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The Wonderpass is now open. The Marylebone subway, next to Baker Street Tube Station, has been transformed to showcase the area's colourful history and its cultural attractions. In 2014 Baker Street Quarter Partnership, who commissioned the project, approached me to research the timeline for the Wonderpass. When it opened in January 2016, I was very proud to visit and see the results of my research on display.
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In the 1630s room the table is laid out with sweet dishes
Updated with 2015 opening times
One of my favourite places to visit in London is the Geffrye Museum, located in former eighteenth century almshouses. The Museum is named after Sir Robert Geffrye, a former Lord Mayor of the City of London, at whose bequest the almshouses were built. The Geffrye features eleven period rooms which reflect the styles and fashions of the English middle classes from 1600s to the present day.
It is worth visiting at any time of the year but it is at its most magical during its annual Christmas Past exhibition when the rooms are transformed and decorated as they would have been for their era. The rooms are laid out sequentially with the earlier rooms tending to have just very simple evergreen decoration.
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Great Gardens of London by Victoria Summerley, with photos by Hugo Rittson Thomas and Marianne Majerus has just been published by Frances Lincoln. It's a stunning book featuring 30 amazing gardens across the Greater London area, all of which have been beautifully photographed, such as Winfield House, Regent’s Park, which features on its front cover, see above.
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Nurse Edith Cavell was executed on 12th October 1915, during World War I, for assisting over 200 allied soldiers escape occupied Belgium. There is an annual public wreath laying ceremony that takes place at her memorial, in London, on the anniversary of her death. This year's ceremony, organised by the Cavell Nurses' Trust, will be extra special as it will mark the centenary of her death. It will be held on Monday 12th October at 10.30am and is free to attend.
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On a recent visit to the newly opened Picturehouse Central in the Trocadero Centre, I was delighted to discover this captivating Arthurian themed frieze. After the film I took a few photos, which wasn’t easy, as I was on a moving escalator, but I managed to capture all ten panels.
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Entrance Hall
Eltham Palace is best known today for its sumptuous art deco interiors created in the 1930s - 1940s when Stephen and Virginia Courthauld resided there. The house however has an amazing history, from medieval manor house and Tudor royal palace to the Courtaulds, which is covered my original blog post.
Last month I made a long overdue return visit to as this year they have opened five more rooms and this blog is going to focus on its art deco interiors, although at the time this style would have been referred to Moderne, as the term art deco wasn't coined until 1960s. If you think the Entrance Hall looks amazing wait till you see the bathroom. Warning there are rather a lot of photos.
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The Goring is the hotel where in 2011, Catherine Middleton and her family stayed the night before her marriage to Prince William. The other week I visited for afternoon tea with @DawnCorleone which is featured seperately in my Scones of the Month blog. When I entered their Front Hall, I was immediately impressed with their beautiful wallpaper, so much so that when we left the restaurant we went to have a closer look. The Goring's Facebook page states that "The Goring's Front Hall is a destination in itself". DawnC was staying there, as a guest, so was able to tell me more about it, thanks Dawn, and I loved it so much I felt I just had to blog about it.
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Utterly delighted that Stanfords, reputedly the world's biggest travel and map bookshop, liked my blog post about our ride on their horse drawn omnibus tour and have re-blogged it on Stanfords blog.
This is a huge honour for me as I love Stanfords, I can spend hours in their shop absorbed in their books and I also feature them on my Covent Garden and its Hidden Corners walking tour, as it's where Sherlock Holmes goes for his map in Hounds of the Baskervilles.
The author of this blog is a qualified City of London and City of Westminster Tour Guide who leads guided walks combining world famous landmarks with hidden treasures often missed by the crowds.
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Left to right: Basil, Bob and Harney with Tim Wood
I love exploring London and when I heard that Stanfords, reputedly the world's biggest travel and map bookshop, have just launched a London sightseeing tour by horse drawn Victorian omnibus I just had to check it out. So last night joined by Julie and Carolyn, friends and fellow guides, we were taken for an utterly delightful ride by Basil, Bob and Harney, three magnificent Dutch Warmbloods.
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Quetzalcoatl III by Aubrey Williams
No Colour Bar: Black British Art in Action 1960-1990 has just opened at the Guildhall Art Gallery and is on until Sunday 24th January 2016. Last week I enjoyed a private view before it was open to the public. The exhibition is a celebration of contemporary artists and has an array of amazing and beautiful art.