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The ‘green lungs’ of London are the many parks, great and small, scattered throughout the city including Hyde Park, St. James Park and Regent’s Park. Most of the larger parks have their origins in royal estates and hunting grounds and are still owned by the Crown, despite their public access.
Hyde Park and adjoining Kensington Gardens make up a huge open space in central London and are very popular for picnics. When King Henry VIII and his court were thundering across Hyde Park in 1536 in pursuit of deer and wild boar, it would have been difficult to visualise that years later the noble art of tai chi would be peacefully performed among the trees in the early morning, and the Italianate tenor of Pavarotti would echo across the park, applauded by vast audiences.
Continue reading Parks in London
The Great Frost – In 1683 the Thames froze solid for eight weeks. A frost fair was held on the ice, with market stalls and buffoonery aplenty.
Game, set, sweetness - More than 27 tonnes of strawberries and 7000L of cream are consumed every year during the two weeks of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships.
London characters – Harold Shand Cockney gangster played by Bob Hoskins in the 1980 film The Long Good Friday. Self-made brute-in-a-suit guvnor type done so well by on-screen Brits. Continue reading Fast Facts About London
British Museum
Founded in 1753 by Act of Parliament, from the collections of Sir Hans Sloane, the British Museum is one of the great museums of the world, showing the works of man from prehistoric to modern times with collections drawn from the whole world. Famous objects include the Rosetta Stone, sculptures from the Parthenon, the Sutton Hoo and Mildenhall treasures and the Portland Vase. There is also a programme of special exhibitions and daily gallery tours, talks and guided tours.
Tate Modern
A visit to London isn’t complete without a trip to Tate Modern. Britain’s national museum of modern and contemporary art from around the world is housed in the former Bankside Power Station on the banks of the Thames. The awe-inspiring Turbine Hall runs the length of the entire building and you can see amazing work for free by artists such as Cézanne, Bonnard, Matisse, Picasso, Rothko, Dalí, Pollock, Warhol and Bourgeois. Continue reading Top 10 London Attractions
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