Essential London | The top sights in London and beyond
The best cultural and historical sights in London and beyond.
Fascinating to visit the refurbished Cast Court at the Victoria & Albert Museum in Kensington. Reopened in 2019 after six years of renovation, but then interrupted by Covid, the Cast Court has displayed plaster copies of renowned sculpture since the 1880s. Owing to being indoors, Trajan’s Column is better preserved than the original in Rome [...]
Bermondsey is a thriving business and social area on the south side of the River Thames. It found prominence as the location of Bermondsey Abbey in the middle ages. The abbey was dissolved during Tudor times and the area developed into the centre of London's leather processing industry - many of the street names bear [...]
Brick Lane, in London's East End, is an eclectic mix of shops, restaurants, market stalls and street art installations. Here are a few shots taken in late 2021. (Nearest tube station: Aldgate East).
Part 2: Monuments, places of worship, Clapham at war - and essential pubs and cafes! Monuments, statues and markers Boundary markers, dotted throughout Clapham, are parish boundary markers delineating Clapham from Wandsworth and Battersea. The history of Clapham’s local government is beyond the scope of this short book, but here are the basics from the [...]
This is part one of a two-part article on one of London’s best places to live. The article covers the sights to see in Clapham, South West London. You’ll discover compelling facts about the area, its residents and renowned architecture. Plus, an awesome selection of pubs and cafes to visit! Introduction Clapham is perhaps best [...]
The foundations of empire At the dawn of World War I, Britain ruled over a quarter of the world’s land mass, comprising over four hundred million subjects belonging to an empire with, broadly, four types of British rule. Firstly, the five settler colonies or ‘Dominions’ of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Newfoundland. These [...]
Here is a pub-walk through one of London's most historical and well-heeled residential areas. Mayfair, named after its raucous annual fair, was purpose-built during the mid to late-1700's. Many wealthy residents moved here from Soho - where they had lived after the devastating Great Fire of London of 1666. Sir Richard Grosvenor engaged Thomas Barlow [...]
Lincoln’s Inn Fields is named after the former recreation ground for lawyers learning and practising their profession at the adjacent Lincoln’s Inn - one of London's four Inns of Court still operating today. Originally, two separate fields, it was home to public executions before becoming a training ground for parliamentarian troops during the English Civil [...]
Tower Bridge, the City of London and the Tower of London greet nightfall after twilight in early March. All awaiting a return to normality.
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is renowned world-wide as being the 'mother of all parliaments' This post is a self-guided walk through the heart of political Westminster. The walk starts in Smith Square, Westminster, home to party HQ's, lobbyists and political associations and ends in Trafalgar Square. It will take you around three hours, [...]