The City of London Guildhall – the grandmother of all parliaments!

The City of London Guildhall – the grandmother of all parliaments!

That’s what Margaret Thatcher called the City of London Guildhall - in comparison to the United Kingdom's national parliament; itself often called the mother of all parliaments. Near Gresham Street in the City of London (the City), the Guildhall has been the centre of municipal government in the City since medieval times. In fact, it [...]

Ride on London’s abandoned underground post office railway

Ride on London’s abandoned underground post office railway

We took a trip on the historic ‘Mail Rail’; London's underground post office railway that runs west to east through the centre of London. The carriages fit two people in each one – bit of a squeeze for my brother and me, but great fun! It’s an immersive experience that takes you back nearly 100 [...]

Chelsea Physic Garden

Chelsea Physic Garden

Stroll around a seventeenth apothecary’s garden, followed by afternoon tea at the café.  The Chelsea Physic Garden is a micro climate tucked away in Chelsea.  It is the oldest in England (after Oxford) and is open to the public (closed Nov-Jan).  If you’re near the King’s Road, take a cab for the 5 minute journey [...]

‘Hidden’ lunchtime restaurants near Westminster Abbey

‘Hidden’ lunchtime restaurants near Westminster Abbey

Here are two restaurants near Westminster Abbey.  You won’t meet any fellow tourists here - you’ll have done plenty of that in the Abbey itself! They both serve inexpensive, high quality meals to local Civil Servants and office workers.  Each is open to the public - and tourists with kids – but tourists would never [...]

Young Mozart in London

Young Mozart in London

The European Tour A short walk from Victoria Railway Station is the smart, cosmopolitan Orange Square in Pimlico. This is the former neighbourhood of the eight year old Mozart in London.  In the square there is a small statue of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart commemorating this.  In 1764, this was an open area with sheep and donkeys [...]