giles Gilbert Scott) which was converted to a modern art gallery (part of the Tate group) in 2000. Its cavernous interior makes it a popular place to hang out and watch the world go by. Check the restaurant upstairs for one of the best views in town.

There's plenty to see nearby, including further east along the Thames: Shakespeare's Globe, Hays Galleria, Borough Market, Southwark Cathedral, City Hall and Tower Bridge. Just follow the herd along Thames Walk. It's a traffic-free zone.

More about St. Paul's and the Tate Modern.

London Docklands and Canary Wharf

The London Docklands are centred around Canary Wharf, on the Isle of Dogs. In the middle-ages, the area was wild swampy marshland, roamed by wolves and wild dogs - hence the name. With the inevitable march of progress, the docks which were further upstream, expanded as the British Empire grew. South of the Isle of Dogs lies Greenwich, the Prime Meridian and site of the Royal Naval College and the World Heritage site of Maritime Greenwich. Britain's seafaring past is intrinsically linked to this small section of the Thames.

During the 19th and 20th centuries, the Isle of Dogs and its docks grew in importance. That changed however, after the second world war. The contraction of the British Empire, led to a considerable drop in income. Coupled to this, the growth in air travel and freight, meant that shipping declined outright as an industry. Later requirements for container based shipping also meant that old ports - like London - situated far upstream in relatively shallow rivers, were simply not viable and so the decline of sea-trade in this area, was considerable.

In the mid 1980s this was addressed by the formation of the Docklands Development Corporation, which began to redevelop the derelict dock sites. It was no small task and Olympia & York who built 'One Canada Square', the tallest building, later went into liquidation when the property bubble burst in the late eighties.

Today the region rivals the 'City' as the main focus for financial services in the UK and is choc-full of converted Victorian warehouses, flash cars and people talking loudly and importantly into their mobiles (we don't care).

You can take the DLR (Docklands Light Railway) from either Bank or Tower Gateway in the City, stop off in Canary Wharf and then head on to Greenwich. They're all in zone 1 and 2, so you can manage it on a daily pass.

While you're there - try the pubs along Narrow Street in Limehouse - or consult the Inside Guide to London Site for more tips and ideas.

London: Flights and Rooms

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The Palace At Westminster

Often referred to as the 'Houses of Parliament' this is the seat of government for the United Kingdom, based in Westminster.

London was formed by the merger of two settlements - the ancient Roman city of Londinium (formed over 2,000 years ago) and the city of Westminster. The original Roman settlement was given a formal boundary, which still exists today and is the financial centre of London - often referred to as the 'City' or 'Square Mile'. Westminster grew in stature and size after the construction of several successive abbeys, the current one dating from approximately 1,000 years ago. Westminster Palace was one of the monarch's residences and his advisory council, the Curia Regis, would meet to discuss issues of State. When Henry the VIIIth moved to the larger Palace of Whitehall (very nearby), Parliament (which succeeded the Curia Regis in 1215) stayed at Westminster.

A devastating fire in 1834 destroyed the palace, except for Westminster Hall and the Jewel Tower. The Jewel Tower is opposite the Sovereign's Entrance of the palace (the tall bit) and was designed to be tough since it's a stronghold (hence the name). Unlike the Palace at Westminster, it is open to the public.

There was an immediate call for a new Palace to be constructed. With the Independence of the United States and the popularity of neo-classical architecture there (The White House, Capitol Hill) - Charles Barry and Augustus Pugins' design was selected, adopting the Gothic-revivalism style, it was seen as ultra-conservative, to quash any ideas of self-rule in the so-called 'colonies' of the day.

It's spectacular, but extracted the ultimate price from Barry and Pugin. Both died before it's eventual completion - as costs spiralled and the stress of managing the project set in. Pugin was admitted to 'Bedlam' asylum, and although was later released, he died shortly thereafter in his early forties.

The bell (as everyone knows) is called 'Big Ben' and the tower is called 'The Clock Tower' (sometimes the 'Victoria Clock Tower'). The chimes on the hour spell out a tune - from Handel's 'My Redeemer Liveth'. The lyrics are as follows.:

All through this hour,
Lord be my guide;
And by thy power,
no foot shall slide.

Bong, Bong (etc.)

More about Westminster Palace.

Recommended Books about London

Amazon - you could do a lot worse than shop on Amazon. There are some fantastic books about London, which are the focus of this module. If you have any suggestions - then please drop me a comment. Thanks.
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The Wallace Collection - Hertford House

The Wallace Collection: situated in Manchester Square, just north of Oxford Street, is probably the best, least-visited gallery in town. You'd be hard-pressed to find more impressive, art, furniture, weapons, armour or decorative interiors, anywhere in the world. It's also common during less busy weekdays, to have a whole room to yourself.

The world-renowned range of fine and decorative arts dating from the 15th to the 19th centuries, is distributed across 25 tastefully arranged galleries. In amongst all the sumptuous mirrors, chandeliers, mantelpieces and the like, are world-renowned masterpieces. Including pieces by Canaletto, Boucher, Titian, Rubens, Rembrandt, Velásquez, Watteau, Gainsborough, Reynolds and probably the most famous painting in the collection - the Laughing Cavalier - by Franz Hals.

The gallery has a very capable restaurant in the courtyard (covered), so try to set some time on your trip aside for it. It's a short detour from Oxford Street.

The Wallace Collection - Hertford House

While not exactly difficult to find, your chances of stumbling upon it - are remote.

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The Kingdom of Squid

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