The London Drummerboy -- London travel blog

Temple Church is a mysterious old place. When you first clap eyes on the knights' effigies lying on the floor you'll come over all 'Indiana Jones' and want to dig them up to get at the treasure underneath. I'm sure there's something buried under there that's worth having. I've never seen the Da Vinci Code but I can understand why people come looking for clues -- it's that kind of place.

You need a bit of guts to find it though, because you can't see it from the street. You have to go through a big old wooden archway that looks like it was built to keep people out. You'll pause there, and wonder whether you're actually allowed in. You'll stand there for five minutes waiting for someone else to go through first. But fear not, brave traveller! Just head through the arch and down the alley, and when you wheel around to the left you'll see the round tower looming up behind a tree. … read the rest of this post

Way back in Roman and Medieval times there used to be a big wall around the City of London with 7 gates in it. As the centuries went by most of the wall was demolished, leaving only bits and pieces dotted around the City (most of which is now visible near the Barbican). Six of the gates were knocked down too, leaving only one survivor. Do you know where it is?

Well, it's not actually in its original place. It's been moved now. But it's original spot is marked by a posh monument down Fleet Street. It's near the Royal Courts of Justice, and sits in the middle of the road with a big black dragon on top. It's called the Temple Bar monument, and marks the original location of Temple Bar -- one of the ancient gates into the city.

The original gate was redesigned by Christopher Wren in the 1660s but unfortunately he made it a bit too narrow for the traffic that was steaming through two … read the rest of this post

Okay, so it's been a while since I've done one of these reviews but my knees are knackered. Totally messed up, so that is my excuse. So I picked something that was nice and easy today -- the Royal Mews. Not much walking involved for this one which was nice.

The Royal Mews is where they keep all the horses and State coaches that the Royal Family ride around in. There's about 30-or-so horses in all -- the ones that actually pull the carriages on State occasions. If you want to see a few military horses then you can get a glimpse of those at the Household Cavalry Museum, because they've got a bit where you can peer into the stables -- the same as the Royal Mews.
When you first enter the Mews you get to see a few of the wooden stalls where the horses get groomed, and there were a few munching on their bags too, eating whatever it is that horses eat. Sugar lumps, I'm guessing. After … read the rest of this post

I went on the Cable Car across the Thames today. The one that goes between The O2 and ExCel Centre. My God it is high. I mean it is super high... high enough to have snow on top. It is how God rides down from the heavens when he wants to go to The O2... descending from the clouds in a little tin box.

When you first come out of North Greenwich station you will have The O2 right next door, so you may as well go and have a quick look inside (there doesn't have to be an event on -- you can still go inside even without a ticket). They've got quite a lot of restaurants and pub-type places in there, so you can grab a quick bite to eat first if you want to, or down a few beers to pluck up some courage. After that I suggest taking a walk along the riverfront, towards the east. Because you'll get a great view of the Thames Barrier just a few miles down the river. I didn't realise that you … read the rest of this post

One of the best things about going to the Ceremony of the Keys is that you get to see a little bit of London at night. It starts at half-past nine, but if you take the tube to Tower Hill five minutes beforehand then you really are missing out on a treat. So take a tip from me -- Go for a bit of a walk along the river beforehand.
Get the tube to London Bridge instead and then walk along the south-side of the river. You'll get a great view of Tower Bridge, HMS Belfast and City Hall, and the White Tower across the water. You can then walk across Tower Bridge with it all lit-up and have a sitdown before it starts.

There's not much to do around the Tower of London at that time of night -- practically all of the shops are shut -- but it still looks quite pretty. I got there half-an-hour early and there was absolutely no one around. Everything was shut up, so it was just me sitting … read the rest of this post

I've been to both "Changing the Guard" ceremonies now (at Buckingham Palace and Horse Guards Parade), and Trooping the Colour and the State Opening of Parliament too, so this was the last one to complete my set... the "Dismounting Ceremony", or "Four O'Clock Parade".

This one takes place every single day at Horse Guards, in the little courtyard that faces onto Whitehall. The reason that I've never been to it before is because I could never be bothered to wait around until 4 o'clock in the afternoon, when it takes place. But today I steeled myself for the job and I did the deed.

Compared to the other ceremonies like Changing of the Guard, this one is just a sideshow. It's very short and not a lot happens. It's all over in ten minutes. All you get is six soldiers, two horses, and a big boss guy who walks around and shouts at them for two minutes. Then they all go inside. That is … read the rest of this post