Social season in Greater London

27 February 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, London, Opera Houses, Theaters, Libraries, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, Sport Reading Time:  10 minutes

Trooping the Colour - Horse Guards Parade © Corporal Paul Shaw/MOD/OGL v1.0

Trooping the Colour – Horse Guards Parade © Corporal Paul Shaw/MOD/OGL v1.0

The social season, or Season, refers to the traditional annual period in the spring and summer when it is customary for members of the social elite to hold balls, dinner parties and charity events. Until the First World War, it was also the appropriate time to reside in the city (generally meaning London in Great Britain and Dublin in Ireland) rather than in the country in order to attend such events.   read more…

Crossness Pumping Station in London

1 February 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, House of the Month, London Reading Time:  11 minutes

The Octagon © geograph.org.uk - Christin Matthews/cc-by-sa-2.0

The Octagon © geograph.org.uk – Christin Matthews/cc-by-sa-2.0

Crossness Pumping Station is a former sewage pumping station designed by the architect Charles Henry Driver for the Metropolitan Board of Works‘s chief engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette. It is located at Crossness Sewage Treatment Works, at the eastern end of the Southern Outfall Sewer and the Ridgeway path in the London Borough of Bexley. Constructed between 1859 and 1865 by William Webster, as part of Bazalgette’s redevelopment of the London sewerage system, it features spectacular ornamental cast ironwork, described by architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner as “a masterpiece of engineering – a Victorian cathedral of ironwork”. It was decommissioned in 1956. Subsequently the building has been extensively restored and was opened to the public in 2016.   read more…

The Ritz London

14 January 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Hotels, London Reading Time:  7 minutes

Afternoon Tea © flickr.com - Sanshiro KUBOTA/cc-by-2.0

Afternoon Tea © flickr.com – Sanshiro KUBOTA/cc-by-2.0

The Ritz London is a 5-star luxury hotel at 150 Piccadilly in London, England. A symbol of high society and luxury, the hotel is one of the world’s most prestigious and best known. The Ritz has become so associated with luxury and elegance that the word “ritzy” has entered the English language to denote something that is ostentatiously stylish, fancy, or fashionable.   read more…

London Borough of Tower Hamlets

20 December 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, London Reading Time:  7 minutes

Canary Wharf © Diliff/cc-by-sa-3.0

Canary Wharf © Diliff/cc-by-sa-3.0

The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and includes much of the regenerated London Docklands area. The 2019 mid-year population for the borough is estimated at 324,745.   read more…

The Empire Windrush

1 December 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  8 minutes

© Imperial War Museum - Royal Air Force Photographer

© Imperial War Museum – Royal Air Force Photographer

HMT Empire Windrush was a passenger motor ship that was launched in Germany in 1930 as the MV Monte Rosa. She was built as an ocean liner for the German shipping company Hamburg Süd. They used the ship to carry German emigrants to South America, and as a cruise ship. During World War II, she was taken over by the German navy and used as a troopship. During the war, she survived two Allied attempts to sink her.   read more…

Portcullis House in London

1 November 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, House of the Month, London Reading Time:  8 minutes

© Sunil060902/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Sunil060902/cc-by-sa-3.0

Portcullis House (PCH) is an office building in Westminster, London, England, that was commissioned in 1992 and opened in 2001 to provide offices for 213 members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and their staff. The public entrance is on the Embankment. Part of the Parliamentary Estate, the building augments limited space in the Palace of Westminster and surroundings.   read more…

Smithfield Market in London will become the London Museum in 2026 after 850 years of trade

9 October 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Bon appétit, London, Museums, Exhibitions Reading Time:  10 minutes

Grand Avenue © geograph.org.uk - Robin Webster/cc-by-sa-2.0

Grand Avenue © geograph.org.uk – Robin Webster/cc-by-sa-2.0

The present Smithfield Market, a Grade II listedcovered market building, was designed by Victorian architect Sir Horace Jones in the second half of the 19th century, and is the dominant architectural feature of the area. Some of its original market premises fell into disuse in the late 20th century and faced the prospect of demolition. The Corporation of London‘s public enquiry in 2012 drew widespread support for an urban regeneration plan intent upon preserving Smithfield’s historical identity.   read more…

Wembley Arena in London

12 September 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Sport Reading Time:  7 minutes

© geograph.org.uk - Des Blenkinsopp/cc-by-sa-2.0

© geograph.org.uk – Des Blenkinsopp/cc-by-sa-2.0

Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, currently known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, Greater London, England. The 12,500-seat facility is Greater London’s second-largest indoor arena after the O2 Arena, and the ninth-largest in the United Kingdom.   read more…

Royal Vauxhall Tavern in London

11 August 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Bon appétit, London Reading Time:  7 minutes

© flickr.com - Ewan Munro/cc-by-sa-2.0

© flickr.com – Ewan Munro/cc-by-sa-2.0

The Royal Vauxhall Tavern is a Grade II listed queer entertainment venue in Vauxhall, London. It is also known as the RVT. It is South London’s oldest surviving queer venue.   read more…

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