The Port of London has changed beyond all recognition in the past four decades. Once the docks teemed with men and ships from all over the world, now all is transformed and a new and vibrant area has grown up with commerce, stylish housing, fashionable shops and restaurants. Here are my Top Ten Facts about London’s Docklands.

Hampton Court is a magnificent palace, standing on the banks of the river Thames, just a short drive from London. It has everything. The palace is a harmonious blend of Tudor and Neo-Classical architecture set in glorious gardens. And there is history, lots of it, from Cardinal Wolsey and Henry VIII to William and Mary. Its rooms are packed with splendid paintings. There is something for everyone, kids included and here are 10 of my favourite reasons to visit Hampton Court Palace.

Now in its fourth year, the new 2016 winter trail is inspired by the gardens themselves, as the trees, temples and glasshouses of Kew are playfully lit and all aglow. Enter between two giant Christmas trees festooned with ribbon and wander beneath unique tree canopies drenched in seasonal colour. Follow the path between a carpet of light gently swaying like blossom and stop for a moment of reflection at the scented Fire Garden inspired by Five Gold Rings from The Twelve Days of Christmas.

The world’s largest Lego store opened on 17th November in Leicester Square. The London flagship has been two years in development and features a life-size tube carriage made out of 637,903 Lego bricks. In total the creations on display are made from 1.7 million bricks and together weigh five tonnes.

Dorset County Museum will be the first place to host Dippy the Diplodocus when it temporarily moves out of its […]

Ava Gardner has been honoured with a Blue Plaque on her London home at 34 Ennismore Gardens, where she lived […]

A new museum designed by Eric Parry will give an overview of the history of Charterhouse in London which since […]

London covers 600 square miles and has a population of 8.6 million, but only its oldest part, just one square mile in size, is called the City of London. That is where the Romans founded the city of Londinium shortly after they arrived in 43AD. Today, the City of London – or simply “the City” – is the centre of London’s finance industry. The City is where you find the Bank of England, the London Stock Exchange, the investment banks, insurance companies and financial markets. It combines the most modern headquarters buildings with Roman remains and medieval churches, and it is great to explore on foot.

The Cabinet War Rooms are the actual wartime headquarters of Winston Churchill, combined with a large museum devoted to his life. Housed in the basement of the magnificent Treasury building, the War Rooms are the actual conference and communication rooms used by Churchill and his Chiefs of Staff during World War II. In 2005, an extensive museum was added documenting the long and eventful life of Sir Winston Churchill.

Granted Freedom of the City of London in 1993, I have often been asked whether I had ever exercised my right to herd sheep or cattle across London Bridge. This ancient privilege to bring animals into the City without payment of tolls had long since been abandoned when the livestock markets closed and in any case was of no special importance once the gates and a single river crossing were replaced by the modern landscape we all know today.

On 5 September a Marchmont Association commemorative plaque was unveiled at 4 Burton Place, Bloomsbury, in the 1830s the former […]

The Radical Eye: Modernist Photography from the Sir Elton John Collection exhibition is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see one of […]