Being London born and bred I guess I have an inbuilt love and appreciation of the city. It is one place I could never tire of visiting and love exploring and finding out about places and the stories behind them. The main tourist sites of London always draw the crowds and I love them, but I like to go one further and find out about the parts of London that are off the tourist track or that offer a little bit extra to those who seek them out.
Last year I fulfilled one of my lifetime ambitions - to be a witness to the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London. It was an incredible event, which takes place every night long after the tourists have gone home and is only available to ticket holders. It is an incredible ceremony to watch and timed with such precision that the conclusion of it with the bugler playing The Last Post starts precisely at the first stroke of 10.00pm. Whilst waiting for the ceremony to start one of the Yeoman Warders will tell you some fascinating stories of previous guests at the Tower and you also get the chance to take photos (not during the actual ceremony).At one point of course you are locked in the Tower, but sadly they do re-open a section of the gate for you to leave afterwards.
If you ever get the opportunity to attend I would thoroughly recommend it – you can get tickets through the official website for The Tower of London. http://www.hrp.org.uk/toweroflondon/whatson/ceremonyofthekeys.aspx
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| A view from inside the Tower at night |
I have also previously enjoyed Walking Tours of London and have loved to see places frequented by Jane Austen or see the street which inspired Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter series of books. These and other tours are available every day and for £8 you can enjoy learning about some of the great places and people in London. For more information see http://www.walks.com/
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| The street that inspired Diagon Alley |
During my most recent visit to London, a friend and I embarked on a tour of Secret London. We visited many of the well known sites in central London but were on the lookout for certain things that are often passed over as we look at the more prominent landmarks around us. I had obtained the details from the website http://www.secret-london.co.uk/ and we set about trying to find as many of the places or items mentioned as possible. It was an educational and entertaining afternoon and certainly gave me a greater appreciation and love of my favourite city.
Here are just a few places we visited......
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| National Gallery |
Sitting on the steps below the National Gallery to eat their sandwiches, many tourists unknowingly rest their feet on the standard Imperial measures of length, set into the granite paving in brass. Here’s where you can check the length of a perch, a pole, a chain or a yard. The UK completed its legal transition to metric units in 1995.
Nelson's Column at the heart of Trafalgar Square, hardly a secret itself, but have you ever noticed the detail at the bottom of the column?
On the south of Nelson’s Column is a relief showing his death at Trafalgar in 1805. On the left of the dying Nelson is a black crewman holding a musket and searching the enemy rigging for the French sniper who shot him. There were 18 nationalities on board HMS Victory, including nine West Indians and one African.
The fountains in the square were installed to stop unruly political demonstrations. Before then, this police box near Nelson’s Column, connected by phone to Charing Cross police station, kept an eye on any crowds. Now a cleaner’s store, the light on top is not from Nelson’s HMS Victory, as some guides might tell you.
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| Charles I Statue |
On a busy traffic island below Trafalgar Square is a statue of King Charles I (oddly, looking towards the place he was beheaded in Whitehall). It’s on a site once occupied by Queen Eleanor's Cross (a replica of which is in front of Charing Cross station). A brass plaque tells you this the place from which all distances to London are measured.
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| Horse Guards |
The official entrance to Buckingham Palace has had a mounted guard for the past 200 years. Anyone can walk and you can also drive through - provided you have a special ivory token from the Queen.
Horse Guards - The clock has a black numeral 2 - this is the hour at which King Charles was beheaded in the Banqueting House opposite. |
| Admiralty Arch |
Admiralty Arch London. Built by King Edward VII in memory of his mother Queen Victoria, this 1912 arch is actually an office building - for the Cabinet office, among others - and a ceremonial entrance to The Mall - nothing secret about that, but one of the pillars hides a secret....
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| Spare Nose? |
What is that bronze looking thing on the side of the column?This pink nose stuck in the grey granite of Admiralty Arch - look inside the arch taking traffic out of The Mall - is said to be a spare for Nelson in Trafalgar Square, or a tribute to the Duke of Wellington, famous for his large nose.Around Soho there are seven noses and it is said that if you spot all of them you will attain infinite wealth. Sculptor Rick Buckley was responsible for many, leaving casts of his nose in 1966.
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| Royal Artillery Memorial |
The horse of war is controlled by the winged figure of peace in this work by William Robert Colton (1867-1921). The pillars list the 1,078 men who died in South Africa and plaques show the artillery in action. Unveiled in 1920 by the Duke of Connaught, using a electronic remote control from a memorial service in St Paul’s Cathedral.
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| Guards Memorial |
This work by Gilbert Ledward commemorates the five Foot Guards regiments of the 1914-1919 war. Cast from captured guns, the figures were modelled on actual Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots, Irish and Welsh guardsmen. Damaged by World War II bombs, Ledward suggested some of the scars should remain unrepaired.
Next time you are in London, why not look out for some of these secret landmarks yourself.
(All descriptions of photographs are taken from the website http://www.secret-london.co.uk/)
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