[VottCetaVeivE]

Originally posted by Ninot
Molly! Save us! Let me know what you're interested in, otherwise this could take some time....


The area around Shoreditch/Hoxton has taken off in a wholly unexpected way- to any of us who knew London in the 70s.


It's now full of artists' studios, exhibition spaces, groovy bars and pubs, funky little clothes shops, et cetera.

It's cheek by jowl with Brick Lane/Bangla Town, where you can get authentic Bengali cuisine for very little of your hard earned loonies, and you can also visit the famous 24 hour beigel shop and have a great salt beef beigel.

There's the Jack The Ripper walking tour, which as you're coming in August, would be just before the right time to take the tour, as the Autumn of Terror is the name for the killing spree in 1888.

You can also see the Huguenot churches and houses some of which are now mosques and musuems.

There's Spitalfields' Market, Petticoat Lane flea market on the weekend, the newly revamped Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green...

You can also see the Museum of Docklands, walk under the Thames in Brunel's pedestrian tunnel over to the South Bank.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/...s_stage4.shtml

There are churches where Captain Cook married (St Margaret's in Barking) and where his children were christened (St. Dunstan's in Stepney).

http://exploringeastlondon.co.uk/Stepney/Stepney.htm

You can find areas where Jack London wrote (The People of the Abyss) and where Charles Dickens observed life go by:

The Prospect of Whitby, the oldest riverside inn in London. Built in 1520, it was originally known as the Devil’s Tavern, but its name was changed in 1777 after the collier the Prospect, from Whitby, North Yorkshire, which regularly moored alongside it. The pub doesn’t look that impressive from the outside, but once over the threshold you are pitched into a time warp that has changed little since the days when Dickens, amongst others, used to drop in for a tipple. Old prints and photos of the river adorn its walls. The flagstone floor and pewter-topped bar, perched on old beer barrels, are truly antiquated, and have witnessed both the low and high life of London’s docklands. Standing in its atmospheric interior you really do get the impresion that you have truly joined Charles Dickens in the Victorian era. As far as pub stops go this is without doubt a highlight of our London Walks. http://www.london-walks.co.uk/38/pro...y-sights.shtml


Then there's the Naval College at Greenwich, which is now a World Heritage Site,

http://www.worldheritage.gre.ac.uk/naval.htm

the National Maritime Museum, the Greenwich Observatory...

Greenwich is recognised for its cultural heritage:

the grandeur and sheer beauty of its buildings;

the magnificent vistas and views across London;

its royal history, as the birthplace of both Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, among others

its naval and sea-faring history - the Old Royal Naval College was built originally as a hospital for veteran sailors and Admiral Lord Nelson lay in state in its Painted Hall prior to his funeral. The National Maritime Museum and the Cutty Sark are also within the WHS boundaries;

its scientific accomplishments – with Greenwich Mean Time and Longitude 0°, Greenwich is the centre of time and space.

The ensemble of buildings set in and around the oldest Royal Park in London and bordered to the north by the River Thames reads like a who’s who of British architecture.

Sir Christopher Wren, Inigo Jones, Sir John Vanbrugh, Nicholas Hawksmoor and Joseph Kay all have important and beautiful examples of their work here, which together constitute the World Heritage Site.

As you wander through the WHS you will experience views and vistas that have changed little since Canaletto painted it almost three hundred years ago. Back then, you would have met seafarers and ship builders, scientists, boatmen and fishermen. Now you are more likely to encounter students and visitors from all over the world who have come to appreciate not only the inspirational architecture, magnificent open spaces and exceptional museum collections, but also to enjoy the lively shopping experience and year-round programme of events.
http://www.greenwichwhs.org.uk/world_heritage/index.asp


if you want more detailed information, send me a p.m. about what your particular interests are and I'll try to dig out some little known or unusual sites/sights for you to see.