An old proverb says that London’s streets are lined with gold. Maybe that’s not true today, but they’re certainly lined with modern miracles that drastically cut costs for money-conscious tourists. A holiday in London has never looked more attractive – or possible – thanks to many things to do and to see for nothing.
Many of the famous sights of the city are now within reach of the most cash-strapped visitor because they’re free. Seeing is believing – so go and find out for yourself.
Concerts for music lovers and catering for all tastes
If you select your venues carefully, you can listen to a free lunchtime recital lasting about 50 minutes every day of the week, all in beautiful, ancient churches in central locations that are worth a visit just for their architecture and magnificent interiors.
• St Olaves, a medieval church in Hart Street in the city (the burial place of Samuel Pepys), has concerts on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 1pm; St Martin in the Fields in Trafalgar Square has concerts on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays between 1pm and 2pm and St James Church, Piccadilly, a Wren church built in 1684, has free recitals at 1pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
• The National Theatre on the South Bank has free foyer music at 1pm and before performances at 5.45pm Mondays to Fridays, and on Saturdays there are programmes varying from cool jazz to upbeat ethnic. The Royal Opera House has free concerts on Mondays at 1pm but music lovers must book online.
• The Scoop, a riverside sunken amphitheatre on the south side of the Thames Path between the city hall and Tower Bridge, has a wide variety of free events from May to October including music, theatrical productions, films, dance and story telling.
• There are also free band concerts throughout the summer near Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park.
BBC Shows
Certain BBC programmes, performances and new recordings are open to the public at no cost. Times vary, so visitors must log on to www.tvrecordings.com and wwwbbc.co.uk/showsandtours/tickets
Museums
Most museums are free, including the British Museum, the National Gallery, the Tate Modern and Tate Britain, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum.
Markets
London is full of street markets, several known internationally. For instance, Portobello Road Market in Notting Hill is listed as one of the most famous in the world. There are markets here six days of the week, but its Saturday Antiques Market, held since 1870, is the most popular. It is surrounded by arcades, boutiques, shops and cafes, all worth a look.
Camden Market, mainly a market of funky clothes, is also internationally known and is reputed to have 100 000 visitors every weekend. There are several smallish markets as you come out of the underground station, but the famous ones are Camden Stables Market and Camden Lock Market with more than 200 stalls of “alternative” clothing and fashion accessories, in picturesque, narrow walkways and both with wonderful views of the canal and lock.
Petticoat Lane Market, or Middlesex Street Market, to give it its “official” name, has been held since 1750 and has more than 1 000 stalls every Sunday from 9am to 2.30pm, mostly bargain clothing, toys and electronic goods.
Pageantry
The changing of the guard, which takes place every day at 11.30am in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace, is 45 minutes of pomp and ceremony that is centuries old and includes band music. The new guard, wearing full regimental uniform, marches to the palace accompanied by a band. The sentries are changed, the old guard hands over and returns to barracks, again accompanied by full regimental music. The ceremony involves famous regiments who are all serving soldiers, including the Foot Guards and Horse Guards.
For the Changing of the Queen’s Life Guard, the guards leave Hyde Park Barracks at 10.28am on weekdays, 9.28am on Sundays and ride to Horse Guards Parade via Hyde Park Corner, Constitution Hill and the mall. This ceremony then takes place on Horse Guards Parade at 11am and on Sundays at 10am.
The official birthday of the queen is marked by the Trooping of the Colour, a vast military parade in June on Horse Guards Parade where she receives the royal salute. She then rides in a carriage and leads the troops to Buckingham Palace, receives the salute and the troops return to barracks. Good viewing sites are St James Park and along the mall.
In the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London, The Chief Yeoman Warder locks the tower’s heavy wooden gates with a huge set of keys every night at 10pm in a seven-minute ceremony. The locking tradition has happened, without fail for 700 years, even during severe war bombing.
Tickets are free but must be applied for two months in advance and three months if the required visit is in June, July or August. Names of all visitors must be included and two different dates when it is possible to attend. Applications should be sent to: Ceremony of the Keys Office, Tower of London, London EC 3N 4AB, UK and a self-addressed envelope, either with British postage stamps or an international money order to cover the cost in sterling.
Greenwich
You pay to get there, but it’s well worth the price if you go by river because you pass the London Eye, St Paul’s, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, Tower Bridge and many other famous London sights – but when you arrive your sight-seeing will be free and there’s enough for a whole day.
Greenwich is a beautiful riverside borough with many famous buildings built by Sir Christopher Wren, including The Royal Naval College and the Royal Observatory in the Centre of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site.
This is a great baroque masterpiece with a magnificent painted hall and chapel in landscaped grounds along the banks of the River Thames and next to the Queen’s House which was built in the days of the Tudors and Stuarts.
Greenwich is also famous for its Meridian Line. All time zones throughout the world are based on the Greenwich Meridian and there is plenty of information available and usually a queue of people waiting to stand on it.
Street performers
Street performers, or buskers as they are called, are an ancient London tradition going back to the 1600s and include conjuring, clowning, magic, mime, dancing, acrobatics and eye-catching stunts. Today they are still found near many of the famous sights, along the South Bank and at most of the central underground stations.
Every performer is auditioned before being given a licence, which ensures their acts are top quality and well worth watching.
Most people agree the speakers at Speakers’ Corner should be included as “street performers” because this is street theatre at its best – dozens of speakers stand on a soap box and proceed to set the world to right with subject matter ranging from serious political topics to wild, hilarious ideas, made more interesting because there’s always plenty of audience participation in the form of good-natured heckling.
A great way to spend a Sunday afternoon – at the Marble Arch end of Hyde Park.
Just for children
The Diana Memorial Playground near her old home in Kensington Gardens has been specially designed to amuse children, featuring a large castle fortress where children can play dressed up in soldiers’ uniforms. Equally popular is a rock wall for climbing and scaling (with plenty of safety precautions) and a maze of tunnels to crawl through.
The 14 hectare Mud Chute Park and Farm on the Isle of Dogs is the largest and was created with silt from the construction of Millwall Docks. It has nature trails, wooded glades, steep grassy banks, grazing fields, hills and hollows and an education centre. It also has horses to ride and gives riding lessons.
Kentish Town Urban Farm, with poultry, horses and a large variety of livestock, is almost as big, while Vauxhall City Farm has donkey rides, pony care classes and milking demonstrations.
Corams Fields in central London is a free 3ha playground.
All the parks are safe, and only adults with children are allowed in.
London, a real travel bargain, is waiting for you. Get there. - Sunday Tribune