London Things to Do

Hitting headlines recently as the 2012 Olympic Shooting venue, the London Royal Artillery Barracks boast a long military history, built in 1776 for the companies of the Royal Artillery and used by them until 2007. Not only that, the Royal Artillery Barracks once hosted the Royal Arsenal complex, home to the British Government’s principal armaments manufacturing facility, and the Royal Military Academy which trained officers and engineers from 1741 to 1939. Nearby Woolwich Common is still a military training area, so if you’re lucky, you might catch a glimpse of the Royal troops marching through the park.

Regent Street, London. We all know the elegant curve of its Georgian facades – it’s the famous shopping heart of this city, crossing with Oxford Street at Oxford Circus. Regent Street has the huge flagship Apple Store, the famous Hamleys toy shop, and Liberty department store. It’s so crowded before Christmas that you can hardly move along its pavement. But do you know its history?

“I know I have lounged about the streets, insufficiently and unsatisfactorily fed. I know that, but for the mercy of God, I might easily have been, for any care that was taken of me, a little robber or a little vagabond” – Charles Dickens

Luckily for him and us, he grew up to be one of our greatest writers – Charles John Huffam Dickens, born 200 years ago

So you’ve trawled the British Museum for Egyptian relics, the Science Museum for dinosaur bones and the V&A for Art Nouveau designer flair, but now you’d like to visit something a little different… London’s top-drawer museums are just the tip of the iceberg

Once upon a time the Tower of London was all about locking people in. For nearly 1000 years it has been London’s royal fortress, stronghold, and prison. It was originally built by William the Conqueror in 1080 to scare the Londoners he’d just conquered, and also to hide inside if they revolted against him. Although many kings and queens have stayed within the tower walls over history, it was never built to be a royal palace but rather a fortress, which it was until late in the 19th century.

Icy temperatures and one too many rainy days might put people off spending winter in the British capital, but once the festive season gets underway there are few places more atmospheric than London.

If you’ve see Bridget Jones’s Diary, you’ve seen Borough Market. It’s the site of her walk of heartbreak: bunny costume and tears. Bridget lives opposite the market : no schelpping her fruit and veg onto the train to get home after Saturday morning shopping; she could just cross the road. For the rest of us in London, the effort of getting to Borough Market is still worth it.

London is a crowded city. Despite the huge parks dotted around, Londoners are still quite squeezed for outdoor space. So when the nicer weather comes, they head up onto the roof. Here are some suggestions

I like a good coffee. I do not like coffee from chains that put quantity over quality. Sometimes I like coffee because the view that goes with it is wonderful, or the atmosphere…. Keep that in mind as I tell you my five top coffee spots in London.

There are people who swim year around in London – outdoors. Yes, I also think they are crazy but I have to admire them. The place to do it is the Hampstead Heath Swimming Ponds, world-renowned and very London. Located on the Highgate side of the huge wilderness known as Hampstead Heath, there are two ponds open all year around: the Highgate Men’s Bathing Pond and the Kenwood Ladies’ Bathing Pond.