header-v104

Waterloo Bridge

by

Waterloo Bridge has one of my favourite views in London. Anyone who likes The Kinks must know the song Waterloo Sunset and many Londoners cannot resist humming that tune when crossing over Waterloo Bridge on their way home from work, “Swarming like flies around Waterloo underground”. It isn’t the most beautiful bridge to look at […]

Marshalsea Prison

by

Diary extract of a young boy named Charlie – 1827 St George the Martyr and Marshalsea Prison 15th July 1827 5.30am and I am awoken by a kerfuffle outside my window in Bermondsey. I had almost forgot that yesterday was Bastille Day and this commotion that stirred me was nothing more than the drunken revelry […]

Ferrymen’s Seat – London Bankside

by

Along Bankside in London, near The Globe Theatre is the Ferrymen’s Seat. It is a a rather unremarkable looking piece of stone jutting out of a wall and you have to be pretty slim to fit on it. I suppose there was no McDonalds in those days and people were pretty undernourished and skinny. Up […]

The Carting Lane Fart Lamp

by

Just off the Strand, if you bend your steps down the little alley called Carting Lane, you will see a street lamp with a rather thick shaft. It is right at the other end of the lane towards the river, behind the Savoy. This is the last of London’s sewage lamps , a typically ingenious […]

St Bride’s Church – Looks Like a Cake

by

St Bride’s Church Just off Fleet Street near Ludgate Circus is St Bride’s which was built in 1672 by Sir Christopher Wren. What I love about St Bride’s is the story about how it inspired the design of the traditional wedding cake. Just nearby, on Ludgate Hill a pastry chef called William Rich had his […]

The Savoy – Driving on the Right!

by

There are many suggestions as to why we drive on the left in Britain but did you know that The Savoy is the one place in where we drive on the right! IN fact, the roundabout is the gauge by which we set the turning circle of a British Taxi cab. All taxis have to […]

Blackfriars Bridge – God’s Banker

by

God’s Banker Blackfriars Bridge was the third bridge to be built across the river Thames and opened to the public in 1769. It was called Blackfriars Bridge because it lies within a precinct in the City named after the Blackfriars Monastery which for many years occupied a nearby area. Although it was made of Portland […]

Dr. Who’s TARDIS – Police Boxes

by

Dr Who’s TARDIS is essentially based on the Police Box which you can see spotted around London and the UK. There aren’t many left and many are replicas. There are also many smaller ones designed by Gilbert MacKenzie Trench, and the idea was that they were all connected with the local police station and anyone […]

A Roman Bath – Or is it Tudor?

by

Just off Surrey Street near Temple Tube Station in London is a rather odd little attraction. The National Trust Roman Baths. There seems to be some debate as to how authentically Roman they are, but they are certainly an interesting attraction. It seems that they are more Tudor and were originally designed to feed a […]

How to use London Cycle Hire – Boris Bikes

by

Joolz shows you how to use a Boris Bike! The London Cycle Hire Scheme is a great and affordable way to get around London. For just £2 you can have access to a bike for 24 hours. However, if you only want to pay £2 for the whole day you have to make sure you […]

Wilton Music Hall – Cockney Singalong

by

Wilton Music Hall is the oldest surviving music hall in the world and the perfect location for Tom Carradine’s Cockney Singalong. You might have seen Tom Carradine performing with Champagne Charlie and the Bubbly Boys but you can’t miss him. He has a huge twirly moustache and spats and tail-coat and is member of the […]

Middle Temple Hall

by

The Honourable Society of Middle Temple Hall was built in the 16th century, during William Shakespeare’s time and is one of the four inns of courst which can call its members to the bar. (The others are Inner Temple, Grays Inn and Lincoln’s Inn.) It was in the 13th century that the inns of court […]

Cabman Shelters

by

Dotted around London are these little green huts. They are actually cabman shelters designed so that taxi drivers (and hansome cab drivers in the old days) could have somewhere to go and rest and have some reasonably priced refreshments. Cabman shelters are now listed buildings and you can still buy snacks at them but you […]

HMS President

by

In this London guide Joolz Guides goes for a drink on a battleship moored on the river Thames. HMS President was a Q-Ship which saw action in the first world war, which were battleships disguised as merchant ships. This particular one is decorated in the style of a dazzleship which was a form of camouflage […]

York House Watergate

by

Joolz explains how the streets got their peculiar names around Embankment and how the narrowing of the river caused York House Watergate to be isolated. York House Watergate was a part of a grand estate belonging to the Duke of Buckingham. In the 18th century the river came all the way up to the York […]

Temple Church

by

Situated just off Fleet Street in an area called Temple Inn is one of London’s most beautiful treasures. The Temple Church was built over 800 years ago for the famous order of the Knights Templar. You might recognize the Temple Church from the film The Da Vinci Code but in real life it has great […]

The Chewing Gum Man

by

If you ever walk across the Millenium Bridge look under your feet and you will see little colourful drawings. These are what the Chewing Gum man – Ben Wilson calls gum pics. Ben is no stranger to the police and in fact he often has run-ins with them as they try to prosecute him for […]

Borough Market

by

Borough Market is situated by London Bridge and is a must see for gourmet travellers. In this London guide, Joolz tries out the best sausage rolls in London, organic iced tea and even award winning English wine! If you want a London guide where you meet the actual characters of London Joolz Guides is for […]