London Walking Tour 2

This walk starts at Trafalgar Square and finishes at St Paul's Cathedral. The second in a series of free video guides to help tourists enjoy London.

There is a map of the route at https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?hl=en&mid=1-Xaq4ZCq9KGE9FOy9Y0ENzyT2UePNVEA&ll=51.51120641660494%2C-0.1128378499999938&z=16

Clicking the markers along the route gives access to more detailed information.

Transcript:

This video, the second in the series, starts at Trafalgar Square, taking in The Strand, Fleet Street and Ludgate Hill, on the way to St Paul's Cathedral. There is a link to a map below.

It will presumably be an elementary decision for fans of fictional detective Sherlock Holmes to visit the themed pub of the same name a short distance from Trafalgar Square along nearby Northumberland Street.

Afterwards return to The Strand where Charing Cross is situated in the forecourt of Charing Cross station. It is not the original, it does not look like the original and the original was located where King Charles I statue now stands. But it is Charing Cross.

Continue along The Strand where, on the left hand side, Stanley Gibbons claims to be the world's largest stamp shop.

Maybe interesting and maybe not, opposite, down the steps about 25 meters along Carting Lane is a gas lamp, permanently lit by gas from the sewers.

Moving on up, the next road leads to the Savoy Hotel. It's the only road in the UK where cars drive on the right hand side.

A little further on, The Courtauld Art Gallery, home to several masterpieces, is located at the entrance of Somerset House.

St Mary-le-Strand Church occupies a traffic island opposite King's College, producer of many important and influential alumni including Florence Nightingale, Virginia Woolf, Joseph Lister and Desmond Tutu.

Next, the Australian High Commission, once featured in a Harry Potter film, lies just across the road from St Clement Danes Church which at certain times of the day chimes out it's signature nursery rhyme Oranges and Lemons.

The gothically styled Royal Courts of Justice can be visited. As security is understandably tight it's a good idea to gen up on protocol before troubling the staff there.

Opposite, the first ever premises of world famous tea company Twinings, houses a small museum and shop.

In the middle of the road by historic Child and Co.'s Bank, the Temple Bar Memorial replaced the old city gate in the late 19th century.

Then across from Chancery Lane and below Prince Henry's Room, one of the very few buildings in London to predate the Great Fire of 1666, there's a gate through which it's quite often possible to sneak into the grounds of the Inner and Middle Temples to visit the 12th century church originally constructed by the secretive Knights Templar.

Shortly afterwards Hoare's Bank is the fourth oldest in the world.

The clock of St Dunstan In The West opposite was the first public clock in London to possess a minute hand. Giants come out to chime the time every fifteen minutes.

A statue of Queen Elizabeth I is set back from the road at first floor level.

The building next door is rumoured to be where murderous Sweeney Todd once ran his barber's shop and next door to that is the London base of D.C.Thomson publisher of the Beano.

After crossing Fetter Lane take the third small alley on the left called Johnson's Court which snakes to Gough Square where Dr. Samuel Johnson, compiler of the first serious English dictionary, once lived. Bear right by the statue of his cat following Hind Court and Wine Office Court past Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, a public house once frequented by Charles Dickens, on the way back to Fleet Street.

Immediately to the left, at first floor level, is a statue of Mary Queen of Scots.

The nearby columned art deco Telegraph Building and predominantly black Daily Express Building are a reminder of the time when national newspapers were synonymous with Fleet Street.

Across the road, behind the Old Bell Tavern, the steeple of St Bride's Church is thought to be the inspiration behind the tiered wedding cake.

When crossing Farringdon Road look left to see The Holborn Viaduct in the distance before climbing Ludgate Hill to St Paul's Cathedral, London's tallest building until 1967.

Beside it, The Temple Bar Gate - the memorial is in the centre of Fleet Street by Child's Bank - was eventually relocated to the entrance of Paternoster Square, opposite London's Stock Exchange building.

The next stage of this tour of London leaves St Paul's Cathedral passing Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, Drake's ship,The Golden Hinde, Borough Market and The Monument on the way to The Tower of London and Tower Bridge. Click the link to enjoy the video.

Видео London Walking Tour 2 канала flyandvisit