Dr Alfred Salter – The man who created an NHS before the NHS was created

My walk of discovery along the southern bank of the Thames through Bermondsey and Rotherhithe was proving to reveal all manner of hidden gems of London both past and present.  The next discovery however was something or rather someone which I knew next to nothing about.  Not far from the manor house and Angel Pub… Continue reading Dr Alfred Salter – The man who created an NHS before the NHS was created

The Rotherhithe Watch House Cafe

Continuing on my walk through the centrally located but almost entirely unvisited district of Rotherhithe in London, I came across another hidden jewel in the form of the Watch House Cafe.   This beautifully secluded cafe is one with a quite remarkable history.     Before the formation of the very first professional police service… Continue reading The Rotherhithe Watch House Cafe

King Edward III Manor House

This my second post resulting from my scouting out a new tour I have been wanting to start offering to my lovely tourists.  As well as the regular tourist hotspots, I really enjoy taking people to the lesser visited parts and judging from the reactions of my tourists, the more authentic an experience, the greater… Continue reading King Edward III Manor House

Shad Thames and Jacobs Island – The Venice of Drains

This my second post resulting from my scouting out a new tour I have been wanting to start offering to my lovely tourists.  As well as the regular tourist hotspots, I really enjoy taking people to the lesser visited parts and judging from the reactions of my tourists, the more authentic an experience, the greater… Continue reading Shad Thames and Jacobs Island – The Venice of Drains

The Angel Pub In Rotherhithe

Last week I went on a reconnaisance trip to scout out a new tour I have been wanting to start offering to my lovely tourists.  As well as the regular tourist hotspots, I really enjoy taking people to the lesser visited parts and judging from the reactions of my tourists, the more authentic an experience,… Continue reading The Angel Pub In Rotherhithe

Rwandan Dancers At The WTM Expo in London

Last week I was invited to attend the WTM expo at the ExCel convention centre at the Royal Victoria Docks in London.  It is the leading global travel trade show and each year brings almost 50,000 people together with the aim of getting the entire world on holiday,  As such, I thought it was a… Continue reading Rwandan Dancers At The WTM Expo in London

Weird Street Names of London

One of the things that I come across when I do my tours in London and indeed everywhere else in the U.K. is some of the unusual names that can be found either of settlement names or street names.  London has its fair share of weird names, some of them very traditional if a little… Continue reading Weird Street Names of London

A walk along the Grand Union Canal

It’s been a very warm and sunny Bank Holiday weekend in London and I managed to wangle it so that I didn’t spend every minute of it working.  During a few hours of spare time I decided to go on a 9 mile (15km) circular walk, the majority of which was through parkland and along… Continue reading A walk along the Grand Union Canal

Of Mice And Men – The smallest monument in London

I’ve known about the mice of Philpot Lane for a year when I started researching for a forthcoming London Attractions book which I am working on but it was only on Tuesday that I finally set my eyes upon it. I was out and about on a scouting mission through the narrow lanes of Roman… Continue reading Of Mice And Men – The smallest monument in London

My new tour – Sacred, Secret, Gardens of London

One of the joys of doing walking tours around London is that I often come across new areas, secret oasis almost, in the midst of one the largest and busiest cities in the world.  I find that my tourists often prefer the hidden gems even over some of the big tourist sites or indeed big… Continue reading My new tour – Sacred, Secret, Gardens of London