My Fleep:
Travel
Travel
Too Much to Do in London!
No one can truly say they know London well. To know London
completely is impossible. London changes faster than
pigeons descending into the fountains of Trafalgar Square.
Home to inhabitants for over 2,000 years now, London has
grown from the protective circle of the Tower to a
sprawling metropolis, the ideal platform for constant
illustrious activity.
Where there is history there are always tales to tell.
Tourists are naturally drawn to the regular tourist
attractions, yet it is the true travellers that seek deeper
to find the gems of a 2,000 year-old town. It only takes a
very small amount of investigating to find something more
rewarding, more interesting, more inspiring in London, than
the London Dungeons (although it must be said - is a damn
good laugh if you can bear the hour long queues!).
For instance, not even a minute's walk from the London
Dungeons is the Hay's Galleria. This gem is for some
totally bizarre reason hidden from all guidebooks and
tourist information - no doubt to preserve its lack of
thousands of tourists, which would make it a less exclusive
haven. Please go there! It's a beautiful indoor/outdoor
menagerie of a few select shops, with a vast concourse of
cafes, market stalls, bands, and of course, it overlooks a
beautiful part of the Thames.
Turn right from Hays Galleria and you find yourself in a
Thames-side walkway next to the newest buildings in town.
The architecture is phenomenal, and these buildings are
still so new that you can imagine that the cellophane has
just been freshly peeled off all the windows. You must
visit the Lord Mayor's building (it's the one shaped like a
golf ball), go to the top and marvel at the mind-boggling
roundness of it all - plus of course see the spectacular
views of the HMS Belfast, Tower Bridge and the Tower of
London.
Continue strolling toward the I-Witness open-air gallery,
and you are literally underneath Tower Bridge. Keep walking
and you are now in Shad Thames, a true delight of
traffic-free, cobbled streets full of people, giving you a
precise feeling of how the London streets felt hundreds of
years ago. It is as if these streets have been restored
from long ago, thus delivering to the traveller a
wonderfully rich blend of old and new all in the same
place. Circle around Shad Thames, past the ever-changing
Design Museum, and find yourself in Butlers Wharf, a
charming quay-side collection of bars and restaurants all
overlooking the Thames opposite the equally picturesque St.
Katherine's Dock. Butlers Wharf is the ultimate in romantic
settings.
Hays Galleria to Butlers Wharf is one walk of quite
possibly hundreds to choose from, in fact, that's a whole
day right there! There are equal delights even if you
turned left out of Hay's Galleria, especially the Clink
Street Prison Museum, Vinopolis (Wine Museum), Borough
Market, Southwark Cathedral, I could go on...
Great streets, great walks, great museums (forget the
big-ones - go to the Children's museum in Bethnal Green for
a real treat). It is frustrating to think that the bulk of
visitors to London wind up staying in some of the least
interesting areas. Paddington and Bayswater are both great
areas, being so close to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens
(now home to the finally-completed Princess Diana shrine).
Kensington and Earls Court have their highlights too, but
there is more to London than the tried and tested tourist
routes.
I recently stayed in a five star hotel in the middle of the
city on the weekend for less than one hundred pounds a
night, and was amazed at exactly how completely empty the
city of London was. I was in heaven! There I was in the
middle of one of the oldest cities around, and I had it all
to myself! City hotels are notorious for being completely
empty on weekends, hence the great rates. I am sure
tourists pay over the hundred pounds per night threshold to
stay in ‘trendy' Kensington etal, when they could easily
stay next to Tower Bridge, St. Paul's, Millennium Bridge
etc, for much less.
Needless to say that the City of London (the financial
centre) is absolutely coloured with history, everywhere you
go there are buildings proclaiming their 16th century
origins, and they are in abundance.
I was recently taken to what is supposedly one of the
oldest London pubs in existence called Ye Old Mitre which
is located at 1 Ely Court, off Ely Place. This pub is not
only hidden from the guidebooks and the common information
sources, it is also hidden from the public! I had to be
taken there, as I would never have been able to find it
unless accompanied. This pub is hidden from the world. It
is sandwiched between two narrow streets and therefore
completely obscured from any main thoroughfare. It's
address would indicate access from Ely Place when in fact
you get to it through a very discreet allyway between
numbers 9-10 Hatton Gardens. It has its own courtyard and
as you stand supping a pint outside, it is as if you are in
Victorian London. Look down the misty streets and it is
easy to conjure up an old bobby on the beat blowing his
whistle, or Jack the Ripper lurking in the shadows. Oh -
and there's a 150 year old tree growing through the
building, to add to the oddity of the pub.
Hampstead is another great area waiting to be discovered.
Covered in green spaces, Hampstead (North London) is
perfect for the idyllic setting combined with the close
proximity to the big-smoke. Steeped in its own folklore,
Hampstead was home to Dick Turpin (apparently he was born
at the Spaniard's Inn - hugely popular and famous pub on
the Heath) of which his ghost still roams Kenwood house,
and the surrounding woodlands. The high streets of
Hampstead, Belsize Park, and the immaculately kept Primrose
Hill are possibly the last untouched-by-commercialism
streets in London (no Starbucks here!). If you want
breath-taking views of the city, historical sites detailing
the ‘first entry point into London,' combined with
al-fresco dining, and an altogether more relaxed
atmosphere, Hampstead is the place, and less than 15
minutes on the tube to the city centre! Now do you see why
it seems frustrating that tourists stay in less desirable
areas when they could stay in an altogether more inspiring
location, just as close to all the major attractions?
Of course, Hampstead is one of London's many beauty spots,
yet the city is not all about beauty. As with any home to
approximately 10 million people, varied activity is rife.
London events cannot help but affect all, every Londoner
has an opinion on the congestion zone, on the ill-fated
Millennium Dome, on Tony Blair, in fact on any topic you
care to mention. Start a conversation with any London
black-cab driver - typically famous for their outspoken
views, and you will find yourself immediately thrown into
the debate of the day.
So, when visiting London do not even attempt to see it all
- you cannot.
In a city where already this year a Roman road has been
uncovered a mile below ground level dating back to 1 AD,
and where Paddington workers uncovered Brunel's first
iron-bridge (one they didn't even know existed) - London is
forever creating wonders on a regular basis.
----------------------------------------------------
This article is written by Martin Kleinman, Managing
Director of http://www.visithotels.com , specialist in
London, Dublin & Rome hotel accommodation.
No one can truly say they know London well. To know London
completely is impossible. London changes faster than
pigeons descending into the fountains of Trafalgar Square.
Home to inhabitants for over 2,000 years now, London has
grown from the protective circle of the Tower to a
sprawling metropolis, the ideal platform for constant
illustrious activity.
Where there is history there are always tales to tell.
Tourists are naturally drawn to the regular tourist
attractions, yet it is the true travellers that seek deeper
to find the gems of a 2,000 year-old town. It only takes a
very small amount of investigating to find something more
rewarding, more interesting, more inspiring in London, than
the London Dungeons (although it must be said - is a damn
good laugh if you can bear the hour long queues!).
For instance, not even a minute's walk from the London
Dungeons is the Hay's Galleria. This gem is for some
totally bizarre reason hidden from all guidebooks and
tourist information - no doubt to preserve its lack of
thousands of tourists, which would make it a less exclusive
haven. Please go there! It's a beautiful indoor/outdoor
menagerie of a few select shops, with a vast concourse of
cafes, market stalls, bands, and of course, it overlooks a
beautiful part of the Thames.
Turn right from Hays Galleria and you find yourself in a
Thames-side walkway next to the newest buildings in town.
The architecture is phenomenal, and these buildings are
still so new that you can imagine that the cellophane has
just been freshly peeled off all the windows. You must
visit the Lord Mayor's building (it's the one shaped like a
golf ball), go to the top and marvel at the mind-boggling
roundness of it all - plus of course see the spectacular
views of the HMS Belfast, Tower Bridge and the Tower of
London.
Continue strolling toward the I-Witness open-air gallery,
and you are literally underneath Tower Bridge. Keep walking
and you are now in Shad Thames, a true delight of
traffic-free, cobbled streets full of people, giving you a
precise feeling of how the London streets felt hundreds of
years ago. It is as if these streets have been restored
from long ago, thus delivering to the traveller a
wonderfully rich blend of old and new all in the same
place. Circle around Shad Thames, past the ever-changing
Design Museum, and find yourself in Butlers Wharf, a
charming quay-side collection of bars and restaurants all
overlooking the Thames opposite the equally picturesque St.
Katherine's Dock. Butlers Wharf is the ultimate in romantic
settings.
Hays Galleria to Butlers Wharf is one walk of quite
possibly hundreds to choose from, in fact, that's a whole
day right there! There are equal delights even if you
turned left out of Hay's Galleria, especially the Clink
Street Prison Museum, Vinopolis (Wine Museum), Borough
Market, Southwark Cathedral, I could go on...
Great streets, great walks, great museums (forget the
big-ones - go to the Children's museum in Bethnal Green for
a real treat). It is frustrating to think that the bulk of
visitors to London wind up staying in some of the least
interesting areas. Paddington and Bayswater are both great
areas, being so close to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens
(now home to the finally-completed Princess Diana shrine).
Kensington and Earls Court have their highlights too, but
there is more to London than the tried and tested tourist
routes.
I recently stayed in a five star hotel in the middle of the
city on the weekend for less than one hundred pounds a
night, and was amazed at exactly how completely empty the
city of London was. I was in heaven! There I was in the
middle of one of the oldest cities around, and I had it all
to myself! City hotels are notorious for being completely
empty on weekends, hence the great rates. I am sure
tourists pay over the hundred pounds per night threshold to
stay in ‘trendy' Kensington etal, when they could easily
stay next to Tower Bridge, St. Paul's, Millennium Bridge
etc, for much less.
Needless to say that the City of London (the financial
centre) is absolutely coloured with history, everywhere you
go there are buildings proclaiming their 16th century
origins, and they are in abundance.
I was recently taken to what is supposedly one of the
oldest London pubs in existence called Ye Old Mitre which
is located at 1 Ely Court, off Ely Place. This pub is not
only hidden from the guidebooks and the common information
sources, it is also hidden from the public! I had to be
taken there, as I would never have been able to find it
unless accompanied. This pub is hidden from the world. It
is sandwiched between two narrow streets and therefore
completely obscured from any main thoroughfare. It's
address would indicate access from Ely Place when in fact
you get to it through a very discreet allyway between
numbers 9-10 Hatton Gardens. It has its own courtyard and
as you stand supping a pint outside, it is as if you are in
Victorian London. Look down the misty streets and it is
easy to conjure up an old bobby on the beat blowing his
whistle, or Jack the Ripper lurking in the shadows. Oh -
and there's a 150 year old tree growing through the
building, to add to the oddity of the pub.
Hampstead is another great area waiting to be discovered.
Covered in green spaces, Hampstead (North London) is
perfect for the idyllic setting combined with the close
proximity to the big-smoke. Steeped in its own folklore,
Hampstead was home to Dick Turpin (apparently he was born
at the Spaniard's Inn - hugely popular and famous pub on
the Heath) of which his ghost still roams Kenwood house,
and the surrounding woodlands. The high streets of
Hampstead, Belsize Park, and the immaculately kept Primrose
Hill are possibly the last untouched-by-commercialism
streets in London (no Starbucks here!). If you want
breath-taking views of the city, historical sites detailing
the ‘first entry point into London,' combined with
al-fresco dining, and an altogether more relaxed
atmosphere, Hampstead is the place, and less than 15
minutes on the tube to the city centre! Now do you see why
it seems frustrating that tourists stay in less desirable
areas when they could stay in an altogether more inspiring
location, just as close to all the major attractions?
Of course, Hampstead is one of London's many beauty spots,
yet the city is not all about beauty. As with any home to
approximately 10 million people, varied activity is rife.
London events cannot help but affect all, every Londoner
has an opinion on the congestion zone, on the ill-fated
Millennium Dome, on Tony Blair, in fact on any topic you
care to mention. Start a conversation with any London
black-cab driver - typically famous for their outspoken
views, and you will find yourself immediately thrown into
the debate of the day.
So, when visiting London do not even attempt to see it all
- you cannot.
In a city where already this year a Roman road has been
uncovered a mile below ground level dating back to 1 AD,
and where Paddington workers uncovered Brunel's first
iron-bridge (one they didn't even know existed) - London is
forever creating wonders on a regular basis.
----------------------------------------------------
This article is written by Martin Kleinman, Managing
Director of http://www.visithotels.com , specialist in
London, Dublin & Rome hotel accommodation.