Top 90 Things To Do In London England - listings 81 to
90
What to do in London?
81 Eros, Piccadilly Circus
Piccadilly Circus is one of the best known and most photographed areas
of London. The focal point of Piccadilly Circus is Eros. Armed of his
bow and arrow Eros stands ready to inflict love into heart all those who
get too close? Not really. Eros was unveiled in 1893 as a memorial to
the Victorian philanthropist, Lord Shaftesbury. Eros' original name was
the Shaftesbury Monument. It wasn't till much later that Eros renamed
himself after the Greek god of love. Eros was intended to be an 'angel
of christian charity' and not the love giver we think of today.
People flock to Eros on mass. During the day shoppers, business people
and tourists negotiate the traffic or approach through the piazza from
the southern end of the Circus. In the evening, Piccadilly Circus really
comes alive, with its gaudy illuminated signs and noisy mix of clubbers
and couples. As part of London's West End Piccadilly Circus is all about
theatres, cinemas, clubs, pubs and restaurants.
More Piccadilly
Circus
82 Battersea Park Children's Zoo
If you have small people to entertain then a trip to Battersea Park's
Children Zoo is a must unless its really you who wants to zoo then London
Zoo is the do. Battersea has all the usual kid friendly stuff like feeding
the lions by hand and cuddling large polar bears ...I kid you, Battersea
Park Children's Zoo prides itself on small animal "encounters",
play areas and ice cream. "From giant rabbits to miniature Shetland
ponies, monkey mayhem to the mouse house - this is the zoo that gets you
up close and personal"
83 (93) Temple Church
Built for the Knights Templar in the 13th century the Temple Church is
one of the few surviving circular churches in England. The Temple Church
is the church of Inner and Middle Temple, two of England’s four
ancient societies of lawyers. The church is welcoming of worshippers and
visitors to London.
As well as services the Temple Church holds concerts and other events.
The Church itself is a beautiful building that is home to one of the finest
choirs in England. Visiting times are published on their web site. Follow
the link below.
Temple, the area around the Church, is a complex of quiet squares and
courts and a little like a step back in time. Welcome to London past.
84 (67) Richmond and Richmond Park
Richmond is a great spot for sunny, lazy Sunday afternoon pub lunch.
Situated on the Thames you can watch the tide go in and out, wonder around
the local shops and go for a boat ride on the River Thames.
Excluding London Zoo and wildlife parks, London isn’t the place
to see wild animals beyond the size of a fox (London has foxes, driven
in by the hunters one assumes) but you can expect to see deer in Richmond
Park. Richmond Park is big. Biggest of all the Royal Parks and certainly
big enough to get lost in. Rolling landscapes of forest and undergrowth
are accompanied by herds of wild deer. Just remember where you parked
the car. The Isabella Plantation is an attractive woodland garden and
worth seeing.
85 (94) Banqueting House
 We've
been robbed! 
When you are pushing 400 years of age you are entitled to look a little
less than perfect. The Banqueting House probably looks better now than
it did when it turned 300. It is the only unscathed building of Whitehall
Palace, the sovereign’s principal residence from 1530 until 1698.
The remainder being destroyed, or partially destroyed, by fire.
The Banqueting House highlight is its Rubens ceiling. Of interest is
the 'Undercroft' where James 1st had some time out with his favourite
courtiers. You can also see the scaffold where King Charles 1st hung out
during his execution in 1649.
Banqueting House was and continues to be used for state occasions, plays
and masques. You should always check in case the Royals or Government
have pre booked. Its a popular hall.
Get free Banqueting House tickets with your
London Pass
86 (39) Visit the residence of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John H. Watson
Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John H. Watson presumably would turn in their
graves if they had them. You don’t need to be a Sherlock to work
out that this is a myth.
I jest, of course its all true, visit The World's Most Famous address
- 221b BAKER STREET - the Official Home of Sherlock Holmes! Says the website
–but hang on –he doesn’t exist – this was a fictional
character! If you are a fan and well read you would know he does exist.
Certainly the Sherlock Holmes had substance to it so let's move on to
221b Baker Street.
Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John H. Watson lived happily together, nod,
nod, wink, wink, say no more at 221b Baker Street between 1881-1904, the
house was last used as a lodging house in 1936 and the famous 1st floor
study overlooking Baker Street is still faithfully maintained as it was
kept in Victorian Times.
87 (57) Stonehenge
Stonehenge dates back to 3000 BC. The latest upgrade was a mere 3500
years ago. Much is known about how it was built but the why is more of
a mystery. Apart from being an obvious landing site for UFOs, druid festivals,
summer solstices, BBQs and pajama parties no one really knows. Archaeological
evidence found by the Stonehenge Riverside Project in 2008 suggests that
Stonehenge served as a burial ground. Cremated remains found on the site
indicate burials from as early as 3000 BC. An opposite theory is that
it is more to do with fertility with phallic shadows stretching across
the ground towards the centre of the stones. An older theory was that
it was used as a place of healing. So have a look around and see what
you think. Maybe you can unlock the secrets of Stonehenge.
It would be great if Stonehenge was tucked away in a quiet corner of
England but it isn’t. Probably issues with planning permission.
Anyway, the A303 provides an interesting contrast between the modern and
ancient but more importantly makes Stonehenge easy to get to. It should
take just over two hours to drive out to Stonehenge from central London.
In 2002 a public poll voted Stonehenge as one of the Seven Wonders of
Britain, alongside Big Ben, the Eden Project (Cornwall), Hadrian's Wall
(Scotland), the London Eye, Windsor Castle, and York Minster.
88 (42) The Great River Race
The colourful floating carnival takes place in September on the Thames
along a 22-mile course from Richmond to Greenwich, with more than 200
floaty things from around the world’s wet spots.
A good way to see the race is aboard the Passenger Boat. It takes its
spectators along the course as far as Hammersmith Bridge before anchoring
up and waiting until most of the race boats have passed. Then the passenger
boat continues to follow the race around until you have seen the vast
majority of the competing boats two or three times. You can disembark
and enjoy a stroll upriver to join the crowds around the Great River Race
bar or, if you prefer, stay on board and take the return journey back
to central London. There is a licensed bar onboard so you can have a drink
whilst you enjoy the spectacle.
Your trip will last approximately 3.5 hours. There will be a return to
Westminster Pier leaving the finish at 17:45 hours.
89 (111) Oxo Tower
The Oxo Tower is a landmark building on the Southbank of the Thames between
Waterloo and Blackfriars Bridge. It has a "OXO" symbol clearly
visible towards the top of the tower (OXO is the name of a stock cube).
The eighth floor contains a public viewing gallery and a restaurant. Beneath
that are flats. Beneath them are arts and crafts shops on the ground and
first floors.
The Oxo Tower was originally a power station. It was partially demolished
and subsequently acquired by the manufacturers of Oxo beef stock cubes.
The company wanted to build a tower to include illuminated signs advertising
the OXO brand. They were allowed to build the tower but permission to
advertise was withheld. Consequently the company built the tower with
four sets of three vertically-aligned windows, each of which just happened
to be in the shapes of a circle, a cross and a circle. But this is not
advertising of course, just an amazing coincidence..
90 (106) Westminster Bridge
Good spot to take a picture of the House of Parliament and Big Ben.
Built in 1862, Westminster Bridge is the oldest bridge in London. Apart
from some minor repairs Westminster Bridge has stood the test of time.
Westminster Bridge is mostly painted green to reflect the colour of the
benches in the Houses of Parliament. Lambeth Bridge is red for the same
reason but this time representing the House of Lords. Hopefully this does
not mean that we lose Lambeth Bridge if they ever abolish the House of
Lords.
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Top One Hundred Things To Do In London, England
