Even More Unusual Things To Do In London

Ok, so it’s about time we let you know about a few more unusual things to do in London. These are the things and places that most visitors miss. Perhaps where you can stroll around in relative peace and quiet and enjoy musing about the strange objects in front of you and their history. Oh, and don’t tell anyone, many are FREE – YES! 

Let’s start with one of the oldest, and oddest, natural history museums in the UK. If nature and animals, particularly dead ones, are ‘your thing’, you’ll love the newly re-opened Grant Museum of Zoology at the Rockefeller Building at University College, London. There are elephant skulls and elephant hearts, the skeleton of a huge anaconda, a box of dodo bones and 67,000 other specimens to excite your imagination.

Not to far away is The Foundling Museum  at 40 Brunswick Square. In the early 18^th century, up to 1,000 babies a year were abandoned on the streets of London creating hordes of unwanted children. Fortunately, one man, Thomas Coram, rose to the challenge by founding a hospital which would eventually care for more than 27,000 children. The Foundling Museum tells the story of these children. The museum also houses an impressive art collection by the likes of Hogarth, Gainsborough and Reynolds. There is a small charge to visitors.

Mmm, time to switch emphasis, methinks. You might need to make an appointment or go with a small group but a little effort might allow you to claim to have visited Henry VIII’s Wine Cellar. In fact, it wasn’t really Henry’s. As is his wont, Henry relieved the out-of-favour Cardinal Wolsey of his well-stocked wine cellar and incorporated this into his palace, nice man!  

You’ll never guess where it is! Well it’s actually in the bowels of the Ministry of Defence building in Whitehall. Indeed, Whitehall Palace was once the largest palace in Europe until it burned down in 1698 leaving just the brick wine cellar standing on the current site. Do telephone (0870 607 4455) for details before you visit, though, security and all that! 

Our last visit is to Broadwick Street in Soho. Now, in the mid 19^th century Soho was a slightly different place than today, with cowsheds, slaughterhouses and all sorts of unsanitary conditions including cesspits under the overcrowded buildings.  The polluted water being pumped was causing people to die in their droves. A local doctor, John Snow, simply removed the pump handle and the cholera outbreak ended, pretty much proving the good doctor’s point. 

Here then stands John Snow’s Cholera Pump, albeit a replica. Probably not London’s most eye-catching attraction but this iron pump is worth a visit just to make your friends jealous because they won’t have seen or heard of it. And it’s a good excuse to stop for a pint in the John Snow pub!

http://www.londonfreeandeasy.com/ is a free guide to London and its attractions and lots of information on things to do in London.

A Pleasant Sunday in Greenwich

Most people living within easy access to Greenwich are lucky, it’s a lovely place to visit! On a fairly drab Sunday, a walk around the undulating acres of Greenwich Park is stimulating, whether it’s the formal gardens or taking in the breathtaking views over London from General Wolfe’s statue by the Royal Obervatory.  

Between the park is the River Thames is the covered Greenwich Market with its lively stalls and shops selling goodies of all kinds from antique clothes to paintings and memorabilia. Food and drink stalls dispense mulled wine and a huge variety of hot and cold fayre. The atmosphere is great and the aromas intoxicating.

 On the other side of the market is the (currently under repair) Cutty Sark. I can’t wait to see this champion old tea clipper restored to her former glory. At this point starts a really enjoyable walk turning east along the Thames in front of the glorious Old Royal Naval College, a Christopher Wren masterpiece.

 More of that later but reaching the Trafalgar Tavern,  turn left into a narrow passage passing The Yacht pub on your left (if you can resist) and, passing another gorgeous old building on your right dating from 1616, you come to the pretty un-gorgeous Greenwich Power Station. Keep on until you see a huge anchor signalling your arrival at the Cutty Sark Tavern, a seemingly under-used gem (bit off the beaten track, perhaps) but dispensing excellent ale and decent food. A good place to refuel, methinks!

Returning to The Trafalgar (another tipple, perhaps?), turn left and cross the road to enter the Old Royal Naval College . Take some time to wonder around, see the Chapel and the Painted Room and their wonderful art. This place is exquisite! Further on you can pop into The Old Brewery and the adjacent free exhibition of Greenwich’s history.  

If you’re feeling peckish at this point, there’s lots of choice including a really nice Vietnamese restaurant on the way back to the park. On our last visit, a street musician had set up his electric guitar by the main gates (don’t ask where he plugged the cable in!) and, with the aid of a trusty harmonica was ‘singing the blues’ in a way that made the hairs stand up on your neck. 

A great end to a lovely few hours in Greenwich.  

http://www.londonfreeandeasy.com/ is a free guide to London and its attractions and lots of information on things to do in London.

More of London’s Unusual Attractions

“Far from the Madding Crowd” wrote Thomas Hardy 130 or so years ago. ‘Madding’ was another word for ‘frenzied’ and that’s a pretty good description of how things can sometimes get in London particularly around some of the most popular London attractions. But here’s the good news, there are places where you can go to see places and things of interest that are, thankfully, devoid of ‘the Madding Crowd’.

 You may, of course, have to work a little harder to seek these places out even to get there. But, in most cases, you’ll think it worth it because you’ll see things that most people visiting London don’t see and don’t even know about. So, take a few hours and wander around a few of these more unusual places in London.

 We’ll start with something that sounds like a load of old cock. Well, actually it is a load of old cock! The appendage in question belongs to an Egyptian god called Min, a god of fertility and sexuality. Legend had it that Min used lettuce to stimulate his sex drive. The marble bas relief portraying Min with a huge, erect penis, implies Min had a point in more ways than one. This and many other Egyptian antiquities and artefacts including the world’s oldest dress and a 3000 year old rat trap can be found in the Petrie Museum, WC1.

 Another unusual item lies quietly in the corner of the ever-popular Trafalgar Square, but not noticed by most! And yet, step forward ‘Britain’s Smallest Police Station’. From 1926 this hollowed-out granite lamp post was used by the police to keep a beady eye on Trafalgar Square protestors (yes, there was always something to protest about!). Today, this lovely old relic is used only as a small ‘broom cupboard’. There is a rumour that the ornamental lamp on top, installed in 1826, came from Nelson’s flagship, HMS Victory.

 A stroll along Pall Mall takes you to a small courtyard in the posh St James’ Street. Pickering Place was famous for its gambling dens and duels. In fact, it’s claimed that the last duel in England was fought here. For aficionados of American history, the independent Republic of Texas once had a diplomatic office here. My favourite story is of the secret tunnel running between the wine cellar of nearby Berry Bros wine merchant and St James’ Palace. The story goes that this was used by randy royals to creep over for a ‘quickie’ with an accommodating street wench or a quick nightcap, or perhaps both!

 In nearby Piccadilly you will find the two smallest listed buildings in London. You can’t miss them, they are bright red and stand proudly just inside the gates of the Royal Academy. Yes, we’re talking about the iconic London telephone box. These two examples, known as K2 (Kiosk 2, not the mountain) date from 1926. Being a sucker for nostalgia, I think it’s sad that these London landmarks have been consigned to history’s scrap heap. So get the camera out and capture a small piece of London’s history.

 So there you are, a bit of fun, a lot of interest, all free and not a ‘Madding Crowd’ in sight!

 http://www.londonfreeandeasy.com/ is a free guide to London and its attractions and lots of information on things to do in London.

London’s More Unusual Attractions

I don’t know about you but I love nostalgia. I love to come across things from the past, not necessarily beautiful or well preserved things but things where your imagination can take you back in time. To picture an object or a scene as it once was, as it was once used, not as it might be now, forgotten and redundant, or worse, unloved and buried under the detritus of modern day living.

London has so much to offer visitors and people who love or are just plain interested in our great capital. But how many of us look beyond the iconic sites of Big Ben and Tower Bridge and the like to those quirky bits that our forebears created? Like what, you may ask!

 Well, how about a Sewer Ventilating Lamp powered by methane waste from you-know-where? And little did the posh guests at the nearby Savoy Hotel realise their body waste was lighting a London street. Let’s hope not too many Victorian gents stopped for a quiet smoke under this particular street lamp! By the way, this lamp, known as Iron Lily now operates safely as a standard gas lamp (but don’t light up, just in case!)

Not far away from Iron Lily lies one of the archaeological puzzles of London, a ‘Roman’ bath most likely dating from the 18^th century. You have to work a bit to find this oddity in Strand Lane just off the Victoria Embankment. Mentioned in Dickens’ David Copperfield, the spring-fed bath was reputed to have health-giving qualities. Today, a crude light switch illuminates the interior of this once sought-after but now forgotten old London gem.

Mmm, all that talk of spring water has made me thirsty. Time, possibly to head for London’s first drinking fountain. Close to Smithfield Market and set in the railings of St Sepulchre Church, the fountain dates to 1859. At one time, 7,000 people a day quenched their thirst here. I’m not sure we can rely on the water supply to be fresh spring water these days but thirsty passers-by are admonished to “Replace the Cup”. Be warned!

If your thirst remains unquenched, try a tipple in the nearby Viaduct Tavern and, if the staff are not too busy, ask if you can have a peek at their beer cellars. What? Ok, seems a touch cheeky, but part of these cellars were once the cells of the old Newgate Prison, London’s main jail for 500 years. Not a place you would have chosen to be at the time and, furthermore, rumoured to have “a stench that would choke a horse”.

So there you have it, a few hidden gems of old London. Not that photogenic perhaps, but hopefully your imagination will paint much more beautiful pictures.

http://www.londonfreeandeasy.com/ is a free guide to London and it’s attractions and lots of information on things to do in London.

London, Land of the Free? Part 3

London is an expensive city. Of that there is no doubt! 

However, there are things to do in London that will cost you nothing. Obviously, these will not include the best seats to the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden or a top performer at the O2 Arena but there is entertainment to be had. And it can be entertainment that you will enjoy and not cost you a brass farthing. 

So what and where is this entertainment in London? Performances that will bring some joy and will cost Londoners and visitors to London nothing but their time? 

Well let’s start with London’s excellent Street Performers. Free performances are there for everybody to see every afternoon in the West Piazza of Covent Garden Market. All of these performers have passed an audition to perform here and they are licensed to do so. And these very good acts can draw huge crowds. If you want to make a small ‘contribution’ at the end you can do so. If you don’t, you don’t. Simple!

Other street performers can be seen along the South Bank Walk between the London Eye and the National Theatre. Yes, these are predominantly the human statues but they are huge fun to stand and watch, in particular the reaction of London tourists and small children when a coin is tossed into the appropriate container. 

If it’s more serious entertainment you’re after, pop along to Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park on a Sunday morning. Listen to the debates and join in if you wish. 

There are also free nights out in London. For example you can try the free Comedy nights at London’s comedy venues. A list of comedy nights in London can be found here. Also, how many times have you watched the TV or listened to the radio and heard the laughter and applause of the audience? We’re not talking canned laughter here (don’t you just hate that!) but genuine fun being had and appreciated being shown by a live audience. Well you can be a participant in Free BBC TV and Radio Show Recordings. You can get free tickets to popular programmes such as ‘The News Quiz’, and ‘Never Mind the Buzzcocks’. All you have to do is go to the BBC website  or try here.

Or how about rubbing shoulders with the stars? Take your camera to a Movie Premiere in London’s Leicester Square and watch your favourite celebrities walking up the red carpet. It’s free and (weather permitting) very enjoyable. Who knows, you could find yourself in a photograph with Tom Cruise. You can find details of forthcoming London Movie Premieres here. 

As someone once said, ‘The best things in life are free”. And there are many more free things to do in London than you might think. So get out there and enjoy them!

http://www.londonfreeandeasy.com/ is a free guide to London and it’s attractions and lots of information on things to do in London.

London, Land of The Free? Part 2

Wisdom tells us that there’s no such thing as a free lunch and most of us would be wise to heed this old adage as we endeavour to navigate these difficult times.

Seemingly nothing is free in these greedy, grasping times. With banks making us pay through the nose for shoddy service while using our cash to pay their huge debts and politicians using our cash to build personal wealth, we inevitably become cynical.

But there are things to feel good about and many of them are right under our noses. For Londoners and visitors to London, there are many things that can be seen and done which cost nothing but people’s time. If we can lift our heads for a few minutes above the doom and gloom of the latest news, there are things that we can do in London which will lift our hearts and bring us some much needed joy. And which cost us nothing!

For starters there are London’s Art Galleries. Try not to think of these as just for the toffs. They are there for all of us to stand and wonder at the sublime skill of the world’s greatest artists, from Raphael to Constable, from Turner to Picasso. You can stand inches from their greatest works at the National Gallery by Trafalgar Square, and visit the National Portrait Gallery just around the corner. While you’re here, enjoy the buzzing Trafalgar Square and the iconic Nelson’s Column and its proud lions.

The Tate Modern on the South Bank of the Thames focuses on contemporary art while Tate Britain displays British Art from the sixteenth century to the present day. The Wallace Collection just off Oxford Street is a perfect escape from a busy shopping spree.

Millions of ££££’s of the best art in the world are at your disposal. Art produced by geniuses over hundreds of years, tortured souls screaming with perceived imperfections in their work or hearts beating with joy as the final brush stroke is made. All your’s to enjoy and to wonder at. All in London and all, for the most part, very free!

http://www.londonfreeandeasy.com/ is a free guide to London and it’s attractions and lots of information on things to do in London.

London, Land of The Free? Part 1

London, the Land of the Free?

People are, perhaps! But spending time in London? At first glance, it doesn’t seem likely! London is definitely not cheap and there’s no such thing as a free lunch, is there? Or is there?

And we all need that fillip of getting something for nothing, where there is no cost or obligation. Life seems to be a constant flow of bad news! We’re tired of the recession and the wars. We have hated having our pockets picked by politicians and hearing about BP’s problems. And these are on top of life’s day-to-day challenges, including security checks everywhere to protect us from people who, for some reason, want to kill us.

 So where in London can we find some joy, things that are good and things that cost nothing but our time? Don’t be put of by some of these ideas! Don’t say “no, I don’t fancy this or I would hate that…”, give it a try, do something different and lose yourself in a different world!

Firstly, head for one of the many free London Museums. Ponder over the ancient wonders in the British Museum or marvel at the original Apollo 10 Command module in the Science Museum. Reflect on the glories of the Natural History Museum or the nearby Victoria and Albert Museum.

 Or make your way to Greenwich and wander around the National Maritime Museum. Or there’s the Museum of London with its rich sense of the history of London from Roman times to today.

 When money is tight, head for places like these and immerse yourself in the past for an hour or so, I don’t think you’ll regret it, and you may just love it!

http://www.londonfreeandeasy.com/ is a free guide to London and it’s attractions and lots of information on things to do in London.