The British Museum

I almost can't quite believe that I've lived in London for well over 10 years now and had never stepped foot inside the British Museum until last week.  I suppose it's a case of 'it'll-always-be-there-itis'.

So, to rectify this, I popped along to see what I could see.  The Museum is located close to both Tottenham Court Road and Holborn stations.  The first thing you notice is the sheer size of the place.  Massive.  And a bit overwhelming.  We weren't particularly time-limited, but you know how it can be as you shuffle along in museums with hoards of other people... it's tiring.  So the first thing we did was to pick up a map from the stunning main room - the Great Court.

Thankfully, I had taken with me someone who was competent to read the map.  We decided that since we weren't sure how long we would last, we would follow the suggested 1 hour route with items A-K marked on the map, to see the main pieces that were suggested by the museum and this takes you through a large number of the rooms.  Along with being distracted by other things in there, I think we probably spent around 2 and a half hours comfortably pottering around, but I would recommend it as a good route to follow if you've never visited before.  It was busy, but never felt claustrophobic.

Overall, it was definitely worth the visit, some very interesting pieces, and I discovered a particular fondness for Shields, Mosaics and also the Japanese rooms (rooms 92-94, don't miss them, they are all the way up at the top!), but there really is something to interest everyone.

If you can't get to London to visit the museum in person, do take a look around their website, where a large number of the main objects are photographed and catalogued.

A selection of my favourite pieces from the museum, the ones that stood out to me:

1. Bronze Mirror: Perseus observing the severed head of Medusa while Hermes and Athena look on:

 2. Panels from the Royal Lion Hunt showing the sporting exploits of the last Assyrian King, Ashurbanipal.  These were huge carvings filling massive rooms... very impressive!

 3. A reconstruction of the Nereid Monument

 4. Enormous Mosaic of Oceanus

5. The Portland Vase, made of Cameo glass.  Said to be the Roman inspiration for Wedgwood, and although it looks black, the glass is actually dark blue.

6. Royal Game of Ur.  Even with the instructions written there next to it, just too hard to figure out! Bonus points for my favourite name of an object in the museum.

7. Samurai items in a large case.

8. A beautiful shield

 9. Iron age shield, again, really beautiful craftsmanship.

10.  Bronze Shield

Guildhall Art Gallery and London's Roman Amphitheatre

For years, I worked in the city, close to the Guildhall and yet did not even realise it was there.

Then, one day, I went on a photoshoot and the Guildhall was the meeting point.  I couldn't believe I'd never even walked through it.  The square is big and peaceful and there is some beautiful architecture surrounding it.

The buildings around the square also house a free art gallery.  Since I like free, I dragged my friend along to pay it a visit.

The gallery houses a number of interesting artworks, many of them taking up whole walls of space, and painted with interesting scenes.  There is plenty of seating provided, which is good because you have to sit there for a while to take in everything in each piece.

Queen Victoria seated on the throne
in the House of Lords
Sir George Hayter (1792-1871)

There were also some really beautiful commissioned pieces of stained glass.

Both pieces created by Stella Timmins to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of HM the Queen.

After starting at the top of the gallery, you work your way down through portraits and further down to some sculpture pieces.  The exhibitions change every few months and some are ticketed so it's worth checking the website before you visit.

Main piece by Edward John Poynter (1836-1919)
Israel in Egypt

Finally, at the very bottom, you walk into a Roman Amphitheatre, including some of the original walls which were discovered.  It is quite a strange feeling to imagine what must have gone on in there, and I wish I'd managed to get a decent photo on my camera but sadly not.

Very much worth a visit if you are in the area and have some free time.  I'd say it probably took around an 1hr-1.5hr to walk through the whole gallery.

The Monument

In central London, right next to Monument station is The Monument.  If you are physically able and fancy a bit of exercise, you can climb the 311 spiral steps to the viewing area and get a really good view of the city of London and the river for the very small price of £3 (or £6.50 for a joint ticket with Tower Bridge).  It is nowhere near as high as the Shard, but it is an absolute bargin if you ask me, and when you get back down you even get a certificate to say you've done it.

The Monument is open from 9.30am - 5.30pm daily with the last admission being 5pm.

The Monument

View from the bottom of the steps
- looks a long way up, right?

The text reads:

The Monument

This Monument, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, was built to commemorate the Great Fire of London 1666.  Which burned for three days consuming more than 13,000 houses and devastating 436 acres of the city.  The Monument is 202ft in height.  Being equal to the distance westward from the bakehouse in Pudding Lane where the fire broke out.  It took six years to construct 1677.  The balcony is reached by a spiral stairway of 311 steps and affords panoramic views of the metropolis.  A superstructure rises from the balcony and supports a copper vase of flames.

The allegorical sculpture on the pedestal above was executed by Caius Gabriel Cibber.

View towards Tower Bridge and Canary Wharf

View towards the South and Battersea

Globe Theatre Exhibition and Tour

There are a couple of different ways to visit the Globe Theatre, located in this round, rustic looking building on the south bank.  If you want to know about the history behind Shakespeare's Globe and the theatre itself, the best way is to visit the Exhibition and Tour.  The other way is to really experience it for yourself, by booking to see a show.

Shakespeare's Globe and Exhibition

The exhibition is a self guided walk around part of the building attached to the Globe.  It contains much reading material and information about the historic past of the theatre.  It also contains some of the costumes, and you are able to take your time looking at your own pace.  Subject to there being no performance on, you can also take a guided tour around the theatre itself, and I would highly recommend doing this.  (Best to check whether the tours are running by checking first).  

This is a timed ticket, so you'll book and join a particular tour and then can look round the exhibition before or after.  The guide stops at various points inside the theatre so you can get a feel for how it would have been to be able to sit in the nicer seats or to be standing in front of the stage where the cheap tickets are.

View of the stage from one of the best seats

Since the Globe is an open air theatre, be prepared to get wet if the weather is bad :)

Ceiling in the theatre

Alternatively, when the season is running (check the website for details, the season runs from spring to autumn), it is possible to book tickets to go and see a show.  Watch out also for special deals, there have occasionally been tickets available for as little as £5 in the standing area, and there are a range of productions, from the expected Shakespeare plays to a few selected more modern ones.

View of the theatre from the inside

You'll also find there is a shop and a restaurant attached to the Globe theatre (but plenty of places to eat closeby as well).

Find out more about visiting by going to the official website.

Southbank Skatepark

A rare quiet time!

Nestled under the Southbank Centre, close to the London Eye, you will find a place where teenagers hang out on their bikes and skateboards, the Southbank Skatepark.  Apart from being quite fun to watch for a while, there is another attraction that I have found here and that is the colourful and quirky graffiti that adorns the walls.

Brightening the place up

I used to work within walking distance of this area, and I'd periodically pop down there at lunchtimes to go and look at the artwork, because it would change on a week by week basis. Because it's quite dark under there, it always had a bit of a grungy feeling to me.  I was always more of a fan of the faces that sprung up than the wordy tagging, but I found it frequently interesting and unusual and worth stopping and taking in for 10 minutes if you're in the area. Here's a selection of images from my camera.

Kev Munday http://www.kevmunday.co.uk/

If you go outside of school hours, you more than likely won't be able to get close up before you get mown down by someone on wheels, so be warned and be careful!!  The safest place to watch from is probably the barrier rail between the pedestrian path and the skate park.

The London Eye

The London Eye is a big wheel offering great views of London, situated on the South Bank of the Thames and close to Waterloo station.  I've been on it a few times, and although it is expensive it is a pretty neat thing to do at least once.  A ride on the London Eye will take roughly about 30 minutes once you are in the capsule (dependent on people getting on and off).

London Eye

There is an opportunity for discounts by booking on the website, however, I would only do that if you can guarantee decent weather and clear skies.  I don't feel as though it is worth the price in heavy rain or very bad weather and I would spend the money on other attractions.

View towards Houses of Parliament from London Eye

View towards Buckingham Palace from London Eye
(St James's Park in foreground)

There are a number of options available, including private capsules and special tasting sessions, but I've never really felt the need to do this...once inside, people move around the capsule so you can get the change in view and people are usually willing to move over so each group can take their photos.  The capsules are fairly large though and the website states that at peak times there would be roughly 28 people in each capsule.

One thing I would suggest is to also take a trip up in the evening.  I've been lucky enough to be on the London Eye on 5th November, and as far as the eye could see there were fireworks going off, it was pretty spectacular.  I've noticed that the website is offering a day and night ticket for the same date, and with a bit of planning, I think this would be a brilliant way to see the best of both.

London Eye at night with a purple colour edit

Included in the price of the ticket is the option to take in the 4D experience in the main building before you go on the wheel.  A few of my friends have skipped this part, but it is a wonderful introduction to the eye, and it's free, so definitely go and do it!

One of the options offered is to include a river cruise with your trip on the London Eye.  This cruise only goes part way up the river but does offer commentary, and if you'd like the commentary then it is probably worth the extra to do this upgrade.  However, if you are happy just to potter around by yourself on the Thames, I think a better option is to use the Thames Clipper commuter boats - they can be caught from Waterloo pier just the same, but go much further along the river for a decent price and you can buy a hop on, hop off ticket, but I will post about these as a separate topic.