I've read about the Boris bike scheme, and in principle it sounds great. The idea of picking up a bike cheaply for a short ride has some appeal. I gather the bikes themselves are a bit heavy (a bit more than a bit) and that you have to be careful to get one where the brakes don't stick. A...

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Just had a quick peek at the VisitLondon website's Special Offers section. At the moment, there are deals for around $650 to just under $700 on flights from various eastern US airports, to London, including flight and six nights' hotel. Seems worth checking out if you're planning a London tr...

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I wish we could see the TV series Grumpy Old Men here in Canada. I have the audiobooks and I agree with almost everything the author Stuart Prebble finds irritating, from inconsiderate drivers to the terrible customer service found almost everywhere, and the overall lack of good manners in places...

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One of the first places I visited in London, after getting used to my own street, was Trafalgar Square. This is an easy place for tourists to navigate from, with lots of buses and Tube connections. The National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery are right there, and both are excellent. T...

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London's Battersea Power Station is a marvellous Art Deco building near the Thames. No longer in service as a power station, it has survived from year to year, through various proposals for repurposing and redevelopment. On August 22, 2009, the international tour of the Red Bull X-Fighters (trick ...

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This is a great picture of Piccadilly as you've never seen it. Usually photos of Piccadilly Circus show the neon advertising and the fountain. This picture reflects more of the grandeur that the Queen's neighbourhood would be expected to have! Link to the original picture of Piccadilly by C...

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Four tall, narrow houses at 5255 Newington Green, in NE London, are the oldest row houses in London, apparently. I haven't seen them, but I'll put them on the list for the next visit. It seems strange for me to call these "houses" when they're attached. "Row houses", sure, but I don't think of...

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Paddington Bear was lost (and found) in Paddington Station, but for those of us who aren't bears, it's a fairly easy place to get around in. The rail station is separate from the tube station, but they are very close together. Located a little bit north of Hyde Park, Paddington is another tr...

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The River Thames is tidal through the part of London most tourists are familiar with, all the way up to Teddington, which is to the west. As Jim Linwood, who provided this picture, explains, the lockhouse is part of a lock and weir complex. A day trip to see the Teddington locks is a good ex...

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Victoria Station is one of London's transport hubs where trains, tube, buses, coaches, and people converge. It's a popular meeting spot, now as then. This picture shows a post-war Victoria Station, looking rather atypically empty. The cars on the left and the London Bobby in the backgroun...

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It was around about this time of year (October) way back in 1991 when we made our first family outing to Holland Park. Holland Park is a pleasant piece of green sometimes seen on the English TV show As Time Goes By. It's one of those spots you can pop into and feel the city melt away behind ...

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The famous Buckingham Palace Changing of the Guard ceremony isn't the only place to see the Household Cavalry in their dazzling uniforms. Two mounted guards can be seen posted at the entrance to Downing Street. It's also not unusual to see troops of cavalry moving around the Queen's neighbourhoo...

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Agatha Christie was a prolific writer whose mystery stories are still popular on TV decades after her death. Her play The Mousetrap has broken records for longest-running stage play. Miss Christie lived in a variety of houses. This one is in South Kensington, at 22 Cresswell Place and is ma...

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True confessions, I have not ridden the giant Ferris Wheel - ski gondola hybrid called the London Eye. I love aerial views, but I have this really bad fear of falling off the edges of things, so ... not number one on my list of tourist attractions. "Everyone" raves about it, though. Gaetan Le...

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