Columns

The London Fiver – Five Places to Be Alone in London

Apr 7, 2021 By John Rabon Leave a Comment

Sometimes in the midst of a bustling city, we just want a little bit of peace and quiet. Of course, finding that place to be alone and collect your thoughts can prove a bit difficult when cars, busses, and people are moving ever so quickly around you. However, despite all this, there are places in London where you can achieve solitude or something close to it. Whether you … [Read more...] about The London Fiver – Five Places to Be Alone in London

Laura’s London: Your Guide to The Thames Path – Come on a Virtual Walk!

Mar 24, 2021 By Laura Porter Leave a Comment

We've looked at London's bridges over The Thames, with an in-depth look at London Bridge, so I thought it was time to look at the 'walking by the river' opportunities in London. The Thames Path National Trail The Thames Path has had National Trail status since 1989. It is a pedestrian route from the river's source near Kemble in Gloucestershire (Cotswolds) to the Thames … [Read more...] about Laura’s London: Your Guide to The Thames Path – Come on a Virtual Walk!

London Histories: Your Complete Guide to Beatles London

Mar 11, 2021 By Laura Porter 2 Comments

The Beatles have lots of London connections, including where they have lived, recorded and performed. I've lived close to many of these locations and had no idea the world's most famous band had been in the area. (The Beatles even performed at my local cinema in 1964!) Let's have a look at the neighbourhoods they knew well. Bloomsbury Royal National Hotel The Beatles … [Read more...] about London Histories: Your Complete Guide to Beatles London

London Histories: A History of All of London’s Royal Parks

Mar 3, 2021 By Laura Porter 1 Comment

There are eight royal parks in London that are royal because the lands have been owned by Kings and Queens. Most have been used as hunting grounds, so I thought it would be interesting to find out more about each park. Knowing you can take a stroll or stop for a picnic on a location once frequented by marauding royal hunters certainly adds to the sense of history in … [Read more...] about London Histories: A History of All of London’s Royal Parks

London Vignettes: The City of London on a Saturday

Feb 26, 2021 By jonathan 1 Comment

Editor's Note: This took place in the early 2000s. I was driven to explore as much of London as I could on foot. I was a mere 20 years old and the only thing that stood in my way was the weather. But on this occasion, I did not let the weather stop me. I took the Tube to the City of London and walked around with my camera. The City of London is the original 'London’ - the … [Read more...] about London Vignettes: The City of London on a Saturday

London Vignettes: Breakfast off the plane

Feb 18, 2021 By jonathan 2 Comments

Editor's Note: These memories are from the early 2000s. I don’t know about you, but the first thing I want to do when I arrive in London, is to get out of the bloody airport as quickly as possible. And eat. I’m always starving by the time we get through customs on arrival in the UK. The dinner served on the flight over is usually not very good or very filling. The … [Read more...] about London Vignettes: Breakfast off the plane

Laura’s London: A History of Hyde Park – Long Read

Feb 11, 2021 By Laura Porter 1 Comment

While it is a wonderful place for a walk, Hyde Park is also used for major concerts and the annual Winter Wonderland. But the park has a long history that includes reviews of troops, encampments, duels, highway robberies, executions and more. One of London's eight royal parks, Hyde Park is in central London and adjoins Kensington Gardens. Its borders start from the west of … [Read more...] about Laura’s London: A History of Hyde Park – Long Read

London Vignettes: The Lazy Daisy Cafe On Portobello Road

Feb 4, 2021 By jonathan 1 Comment

Editor's note because some people seem confused: this was in 2004. Because we were staying in a hotel that did not provide Breakfast (it was an easyHotel, which basically provided a windowless room to sleep in), by the time we arrived at Portobello Road, we were starving. The problem was that the market was already heaving, even though it was still relatively early in the … [Read more...] about London Vignettes: The Lazy Daisy Cafe On Portobello Road

The London Fiver – Five London Locations for Beatles Fans

Feb 3, 2021 By John Rabon 3 Comments

Sure, the Fab Four certainly got their start in Liverpool playing at venues such as The Cavern Club, but London has its own special connections to the Beatles. From the venues, they played to the places where they lived (and still live today), Beatlemania has touched virtually every part of Britain’s capital. While there is no shortage of such musical locales to see in the … [Read more...] about The London Fiver – Five London Locations for Beatles Fans

London Vignettes: Old Whiteleys – Hardy Books, Muji, and Internet Cafes

Jan 28, 2021 By jonathan 5 Comments

Editor's Note: This is a new ongoing article series telling short little stories about London from our 20 years of travel there. Stories we haven't told before or stories that we think will be interesting. If they prove popular, we may compile them into a book like our Anglophile Vignettes book we released last year. Whiteley’s was in the news recently, it recently got … [Read more...] about London Vignettes: Old Whiteleys – Hardy Books, Muji, and Internet Cafes

LONDON UNDER: Exploring Hidden London’s Abandoned Charing Cross Station

Dec 17, 2020 By Laura Porter 1 Comment

London Transport Museum has a really interesting selection of ‘Hidden London’ tours that give us occasional access to tunnels and stations on the London transport network that are no longer in operational use. The ‘Charing Cross: Access All Areas’ tour looks at the out of service Jubilee line platforms and construction tunnels left over from the excavation of the Jubilee line … [Read more...] about LONDON UNDER: Exploring Hidden London’s Abandoned Charing Cross Station

The London Fiver – Five Collector Toy Shops

Dec 10, 2020 By John Rabon 3 Comments

They say you’re only as old as you feel. For many of us, growing up meant going to the toy store to look, but not take anything home. Now that we’re adults, we like to indulge ourselves in collecting, and there are plenty of stores in London that cater to this demographic. Unlike Harrods, Selfridges, or even Hamleys, the stores below cater to the young and the old, often … [Read more...] about The London Fiver – Five Collector Toy Shops

The London Fiver – Five London Invasion Films

Dec 2, 2020 By John Rabon Leave a Comment

Invaders certainly aren’t an unknown for Britain’s capital. For hundreds of years, Angles, Saxons, Vikings, and Normans marched upon the city, imposing their laws and will on the populace. Of course, in the hundreds of years since the Normans conquered the UK in 1066, the city’s invaders have been fictional. From the Martians in War of the Worlds to Count Dracula, fears of … [Read more...] about The London Fiver – Five London Invasion Films

The London Fiver – Five London Christmas Movies

Nov 24, 2020 By John Rabon Leave a Comment

Christmas movies are one of the joys of the holiday. Whether you’re going to see one in a theater, on television, DVD, or a streaming service, there are plenty of options for holiday cinema. The locations of films can certainly vary from the big city to small-town America, and London has its own share of holiday classics. These films range from classic adaptations to modern … [Read more...] about The London Fiver – Five London Christmas Movies

The London Fiver – Five London Romantic Comedies

Nov 19, 2020 By John Rabon Leave a Comment

In troubling and lonely times, a good romantic comedy can help you feel better about life. London has been the setting of dozens of romantic comedy films over the years, and we have covered some others in the past. If you’ve already gotten through the previous ten, have a look at these five romantic comedies set in one of the world’s biggest cities. Each of these films … [Read more...] about The London Fiver – Five London Romantic Comedies

The London Fiver – Five Sci-Fi Films Set in London

Nov 9, 2020 By John Rabon 2 Comments

England is arguably the home of science-fiction thanks to Mary Shelley and her novel Frankenstein, so it stands to reason that London would be a prime location for the setting of many sci-fi films. However, most of the genre’s movies that take place in the city seem to fall into either being about an alien invasion of a dystopian future. Yet there still manage to be a great … [Read more...] about The London Fiver – Five Sci-Fi Films Set in London

London History: A Special Look at Cleopatra’s Needle on the Victoria Embankment

Oct 27, 2020 By Laura Porter 3 Comments

Did you know, London has an ancient Egyptian obelisk on display? It's not in a museum or a private collection. It's actually alongside the River Thames in central London so you may have seen it and not realised its significance. Cleopatra's Needle on the Victoria Embankment, near the Golden Jubilee Bridges, has a twin in New York's Central Park. (And those two have a … [Read more...] about London History: A Special Look at Cleopatra’s Needle on the Victoria Embankment

Buck House: A History of Buckingham Palace – Long Read

Oct 20, 2020 By Laura Porter Leave a Comment

Editor's Note: You're going to want to brew a cuppa and read this one! While it has a much longer history, Buckingham Palace only became the London residence of Britain's sovereigns in 1837. The Palace is the administrative headquarters of the monarchy and the royal family. (The Queen refers to Buckingham Palace as "the office" as it's where she works rather than … [Read more...] about Buck House: A History of Buckingham Palace – Long Read

The London Fiver – Five of London’s Oldest Breweries

Oct 14, 2020 By John Rabon Leave a Comment

Ale has had a long history in the United Kingdom. By some accounts, it even predates the Romans as some historians evidence that the Romans often enjoyed a Celtic ale or two during their occupation of Great Britain. By the Medieval period, ale was mostly brewed on the premises of the inns and later taverns in which it was sold. The introduction of hops meant a new drink was … [Read more...] about The London Fiver – Five of London’s Oldest Breweries

The Fiver – Five More Tudor Buildings in London

Oct 7, 2020 By John Rabon 2 Comments

Last year we covered some of the buildings that remain in London from the Tudor architectural style. Popular from the end of the medieval period through the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (for whom there is a subset of this design style), the Tudor style is characterized by hammer-beam roofs, long chimneys, timber framing, and brick masonry. While in the past we covered such … [Read more...] about The Fiver – Five More Tudor Buildings in London

A Guide to London’s Underground Abandoned Ghost Stations

Oct 2, 2020 By Laura Porter 1 Comment

There are 270 functioning stations across the 249 miles of Transport for London network. But more interesting to us for this article are the 40+ Overground and Underground stations still in existence that are no longer used for travel. Some people refer to these simply as abandoned stations and others use the name 'ghost stations' (my preferred name choice). All refer to … [Read more...] about A Guide to London’s Underground Abandoned Ghost Stations

London Long Read: A History of London’s 35 Bridges Over The Thames

Sep 24, 2020 By Laura Porter 3 Comments

Did you know, there are 35 bridges over The Thames in London? No, me neither so this was a really interesting article to research. From Hampton Court Bridge in the west (just within the Greater London boundary) through to Tower Bridge there are road bridges, railway bridges and footbridges too. Have a read through, admire the photos, then let us know which is your favourite. … [Read more...] about London Long Read: A History of London’s 35 Bridges Over The Thames

The London Fiver – Five of the Best Libraries in London

Sep 16, 2020 By John Rabon Leave a Comment

You might not think that a library is the best place to spend some time when you’re in London, but my how wrong you would be. London has some of the best libraries in the world and their sheer beauty as well as their contents. Whether you’re doing research, looking for a great story, or want to delve further into the collections of the city’s museums, the libraries are the … [Read more...] about The London Fiver – Five of the Best Libraries in London

London Bridge is Falling Down… A History of London Bridge and Where To Find ‘Old’ London Bridge

Sep 11, 2020 By Laura Porter 6 Comments

London Bridge is falling down, Falling down, falling down. London Bridge is falling down, My fair lady. The popular nursery rhyme would have you believe that the river crossing here has had some issues. But as there has been a bridge over The Thames at this location for 2,000 years it's unsurprising that it has had to be replaced a few times. (The rumour from the nursery … [Read more...] about London Bridge is Falling Down… A History of London Bridge and Where To Find ‘Old’ London Bridge

The London Fiver – Five of the Best Donut Shops in London

Aug 13, 2020 By John Rabon Leave a Comment

Found, fried, doughy goodness. Everyone loves a good donut in the morning—or for dessert—or any time really. There are plenty of great places in the States to get them such as Krispy Kreme, Dunkin Donuts, and even the high-class Dominique Ansel Bakery. Of course, London has its share of these places and even more to boot. Whether you’re in the mood for a plain cake donut, a … [Read more...] about The London Fiver – Five of the Best Donut Shops in London