When we did go looking for food, it was fairly expensive - although that was  mostly due to the exchange rate between the Aussie dollar & the pound! Not a pretty picture at the best of times, I’m afraid, so I just resigned myself to paying twice as much as I would be back home.

However, there were a few good places we ate at that are worth checking out.

Firstly, there’s JD Wetherspoons - a chain pub - where we had a very tasty and great priced lunch. In fact, we went to 2 different wetherspoons in a week and they both had good food and very reasonable prices. Of course, nothing flash - it’s pub food, NOT Gordon Ramsay’s… but definitely earned a few brownie points from yours truly.

We also went into Selfridges to their cafe and enjoyed corned beef sandwiches one day. A favourite childhood memory for Aylin (her dad used to take them there for lunch as a treat), so off we toddled to check the place out. The food was tasty. Prices were OK, but the actual department store itself was GREAT!

Apparently Selfridges is one of the largest (or is it oldest? I forget) dept store chains in the world, from memory, and you can bet we don’t have anything even vaguely like them in Perth. Myer and David Jones would be swallowed up by this grand old father of the UK retail market.

I’ll tell you about the Vegas display they were running while we were there another time but suffice it to say I have some …”fun” pictures for you

If you’re on a budget while in London, then you’ll need to exercise a little caution with your food. I suggest you buy stuff from a supermarket and prepare it yourself when possible. Every tourist attraction you go to sells food and drinks but at an exhorbitant price, so be pre-prepared and save big!

If you don’t have access to cooking facilities, and don’t expect 5 Star dining, then definitely check out Wetherspoons. Also, all your typical fast food places like McDonalds, KFC and so forth are available.

On the other hand, if you’ve got plenty of brass in your pocket, then go check out some of London’s best restaurants, including Gordon Ramsay’s London restaurant, or choose from this list of my recommendations for London’s top 5 restaurants (which does include Restaurant Gordon Ramsay.)

Annual Children’s Events
Depending on the season, there are a number of annual events that children will enjoy, including January’s New Year’s Parade, the Pancake Day Races in February, and March’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration. In April, you can enjoy the city’s Easter Celebrations, June is the Queen’s Birthday Parade, August has Notting Hill Carnival Children’s Day and November features the thrilling Bonfire Night.

Museum of Docklands
This museum offers a wonderful kid’s play area for any child under twelve. Called Mudlarks, this play area has a London docks theme, allowing kids to load a tea clipper, weigh cargo, crawl around in a model London bus, or pretend to drive a Docklands Light Railway train.

London Dungeon
Called the “most chillingly famous horror attraction” in the world, the London Dungeon covers more than two thousand years of the most gruesome history London has to offer. It’s a great choice for any little one who loves the gross and gruesome, especially if they’re fond of scary stories.

Hamleys Toy Store
One of the world’s most famous toy stores, Hamleys was first established in the middle of the eighteenth century and has been a landmark since the early nineteenth century. There are seven floors of games, toys, gifts and more, with a Narnia staircase and plenty of other things to see.

London Zoo
Opened in 1827, this zoo is actually the origin of the term. It has plenty of fantastic and exotic animals for you and the kids to see, and a conservation focus, with great breeding programs for one hundred and thirty different species.

The British Museum
Dating from 1753, the British Museum always has been and still is free. Check out Easter Island statues, ancient Egyptian mummies and artifacts, and plenty more attractions that the kids will love.

The Horniman Museum
Located close to the London Bridge train station, this free museum offers an aquarium and plenty of great exhibitions of natural worlds that children will enjoy.

Kensington Gardens’ Peter Pan Statue
Located in Kensington Gardens, near Hyde Park, this statue’s place was chosen by J.M. Barrie, creator of Peter Pan. The first story was published in 1902, and used the park as inspiration, since Barrie lived close to Kensington Gardens at the time.

Coram’s Fields Playground
Around the corner from the Foundling Museum, this central London playground only allows adults when they come with a child. Staff are always on site, and the playground features activities for all ages, a cafe and a pet corner.

That’s not all that London has to offer for families with children, but it’s something that’ll help get you started. When you go to London, check out some of these attractions with your kids and have a great time together!

That’s why you should check out guided walks with the London Walks Company instead. You’ll get all the information you want, and get to see everything your tour has to offer.

There are many different tour options, so it’ll be easy to find one that covers the area you’d like to see and to fill the amount of time you have available. Just remember to dress for the weather and bring good walking shoes!

If you’d like to go on a London Walk, just find the appropriate Tube Stop and meet up with your guide and other walkers on the pavement outside. Your guide will hold up copies of the London Walks leaflet to help you find him or her.

One of the great things about London Walks is that there’s no need to book in advance. Don’t bother dealing with any red tape - just turn up for the walk and enjoy yourself, since there’s no upper capacity for a tour.

Of course, if you’re in an extremely large group, there are reasons to book a private walk. You’ll get a guide all to yourself and the overall cost will be lower - contact London Walks to find out more.

Most London walks last around two hours, and you don’t need to worry about yours being canceled. The walk goes on, regardless of the weather.

To make getting where you want to go after the walk much easier, each tour ends near or at another Tube Stop. Just get on the train and head to your next destination.

Wondering how much a London Walk costs?  That depends on who you are and what your status is.

The standard London walk is seven pounds, with adults over sixty-five years of age, students and people with Discount Walkabout Cards paying five. Kids under fifteen can walk for free if they’re with a parent.

For London Walks’ Explorer Days programs to Stonehenge and Salisbury, Oxford and the Cotswolds, Richmond and Hampton Court Palace, Cambridge, Bath, and many other locations, the basic fee is twelve pounds plus tariffs. Older adults, students, and Discount Walkabout card carriers pay ten.

London Walks operates every day, all year, rain or shine, even on Christmas. Summer programs start in May and run through the beginning of November, with Winter Walks running November to April.

A trip with the London Walks Company is an excellent addition to any London holiday, and doesn’t require any advance planning. Just show up at the right location and be ready for a couple of hours of fun filled, informative walking through some of London’s greatest sights.

The London Walks Company is probably the best of the walking tour companies in the city, offering walks every day, in any weather, so you’ll never find out yours has been canceled. Take a London Walk when you visit this great city - you’ll enjoy yourself a lot more than if you’d been walking on your own.

Fortunately, it is possible to find inexpensive airfare to London. You just need to know how to do it and pay attention - here’s some basic information to help you.

Most of us no longer have to rely on travel agents to help us get the best deals on our flights to London. Instead, we can look online for our own fares, using our own best judgment to help us find the perfect flight.

When you start searching online, your chances of finding the cheapest flights to London improve if you’re willing to be flexible. Check more than one online dealer, and be willing to move your travel dates and times around to get a much better fare.

Even if your first search turns up some pretty good fares, you’ll lose only a few minutes by looking elsewhere, and your chances of getting an inexpensive flight are greatly improved. Since you’re looking online, you can even search several site simultaneously.

Flying out of season is also an extremely good idea. Most travel destinations have what’s called a low season, when tourists are less likely to visit them.

Despite the fact that crowds are thinner at this time of year, it doesn’t mean that there’s nothing do do in London. However, airlines have to reduce their prices in order to attract people who might not normally be able to afford a trip to London, increasing your chances of finding very cheap fares.

Remember to check out whether or not your favorite attractions will be open if you choose to travel in the off season, however. Some attractions have limited hours during this season or close entirely, depending on how much the reduction in tourism affects their business.

The cheapest flights to London are available during November and the first part of December. Things get expensive again for Christmas, but fares go down again from early January until the middle of March, when airlines start their summer fares.

Remember to check out the normal price of air fare to London, too. If you don’t know what these tickets usually cost, you may have trouble deciding whether a fare you’ve been offered really is a good deal, or if you should keep looking.

If you, a friend, or a family member have miles or points with a particular airline, this method could get you a cheaper flight, too. Just remember to compare the final price of that flight to what it would cost you to use another airline to the same destination.

Don’t rush your decision and be open to changing your plans if you want to get the cheapest fares to London. If you’re willing to do your research and book well ahead, you’ll save money and have a lot more left for comfortable accommodations and good food.

However, that doesn’t mean you can’t have a lot of fun in London, as long as you think about where to go and what to see before you get there. Here are a few of the most popular London sightseeing options to get you started.

Thames River Cruises
Check out a river cruise down the Thames from Westminster to the Tower of London. Along the way, you’ll pass many famous bridges and some of the most important landmarks in the city.

Among others, you’ll get fantastic views of the London Eye, Houses of Parliament, the Globe Theatre, Tower Bridge, and St. Paul’s Cathedral before arriving at the Tower of London. Founded in 1066 by William the Conquerer, this Tower holds the Crown Jewels, and is one of the more spectacular fortresses in the world.

Over the course of its history, the Tower of London has served as a Royal palace, a place of imprisonment, a location for executions, an armory and the home of the fantastic Crown Jewels. These include the Sovereign’s Scepter, Imperial State Crown, Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation crown, the legendary Koh-i-Noor diamond and the huge Cullinan stones.

City of London Tours
Take a guided or solo tour through the City of London, and see St. Paul’s Cathedral up close, as well as the Bank of England and the Mansion House, which is home to the Lord Mayor of London. If you’re with a guide, you’ll find out all about the area’s history, including the great fire of 1666 that nearly destroyed a large portion of the city.

St. Paul’s Cathedral
The Cathedral itself is a masterpiece of architecture by Christopher Wren, and was built after the 1666 Great Fire of London. It’s recently served as a wedding place for royalty, and was the location of the thanksgiving services for the Queen’s 80th birthday and Golden Jubilee.
St Paul’s Cathedral

Parliament Square and Westminster Abbey
Take a drive or walk around Parliament Square to see the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, then head to Westminster Abbey, where many of the most important people in British history are buried. Services at the Abbey are free to worshipers, but visitors there for the architecture and history are encouraged to leave a donation.

The Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace
A must-see sight on any trip to London, the changing of the guard happens at 11:30 each day during the some, and every other day in winter. Arrive early to see it happen!

These aren’t the only things to see on your next trip to London, but they’re a good start. Check out all your options for guided, unguided and walking tours of some of London’s best attractions.

Don’t let your trip to London overwhelm you. There’s a lot to see and do, but if you take the time to plan first, you’ll get to do plenty of sightseeing without getting lost.

These options range from galleries and museums to walking tours and free music events. Here are a few options to help you decide what to do on your London trip.

Art Galleries

London offers some exceptional galleries, including the Tate Britain and Tate Modern. The former displays British art from the 1500s until the present, while the latter focuses on more contemporary art.

Inside the Tate Modern

The huge inside hall of the Tate Modern

Those aren’t the only free art galleries you can see in London, however. The Wallace Collection, The National Gallery in Trafalgar Square and the National Portrait Gallery are all an excellent choice.

Museums

All the major museums in London are free, with special exhibitions requiring a paid ticket. The British Museum, Museum of London, Natural History Musuem, Victoria and Albert Museum, Science Museum, Geffrye Museum and Horniman Museum are all open to the public and house some truly fascinating collections.

Westminster Abbey
There’s never a charge to see the inside of Westminster Abbey, though a donation is encouraged, so that the Abbey can cover its costs. Worshippers can see the beautiful choral Evensong service at five pm every weekday except Wednesday and three pm on the weekends.

The entrance to Westminster Abbey

No! You can't come in! Me fooling around at the entrance...

The right side of Westminster Abbey

More magnificent Westminster Abbey

Royal Parks and Gardens
If you’d like some time in a beautiful outdoor setting, there are a number of lovely Royal parks and gardens in London. One favorite spot for many is Queen Mary’s Rose Gardens, located in Regent’s Park.

Trafalgar Square
One of the best visitor attractions in Britain, Trafalgar Square was first designed and constructed in the first part of the nineteenth century, and is a local tourist attraction with sights including the National Gallery and Nelson’s Column. If you happen to be in London in December, check out the fantastic Christmas tree donated by Norway each year.

Entrance to Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square Fountain

1 of 4 Magnificent Lions guarding Nelson's Column

Nelson's Column

One of Nelson's Lions from the side - BIG BUGGER!

St. James’s Park is another popular choice, offering great views and photo opportunities of Buckingham Palace. In addition, there’s the ever famous Hyde Park, an enormous area including the famous Peter Pan statue and Princess Diana Memorial Fountain.

Changing of the Guard
Almost every visit to London includes a trip to see this long lasting military tradition, when the Queen’s Guard changes inside Buckingham Palace’s gates. This happens every day at 11:30 am during the summer months, and every other day during the winter - arrive early to see the ritual from outside the gates.

Street Markets
Buying isn’t free, but just wandering through London’s famous street markets costs nothing. Enjoy Greenwich Market, Portobello Market, Camden Market, Old Spitalfields Market and many more, all over London.

The South Bank
From this area of the River Thames, you can see an enormous number of famous London landmarks, including the Globe Theatre, the London Eye, and the Tate Modern. Look for free walking tours to help you enjoy the South Bank even more.

Street Performances
Check out Convent Garden Market’s West Piazza every afternoon to see the street performances, or on the weekends along the South Bank. All these performers are licensed and have auditioned for the honor of performing here, and they love a good audience.

I have 1 large bag with pull-up handle and wheels on the bottom, a backpack and (eventually) a smaller wheel bag, and let me tell you, lugging those darn things around the London Underground system was an absolute NIGHTMARE!

What you may not realise is that when they call it the “Underground”, they MEAN underground!

Hence, nearly all the stations I visited required you to go down some fairly serious flights of steps (or, if you were lucky, you got an escalator) and when you’re lugging 3 bags and trying to go fast so you don’t miss your train, you very quickly find that it’s a LOT tougher than it looks.

In hindsight, I would have ditched the big wheelie bag and only had a small one + backpack - it would have made my life so much easier.

Now, if you’re arriving in London, catching a cab to your hotel and the only time you need to take your luggage with you is the day you leave to fly home, you can probably ignore my advice to some extent.

However, if you’re going to be moving around a bit like I was (I had to change B&B’s once, and catch a bus to the coast to head off on a European bus tour, and then come back), then carrying all that heavy luggage was a nightmare.

Plus, while on the European bus tour, there was a new hotel nearly every night, which meant more lugging of baggage, which wasn’t much fun.

Folks, my advice is to travel light! If necessary, buy some clothes & most essentials (soap, shampoo, deodorant, etc) from a local supermarket once you get to London. You can always leave the toiletaries behind to save space when you head back home, and perhaps even throw away some of the really cheap clothing items, depending on when you want them or not.

Trust me, it’s not worth the hassle lugging all that crap around, especially trying to get in and out of the Tube stations - they have some of the steepest stairs and escalators I have ever encountered!

To be honest, I didn’t really know what to expect, but suffice it to say it was more than worth the visit. On my next trip to London, I have every intention of returning - I was so enamoured of the place.

Once you reach Windsor (a small town about 35 km west of London), you realise that there is the town Windsor, AND the Castle Windsor is a part of the town - quite an intriguing site for a boy from Oz…

On the main road leading up to the castle is a fairly imposing statue of Queen Victoria (I think) cast in a black colour (I assume painted bronze???), holding a ball and sceptre. She’s a bit of a forbidding looking woman…

The Statue of Queen Victoria, outside the entrance to Windsor Castle

On the day we turned up, it was drizzling (big surprise in London - rain - who would have thunk it!!!) so we had our umbrellas up.

First you go in and pay your entrance fee (I forget how much I paid, but I believe an adult ticket is approx 12 pounds now) and then join the queue to enter the castle.

We had a nice old english chap by the name of Mo as our initial guide, and he explained about the belt and garter symbol you see all over the place - an interesting story is that one.

Mo, the Guide at Windsor Castle

The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry, or knighthood, originating in medieval England, and presently bestowed on recipients in any of the Commonwealth realms; it is the pinnacle of the honours system in the United Kingdom. Membership in the order is limited to the sovereign, the Prince of Wales, and no more than twenty-four members, or Companions; the order also comprises Supernumerary knights and ladies (e.g., members of the British Royal Family and foreign monarchs).

The order’s emblem, depicted on insignia, is a garter with the motto Honi soit qui mal y pense (Old French: “shame upon him who thinks evil upon it”) in gold lettering. Members of the order wear such a garter on ceremonial occasions.

Order of The Garter symbol on the wall at Windsor Castle

Order of the Garter symbol

One thing I vividly remember was the near-constant noise of jet aircraft flying in the area. Apparently Windsor is fairly close to Heathrow Airport, and since they are a mega-busy airport, there are always planes flying to and fro. Mo was obviously totally familiar with this and immune to the noisy interuptions, as he just keep talking and didn’t give them a 2nd glance.

Shows I come from a small place with that one staying in my memory - a plane an hour is really busy in Perth, whereas Heathrow probably gets several planes every 1-2 minutes!

OK, that’s enough for now - we’ll come back to Windsor Castle soon, with plenty more pictures and comments on great things I saw and did.

The welcome sign inside the entrance of the 950 year old pub - The Royal Standard of England

Here I was in this small English pub which has a lifetime of more then 3 times the number of years that Australia has been colonised by the English.

We went to dinner at this place one evening, after we had been to look at the country club where my best friend and his wife-to-be were going to be married.

It was a quaint old pub, with all sorts of interesting things on the wall and ceiling, and is famous for its ancient timbers and stained glass windows.

The unusual name of this ancient tavern comes from a fascinating story back in the 1600’s.

It seems that Charles 1st sought shelter here during his 6-week flight from Cromwell’s troops, after the Battle of Worcester. The landlord at the time risked execution by helping to hide Charles in the inn.

As a show of his gratitude for the brave innkeeper who helped save his life, Charles bestowed the name of “The Royal Standard of England” on the inn, referencing the famous flag which is only flown by the sovereign. Apparently the Royal Standard is in direct descent from the arms of William the Conqueror.

“Since Saxon times ale has been served here for over 900 years” (quote from their website)

The beams are black with the stain (and paint) of ages, and parts of the floor are uneven and pitted with rocks. I guess you’d look a little black and tired if you were 950 years old as well!

An interior photo of the fireplace and ancient beam

Anyway, we ordered dinner and I had a good laugh when I tried to order a Lemon, Lime & Bitters for a drink…

Seems the bar staff had never heard of this drink (a big surprise to me - I figured most countries would know it), and couldn’t figure out whether it was meant to be a pint of bitter with some lemon & lime in it or not!

In the end, we talked them through the art of creating an LLB and sat down to enjoy our meal & the drinks.

Dinner at the Royal Standard of England

It was a pleasant evening in this amazing pub, but I think I’ll let the rest of my pictures do the talking, since they’ll say it much better than I…

an outside view of the Royal Standard

The King Charles room, from the outside

Upper view of the front of the Standard

One of the Standards famous stained glass windows

The bar inside the Royal Standard pub

Me standing in front of the seat where we ate our meal - great looking decor :-)

A lovely old light shining outside the Royal Standard

If you’d like some more info about the Royal Standard of England Freehouse (pub/inn/tavern), drop by their website here: Royal Standard of England

The closing comment about the story behind how this pub came to get its name is this:

Over time a traditional tale told about the pub is that the young Prince Charles hid up in the priest’s hole in the roof space on his way to escape to France in 1651, after the battle of Worcester. After Charles II’s restoration to the throne, the pub was rewarded by the new king in 1663 for giving support to his executed father and his cavaliers, when they raised his Royal Standard.

He honoured the landlord by agreeing to change the name of the pub from The Ship to “The Royal Standard of England“, the only pub in the country with the honour of the full title, and reverting back to the royal Wessex dragon. Though the royalists were well served by the loyal landlord during the civil war, a more human reason emerges for the royal gesture for the pub’s name change. King Charles II was obliged to the landlord while he met his mistresses in the rooms above. The shrewd landlord with business in mind, had cashed in on his royal guest.

First impressions of the building are very powerful.

It is BIG, really BIG!

And, gothic in look (of course), with lots of intriguing statues lining the walls. Apparently, these (mostly) scarey statues (called gargoyles) are meant to frighten off (keep out) evil spirits with their grotesque looks.

Some of the many gargoyle statues on the Natural History Museum

The building is a large rectangle, rising up about 3 floors, and on each end, it rises up another few floors and ends with a peaked roof. You can see this quite clearly from one of the photos I took.

A side angle photo of the Museum

Entry to the Museum is free (yay!) and the entrances goes up a set of steps to a fairly imposing set of double doors.

The main sign outside the entrance to the Natural History Museum

The quality of the stonework in the entrance is magnificent - with all sorts of cool patterns carved into the pillars and arches.

The magnificent stonework of the Museum entrance

A panoramic view of the entire Natural History Museum, centered on the entrance

When you step inside, you see a long hall, with a set of steps heading up at the other end, and a dinosaur statue in the middle of the room. Down the sides of the room are arches, which contain displays inside each of them.

Inside Entrance View of the Museum

When you look up, the ceiling has many paintings of plant life at the top, and the sides are glass, so plenty of natural light gets into the building to brighten things up.

The plantlife artwork on the roof of the Museum

There are also beautiful lead light glass windows in the vertical windows on the upper levels (and at the ends) which you can see fairly easily, once you step inside the main hall. Not quite Notre Dame quality, but very lovely, none-the-less.

Some of the leadlight windows in the Museum

Well, that’s it for my introduction to the Natural History Museum. I’ll have more in-depth information and photos to come soon. I hope this small start whetted your appetite for more - it’s a fascinating place to visit, that’s for certain.