April 2008 free highlights for Heritage, Royal pageantry and sporting events, the Royal Parks, Church music, art exhibitions and museums in and around London compiled by Offtolondon's Shophound Alexia.

Royal Gun Salute Hyde Park

Ceremony of the Keys
Date: Ongoing. Daily. 9.30.pm.
Venue: Tower of London, Tower Hill, EC3N 4AB
Tickets: Complimentary tickets are obtainable on application in writing. Check Tower website for details.
London Transport: Nearest Tube. Tower Hill.
Description: The Ceremony of the Keys is the traditional locking up of the Tower of London and has taken place on each and every night, without fail, for at least 700 years. The Yeoman Warders, (the famous Beefeaters), in their royal livery, and military guard, lock the outer gates of the Tower of London and deliver the keys to the Governor of the Tower, (always a retired General), who resides in the Tudor Queen's House overlooking the infamous scaffold site within the walls. The importance of securing this fortress for the night is still relevant because, although the Monarch no longer resides at this royal palace, the Crown Jewels, including the Coronation Regalia and many other historic valuables, still do and felonious attempts have been made to steal them! Check Historic Royal Palaces/Tower of London for daily opening times, etc., for the Tower, Crown Jewels, etc.

Royal Gun Salute
Date: 21 April, 2008. 12 noon.
Venue: Hyde Park, Tower of London.
Tickets: FREE.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Hyde Park Corner/Marble Arch for Hyde Park. London Wall for Tower.
Description: The traditional Royal Gun Salute to celebrate the anniversary of The Queen's Accession to the throne. A 41 gun salute is fired by the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery in Hyde Park, and a 62 gun salute is fired at the Tower of London by the Honorable Artillery Company, (founded by Henry VIII in 1537).

Alexia's tip: Make a point of seeing the four Royal Parks in central London by taking the Princess Diana Memorial Walk; a seven mile figure-eight walkway with its hub at Hyde Park Corner, (the obvious starting and finishing point). You can pick up a free leaflet on the Walk there at the little neo-Classical lodge next to the Burton's Ionic Screen. The fascinating walkway is marked by 70 plaques set into the ground and passes a number of places with which Diana was associated in her life - and death. Break the walk into at least two parts unless you have legs and stamina for a marathon. Do the Green Park and St. James's Park stretch on one day, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens section on another. Be sure to wear sensible shoes and take your time to pause and see all the places of interest. There are restrooms and refreshment points in St. James's Park, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens.

St. James's Park, Buckingham Palace View. Photo credit: Aroundengland.

St. James's Park
Opening Times; Daily. 5am-midnight.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: St. James's Park.
Description:
This is London's oldest park and, although open to the public, is historically within the grounds of Buckingham Palace. Bounded by the Palace on the west by historic St. James's Palace, Clarence House and the Mall on the north, Admiralty Arch and Horseguard's Parade on the east, Wellington Barracks and Birdcage Walk on the south, it lies at the very heart of London's Royal heritage and pageantry and should on no account be missed by London visitors. The beautiful ornamental lake overlooked by the Palace is stocked with fifteen species of exotic waterfowl including Pelicans and Black Swans, and the shady walks are bordered by superbly planted seasonal flowerbeds and flowering shrubs.
As well as Buckingham Palace, Horseguard's Parade and Admiralty Arch, pause to see the Queen Victoria Memorial with its marble statue of Victoria and glittering figures of Victory, Courage and Constancy, bordered by the ornamental gates given by the former Dominions; Australia Gate, South Africa Gate and Canada Gate.
Alexia's Diary: Pelican feeding time. Daily. 2.30pm. Lakeside. A popular time for both Pelicans and spectators!
The colourful ceremony of Changing the guard at Buckingham Palace at the western end of the park takes place daily at 11.30am April-July. Musical march past from Wellington Barracks down Birdcage Walk on south side of the Park to the Palace and return.
Changing the Queen's Lifeguard at Horseguards Parade. Mornings: Daily 11am, Sundays 10am. Afternoons: Daily 4pm. Horseguard's Parade, situated at the eastern end of the park, is in fact the official entrance to Buckingham Palace.

Green Park
Opening Times: Daily. 5am-midnight.
London Transport: Nearest Tube. Green Park, Hyde Park Corner.
Description: Originally called, appropriately, 'Upper St. James's Park' this open space to the north of Buckingham Palace was a once popular dueling spot. In Regency times there was a small sanitized dairy farmhouse here where fashionable ladies of the haut monde could pay an afternoon visit and play at being milkmaids. The park is now a peaceful grassland devoid of rapier wielding and pistol toting duelists and bucolic bovine attractions. Its mature tree'd open space is much enjoyed by Londoners in February and March for its picturesque sea of daffodils and in summer as a picnic and sunbathing spot. Few events take place here, other than the firing of a Royal Salute on the occasion of a State Visit by a foreign Head of State.
The Park is bordered in the north by Hyde Park Corner and Piccadilly, in the east by leafy Queen's Walk overlooked by the imposing Ritz Hotel, Spencer House and Lancaster House, and in the south by Buckingham Palace's walled gardens.
Alexia's tip: Wander down Queen's Walk after Tea at the Ritz on your way to the Canada Memorial and the Canada Gates facing Buckingham Palace and pause to admire the superb Palladian facade of Spencer House, onetime ancestral London residence of Princess Diana's family. At Hyde Park Corner see Decimus Burton's 1828 triumphal Wellington Arch, (English Heritage Museum); his imposing Ionic Screen, (1825) and his charming little neo-Classical lodge next to it. Note also the Greek Revival frontage of the Lanesborough Hotel, (William Wilkins, 1827); the neo-Classical frontage of Apsley House, (Benjamin Wyatt, 1828/9), London home of the Duke of Wellington, (English Heritage Museum).
Alexia's Diary: The Ritz Hotel at the northeastern corner of Green Park and the Lanesborough Hotel at Hyde Park Corner are civilized though expensive venues for Afternoon Tea. Advance booking is essential at the Ritz and advisable at the Lanesborough.

Marble Arch

Hyde Park
Opening Times: Daily. 5am-midnight.
London Transport: Nearest tubes. Hyde Park Corner, Marble Arch, Lancaster Gate.
Description: Onetime private Royal hunting ground, opened to the public in 1637 by Charles I. Site of the 1851 Great Exhibition Crystal Palace; Speaker's Corner; the annual Prince's Trust open-air concert; Last Night of the Proms Concert; and the 300 year old bridleway Rotten Row, England's most famous equestrian venue where kings, consorts and courtesans once paraded in style each morning and where smartly accoutred ladies and their squires exercise their mounts. For more about this historic site read my Spring in Rotten row.
Among many famous landmarks, be sure to see: Decimus Burton's Ionic Screen, (1825), marking the Park's S.E. entrance at Hyde Park Corner; the controversial Diana Memorial Fountain, (2004).; Sir John Nash's triumphal Marble Arch, (1828), originally designed as the entrance to Buckingham Palace and now marking the Park's N.E. entrance near the site of Tyburn gallows and the famous Speaker's Corner.
Alexia's Diary:
21 April. The traditional Royal Gun Salute to celebrate the anniversary of The Queen's Accession to the throne. A 41 gun salute is fired by the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery in Hyde Park. This is an impressive, if noisy, ceremony.
Guided Walk. 'Spring in Hyde Park', 1-2.30pm. April is a month when our parks begin to 'spring' forth with new growth: new life emerging in to a brave new world. On your walk you will take a closer look at the seasonal changes that are taking place at this time. Tel: 020 7298 2083. Contact: Nick Lane to assure your place on the walk.
The Grosvenor House Hotel, with its charming Park Room overlooking Park Lane and Hyde Park is a perfect place to relax and enjoy Anna's Afternoon Tea. Note, in passing, the high distinction of this hotel's 1930s towered frontage by Sir Edwin Lutyens.

Kensington Gardens
Opening Times: Daily. 5am-midnight.
London Transport: Nearest tube. High Street, Kensington.
Description: Originally part of Hyde Park, the gardens were laid out with formal avenues of magnificent trees, shrubs and ornamental flower beds as a setting for Kensington Palace, (Sir Christopher Wren 1689-1702); birthplace of Queen Victoria who later commissioned the beautiful, peaceful Italian Gardens at the head of the Serpentine Lake and later still the Albert Memorial, (Sir Gilbert Scott 1863-72), facing the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington Gore. The Memorial is an example of the best of Victorian craftsmanship, designed like a medieval reliquary shrine built on a monumental scale.
Children, (and parents), will love the Peter Pan bronze statue by the Serpentine Lake; the Elfin Oak carved with fairies, goblins and animals; and the fabulous Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Playground with its Captain Hook's pirate galleon. Pause to admire the Palace's stately south frontage and the water lilies and sunken garden created by Edward VII on the Palace's east wing on your way to take tea in the Orangery, (Nicholas Hawksmoor, 1704-05). Note the statue of Queen Victoria outside the Palace, sculpted by her gifted daughter Louise to celebrate her Golden Jubilee, 1857.

Alexia's Diary:
Guided Walk Check time and date for monthly walks. Booking essential. Tel: 020 7298 2083. Contact: Nick Lane.

The Regent's Park
Opening Times: Daily. 5am - dusk.
London Transport: Nearest tube. Baker Street.
Description: Description: The Regent's Park, 166 hectares (410 acres), is a masterpiece of landscape design and town planning. It includes stunning rose gardens with more than 30,000 roses of 400 varieties. The Park is the largest outdoor sports area in London with 'The Hub' a community sports pavilion and sports pitches, nearly 100 acres available for sports fans of all abilities. Henry VIII appropriated what was then known as Mary Bourne Park for use as a hunting ground, which he considered to be an invigorating ride from Whitehall Palace. It remained a royal chase until 1646. John Nash, architect to the crown and to the Prince Regent developed the Park as part of his patron's grandiose design for central London extending from Piccadilly Circus up Regent's Street and ending in a vast rounded park surrounded by palatial terraces, a lake, a canal, 56 planned villas (only 8 were ever built) and a summer palace for the Prince Regent, which was never built because the Prince Regent turned his attention and money to creating Buckingham Palace. It wasn't until 1835, after the Prince Regent ascended the throne as King George IV, that the general public were actually allowed into the sections of the Park and this was only for two days of the week. The Park later became the home of the Zoological Society and the London Zoo. The celebrated Queen Mary's Gardens, (the Rose Gardens, named after the Queen Consort of King George V), and the now famous annual summer open air theatre season draw Londoners and visitors alike to this most northern of London's Royal Parks. The park's lake is notable for London's largest heronry and is much loved by film makers for location work. Relax at the Garden Cafe at the Rose Garden.
An award winning Wildlife in the Park community garden has recently been opened under the aegis of WITB, with design, planting and caring support from local schools and community volunteers.
Alexia's Diary:
Advance online booking now open for the Open air summer theatre season. 2 June - 15 September, 2008.

Greenwich Park. Thames-side Greenwich Palace. Photo: Angus MacWatt

Greenwich Park
Opening Times: Daily. 6am, pedestrians. 7am for traffic.
London Transport: Riverboat to Greenwich pier; North Greenwich tube then 188 bus to Greenwich Park Gate.
Description: Together with Richmond Park, Greenwich is the oldest of the Royal Parks, with a Royal history stretching back to mediaeval times. Situated on top of a hill, the park provides visitors with sweeping views across the River Thames to St Paul's Cathedral and beyond and is home to a small herd of fallow and red deer, reminders of a bygone era when this was a royal hunting ground.
The park is now part of the Greenwich World Heritage Site, host to the Prime Meridian Line and the old Royal Observatory, as well as having the National Maritime Museum, built on the site of the old Tudor Palace of Placentia, as a neighbour. King Henry VIII was born and spent much of his early time here before transferring his affections to Hampton Court Palace.
We can thank the 17th century Stuart monarchs, however, for the park as we see it today. They transformed it from a Tudor hunting ground, demolishing the decaying old Tudor palace of Placentia and jousting lists, embarking upon a magnificent era of building that has given us the exquisite Classical Queen's House, (Inigo Jones, completed 1635), and Wren's superb Baroque waterfront palace completed for Charles II in 1702 as a Royal Naval Hospital. Together with the Queen's House it is now the National Maritime Museum. Charles II also commissioned Sir Christopher Wren to build the Royal Observatory in the park. All are open FREE to the public. The Queen's House is a popular venue for wedding and civil commitment ceremonies.
The park is best approached from the river, (regular service from Westminster and Tower quays). For a full description of the palace, Free entry particulars, etc., see Burlington Bertie's Royal Greenwich
Alexia's Diary:
Scheduled Events. Check for guided walks and other organized events.

Battersea Park
Opening Times; Daily. 5am-midnight.
London Transport: Rail. Battersea Park. See also Wandsworth Council.
Description: While not a Royal Park, Battersea deserves mention and has historic royal connections. Battersea Park is a 200 acre green riverside gem with beautiful planting, quiet lake and delightful Thames-side walks. Managed by a forward looking and energetic Wandworth Borough Council Parks Service, it is much loved by the local residents but relatively unknown to visitors despite its full programme of events, Fairs, Exhibitions and Cultural Festivals throughout the year. It is also notable for its beautiful Buddhist Peace Temple overlooking the Thames.
Once marshy land notorious as a venue for dualists, (the Duke of Wellington and Lord Winchilsea famously fought a dual here over a matter of honour), the Park was landscaped with one million cubic yards of soil, dug out during the construction of Victoria Docks and shipped upriver. Queen Victoria opened it in 1858. The park has recently undergone a 11 million restoration programme and is now an oasis of peace; one of London's finest recreation amenities lying on the south bank of the Thames opposite the Royal Hospital Chelsea, home of the Chelsea Pensioners. The charming boating lake is home to a flourishing heronry and many species of waterfowl. Expect to see chick hatchlings paddling frantically behind proud parents on the lake.
Note the Barbara Hepworth sculpture and the Australian War Memorial bordering the lake.
Wandsworth Borough make the most of their beautifully kept and run Thames-side park to host a wide variety of events there throughout the year. Expect fashion shows, art exhibitions and antiques fairs, horticultural displays and competitions, firework displays and sporting events.
Alexia's Diary: April, 2008. For further details, and private or corporate event bookings Tel: 020 8871 7534.

Flora London Marathon, 2008.
Date: 13 April, 2008.
Venue: From Greenwich Park, SE10 8JA to The Mall via Tower Bridge, City Buckingham Palace. Tel: 020 7902 0200.
London Transport: Greenwich Rail; Charing Cross Tube (end)
Description: 1 million spectators line the 26 mile route to cheer on 30,000 runners through the streets of London. This is a fun Charity sponsored festival as well as a serious sporting event with pubs, bands and street entertainers along the route adding runner support and spectator entertainment. This is the largest of all city marathons with world famous runners setting the pace from Blackheath and Greenwich Park all the way to the Mall finishing line via Surrey Quays, Brunel Rd, Tooley St, Canary Wharf, the Tower of London, Embankment, Parliament Square and Birdcage Walk, and Buckingham Palace. Entries closed in November but if you're raising money for charity, they may still allow you to run. The rest of us will line the route or watch the event live on TV.

St. George's Day Celebrations
Date: 23 April, 2008.
Venue; Covent Garden; Globe Theatre; Cenotaph and various.
London Transport: Covent Garden; Bankside Pier; Charing Cross and various.
Description: 'Cry God for Harry, England and St. George' quoth Shakespeare's Henry V in exhortation to his troops before Harfleur in 1415. We no longer celebrate England's patron saint by hammering the French as a national pastime, but London celebrates St. George and Shakespeare's birthday, (they are on the same day), with festivities, song and Morris dance at Covent Garden and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and a wreath laying ceremony at the Cenotaph in Whitehall. Gastropubs are likely to mark the day with a special 'Roast Beef of Old England' menu and the flag of St. George and England, (red cross on white background), will be flying prominently from churches, though it will be sadly absent from government buildings. Check the London Mayor's website for up-to-date details.

Vaisakhi
Date: 27 April, 11.30am-5pm, 2008.
Venue; Trafalgar Square, WC2N 4JJ.
London Transport: Charing Cross; Leicester Square.
Description: See the colourful Sikh procession outside the largest Sri Guru Singh Sabha gurdwara outside India in Southall and then join the thousand's of Sikhs in celebrating their New Year at Trafalgar Square in a spectacularly colourful day of music, dance, acrobatics and entertainment.

Camden Market
Dates: Daily and weekends. Busiest day Sunday.
Venue: Camden Town. NW1.
London Transport: Nearest Tube. Camden Town, Chalk Farm.
Description: Once a weekend affair, the Camden Market complex in North London has now become a daily fixture. Camden Lock Market, by the Regent's Canal, began as a craft market but now has a much wider spectrum of goods on sale. Add to this the Camden Stables Market, (Alternative Fashion); Camden (Buck Street) Market and Inverness Street Market, which are all now trading in parts throughout the week. The markets at their most lively weekends however, with the Camden Canal Market opening Friday to Sunday and the indoor fashion market at the Electric Ballroom drawing crowds on Sunday. Local pubs and ethnic restaurants offer the visitor good and reasonably priced neighbourhood nosh.

Portobello Market
Dates: Saturdays, (Street Market). Daily ( some dealers and arcades).
Venue: Portobello Road, Westbourne Grove, W11.
London Transport: Nearest Tubes. Notting Hill Gate, Ladbroke Grove.
Description: The Portobello Antiques dealers Association, (PADA), runs what is described as the largest antiques market in the world. The famous Saturday Market starts from around 5.30am with trading between dealers from the UK and overseas. Most stall holders are open to the public by 8.00am and the market is in full swing for the rest of the day, with collectors and visitors from all over the world. The shops and stalls of Portobello Road and Westbourne Grove offer an extraordinary variety of goods and specialist services, with antiques and collectibles ranging in price from a few pounds to several thousands. Be sure to check out the PADA website before your visit.

St. Paul's Cathedral
Dates: Sundays and special Holy Days.
Venue: EC4M 8AD. Tel: 020 7236 4128.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: St. Paul's.
Description: Attendance at services is free. The Cathedral is closed to sightseers on Sundays and special dates in the Cathedral calendar. Check St. Paul's Cathedral to confirm scheduled times of services and music.
Sightseers are charged an entrance fee on weekdays to see the stunning grandeur of Sir Christopher Wren's Renaissance interior, the dome, crypt, etc. Tickets can be bought online through the Cathedral website.

St. Martin-in-the-Fields
Dates: Sundays and special Holy Days.
Venue: Trafalgar Square WC2N Tel: 020 7766 1100
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Charing Cross Station.
Description:8am - Holy Communion. 10am - Sung Eucharist. 1.15pm - Service in Mandarin. 2.15pm - Service in Cantonese. Check St. Martin-in-the-Fields to confirm times, services and Easter worship.
Historic landmark church overlooking Trafalgar Square; an interesting fusion of High English Baroque and Palladianism. Considered to be the church masterpiece of architect James Gibbs, (1682-1754), it replaced an earlier church built by Henry VIII, (1542), which itself replaced a 13th century Gothic edifice. Noted for its popular lunchtime and other concerts, (Mons/Weds/Fris). Check website for details.

Westminster Cathedral
Dates: Sundays and special Holy Days.
Venue: 42 Francis Street, SW1P. Tel: 020 7798 9055
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Victoria Station.
Description: 10.30am. Solemn Mass, (sung by the Cathedral's world famous choir). Check http://www.westminstercathedral.org.uk/">Westminster Cathedral for full details of this and Easter services.
This is the Mother Church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster (built between 1895 and 1903), in the Neo-Byzantine style; the architectural masterpiece of John Francis Bentley (1839 1902). It ranks architecturally as one of the noblest of all English churches. The interior which was never completed, provides a serene, quiet and inviting place to worship and meditate. Entry is FREE at all times.

Brompton Oratory
Dates: Sundays 11:00am.
Venue: Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, SW3.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Knightsbridge.
Description: 11am. Solemn Mass, (Sung Latin Novus Ordo). Check Brompton Oratory for this and Easter services.
Fashionably popular Roman Catholic church for the Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Kensington communities. Built 1880-84 by Herbert Gribble who was awarded 200 by the incumbent Oratorian monks of St. Phillip Neri's Order for his winning Renaissance design. Several other architects worked on this structure through the years, contributing to its distinctive character and rather florid interior. Entry is FREE at all times.

Courtauld Institute of Art Gallery
Venue: Courtauld Gallery, Somerset House, Strand, WC2R ORN. Tel: 020 7848 2526
Dates: Permanent Collections ongoing.
Tickets: FREE on Mondays 10am-2pm, and to under 18s, registered UK students.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Temple.
Description: One of the most important Art collections in Britain, including world-famous Old Master, Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings; an outstanding prints and drawings collection featuring works by Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Czanne and Turner. The collection includes around 530 paintings, 7000 drawings and 15,000 prints as well as significant holdings of medieval, Renaissance and modern sculpture, ceramics, metalwork, furniture and textiles. The collection has been formed through a series of major gifts and bequests made by some of the leading collectors of the 19th and 20th centuries.
The Gilbert Collection is no longer viewable here and is being transferred to new rooms at the Victoria and Albert Museum, where it will be viewable in 2009.

Tate Britain
Venue: Tate Britain, Millbank, SW1P 4RG. Tel: 020 7887 8888.
Opening Times: Daily. 10am-5.40pm.
London transport: Nearest Tube: Pimlico.
Description: Tate has the world's finest collection of British Art 1500 - 2007, presenting an unrivalled picture of its development from the 16th century to present day. Special attention is given to Blake, (1757-1827), Constable, (1776-1837), and Turner, (1775-1851), the three outstanding British artists from the Romantic age who have dedicated spaces within the gallery, while the unique Turner Collection of some 300 paintings and many thousands of watercolours is housed in the specially built Clore Gallery. The gallery also holds rich collections of Hogarth, Gainsborough, Reynolds, Stubbs, the Pre-Raphaelites, twentieth century artists Stanley Spencer, Henry Moore, Francis Bacon and young British Artists of the 1990s. There are free lecture tours of the gallery's various collections daily. An entrance charge is made for some temporary exhibitions which may be mounted in association with other galleries. Check Burlington Bertie's London Diary for details.
The gallery itself is notable as a good example of Edwardian Grand Manner architecture, ( S.R.J.Smith, 1897-1900).

Tate Modern
Venue: Bankside, SE1. Tel: 020 7887-8008.
Opening Times: Daily. 10am-5.40pm.
London Transport: Nearest Tube. Embankment.
Description: Britain's national gallery of international Modern Art. A converted power station on the Thames embankment, Tate Modern houses work from the 1900s Fauvists to today's Arte Povera. The collection can be interactively explored online. An entrance charge is made for some temporary exhibitions which may be mounted in association with other galleries or sponsors.

The National Gallery
Venue: National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, WC2N 5DN. Tel: 020 7747 2885.
Opening Times: Daily 10am-6pm. Weds 10am-9pm.
London transport: Nearest Tube: Charing Cross, Leicester Square.
Description: The National Gallery houses one of the greatest permanent collections of European painting in the world, suitably catalogued and illustrated on the gallery website. These range from 13th century altar-pieces to the work of modern artists such as Tim Gardner. There are free guided tours and lectures daily. See website for details.
In Room 1, until 6 April: The Landscape: Oil Sketch. Most landscape oil sketches from the 18th and early 19th centuries were never intended for exhibition - sketching out of doors was used primarily as a training for the hand and the eye. Often sketches remained overlooked, staying in artists' families rather than being offered for sale. Only a few collectors recognised the quality of pieces in this tradition. It is these collections which are celebrated in this exhibition. Degas owned studies by Corot and Thodore Rousseau - the National Gallery purchased these pictures at the sale of his collection in 1918. They now form the core of a small but distinguished group of works, recently augmented by the loan of the Gere Collection. This is a charming exhibition of a much underated medium. Recommended.
Admire the Greek Classical revival facade which faces onto Trafalgar Square, (William Wilkins, 1834-38).

National Portrait Gallery
Venue: National Portrait Gallery, St. Martin's Place, WC2 0H3. Tel: 020 7312 2463.
Opening Times: 10am-6pm. Thurs/Fri 10am-9pm.
London Transport: Nearest Tube. Charing Cross, Leicester Square.
Description: The National Portrait Gallery has some 92,000 portraits of great and famous British men and women in its unrivalled permanent collection, some 51,000 of which can be researched online. A selection is on permanent display here together with others which are shown for shorter periods due to their fragility. An entrance charge is made for some temporary exhibitions, (see Burlington Bertie's London Diary), which may be mounted in association with other galleries.

Walk This Way
Four guided walks from 'Walk This Way' which explore Thames-side points of architectural and historical interest. Check the downloadable pdf guide.
1. Southbank: London Eye - Imperial War Museum.
2. Millenium Bridge: St. Paul's Cathedral - Borough Market.
3. Golden Jubilee Bridges. Soho and Covent Garden - South Bank.
4. Riverside London: Tate Britain - Design Museum.

London's Blue Plaques
Venue: Various throughout London.
Description: Directory of houses bearing commemorative plaques to famous occupants together with a history of the blue plaque scheme and the (sometimes fictional), people who once lived or were born there. Top 5 Plaques: Sherlock Holmes, 221b Baker Street, (see Burlington Bertie's London Diary for description of this museum); Charles Dickens, 48 Doughty Street, (now a Museum, pay to enter); John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 14 Princes Gate; Karl Marx, 28 Dean Street; John Logie Baird, 22 Frith Street.
Alexia's tip: Make a note, or, if you have children in tow, have them make a note of each blue plaque you see. See who can spot the most! You and they can learn about the famous occupants on the internet when your return.

British Museum
Venue: Great Russell Street, WC1B. Tel: 020 7323 8299.
Opening Times: 10am-5:30pm. Thurs/Fri 10am-8:30pm.
London Transport: Nearest Tube. Tottenham Court Road.
Description: One of the world's greatest collections of Human History and Culture artefacts dating from the dawn of civilization. Ancient Civilizations, Elgin Marbles, Rosetta Stone, Sutton Hoo Burial, etc. Very popular with children.
An entrance charge is made for some temporary exhibitions, (currently much praised The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army), which may be mounted in association with other museums. .
Sir Robert Smirke's main frontage, (1823-47), embodying a giant Ionic colonnade with pedimented portico is London's finest example of early 19th century Greek Classical revival; a fitting entrance for visitors to the Elgin Marbles taken from the Athens Colosseum.

Freemasonry Library and Museum
Venue:60 Great Queen St. WC2B 5AZ. Tel: 020 7395 9257.
Opening times: Mon-Fri 10am-5pm.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Covent Garden.
Description: Free Mason's Hall has been the center of Freemasonry for 230 years. It is the meeting place of over 1000 Masonic Lodges and is the headquarters of the United Grand Lodge of England, the oldest Grand Lodge in the world. It is a Grade II listed Building, by architects, H. V. Ashley, and F. Winton Newman. The interior of the building is richly decorated.

Geffrye Museum
Venue:Kingsland Road, E2 8EA. Tel: 020 7739 9893.
Opening Times:Tues-Sat 10am-5pm, Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays 12- 5pm, 2007.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Liverpool Street, Old Street.
Description: The Geffrye Museum is one of London's best loved museums. It depicts the quintessential style of English middle-class living rooms, with collections of furniture, textiles, paintings, and decorative arts displayed in a series of period rooms from 1600 to the present day. The museum is set in elegant 18th century almshouses with a contemporary wing surrounded by attractive gardens, which include an award-winning walled herb garden and a series of period gardens.

Hunterian Museum
Venue: 35-43 Lincoln Inn Fields, Holborn WC2A 3PE. Tel: 020 7869 6560.
Date: Mon-Sat. 9:30am 5pm, 2007.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Hillhead.
Description: Founded by William Hunter, Anatomist, the Hunterian Museum is celebrating 200 years in 2007. Works of art by Chardin, Fergusson, Pissaro, Gavin Hamilton, and The Mackintosh House.

Museum of London
Venue: London Wall, EC2Y 5HN. Tel: 0870 444 3851
Opening Times: Mon-Sat 10am-5:50pm. Sun 12pm-5:50pm.
London Transport: Nearest Tube. St. Paul's.
Description: London's urban history backed by a remarkable collection of artefacts dating from prehistory to present. Ongoing programme of free temporary exhibitions and projects, archaeological digs and surveys. This is a superb museum, imaginatively laid out to take the visitor through 3000 years of London's history. Strongly recommended as part of your visit to the City of London. Very popular with children.

Natural History Museum
Venue: Cromwell Road, SW7 2RL. Tel: 020 7942 5000.
Opening Times: Daily 10am-6pm.
London Transport: Nearest Tube. South Kensington.
Description: A remarkable world collection of flora, fauna, minerals, mammals, dinosaurs, etc., housed in Alfred Waterhouse's superb Romanesque building, (opened 1881). The Dinosaur collection is brilliantly laid out. Not surprisingly this is a top pop venue for children.
Take out a Reader's pass to view the fine library collection of original Victorian book illustrations by pre-photography flora and fauna bird illustrators such as J.G.Keulemans, (1841-1911).

Natural History Museum
Venue: Cromwell Road, SW7 2RL. Tel: 020 7942 5000.
Opening Times: Daily 10am-6pm.
London Transport: Nearest Tube. South Kensington.
Description: A remarkable world collection of flora, fauna, minerals, mammals, dinosaurs, etc., housed in Alfred Waterhouse's superb Romanesque building, (opened 1881). The Dinosaur collection is brilliantly laid out. Not surprisingly this is a top pop venue for children of all ages.
Take out a Reader's pass to view the fine library collection of original Victorian book illustrations by pre-photography flora and fauna bird illustrators such as J.G.Keulemans, (1841-1911).

Science Museum
Opening Times: Daily 10am-6pm.
Venue: Exhibition Road, South Kensington, SW7 2DD. Tel: 0870 870 4868.
London Transport: Nearest Tube. South Kensington.
Description: Comprehensive record of scientific, technological and medical change since the eighteenth century. Though rich in British material, this is a worldwide collection. Very popular with children because of the interactive hands-on touchy/feely/smelly displays, (fossilised Dino dung is a popular exhibit), the Museum often features.

Victoria & Albert Museum
Venue: Cromwell Road, SW7 2RL. Tel: 020 7942 2000.
Opening Times: Daily 10am-5:45pm, Fri 10am-10pm.
London Transport: Nearest Tube. South Kensington.
Description: 3000 Years of Art and Culture. Permanent Collection collected from the four corners of the Globe from the days of Empire. An entrance charge is made for some temporary exhibitions which may be mounted in association with other museums.
Admire Aston Webb's eclectic design of the building, (1891). He is better known for his later Neo-Classical facade of Buckingham Palace, (1912-13) and Admiralty Arch leading from Trafalgar Square to the Mall.

Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art
Venue:53 Gordon Sq. WC1H OPD. Tel: 020 7387 3909.
Opening Times: Mon-Fri. 10-12:30 and 1:30-5:00pm. Closed Bank Holidays and weekends.
London Transport: Nearest Tube. Covent Garden.
Description: The Percival David Foundation exists to promote the study and teaching of Chinese Art and Culture. Its unique collection of Chinese ceramics and library of East Asian and Western books related to Chinese Art were both presented to the University of London in 1950 by the collector and scholar Sir Percival David.

The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology
Venue:University College London, Malet Pl., London WC1E 6BT. Tel: 020 7679 2884.
Date:Tues-Fri, 1pm-5pm; Sat 10am-1pm, 2008. Closed over Easter Holidays. Telephone for exact details.
London Transport: Nearest Tube. Euston Square.
Description: Part of the University College London teaching faculty hidden away on campus, the Petrie Museum houses one of the greatest collections of Egyptian and Sudanese archaeology in the world with c. 80,000 objects illustrating some 6,000 years of life in the Nile Valley from pre-history through the time of the Pharaohs to the Islamic period. Notable exhibits are one of the earliest pieces of Linen, (c. 5000 BCE), two lions from the Temple of Min at Koptos from the first group of monumental sculpture (c. 3000 BCE), a fragment from the first Kinglist or calendar (c. 2900 BCE), the earliest example of Metal from Egypt, the first worked iron beads, the earliest example of glazing, the earliest 'cylinder seal' in Egypt (c. 3500 BCE), the first 'wills' on papyrus paper, the oldest gynecological papyrus, and many more firsts. The museum houses the world's largest collection of Roman period mummy portraits (first to second centuries AD). No concession is made to spectacular display techniques, the lighting is not state of art techno and you will not see any fabulous treasures from Tut's tomb, (you'll have to pay to see those at the 02 Millenium Dome, Greenwich), but if you have any interest in Ancient Egypt and an outline of its historical background you will, like me, find your visit to this teaching resource memorable. Photography without flash is allowed. Created by the bequest of the Victorian enthusiast Amelia Edwards (1831-1892). The bright new website with its online catalogue facility offers a good insight into the collection, every item of which is provenanced.

University College London Collections
Venue: Malet Pl., London WC1E 6BT. Tel: 020 7679 2884.
Opening times: Tues-Fri, 1pm-5pm; Sat 10am-1pm, 2007. From 2 January 2008.
London Transport: Nearest Tube: Euston Square.
Description: These collections of Art, Archaeology, Medicine, Anthropology, Geology, Anatomy, and Science Collections, are scattered over the UCL campus. Obtain a map of the campus when you get there and let it be your guide to the Collections used by the University as teaching resources.

V & A Museum of Childhood
Venue: Cambridge Heath Road, E2 9PA. Tel: 020 8983 5200.
Opening Times: 10am-6pm. Thurs/Fri 10am-9pm. From 2 January 2008.
London Transport: Nearest Tube. Bethnal Green, Central Line, Zone 2.
Description: UK's national collection of childhood related objects from 1600. Toys, dolls, teddy bears, games, costumes, childcare, etc. A superb Collection. Very popular with children.

The Wallace Collection
Venue: Hertford House, Manchester Square, W1. Tel: 020-7563-9500
Opening times: Open daily 10am - 5pm. From 2 January, 2008.
Children under 8 must be accompanied by an adult. The use of buggies is not permitted within the building.
London Transport: Nearest Tube.Baker Street; Bond Street
Opening Times: The Wallace Collection the finest private collection of art ever assembled by one family. It was bequeathed to the nation by Lady Wallace, widow of Sir Richard Wallace, in 1897, and opened to the public just over three years later on 22 June 1900 as a national museum. Its first visitors were variously delighted, amazed and bemused. In 25 galleries are unsurpassed displays of French 18th century painting, furniture and porcelain with superb Old Master paintings and a world class armoury.
Free general guided tours of the Collection are usually given on each weekday at 1pm, also Wednesdays and Saturdays at 11.30am, and Sundays at 3pm. These are sometimes replaced by specialist gallery talks covering aspects of the Collection in more detail, often given by members of The Wallace Collection staff. the The historic Hertford House is itself worth visiting. A new online database that will eventually contain information on every work of art in the Wallace Bequest.

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