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| Ride the DLR from the front |
26 Take the Duck Tour
We turn down an alley hidden alongside Terry Farrell’s MI6 building in Vauxhall, pass through a security gate and then motor down a short slipway. The vehicle jolts as the wheels come off the cobbles and on to the Thames-side shingle, then shudders as it plunges into the brown water. The windscreen slumps downwards, towards the domain of abandoned Saxon swords, cut-up bodies and rusting Ford Cortinas beneath the river’s choppy surface.
I expect to get wet but thankfully the windscreen comes up as sharply as it had gone down and the vehicle remains buoyant. As it should, for this is exactly what it was designed to do. Furthermore it was designed to do it while several angry Germans were shooting at it.
I am in a DUKW, a half-truck/half-boat, amphibious military vehicle built by the American General Motors Corporation to ferry men and supplies on to the Normandy beachhead on D-Day. It has less testing duties now, merely taking 30 passengers a time on an unusual trip along the river we spend so much of our lives ignoring. Rebranded as a DUCK, the vehicle has been painted yellow and there are seats where previously terrified soldiers had only standing room, but despite these cosmetic changes the vehicle still has an atmosphere of great deeds about it.
Sixty two years later war is still with us, most obviously in the shape of the MI6 building, espionage Legoland for the secret side of modern conflict that looms brashly above the water. But as we chug east it is an older building that brings home present conflicts in an uneasy way. In the water alongside the Houses of Parliament bob a series of hi-tech buoys bearing orange metal spikes and blinking surveillance equipment. ‘If you get too close,’ says the man next to me, ‘they release torpedoes.’ He’s joking, of course. Michael Hodges
London Duck tours (020 7928 3132/www.londonducktours.co.uk).
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27 Get a full head of steam
London’s only steam railway; Sundays at Kew Bridge Steam Museum (Mar-Nov).
Kew Bridge Steam Museum, Green Dragon Lane, Brentford, Middx (020 8568 4757/www.kbsm.org). Gunnersbury tube/rail or Kew Bridge rail.
28 Shop for tobacco
G Smith & Sons has hardly changed since it opened in 1869. Fill a pouch.
Smith & Sons, 74 Charing Cross Rd, WC2 (020 7836 7422). Leicester Square tube.
29 Get your eyebrows threaded… by expert Vaishaly Patel
Initial consultation and session £70. Subsequent sessions £40.
Vaishaly Patel London, 51 Paddington St, W1U 4HR (020 7224 6088/www.vaishaly.com). Baker St tube.
30 Spend a day at the Bliss Spa
Deep sea detox £130.
Bliss London, 60 Sloane Ave London SW3 3DD (020 7590 6146/www.blisslondon.co.uk). Sloane Square tube.
31 Take afternoon tea
Order cake and a pot for two for an old-fashioned afternoon at The Wolseley, a stunning Piccadilly restaurant, inspired by a grand Viennese café.
The Wolseley, 160 Piccadilly, W1J (020 7499 6996/www.thewolseley.com). Green Park tube.
32 Check out the city from the crest of Parliament Hill
Best visited at sunrise or sunset.
Hampstead tube/Hampstead Heath rail
33 Read in the shadow of the King George collection
This towering black storage facility in the British Library houses its priciest tomes and overlooks the tranquil entrance hall and the attractive – if pricey – café.
British Library, 96 Euston Rd, NW1 (0870 444 1500/www.bl.uk). King’s Cross tube/rail.
34 Ride the DLR from the front
Push the kids out the way and pretend you’re the driver. Because kids can’t drive trains.
www.tfl.gov.uk/dlr
35 Take a dip on the Heath
For those who like their swimming bracing.
Hampstead Heath Ponds, Hampstead Heath, NW5 (020 7485 4491). Hampstead tube/Hampstead Heath rail.
36 comments
cool im only der 4 the weekend as im a t a concert and BTW its footbal,l not soccer....
fffffffaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnttttttttttttaaaaaaaaassssssssss tttttttttiiiiiiiiiicccccccc
this is awesome , i'm in london for 3 weeks and this list will be as completed as possible ... picadilly last night.. footie wednesday GO ENGLAND !!!! i can't wait ... thanks a bunch
Yes, 62 Buy Japanese food in Brent
Oriental City, 399 Edgware Rd, NW9 (020 8200 0009). Colindale tube.
It's been closed for ages. Flats are going to be built on the site. (The owners charged too much rent and so Oriental City said, "see ya!" and now the recession hit and the site is dead as a....site with no building going on)
Thank you Ryan for your recommendation:
"Posted by Ryan on 11 Jan 2009 13:45"
I would do the same when i be there
Erm. Number 7 is a marathon, not a pleasant stroll around night-time London. It is a great event, i have participated twice, but tell it like it is.
i love my boots
are those my feet?
take off them gloves
if you are ever in london you have go to clubbing in hevane nighclkub on monday night its the best thing if you are straight or gay.
I'm a journalist, and this was extremely helpful. Thanks a bunch!!
Here are some of my own:
Star gazing at a movie premiere in Leceister square
Tour the National gallery
Eat in Chinatown
Tour Buckingham palace
Watch a game of tennis at Wimbledon
Watch a game of rugby at twickenham
Watch an event at wembley
Watch a game of soccer
Watch a game of cricket at lords
Tour the tate britain
Tour the tate modern
Tour the british museum
Sunbathe in Hyde Park
Take photos of piccadilly circus
Tour the london aquarium
See a show at the theatre
Buy tshirts and donuts from Camden markets
Afternoon tea at the ritz
Sherlock holmes museum
Tour Westminster Abbey
Check out spitalfield markets
Take boat sightseeing tour
Take bus sightseeing tour
Sir John Sloane Museum is an absolute must - compbined with sitting in Lincoln Inn Fields opposite and enjoying the island of peace in the middle of the city.
Great tips and fun too! London is such a beautiful city and there is lots to do. Thanks.
Lydia
I lived in london for 7 years, on the 11th im going back and i didnt know what to do there other than visit family=]. These tips we're a great help :)