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London Walking Tour |
One of the best ways to see London is to walk! When you are in London, take this 3-5 hour tour and you will have one of the best days of your entire life!
Legend says that London was founded about 1000 BC, but in reality it is more probable that the first settlement dated from 400 BC at a crossing of the River Thames. The Romans later established the city of Londinium here, and remains of their buildings can still be seen in the central area known as the City of London.
As a settlement, London was fought over many times during tribal wars and was totally destroyed by Queen Boadicea, Britain's most formidable female warrior. As an island kingdom, Britain was largely immune to the threats of invasion and so the city had no fortified walls. It therefore expanded to incorporate surrounding villages - which have become London's present day boroughs. With a population of nearly 8,500,000 people, London now covers some 1,500 square kilometres, contains 400 public parks (totalling 18,200 hectares) and over 7,000 pubs!
Trafalgar Square is the main square in central London - it was built to commemorate the English victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 - a sea battle between the English and French/Spanish fleets
The English fleet was commanded by Admiral Lord Nelson (his statue is on top of the column) who died during the battle
Nelson was a famous heroic figure - a man who through numerous battles lost one arm and one eye. During the Battle of Trafalgar, he put his telescope to his blind eye so that he could not see the French signals demanding that the English should surrender
Trafalgar Square was built between 1840 and 1843. The column is 44m high. The lions were added in 1867 and are made of bronze
The Square is very popular with pigeons and tourists and is normally the starting or ending place for political rallies
Founded in 1824 and 1856 respectively, these institutions have collections of paintings from all over the world, including the largest collection of Italian paintings outside of Italy
The total number of pictures is not known but the Portrait Gallery alone has over 8,000 original portraits and 500,000 photographs
You must climb the steps of the National Gallery and take a photo of Trafalgar Square. Glorious!
If you are lucky enough to be in London in the winter, when the gates to the gallery are open and it is already dark, you can get a great view of London by night from the top of the steps, with Trafalgar brilliantly lit and Big Ben in the background
The church was originally built on open land in the early 18th Century - hence the name
The catacombs were used during World War Two as bomb shelters. Now they shelter the homeless and the poor
Do go into the church and down into the catacombs. You can try brass rubbing and stop for tea or coffee in the busy restaurant
Built in 1910 as a memorial to Queen Victoria (Britain's longest ever ruling monarch), the arch is named after The Admiralty (head-office of the British Navy) which is next door
The Mall is the only street in London with red tarmac - used to make it look like a red carpet for VIPs to travel towards Buckingham Palace, the Queen's home
The Mall splits St James's Park (one of the prettiest parks in London) on your left and Green Park on your right
All of the traffic signs and islands in The Mall can be removed in just a few minutes - allowing the road to be used as a runway for a small aircraft in cases of national emergency
As you walk along the road, you will pass Clarence House (home of the Queen Mother) and St James's Palace, built by Henry VIII in the 16th Century
Built by the Duke of Buckingham as his personal residence in 1703, it attracted the attention of George III in 1762
Queen Victoria was the first monarch to take up residence in the Palace
The neo-classical facade was added in 1913
With Victorian additions, the Palace now has more than 600 rooms
Buckingham Palace also has its own private underground tube station - for use in national emergencies to evacuate the Royal Family
If the Royal Standard is flying on the flagpole above Buckingham Palace, it is a sign that the Queen is at home
Look out for the Changing of the Guards. (See the sign by the main gates.) At various times throughout the day, the guards protecting the Queen start and finish their duties amidst great rituals!
The best view of Buckingham Palace is from the memorial in front of the Palace
This area might look familiar as it has been used in many films, including the Walt Disney classic, 101 Dalmatians. Do look out for "Corgi Walkers" - Royal servants who take the Queen's dogs for walks
As you reach the bottom of the lakes, turn to the right and head towards Parliament Square
There has been an Abbey on this site since the 7th Century, though the present building dates from 1235
Started by Henry III, it was built as the church for Royal coronations and burials
The Abbey has seen the coronation of every monarch since William the Conqueror in 1066
See the coronation chair in Edward the Confessor's Chapel and the memorials in Poets' Corner
The funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, was held in Westminster Abbey
Many famous people are buried or commemorated in the Abbey and it is here that you can see the British "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier"; a World War One memorial
A top tip is to walk through to the cloisters and to have coffee. With blends from around the world, you can get a great cup of coffee in a unique and very special setting
Originally a royal palace built by Edward the Confessor before the Norman Invasion of 1066, the Palace of Westminster very quickly assumed a parliamentary as well as a residential role and became, over the years, the main seat of British government
The Great Fire of London in 1666, which started in a baker's shoppe in Pudding Lane, largely destroyed most of this area but left the Palace untouched. Sadly, the Palace was subsequently destroyed by fire in 1843
The majority of the building was rebuilt by 1860 in the Gothic revival style
It has over 1,000 rooms and 3 km of corridors. The main features of the Palace which are visible from the outside are:
Above the House of Lords. This tower is 103m high
Ninety-six metres high, the tower is named Big Ben, after the bell inside it
The bell weighs over 14,000 kg and first chimed in 1858
The first bell cracked before it could be used and the second cracked when it was installed, although it was repaired in situ
To wind the clock every week used to take 2 men 32 hours, but it is now done electrically
The main surviving part of the old palace, the building we see today was finished in 1402
Used for parliamentary sessions, royal banquets, lying-in-state, markets, tennis courts, and even as a pick-up area for prostitutes
Probably the most notable moments in the history of the hall have been its use for the trials of Anne Boleyn, Guy Fawkes (who tied to blow up Parliament) and James I. It was here that Oliver Cromwell was proclaimed Lord Protector
The land on which the Palace of Westminster is built used to be an island in the middle of the River Thames
While you are in Parliament Square looking at the Houses of Parliament, it is worth taking a quick detour onto Westminster Bridge. You can get a great view of the Palace and can sometimes see Members of Parliament having tea on the terrace outside the Palace
The river beneath you is the Thames. The Parliament side looks upstream. The other side runs to the sea. Much of the water used by Londoners (for washing and drinking) comes from the Thames. The Thames also carries most of London's treated sewage out to sea
Before the sewerage system was build to drain sewage out at sea, raw sewage was dumped straight into the river in the heart of London. At one point, the river was so polluted that it was effectively "dead". Nearly 100 years ago, there was a disaster at Greenwich in which 1,000 ferry passengers were killed. Only a handful actually drowned. The majority were poisoned by the foul water
Whitehall is the street that houses the most important government buildings. As you walk along, look at all the different Departments of State that have offices here, including the Treasury, the Home Office, and the Foreign Office
Whitehall gets its name from a great palace that once stretched from Trafalgar Square all the way to Parliament Square. Created by Henry VIII, it was the main royal residence until the end of the 17th Century when William and Mary moved to Kensington Palace. In 1698, the Whitehall Palace was destroyed by fire
In the middle of Whitehall you can see the Cenotaph - a memorial built to those who died in the First and Second World Wars
On your left, you will pass Downing Street - the Prime Minister lives at No 10
Downing Street is protected by steel gates and crash ramps - ordered by Mrs Thatcher during her time as Prime Minister to prevent terrorist attacks. When John Major was Prime Minister, terrorists parked a van in Whitehall and fired rockets at 10 Downing Street. The rockets landed in No 10's garden but caused very little damage. Had they hit No 10, the entire British Government would have been killed as they were having a meeting at the time
No 10, strangely, does not have a keyhole! The door is always locked from the inside and can only be opened from the inside
Just past Downing Street, you will come to Horse Guards Parade, a building usually protected by mounted Horse Guards in bright red uniforms. Walk in through the gates (you are allowed to) and under the archway. In front of you, you will see the grounds where every year the Queen inspects her soldiers in a ceremony known as the Trooping of the Colour. If this arch looks familiar, it is probably best known as the arch through which Diana, Princess of Wales' funeral procession passed. It was at this point that Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, was seen to comfort the Diana's sons
* All information believed to be correct at time of publishing.