London Off the Beaten Path Tips by Dabs

Although we didn't get to see all of it due to a wedding, the one and 1/2 acre rooftop garden is magical, a green oasis 6 floors up. Our guide on the Original London Walk of Kensington took us up here and said that the public could access the garden provided that there was no function going on, seems like the best bet might be a weekday afternoon. I believe access is free.

There are three areas to the gardens-the Spanish Garden, the Tudor Garden and the English Woodland Garden.

The view in the attached photo is from Babylon, a restaurant on the 7th floor, which came highly recommended for the less pricey lunch by our guide. Details on price and opening hours are on the attached website.

Keep an eye out for the flamingos :-)

Closest tube stop: High Street Kensington, located at 99 Kensington High Street

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Website: www.roofgardens.com

Just saw this in a guidebook, sounded a lot like Chicago Great Places and Spaces weekend which I think is terrific.

In 2007, it's the weekend of Sept 15-16, around 550 buildings including private homes and public buildings open up for free tours, revealing some hidden architectural gems.

One of these years I'll make it in September!!!

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Website: http://www.londonopenhouse.org/

At the Tower of London each night at 9:30 pm, a ceremony which has been performed at the Tower of London every night for the last 700 years, takes place.

Tickets are free but must be reserved well in advance, the website suggests 2 months ahead

See the website below for mailing information. In order to increase your chances of getting tickets, you may want to list all of the days that you have available in London.

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Website: http://www.hrp.org.uk/webcode/content.asp?ID=704

On the bank holiday weekend (Saturday May 24-Monday May 26, 2004) some of London's smaller museums and galleries open for the London Museums and Galleries Month Weekend.

The link below has the details.

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Website: http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART16860.html

We got to Little Venice by accident, as we were wandering around Camden Locks, we saw a canal boat and hopped on, the terminus was Little Venice.

Little Venice is a leafy residential area, to get there you can take the tube to the Warwick station, take a canal ride from Camden or walk along the towpath from Camden, about a 2 1/4 mile walk.

Our guide book didn't cover Little Venice so we didn't know what to go see and ended up taking the towpath back to Camden.

Original London Walks does a tour through Little Venice.

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Hampstead is a lovely residential section of the city on the north side of London, filled with green space including the massive Hampstead Heath which is 791 acres of grass and trees.

On our first visit to Hampstead we joined the Original London Walks for a pub walk through the area, some of the places pointed out along the way included the Admiral House which was the inspiration for the opening scene in Mary Poppins and currently owned by Russell Crowe and the Fenton House. On our second visit we walked from the tube station to Kenwood House.

Be sure to stop at La Creperie de Hampstead for one of their fabulous crepes, just a short walk from the Hampstead tube station, the guide pointing out the posh digs where some celebrities live, I'm sure he mentioned one of the Spice Girls and Russell Crowe. You should be able to see it if you turn left from the tube station.

To get to Hampstead, you can take the tube to the Hampstead station or go by bus.

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Well, I'm likely to never get to do this since the website requests writing 3 months in advance but there are free tours of the Clock Tower at Parliament to see Big Ben (that's the bell, not the tower)

There is a very limited capacity with a maximum of 16 visitors per tour; no children under 11 are allowed. Tours are at 10.30am, 11.30am and 2.30pm Monday to Friday and you must climb the 334 spiral steps. No photography or camcorders.

We did see a sign while over visiting Parliament that said that you must have advance reservations but it gave a phone number so if you are there, you might try calling to see if there is any availability.

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Website: http://www.parliament.uk/directories/hcio/clock_tower.cfm

I would not have visited the Banqueting House had it not been for having the London Pass but since I had it, I wandered over one afternoon. It's right across the street from where the Changing of the Horse Guards on Whitehall takes place so it's easy to combine with a visit there.

The Banqueting House is the only remaining complete building of Whitehall Palace, the sovereign's principal residence from 1530 until 1698 when it was destroyed by fire. It was designed by Inigo Jones for King James I as a place for state functions, plays and masques. The Rubens ceiling dates to 1636, it was commissioned by Charles I and celebrates his father James I. The 2nd and 3rd photos are of this ceiling.

You can visit the Banqueting House in 1/2 hour to an hour depending on if you watch the short film on the history of the Banqueting House or just pick up the included audio guide and visit the main hall with it's beautiful Rubens ceiling.

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Website: http://www.hrp.org.uk/webcode/banquet_home.asp

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The Royal Mews were also included on the London Pass so after my visit to Buckingham Palace to see the state rooms I headed over to the Royal Mews to see the carriages.

There are several carriages on display including the beautiful gilded State Coach first used by George III and used in all subsequent coronations, the Irish State Coach used by the Queen at the opening of Parliament, the Scottish and Australian State Coaches and several others.

You can also see some of the Queen's horses, saddles and riding equipment and some displays on the daily functions of the Mews. Not on display were the cars that are housed at the Mews, perhaps the Queen had them out for a drive :-)

I think the admission price of L5.50 is a bit steep for what you get to see so unless you are really into stables and coaches, you might pass on this one. The Mews were not crowded so there is no need to reserve tickets in advance.

Check the webpage below for opening times, it appears that the Mews are not open to the public in the winter months.

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Website: http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page556.asp