Afternoon Tea at the Savoy and other London, United Kingdom Things to Do Tips

The very English tradition of afternoon tea is usually credited to a lady called 'Anna' who was the Duchess of Bedford. She apparantly got a bit peckish between Lunch and dinner, and so hot on the idea of a few sandwiches, a bit of tiffin and a cup of char to bridge the gap.

If she had turned up at the Savoy and paid her 28 quid (25 mid-week) , she would have needed either of the other two meals.

The afternoon tea is served in the Thames Foyer, a fine room with walls painted with rural scenes and a view of the river. The 'meal' comes on a three-decker cakestand with sandwiches at the bottom (no crust - naturally). The middle tier with French pastries and the top layer some great scones with their own little cover. There were also some other cakes and cheese pastry things on the side - all made on the premises.

I am convinced that the staff were trained by a band of Irish Mother-in-laws who just absoluetly insisted that you eat more sandwiches and cakes the moment some disappeared down your throat.

Book directly through www.fairmont.com or through and agency such as www.coventgardenlife.com

The prices below do not include the discretionary service charge.

Afternoon Tea at the Savoy :

Mon-Fri 2pm or 4pm - £25.00 per person
Sat/Sun 2pm-4pm - £28.00 per person

Champagne Tea: Mon-Fri £35.00 per person
Sat/Sun £40.00 per person

A selection of Fresh Finger Sandwiches
(including Cucumber, Smoked Salmon and Tomato)

Delicious Home-made French Pastries and Tea Cakes

Home Baked Scones
Served with Clotted Cream and Strawberry Preserve

A wide selection of teas including
The Savoy's own blend and a range of herbal teas

Many other hotels and cafes will offera similar service - and a good bit cheaper.

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Address: Savoy, Strand
Website: www.fairmont.com

Roughly opposite Camden Town Tube stop, which you will probably use for visiting the very impressive and funky Camden Lock Market, stands a more authentic street market - Inverness street.

It was originally a reasonable size fruit and veg market, and some of those stalls still remain with cheery stallholder types flogging their apples and pears. They still transport the crates of veg around in brightly-coloured hand carts which look as if they were built for transporting the dead during the last outbreak of the Black plague. They are great for some art- type photography.

Most of the rest of the couple of dozen stalls now sell mostly tat and cheap clothing.

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Address: Camden High road

The Proud galleries (now sponsored by Sony Ericson - so entry is free) are one of the leading photographic galleries in Europe.

They have two venues in London, the one in Camden being in 'The Stables', right in the heart of Camden Lock market.

It consists of two floors, usually dedicated to an exhibition to do with music and the media. The fact that the current exhibition (Nov 05) is a history of the 'Playboy' magazine and its girls had nothing to do with my decision to visit the place.

They also carry a rather good shop and about a dozen or so limited edition phographic prints of famous musicians. Many of these are of the 'old greats' like Jagger, Marley or the Sex Pistols and retail for between 300-1000 pounds per framed print.

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Phone: 020 7839 4942
Address: The Stables, Camden
Directions: Camden Town and Chalk Farm tubes

Until the 1970's Camden High street was a fairly average run-of-the-mill North London shopping area.

Then things began to change - Camden found funky !

Over years it has become one of the great tourist attraction of London with many 'oddball' shops both on the high street and in the various parts of Camden Market that dot the area.
So, If you are looking for way-out clothes, ethnic ornaments, tasty street food, giant boots, PVC nurse's outfits, african jewellery, turkish hookas and just about anything else that is not catered for by mainstream shops then this is the place to visit.

It has become a veritable melting pot of all of London's many diverse cultures.

One of the more striking features of the high street are the 'outsize' creations that are bolted or balanced onto the outside of shops in the area. A giant plane, or boot or pineapple wedged onto the roof all seem perfectly sensible. Sometime the item has no relstionship to the business of the shop - perhaps because the business has moved on or gone bankrupt.

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Address: Camden High Street
Directions: Camden Town and Chalk Farm tubes

It's not everyday on VT that you can legitimately talk about a collection of sexy blonde nurses in male-fantasy outfits being pinned to a wall - but this is your lucky day.

Among some of the more outragous and interesting shop fronts alond the whacky and surreal Camden High steet is this collection of babes advertising a clothing shop.

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Address: Camden High Street
Directions: Camden Town and Chalk Farm tubes

The bad news is : The design Icon of the 1950's, the routemaster bus ahs been withdrawn from normal service.

The Good news is : at least for the present ten of the buses have been saved to run on the central London section of routes 9 & 15. The further good news is that they are intergrated into the network with normal fares and travelcards being accepted.

Heritage Routemasters will run every 15 minutes, every day between about 09:30 and 18:30 on the following routes:

Route 9
Royal Albert Hall
Knightsbridge
Piccadilly Circus
Trafalgar Square
Charing Cross
Strand
Aldwych

Route 15
Trafalgar Square
Charing Cross
Strand
Fleet Street
St Paul’s Cathedral
Monument
Tower Hill

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Visiting Borough market on a Saturday.

Best approached from London Bridge tube station (NOT Borough station). This is middle-class London in its' element. The market is similar to a farmers market (I use the term very loosely here). Plenty of high quality cheeses, meats , veg ,fish, flowers, and plants etc. Also lots of great snacks.

Then for a real change of atmosphere jump on the tube and head for Brixton. The market is not really in one place but just wander around the outside of the rail station and you will find most of it. It's the atmosphere that makes it - West Indian meets Del-boy. Very lively and colourful - you will find alot of rubbish but inbetween the tat there is rastafarian wear / music, exotic food and even live crabs.

Also a seemingly enormous number of wig shops and one of the smallest barbers shops I've ever seen right under the station.

Just avoid those wide-boys in their souped-up BMW's on the way home with their takings !

A real contrast.

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Address: London Bridge Tube & Brixton (tube + train)
Directions: Look up your tube map

This is a must for all those Harry Potter fans.

King's Cross, Platform 9 does exist - but J.K Rowling forgot that it is in fact located inside a rather dull train shed on the side of the main station used for commuter trains to Peterborough / Cambridge.

There is however a plaque that has been put up and you can also look at platform 4 where the film sequence was actually shot.

If you combine it with a visit to St. Pancras next door (a Gilbert Scott Masterpiece) then there is plenty of Architecture to keep adults interested as well.

You might also want to check out other film locations in London used for Harry Potter like LedenhallMarket , Australia House and London Zoo.

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Address: King's Cross Station
Website: www.hp-lexicon.com

There are so many galleries to see in London and everyone feels they must do the Tates and the National.

If you are short of time however this gallery is very agreeable - and free.

Best of all its actually house in a real mansion, so 17th-19th century painting, ceramics and armour etc are shown off in sumptuous surroundings.

It includes some of the world's more famous paintings like the 'Laughing Cavalier'.

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Address: Manchester Sq
Directions: A block north of Oxford street (convienent excuse to avoid shopping - i'm going to get a culture fix)
Website: www.the-wallace-collection.org

If you happen to be in London when the commons (the Lower house of Parliment in the UK) is in session, then it is possible to see the highlight of the parlimentary week - Prime Ministers' Questions. (PMQ's).

It takes place at 3PM on Wednesday and anything interesting is often on the news that night.

If you queue outside you are unlikely to get in until afterwards. However if you write to your MP (if British) or to your embassy in London (about 3 months in advance) then you are likely to get hold of some tickets.

In April 2004 The MP's have just voted to permanently leave up a large glass screen between themselves and the downtrodden masses. All sound therefore in the gallery is now piped through electronically - you might as well watch it on the TV.

Use the same method to obtain a tour of Big Ben from the inside. They apparantly give preference to those with an interest in Clocks and bells ! (loonies & hunchbacks ?)

FROM THE FEATURED WEBSITE:
Overseas visitors should apply in writing, giving at least 3 months notice, to:

Amanda Leck
Clock Tower Tours
Parliamentary Works Services Directorate
1 Canon Row
London
SW1A 2JN

Tours are free and take place at 10.30am, 11.30am and 2.30pm Monday to Friday. Visitors are advised there are 334 spiral steps and suitable footwear should be worn. Photography and the use of camcorders is not permitted. Visitors should enter via St Stephens Entrance and assemble at the North Door of Westminster Hall no later than 25 minutes past the hour. Visitors who arrive any later will miss their tour. Please note that visitors will be returned to the North Door at the end of their tour.

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Address: Parliament Square, SW1
Directions: Westminster tube
Website: http://www.parliament.uk