explorationsinlondon-blog

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Interview with my friend Nicole who lives in the borough of Islington

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To Arms Etc playing at Proud Camden which is located in the borough of Camden.

Directions: Take Northern Line to Camden Town Station. Turn right out of station onto Camden Highstreet and walk for about five minutes and you will see Proud on your left.

Band Website: http://www.toarmsetc.com/

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HIGHGATE CEMETERY IS LOCATED IN THE BOROUGHS OF HARINGEY, CAMDEN AND ISLINGTON 

Location: Take the Northern Line to Archway then turn left out of the tube station onto Highgate Hill. Continue on Highgate Hill till you reach Bisham Gardens then turn left. Take your next left onto Swain's Lane and follow until to hit the cemetery.

Founded in 1839, Highgate holds around 170,000 bodies. It is the coolest graveyard I've ever been to and one of the most interesting places I've seen in London.

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Kensington and Chelsea

Kensington and Chelsea is London's second richest borough. The borough is not only monitarily well off; but is culturally, historically and intellectually wealthy as well.

Kensington and Chelsea is most famously known for Notting Hill and Portobello Market. The market originated in the 19th century as a farmers market. Today it has grown to be 940 meters long and sells various things from anttiques, to food, to clothing, to houseware.

The borough also borders Hyde Park and holds the Kensington Palace where Queen Anne, George I and Princess Diana have all lived.

One of the best things about Kensington and Chelsea, however, has to be the muesuems. The Natural History Muesum, Science Mueseum and Victoria and Albert muesum all stand within yards of one another.

The first mueseum I went to was the Natural History Mueseum. Inside they had exhibits on everything from human biology and origins to dinosaurs to animal species to geology. There seemed to be something for everyone and many of the exhibits were well set up.

The second museum I saw was the Victoria and Albert. This mueseum contained art from cultures around the world and allowed visitors to see glimpse of past cultures. The museum was slightly smaller than the Natural History Mueseum, however contained thousands of unique artifacts, many of which I have seen nothing like before.

The last mueseum I went to was the Science Muesum. This one was signifligantly smaller than the other two and seemed to be geared more towards children. I didn't find it very intriguing and will probably never return to it.

All in all the borough of Kensington and Chelsea is a good place to go if you are searching for a diversity of things to do.

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Street Art in London's Hackney Borough

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Greenwich

This week I went to the borough of Greenwich. Located in Southern London I found the area to be a nice escape from the crowds and chaos of Central London. 

The area has several well hidden attractions that many tourists never come to witness, but are intriguing none the less. After first exiting the tube station I stumbled onto the Old Royal Naval College. Originally built in the 1700's as a hospital, the buildings became converted to a college in 1873 and remained a naval school till 1998. The area is now used for various things. 

The most stunning attraction at the Old Royal Naval College was James Thornhill's Painted Hall which was painted in honor King William III and Queen Mary II.

Next I ended up going to the National Maritime Museum which focused on the history of British sea exploration and history. I had little interest in the subject before going to the museum, but surprisingly found it interesting and learned a lot. 

After the museum I walked through Greenwich Park and which was very spacious and offered great views of London. 

At the top of the park was the Royal Observatory.

There I visited the Flamsteed house where English astronomer John Flamsteed recorded over 3000 stars. Issac Newton also came to the house often to visit with Flamsteed. Outside the house was the marker for the Prime Meridian which marks 0 degrees longitude.�� 

Afterwards I wandered around the park some more and ended up at Greenwich market before boarding the train home. The market was nothing special and probably the least interesting market I've been to in London. 

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London's Boroughs So Far

So far I have only made it into 11 of London's 32 boroughs. Hammersmith, Kensington & Chelsea, Westminster, Camden, Islington, City, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Greenwich, Southwark and Lambeth. I hope to make it into all of London's boroughs before I leave. The only ones I have spent a considerable amount of time in are Camden, Islington and City, so I would still like to explore the other ones more.

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Photo 1 by: Ultrahi http://www.flickr.com/photos/ultrahi/23844732/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Photo 2 by: Bright Tal http://www.flickr.com/photos/bright/5876679788/sizes/z/in/photostream/

Photo 3 by: Tony Stanel http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonystanley/2545561479/sizes/z/in/photostream/

Photo 4 by: Today is a good day http://www.flickr.com/photos/good_day/65122742/sizes/z/in/photostream/

Photo 5 by: Daniel Gorecki http://www.flickr.com/photos/danielgorecki/2362574742/sizes/z/in/photostream/

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SOUTHWARK

For my first post, I decided to explore the riverside borough of Southwark. Dating back to being one of London’s oldest areas, Southwark became famous during the 16th century when it became known as the entertainment and red light district of London. The area was home to two of the first theatres in London and was an area where Shakespeare spent much of his time. I found the area to be quite intriguing with traces of the 16th century Southwark scattered among modern architecture, markets and riverside walkways.

I started off my day in Southwark by heading west of the London Bridge tube station into Borough Market. The market was filled with every kind of food you could imagine and is one of London's largest food market. The market is said to have existed since 1014, however, has only existed in it's current location since the 19th century..At the end of the market I stubbled upon Southwark Cathedral. The church itself dates back to the 1200's and was the first Gothic church to exist in London. Southwark Catherdral has ties to Shakespeare who is said to have frequented the church and whose brother, Edmund, is buried there.

After Southwark church I continued to head west passing many points of interest such as the location of the original Globe and Rose Theatre, which were two of London’s first playhouses. I also passed the original site of Southwark’s bear-baiting theatre, which was one of London’s most popular forms of entertainment and involved setting a group of dogs onto a bear and watching the fight unravel from there. I also passed The Clink, which is claimed to have been “The Most Notorious Medieval Prison”. There is now a museum in the building where you can go to learn about prison and torture in medieval times.

I then ended up on the bank of the Thames with a wonderful view of the City of London on the Northern bank. I wanted to see Southwark from a distance so I crossed over the Millennium Bridge to get a view of the south bank which was stunning as well. Located right next to the Millennium Bridge I discovered the Tate Modern museum and the reconstructed Globe Theatre which was built in 1997 to be an exact replica of the original theatre. I took a short tour of the theatre and learned that the theater still puts on plays during the summer time.After the Globe I kept walking west next to the Thames till I hit the end of Southwark borough. It was nice walking next to the river and there were amazing views in every direction. I also passed quite a few interesting things on the walk such a Gabriel’s Wharf, which consisted of many small boutiques and restaurants, the National Film Theatre and street art. I found Southwark to be a riverside borough that holds a lot of charm and beauty among the ruins and ideas of 16th century London.