Things to see in London, late September 2009

13 August 2009 in Travel 2009 by Brett Holman | 16 comments

A mix of things I missed and things which weren't there last time:

The Guernica tapestry at the Whitechapel Gallery.
Moctezuma: Aztec Ruler at the British Museum.
Outbreak 1939 at the Imperial War Museum.
As You Like It at Shakespeare's Globe.
IWM Duxford.
HMS Belfast.
Museum in Docklands.
Victoria and Albert Museum.
Tower of London.

What else should be on my list?

This post relates to my trip to England and Wales in September 2009.

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ErrolC on 14 August 2009 at 1:06 pm

If it wasn't there last time, Kiwi War Memorial, opposite the Aussie one.
Depending on how you are getting to IWM Duxford, the big USAAF cemetery in the area.
Brett Holman on 14 August 2009 at 11:31 pm

It was there, apparently, but I don't remember seeing it! Typical Aussie.
Jakob on 14 August 2009 at 11:44 pm

Have you been to the Cabinet War Rooms? Everyone I know who's been has said they're excellent.
Brett Holman on 14 August 2009 at 11:46 pm

Yes, I have; yes, they are; and you should go yourself!
Nicholas Waller on 15 August 2009 at 3:00 am

I second IWM Duxford, for obvious reasons. Also The Belfast, which I went to last autumn and thought was very well done, but accordingly took quite a bit of time. (But then I haven't been into any other similar ships to compare).

Have you been to the Royal Observatory at Greenwich? Well worth a look - great landscape, Greenwich meridian and it has "John Harrison's prize-winning longitude marine chronometer, H4, and its three predecessors", plus it overlooks the National Maritime Museum across the grass. Borderline air interest, too.

You can take a fast Thames Clipper from the Embankment or London Eye to a convenient dock, passing close by the Belfast on the way, and under Tower Bridge.

I've never been to the Tower of London, despite living in or close by London for 18 years, and even sharing a flat for a few months early on with someone who worked there (in the gift shop, I think).
Bob Meade on 15 August 2009 at 6:56 pm

If you like food, Harrods food halls. Don't eat before you go.
Brett Holman on 15 August 2009 at 7:00 pm

Yep, did Greenwich too! I was in London for two months' worth of Sundays and did manage to see quite a bit, despite missing obvious things like the Tower ...
Brett Holman on 15 August 2009 at 7:03 pm

I'm not really a foodie, Bob, but I do try to eat at least once a day. So I might check it out!
Nicholas Waller on 15 August 2009 at 8:18 pm

The forward guns on the Belfast, by the way, are targeted on Scratchwood Motorway Services Station on the M1.
pureweevil on 20 August 2009 at 10:45 am

Top recommendations (if you haven't done these already):
The memorial plaque (commemorating the 1943 disaster) at Bethnal Green tube station. Flowers are still tied to the railings and there's a local campaign for a proper memorial. http://www.stairwaytoheavenmemorial.org/index.html

RAF St Clement Danes Church (complete with bomb damage and controversial Harris statue.)

The atmospheric Dennis Severs House Museum. Small but definitely worth the entry fee. http://www.dennissevershouse.co.uk/#

London Transport Museum in Covent Garden: good exhibit on the history of the Tube.

The National Army Museum: there's an English Civil War theme weekend on 5-6th Sept.

Excellent grisly medical exhibits at the Hunterian Museum.
http://www.rcseng.ac.uk/museums

Various guided walks at http://www.greencitywalks.com/
JDK on 20 August 2009 at 8:29 pm

Good list.

I'd recommend the Battle of Britain Monument on the Thames - it went up in 2005, and you may have seen it, but worth a revisit anyhow. http://www.bbm.org.uk

And it's near the memorial to Sir Joseph Bazalgette - saving London from its own efflient.

Thumbs up on the Globe, a must-do for us in London.

You have managed to drop between the last show dates at Old Warden and Duxford, but we might be able to hook you up with some people to get some insights beyond the average - let's discuss over coffee! Certainly you need to see the Shuttleworth Collection and the Airship Sheds at Cardington even on a non-show day.

Maddingley is the American cemetery mentioned earlier. http://www.madingleyamericancemetery.info/ In the odd claims to fame dept, I managed to pick up the only live American there once.

Did you get to the Soane Collection? http://www.soane.org Like the Pitt Rivers museum in Oxford, it's a museum of a museum and both are real period pieces.

A pilgrimage to the National Aeronautics Collection in the top of the Science Museum is worthwhile, IMHO, more historic original or rare aircraft as a percentage than anywhere outside the Smithsonian...

Just a few thoughts...
Brett Holman on 23 August 2009 at 5:06 pm

Thanks, pureweevil and JDK! Of those I've only seen Bomber Harris and St Clement Danes (but forgot to bring a bucket of red paint and didn't go inside) and the Science Museum (most impressive). So there's a lot to choose from!
Chris Williams on 27 August 2009 at 12:08 am

Not London, but the other day I accidentally saw XH558 doing its stuff overhead from a boat off Bournemouth. How cool was that? There's a Vulcan fixture list here:
http://www.vulcantothesky.org/FlightOperations.asp

Also, how about checking out some Sub-Brit stuff, like:
http://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/sites/k/kingsway/index.html
Jakob on 27 August 2009 at 1:56 am

I was wondering whether a trip to the 11 Group sector room at Uxbridge might be possible, but I don't know whether they're still open to the public; I haven't been able to get any response to my emails.
Brett Holman on 31 August 2009 at 12:20 am

Too much to see! At this rate I'll be too busy sightseeing to remember the flight home :)
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