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Westminster Abbey was one of the many spots I used to rush past during those heady teenage years when I was (as always) late for my shift at the London Eye.Ĭan you believe that I’d never had the chance to see how marvellous it is inside – until last year that is. Like all naughty Londoners, it took me a long, long time to actually get round to seeing many of the city’s most famous sights. Atop the rather unremarkable South London park Streatham Common, The Rookery is a flower-lover’s delight.Īrbor after arbour, trailing with fragrant roses, draped in wisteria – The Rookery dates back to 1913 and is based in one of the mineral spas that transformed Streatham from a rural backwater to one of the spa destinations of the 17th century. It’s not often that you can say that a place is truly hidden, but only a select few are in the know about Streatham’s Rookery. The once lavish pleasure gardens of the nearby Inverforth House and the former setting of many a high-end soiree now has an aura of faded grandeur that is enchanting and appealing in equal measure. The well-manicured gardens of Hill Garden, complete with its elaborate pergolas couldn’t be further away from the unkempt beauty of the rest of Hampstead Heath – north London’s wildest park. No wonder it’s said to have inspired JK Rowling to create Diagon Alley.
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Goodwin’s Court is the land that time forgot: the gloomy light that filters from above illuminates a narrow alley of slightly-bulging windows and Victorian gas lamps. Lots of people (including me) have waxed lyrical about the Victorian edifices in nearby Cecil Court near Covent Garden – but there’s a much more hidden gem around the corner that really is like stepping back in time. Immerse yourself in the vast collection of art, but also take the time out to appreciate the fabulous buildings designed by Sidney RJ Smith which culminate in a jaw-dropping domed rotunda with a monochromatic terrazzo floor. Light years away from the Brutalist in-your-face architecture of the Tate Modern, The Tate Britain is delightful.
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Nunhead Cemetery is what you get when you take one ornate Victorian Cemetery, age it a century or so and then abandon it for a couple of decades so nature can effectively re-wild large parts of it. Nunhead Cemeteryįor some people, the idea of spending any time in a cemetery outside of attending a funeral or paying respects at a grave, is lunacy.įor everyone else… there’s Nunhead Cemetery. Is it beautiful? Is it just insane? In my mind, it’s both – and all the better for it. Not much of the medieval part of the palace is still standing but the buildings, many of which date from the 1930s when it was purchased by Sir Stephen and Lady Virginia Courtauld, are an Art Deco fantasy. That Eltham Palace has been described as a ‘maximalist’s wet dream’ tells you everything you need to know. I mean, what else would you expect from the former home of Sir Frederick Leighton, a prolific (and moneyed) Victorian artist and head of the Royal Academy of Arts? Eltham Palace Tucked away in a rather unassuming building in Holland Park, Leighton House boasts one of the most decadent interiors you can find in the city. If you’ve never been to Leighton House Museum, let me tell you, you’re missing out. I can accept their chat about the plague not necessarily being that bad for everyone because Samuel Pepys had a bit of a blast as the city’s poor died in their droves….īut to say that London isn’t pretty? Well, that straight up horrified me. Look, the programme was filled with all kinds of controversial points of view. You see, one of the guests, Claire Tomalin casually threw out this statement: “London is not a beautiful city.” I was just sitting there, listening to historians (im)politely bicker about the interpretation of events that shaped the city’s history and half thinking about dinner when something made me sit up and pay some f*cking attention. The other day I was listening to an old episode of In Our Time with Melvyn Bragg (yes, sometimes I like pretend I’m 90, wrap myself up in a warm cosy blanket and listen to podcasts about the history London because I am just * cool* like that).