The London Explorer Blog

On July 8th 2021 Buckingham Palace opened up the Garden for it’s preview day, before opening up to the public. I was given a ticket. Here are my pictures.   Buckingham Palace ticket Buckingham Palace Garden map.                                   Buckingham…

We’ve just taken our walking holiday in the Yorkshire Dales exactly 12 months later than planned (if you’re reading this in 2051:…coronavirus). The weather was superb for walking, up hill and literally down dale. As well as beautiful scenery there’s history in the Dales too. In this second blog on my North Yorkshire travels we…

We’ve just taken our walking holiday in the Yorkshire Dales exactly 12 months later than planned (if you’re reading this in 2051:…coronavirus). The weather was superb for walking, up hill and literally down dale. As well as beautiful scenery there’s history in the Dales too. In this first blog on my North Yorkshire travels we…

I’ve been driving a taxi around London for over twenty years. I completed the world-renowned ‘Knowledge of London’ in 2000, entitling me to become an ‘All London Green Badge’ licensed taxi driver. The first ten years were a mix of taxi work combined with building up a parallel career as a tour guide. Since then…

I’ve been driving a taxi around London for over twenty years. I completed the world-renowned ‘Knowledge of London’ in 2000, entitling me to become an ‘All London Green Badge’ licensed taxi driver. The first ten years were a mix of taxi work combined with building up a parallel career as a tour guide. Since then…

Steeped in history, full of pomp, ancient ceremony. But have you ever wondered who all those soldiers were? Those soldiers on sentry duty at Buckingham Palace and those soldiers who march and ride during Changing of the Guard ceremony? This blog explains who’s who, where is where and how they got here. What’s in a…

Welcome to the definitive guide and timetable for Changing of the Guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace….St James’s Palace, Wellington Barracks and Horse Guards Parade. Buckingham Palace Did I just mention four locations? The answer is yes I did; and not only are four locations involved but two ceremonies are taking place at the same time!…

The Great Hall – from Medieval to Victorian London. Continuing our exploration of Guildhall, this post looks at the architectural history, up to the 20th century, of its original and most important building. For centuries the words ‘Guildhall’ and ‘the Great Hall’ were interchangeable. Today the Guildhall complex is made up of lots of buildings…

More songs have been written and recorded about New York than any other city. ‘New York, New York’ is one of many. Starting from ‘’A’ Train Lady’ by Mink DeVille and ending at ‘Zulu Bronx River’ by Afrika Bambaataa there are over 3500 entries on the Wikipedia list for NYC. Guildhall. City of London. London…

The Mayor of London’s ‘Borough of Culture’ award aims to put culture at the heart of local communities, enabling boroughs to fund events and support local artists and performers. The first LBC was Waltham Forest in 2019 and the second is my home London borough of Brent. What is Brent? Following the hugely significant London…

As I write this blog post we have just passed the 372nd anniversary of the execution of Charles I, outside the Palace of Whitehall in the heart of ‘royal’ Westminster. His death marked an end to what is always referred to as ‘The English Civil War’. Various English monarchs have met a bloody ending, perhaps…

Posh Mayfair, upmarket Mayfair, moneyed Mayfair, you get the picture; it’s nice in Mayfair. Mayfair is in the West End of central London, which is not one district but a patchwork of neighbouring areas that developed through the 17th and 18th centuries (St James’s, Covent Garden and Soho were others). The West End formed the mainly…