London - a quick guide

"Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford."
— Samuel Johnson

History

The name London has an uncertain etymology. 2000 years ago the Romans came and made Londinium in what was then porbably sporadic settlements amongst the marshlands formed by the river Thames. Boudicca levelled the city in her uprising but the city was rebuilt. After the Romans left, London fell into something of a decline but her favoured trading position by the river meant a revival, by the turn of the first millenium it was the largest and most prosperous city in Britain but still not the official capital which was then Winchester. Surviving the Great Plague in 1665 and the Great Fire the following year, London eventually became the centre of the largest Empire the world has ever seen. During the Blitz in World War II the city was heaily damaged. Today it is home to about 8 million people, a figure that swells to about 12 million as commuters travel in to work. Although the capital of England, London is home to a multitude of nationalities, it is one of the true international cities of the world.

This is a short guide. In writing it I've become even more aware of what the city has to offer and how much I have probably missed.

There are five airports in and around London. Heathrow is the largest in the west, Gatwick the second largest to the south of the city, Stansted Airport is situated to the north of the city, Luton Airport is also to the north and in London itself is a relatively small airport called City Airport situated near to the City, the financial district, which is used mainly by businessmen.

The are major train stations dotted around central London where you can catch direct trains to most places in the country. Waterloo is just south of the river, Victoria heads you out west, Charing Cross links the south east as does London Bridge, to head north go to Euston Station and Liverpool Street station will lead you out towards Essex and East Anglia. Many of these stations have much to admire in themselves, still possessing beautiful Victorian iron work with arching sheds. St Pancras is now home to the Eurostar which links London with the continent via the Channel Tunnel, a trip to Paris will take about two hours.

The London Underground or the Tube is the oldest metropolitan underground in the world with over 250 stations. Its map is a thing of beauty in itself. Oyster cards allow easy access to stations. These cards can be topped up and each journey will deduct the fare. Some of the outerlying stations are beautiful – my favourite is Southgate Station which looks like a space ship from the thirties.

London buses are everywhere and distinctively red. Some are now bendy in the middle while most are double deckers. A few of the iconic routemaster still run, these you jump onto from a step at the back and you pay a conductor – the driver is left to drive.

The river is something a visitor should not miss, there are river taxis and the different perspective from the river is special. There are tourist boats as well that provide a potted history and commentary of the various sights as you travel along.

London possesses its fair share of iconic buildings:

Tower Bridge, famous for being able to raise its road in order to allow tall ships to pass through, has an exhibition where you can learn all about this famous old bridge.

Nearby is the Tower of London; a royal prison and the end of the road for many a toff and even a few royals. Originally built by William the Conqueror to cement his conquest of Engand from 1066. The Crown Jewels are housed here and on view. The Tower has an extensive collection of weaponry and armour in its armoury. Beefeaters are the guardsmen that patrol the grounds.

St Pauls cathedral, designed by Sir Chrispher Wrenn, is in the city and was where Charles and Diana were married. It is also the centrepiece of an iconic world war two picture in which the cathedral stands defiant amongst smoke, fire and searchlights.

Houses of Parliament – where the government and the opposition shout at each other. Includes Big Ben which, strictly speaking, is the bell that tolls its distinctive tune across the city but most people use it to refer to the clock tower that houses bell.

Next to the Houses of Parliament is Westminster Abbey – the great and the good are buried here - kings, queens, poets, writers and more.

Hampton Court was the home of Cardinal Wolsey until he fell out of favour with King Henry VIII. Henry took over the palace - it has been a royal palace ever since, with subsequent monarchs adding more buildings and gardens to the place. There is a fabulous Tudor kitchen and actors in costume to inform you of the day to day running of the palace. There are often special tours and all sorts to entertain - at the moment there's a ghost tour.

Buckingham Palace is the Queen’s official residence in London. You can now visit a part of it. Out the front you can catch the changing of the guard. Mounted soldiers (Life Guards) can also be seen at Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall.

Kensington Palace is a Royal Palace where Princess lived until her divorce with Prince Charles.

London Eye has become a relatively new landmark in London. The wheel provides panaromic views of the city.

“There is nothing which has yet been contrived by man, by which so much happiness is produced as
by a good tavern or inn” - Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

There are thousands in London. The names of pubs are a joy - The Leg of Mutton and Cauliflower, The World Turned Upside Down, The Butcher's Hook and Cleaver etc...Beer comes in pints or half pints. There are two types: lager and bitter. Bitter is a darker colour than lager and has a less sweet taste - and should be drunk at room temperature! Pubs are living rooms for everyone. Opening times vary now the law has changed from the 11 to 11 routine.

Here are a few of my personal favourites: The Lamb and Flag, reputedly frequented by Charles Dickens, it sits up a cobblestone alleyway and is a proper pub - no juke box, no TV screen - just beer and chat.

The Lamb – Lamb’s Conduit Street, lovely old green leather seats, photos of Edwardian actresses, a bar that still has the frosted windows used to hide patrons who didn’t want to be seen!

The Coach and Horses – small pub in Soho with a literary past.

City pubs are often historic and traditional, the best are found down nooks and crannies - they often have earlier closing hours than pubs in the rest of the city as the money folk head out of town by early evening. Ye Old Cheshire Cheese (Fleet Street) and The Bell (Bush Lane) are worth a look.

Football is the people's game in England. In recent years players names have become unpronounceable with the influx of foreign stars lured by astronomical wages.There are 11 professional football clubs across London who inhabit different leagues. There are 5 premiership teams from London: Chelsea and Fulham in west London, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal in north London and West Ham in the East End of London. Wembley Stadium has undergone a transformation, gone are the famous twin towers to be replaced by a futuristic arch and a completely modern stadium. This is where the English national team plays and where the FA Cup final is held.

Cricket is the quintessential English game. It's been played in various forms for about 500 years and in its recognisable modern day form for a couple of hundred. The home of English cricket is Lords. The other major ground in London is the Oval. If you're lucky enough to be in London in the summer of an Ashes series it's somthing worth going to. England v Australia is the oldest rivalry in cricket. England have had mixed fortunes of late but managed to win this summer.

Animals

London has a Zoo with all the usual suspects represented - with a particular extensive range of reptiles. The penguin pool is particularly beautiful designed by Berthold Lubetkin. The zoo is in Regents Park.

The London Aquarium has a spectacular array of sealife.

Richmond Park used to be a royal hunting park where the likes of Henry VIII would go hunting. A vestige of this is the herd of deer that roam the park.

The West End is home to theatreland. Sharing many of the same shows as Broadway, London has an array of musicals and plays. The Mousetrap has been running for 58 years!

Cinemas; besides the chain cinemas there are some beautiful independent cinemas. The Phoenix in Finchley Road is one of the oldest cinema's in the UK. Others to visit if you like to watch your celluloid in more intimate surroundings are the Gate in Notting Hill, the Richmond Filmhouse, Water Lane, Richmond.

The O2 has become the place for top rated to acts to perform, resurrected from the disaster that was the Millennium Dome the O2 has become a fixture in the gig calendar.

For jazz there is the perennial Ronnie Scott's on Frith Street, the Jazz Cafe in Camden, the Vortex in Stoke Newington are all great places to see a sax or two.

The Fridge in Brixton attracts your more hip hop crowd.

The Royal Albert Hall is an event in itself – a beautiful round Victorian spectacle with great acoustics; it hosts a range of concerts from the likes of Cirque du Soleil to Eric Clapton to the Proms at the classical end of the musical spectrum.

Lauderdale House, Waterlow Park in Highgate hosts open air classical concerts in the summer.

The South Bank, denounced by Prince Charles as a 'carbuncle' has the National Theatre, the Hayward Gallery, the National Film Theatre and the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Providing concerts, theatre, film and arts of all kinds. The walk along the South Bank is a great thing in itself taking you past the various concert halls and theatres and on down to the fabulous Globe theatre the dream child of Mr Wanamaker – a beautifully reconstructed replica of Shakespeare’s theatre the Globe. It’s a great place to see a folio performed. Maybe take a cushion if you are a groundling with old creaking knees.

Art: the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square and the National Portrait Gallery in St Martin’s Place nearby, are great places to wonder round and have a dose of culture and the standing exhibitions are free. Further down the river past the Houses of Parliament is Tate Britain – you can see Stubbs', Constable's, Gainsborough’s and Turner's - again free, donations are welcome. In the opposite direction across the river from St Pauls an electricity power station has been turned into the Tate Modern where you can have your fill of Pollok and Picasso and all things abstract. There are of course in addition a hundred other private galleries.

Museums – London is blessed with spectacular free museums – the Natural History Museum is a beauty in its blue and cream brickwork, inside you are greeted by the fossil of diplodocus. You’ll need a whole day to properly explore the dinosaurs, mammals, fish, geology and vegetation on display. Next door the Victoria and Albert museum displays fashion and jewellry all things designed. The British Museum houses the collections of artefacts from around the world. British Victorian gents seemingly couldn’t resist taking substantial souvenirs from their travels – the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon in Athens is one of the more controversial. It is impossible not to be amazed by the sheer assortment of treasures here, from Egyptian mummies to Saxon war masks.

Madame Tussauds – waxworks of the famous and infamous

The London Dungeon – a history of gore in wax.

The Science Museum and planetarium. See the universe from the comfort of a reclining cinema seat.

Imax three D cinema near Waterloo Station.

Lungs of the city there is plenty of open space for folk to escape the traffic. Hampstead Heath, Clapham Common, Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park skirt around the centre of London. In the centre itself is Hyde Park complete with Speaker’s Corner for those of us with something to get off their chest, St Jame’s park spreads before Buckingham Palace, Battersea Park has a splendid Pagoda with a golden Buddha.

As with any international city the cuisine comes from far and wide. The West End has many Chinese restaurants centred around China Town. Pubs will provide a variety of British favourites - fish and chips, steak and kidney pie, a Sunday roast etc. Indian and Italian restaurants are a plenty. For a cheap filling meal in the centre of town try La Porcetta Pollo on Old Compton Street in Soho. Jai Krishna is special vegetarian Indian restaurant on Stroud Green Road, Finsbury Park. There is an endless choice - check out the link.

There is no limit to shopping in London - apart from your cash flow. The main shopping streets are Oxford Street and Regents Street, you'll find large department stores situated here. One of the most famous shops in the world, Harrods, is in Knightsbridge - lovely food hall! The world famous toy shop, Hamleys is in Regents Street - you can buy an eight foot toy giraffe for £1500 there.

Markets provide a more personal shopping experience - among the more well known markets are Potobello Road in Notting Hill and Camden market around Camden Lock (young fashion). Others worth a look are in Greenwich, Spitalfields and Bermondsey if you want to hunt down an antique. 

Carnaby Street is still cashing in on its fame from the sixties.