Category: Hidden Treasures of London – NEW blog series

Off the beaten culture track: three great free museums in London

One of the great things about London is the number of free museums. Who hasn’t gone on holiday anywhere else in the world and had a hissy fit in very loud English over having to pay to enter a museum? The drawback to such a fantastic policy though is that our famous free institutions, like the British Museum, are absolute overrun all year around because so many people have recognised how epic and free they are. However, in flocking to worship the Rosetta stone and the giant diplodocus with selfie sticks, the hordes have overlooked some hidden gems. Like the school disco wallflowers hidden in the shadow of the bright disco lights whose tapping feet betray a desire to dance, these institutions are fun and quirky even if they don’t have quite so flashy an exterior. So if you’re broke, too hungover to deal with tourists and filled with a sense of guilt that you don’t appreciate London’s attractions more, do pay court (but no entrance fee) to these places: Read More

Four crazy extra-curricular activities to try in London

Bored of going to the gym and staring at the same piece of wall as you try to avoid looking at the well oiled work-out buffs leering at you? Avoiding all the vicious mastiffs when jogging around your local dodgy London park getting a bit too life threatening? Well, as you would expect of somewhere as diverse as London there are plenty of clubs offering slightly off the beaten track activities for you to get that regular endorphin rush. As someone incapable of taking up a normal hobby, I have tried out a far few in London, here are some of the more extreme, if you are foolhardy enough… Read More

Chartered Accountants’ Hall or One Moorgate Place

Sadly One Moorgate Place, aka the Chartered Accountants’ Hall, is not open to general public perusal (except for Open House London weekends). It is however a venue to consider if you want to put on a fancy event/host a meeting to impress/want to say your vows in a beautiful location. Read More

Alternative eating in London

Wahaca – Southbank

Bored of your traditional restaurant, all made out of bricks and mortar? Well you are in luck! Head down to Southbank and you can enjoy delicious Mexican food in a restaurant made out of shipping crates. Yes that’s right, some wag, decided to put together eight shipping crates on two overhanging levels and call it a restaurant. And, it works! Read More

Hidden Treasures of London: Inns of Court

The first post in my ‘Hidden Treasures of London’ series focuses on the Inns of Court. Tucked away among the large concrete and glass masses of corporate power in the City are these gorgeous old buildings that resemble idyllic Oxbridge quads. There are four Inns of Court – Grey’s, Lincoln’s, Inner Temple and Middle Temple. Every barrister in England and Wales belongs to one of these Inns and within these grand buildings are housed various barristers chambers. (Which explains why a few chambers are named after their staircase number like 1 Hare Court, for example). Read More