L is for London » M

North, south, east, west – London is best.

Hogs Back Books — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 17:20:26 +0000

Stand on the Meridian Line at the Royal Observatory, with one foot in the eastern hemisphere and one in the west.

Monument

Hogs Back Books — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 17:17:30 +0000

The Monument is a memorial to the Great Fire of London in 1666. It was designed by Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke, and built between 1671 and 1677. It measures 61 m (202-feet) – the exact distance from its base to Pudding Lane, where the fire broke out. A flaming copper urn sits upon the top, to symbolise the flames.

The Monument is the tallest single stone column in the world. You can also get a good view from above, by climbing the 311 steps to the Monument’s viewing platform.

Underneath the arches …

Hogs Back Books — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 16:11:06 +0000

… we dream our dreams away, but 500 years ago the site of Marble Arch was a place of nightmares. Prisoners would “go west” to the Tyburn Tree (near Marble Arch) to be hanged in front of crowds large enough to fill Wembley Stadium.

On the traffic island at the junction of Edgware Road and Marble Arch is a plaque, which marks the place where more than 50,000 people were executed, and only a few minutes walk away is the Tyburn Convent where the nuns still pray for the souls of those who died.

Marble Arch

Hogs Back Books — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 22:05:50 +0000

Marble Arch was originally the entrance to Buckingham Palace, but was never used. There is a tiny office inside it, which used to be used as a police station.

Marble Arch may be on the move again. Transport for London is looking at the option to move the arch away from its traffic island to improve traffic flows at this busy junction. If approved, the arch will move over the road to Speakers’ Corner.