Nancy Mitford was born in London and spent many years in the capital, writing her bestseller The Pursuit of Love here. In advance of the much-anticipated release of the BBC series, let’s discover Nancy Mitford’s London and see she was born and where she lived, partied and romanced. Nancy Mitford Nancy was the eldest of
Are you looking for the best tour guide in London? Hiring a private tour guide or joining a public tour in London can be one of the best ways to experience the capital as a tourist, or even as a Londoner. You might be looking for an accredited Blue Badge Guide for a private tour
Having trouble finding a quiet picnic spot in London, courtesy of lockdown and with restaurants off the menu? We all know the usual al fresco hangouts: Regent’s, Hyde Park, Richmond and St James’s Parks, as well as Hampstead Heath, Primrose Hill and Kew Gardens. But there are also plenty of smaller or more unusual green
Oh, give me a good book about London history any day of the week. There’s nothing like it for peeling back the layers of the city and for taking a jaunt into London’s past sights, smells and sounds. The “magic lantern” has always fascinated writers, readers and historians, and for those of us who like
My Italian memory starts with a train journey from Sorrento to Pompeii at the age of eight. It was a packed and rickety train, winding its agitated way from Sorrento, as hot as a Neoplitan pizza oven. A short, stout and rather ancient-looking Italian man decided to pinch my mother, Shelley, on her jean-clad posterior.
Eltham Palace is one of London’s unique gems, a historic venue where Art Deco London is living it up with its medieval ancestors. Imagine a hotsy-totsy sleepover with both Henry VIII and Hercule Poirot. You have a coupe de champagne in one hand, and the ivories tinker away in the background. A lemur called Mah-Jongg
I asked some of London’s top bloggers to come up with that one place that should be on every visitor’s radar – a must-see London gem. Imagine you only had half a day to spare in the city…here’s a curated list from those in the London know. I hope you enjoy jaunting around the city
Ever wondered where those badly-behaved royals would meet up with their lovers for a secret rendez-vous? Or where they met for the first time? Throughout British history, members of the royal family have had liaisons, some dangereuses, some carried out in secret and others, the cause célèbre of the day. Let’s look at some British
Chances are, you’ve never heard of the Berners Street Hoax, one of the world’s biggest pranks and one which brought Georgian London to a virtual standstill. Concocted by Theodore Hook who was a celebrity of the time, it was designed to show that any old London house could become the most talked-about address in town
A Victorian heavyweight, Richard D’Oyly Carte was hotelier extraordinaire, a composer, talent agent (he managed Oscar Wilde) and music impresario. His management prowess led to the birth of the Palace Theatre, the Savoy Theatre and the Savoy Hotel, one of London’s greatest and most famous hotels. He also bought and refurbished Claridge’s, Simpsons-in-the-Strand and The