The UK is Free - Best of London Part 1

The Best of Free London

London receives the lions share of the UK's tourism by a long way, making it an obvious starting place for this blog. With everything from world famous landmarks to little known historic streets, London has something waiting to be discovered for first time visitors and residents alike and so much for free it's hard to know where to begin. This week I'll deal with landmarks, museums, art galleries and markets. Another week I'll take a look at music, legends and some of the more obscure sites London has to offer. All these and more are looked at in The UK is Free - available for download here.

Landmarks



The clock tower that houses Big Ben has recently been
renamed as Elizabeth Tower in honour of the Queens Diamond Jubilee.
Photo from sxc.hu

Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament
It seems to be a pretty much unknown fact that UK nationals can have a free guided tour of the Houses of Parliament and trip up the clock tower to see Big Ben (Big Ben being the name of the bell housed inside the clock tower and not the clock tower itself, which has recently been renamed Elizabeth Tower in honour of the queens diamond jubilee). All you have to do is write to your local MP requesting the tour.

Address - Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, Westminster, SW1A
Open - Depends on time organised with your local MP

Nelson’s Column
Probably the best known statue in the UK is that of Britain’s best loved hero, Admiral Nelson.
Measuring approximately 51 metres in height from the bottom of the pedestal to the top of the statue, the memorial was built between 1840 and 1843 to commemorate Nelson who died at the battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Also be sure to check the “Fourth Plinth” in the north-west corner of Trafalgar Square, which is used to show specially commissioned works by various artists.

Address – Trafalgar Square, London, WC2N 5DN
Open – 24 hours daily


Art Galleries

View of the Tate Modern Art Gallery.
The building was converted from a disused power station.
Photo of sxc.hu

Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Hailed as the world’s greatest museum of art and design, the Victoria and Albert Museum certainly gives a wide variety of exhibits for visitors to see. With sights ranging from one of the last major oil painting by Rossetti, to the cat suit worn by Mick Jagger on the Rolling Stones 1972 tour, it is easy to see why this gallery attracts so many visitors. You can also hire out one of their award winning backpacks, which are guaranteed to keep the kids entertained, free of charge.

Address – Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Street, London, SW7 2RL
Open – Daily 10:00 – 17:45 (until 22:00 on Fridays)


Tate Modern
Situated in a disused power station beside the river Thames is the Tate Modern. This art gallery features pieces from some of the most important modern and contemporary artists including; Warhol, Picasso, Matisse and Pollock.

Address – Tate Modern, Bankside, London, SE1 9TG
Open – Daily 10:00 – 18:00 (until 22:00 on Fridays and Saturdays)


National Gallery
London’s National Gallery is one of the best art galleries in the UK and houses some truly magnificent works of art. The gallery includes works by Raphael, Leonardo Da Vinci and Turner, but probably the gallery’s most famous work of art is Van Gogh’s Sunflowers.

Address – National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London, WC2N 5DN
Open – Daily 10:00 – 18:00 (until 21:00 on Fridays)

Museums

Th entrance hall of the Natural History Museum in London
 features the skeletal remains of a Diplodocus.
Photo from sxc.hu

British Museum
Receiving 6 million visitors a year The British Museum is probably the UK’s most celebrated museum. Founded in 1753, opened on 15 January 1759, it was the world’s first public museum and has remained open (and free) to visitors ever since. It’s most famous for exhibiting Egyptian artefacts and the Mummy of Katebet. Other objects in the museum’s vast collection (8 million items) include Parthenon sculptures and Samurai armour. You can even grab one of the free talks or tours that are offered throughout the day.

Address – British Museum, Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3DG
Open – daily 10:00 – 17:30 (10:00 – 20:30 Fridays)


Natural History Museum
Upon entering the Natural History Museum you are greeted by the museum’s best known exhibit, the impressive skeletal remains of a Diplodocus dinosaur, affectionately known as Dippy. Most visitors come to see the dinosaur zone, which includes a huge animatronic T-Rex but the museum also houses numerous examples of taxidermy. You can also learn about the history of the earth and evolution.

Address – Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD
Open – Daily 10:00 – 17:50

The Science Museum, London
More hands on than most, this museum is perfect for a family visit. As well as exhibiting important historical scientific artefacts you can get involved in many of the galleries including finding out all about yourself in the who am I? gallery.

Address – The Science Museum, Exhibition Road, South Kensington, SW7 2DD
Open – Daily 10:00 – 18:00 (open until 19:00 in school holidays)

Markets

Rows of chocolates at a foodies dream place - London's Borough Market.
Photo from sxc.hu

Borough Market 
This London market has been constantly selling food pretty much since 1014. A gourmet market selling exotic fruit, vegetables and spices as well as expensive olive oils and rare ales it is truly a foodie’s idea of heaven. There is even a demonstration kitchen to whet your appetite. There’s a wholesale market every weekday that starts at 2am but for the more sociable shopper there is also a retail market.

Address - Borough Market, Southwark Street, Borough, London, SE1
Open – Thursdays 11:00 – 17:00, Fridays 12:00 – 18:00 and Saturdays 08:00 – 17:00


Camden Markets
With London having so many amazing markets it’s hard to pick the best from among them. Camden Markets makes the cut simply for how different it is to traditional markets. In fact you’re probably more likely to come away with a tattoo than with tomatoes. Colourful shops (some that could be easily mistaken for underground nightclubs) line the roads to the markets that have stalls selling vintage clothing, jewellery, records and alternative fashion. Don’t expect to get any early morning bargains though, days start slow in Camden with most stalls opening around 10:00. The markets have been gaining more and more popularity and as a result have moved from a weekend affair to being open during weekdays; in fact Camden Lock Market and Stables Market are both open daily.

Address – Camden, London, NW1
Open – Camden Lock Market and Stables Market are open daily 10:00 – 18:00, Camden Market is open Thursday – Sunday 10:00 – 17:30 and Camden Canal Market is open weekends 10:00 – 18:00

Find out about more free London locations in The UK is Free.

The UK is Free - Introduction

Introduction

The UK is Free is currently available for download on Kindle from Amazon

Life in the UK can be pretty expensive and with the recession biting hard, many people are looking for ways to cut back on the cost of living. Well hopefully I can help you out abit.Whilst writing my The UK is Free (available for download on kindle here) I have discovered hundreds of free things to do. I realise that by charging for this book I'm kind of cutting out my target audience, but hey, maybe I am just a capitalist hypocrite. Never the less I'm going to set things straight a little by posting some excerpts from the book on this blog over the next few weeks, free for everybody read. Maybe it turns out I am free love leftist after all (or perhaps I'm just shamelessly exploiting free love to promote by book). Either way were all winners here really, you get ideas for free things to do ranging from wild camping to discovering British legends and myths, I get to advertise my book. The only catch is the low feeling I get from the exploitation (which is not a result of people not buying my book, honest).


The UK is Free but this book isn't.