Focus on.......

Each month we will focus on a travel item.

It could be a destination, hotel, a historic monument or an event, an airline or an experience. 

This month......

 London, England.

When you are English and you've never been to your own capital city, its a bit shameful, especially as London is one of THE great capital cities of the world.

Famous, and infamous, for fires, plagues, murder, finance, and a long and tempestuous succession of Royal families - oh, and not forgetting Wimbledon - London has a history that is well worth getting acquainted with. But where do you start?


Picture shows King Henry VIII's armour, from the time he was married to Kathrine of Aragon. The skirt shows H & K intertwined. Kathrine was later beheaded! This can be seen at the armories collection at the Tower of London.


Apart from the past the present is pretty good as well. Fast becoming an icon, the London Eye, is London's top attraction with over 10 million visitors a year. It is a spectacular sight, which is all the more appreciated from one of the many river boats that leave Westminster pier - in fact, a trip on the Thames should be on your intinerary, it puts the city in a new prespective.

We thought Piccadilly was a good place to base ourselves and one route you may wish to take it this. Take a pleasant walk through Green Park, at the end of which is Buckingham Palace - if you are lucky you may catch the changing of the guard, around 11.30am, but do check. Following Birdcage Walk, past the Guards Museum, down towards Westminster (skirting pretty St James Park), Big Ben - which isn't as big as you think it will be, more, medium Ben really - and the Houses of Parliament appear on the right. The Churchill Museum, and the Cabinet War Rooms, are on the left, and well worth a visit to guage the pressured atmosphere of the generals and defence ministers, as they planned their war strategy.

Westminister bridge and the river boat pier are just across the road - if you fancy a river amble and a trip to Tower bridge and the Tower of London - or you could continue on foot across the bridge to the London Aquarium and the 'eye,' both on the waterfront. What a great start!

Amongst the mass of art, heritage and culture museums on offer, the Victoria and Albert (V & A) and Natural History museums are 2 of the best, and gratifyingly free entry. They are very close together and I would suggest doing them on the same day. This, however, is a bit of a tall order, as they are both huge, there is masses to see, and its a bit tiring on the legs and feet.

At the end of the day, head back to Piccadilly to The Wolsley. Very well-renowned for afternoon cream teas, and very nice they are too! Booking essential.

With the likes of St Pauls Cathedral, Kensington Palace, Regents Park, The London Dungeons, the British Museum, Tate Gallery and much, much more; areas such as Notting ZHill, Chelsea and Soho; world class hotels and restaurants, the great british 'pub,' shopping till you drop, and amazing nightlife, 2 weeks isn't enough. It really is a great city.

My only tip would be regarding clothing, you never know what the weather will be like from one day to the next, so take easily removable layers.