I have three suggestions for your trip to the London area if you are
taking a group of high school age kids.
1. Go to Bow (next to London) and see the church that sits in the
middle of the road. Historically a person born within the sounds of the
bells of Bow church (Bow Bells) is a true Cockney. You can do an
Internet search about the history of Cockney rhyming slang.
Examples: plates of meat are feet, taters in the mold is cold, and skin
and blister is a sister are some common expressions. Commonly used in
the 1700 and 1800's, it served as a way for the Cockneys who were
uneducated and worked mostly manual labor, often on the docks, to have a
way of communicating that the the more aristocratic landed gentry could
not understand. It fell out of favor to some degree by the early to mid
20th century but is now making a comeback with the younger generation.
2. If you take a side trip to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, just
outside of London, you can stand on both sides of the prime meridian
and be in both halves of the world at the same time. It is the home of
Greenwich Mean Time or Zulu time used by the military and all aviation
world wide.
3. Take a trip to Oxford and visit Alice's Shop. Find out about the
history of the daughter of a dean at Oxford and the young mathematics
professor who would tell her stories when he visited for dinner. The
red queen was a veiled description of her mother and the stories were
so entertaining that he wrote them down using a pen name -- Lewis
Carroll. There are obviously many other things to see in Oxford as
well. Enjoy!!!
I didn't see your original posting, but for your group I would strongly
recommend that you do a day trip to Oxford. The tour of Oxford
University is wonderful, the town is great, and the Bodleian (sp?)
Library is a must.
If not Oxford, Cambridge is also a day trip (though I preferred Oxford).
One of my favoirte places was the little town of Hawkshead where Beatrix
Potter's artwork is hung in her husband's office. Charming little
village -we stayed in a wonderful b&b outside the village. Her home at
Hilltop was such a joy - you can see the dollhouse where her pet mouse
(suddenly I go blank on the name!) fell from the chandelier and died.
It was worth the side trip!
I am green with envy. London is my favorite city in the world and in
Another life - before teaching - I visited there several times a year
for a number of years. Bath, Windsor, and all the to her places you
mentioned make great side trips. Had you thought of Stonehenge and the
nearby towns of the Salisbury Plain. There is a great cathedral
designed by Christopher
Wren I think. If you want an organized tour and if they still exist
look into Britain Shrinkers Tours. The guides are very well trained and
have all kinds of unusual information to share. The way the tours work
is you meet at a train station in London and go to the first stop by
train and then do bus around and stops etc and then back via another
train. I took several of these and they were the best tours I ever
did. The town or city of Hastings in the south is full of history -
William the conqueror defeated Harold there and lo and behold a whole
new Britain in 1066. Have a lovely time.
My son (15 at the time) and I visited London the summer before last.
Most of these things are probably already on your list of things to do,
but be sure not to miss them:
- Beefeater tour of the Tower of London. Beefeaters are very funny as
well as knowledgeable
- Avesbury-Stonehenge-Salisbury Tour. Day long, but very interesting. We
just took the standard tour bus trip.
- We really enjoyed the Jack the Ripper evening/night tour, but we're
guys. Learn lots about the grisly side of London life.
- Definitely plan to see a play at the reconstructed Globe, but buy the
sit-down seats. We were groundlings and did not make it through the
whole play standing.
- Plan your trip to Westminster Abbey carefully. Its hours are irregular
because of services.
Hope you have a great time. Tip a pint for me.
I vote for Platform 9 3/4 and Hogwarts. Take in a
Quidditch match if you can.
(I know, could I be any less helpful?)
Check out London Walks http://london.walks.com/ My sister and her
family did one or two and loved them. They were also recommended to me
by one of my high school students who did some of their literary tours.
Bath and Windsor are both worth visiting...Stonehenge is phenomenal...we
did a side trip from London to both Bath and Stonehenge in either a
morning or afternoon...I forget which. Stay away from Stonehenge
around the time of the summer solstice...unless you want to see all the
crazies...don't know of any library connections but definitely worth the
time. A trip to Windsor Castle is a must if you can work it in.
I was there a couple of years ago. Stratford was OK; Oxford wasn't in
session so there wasn't much to see; but Bath was wonderful and Jane
Austen's stuff is just down the road! (Stonehenge was OK, too, but not
as impressive as I had hoped...although if you go there on June 21 for
solstice day it might be better.)
***************************************************************
I would highly recommend a trip through the Cotswolds-which could
piggyback on your trip to Stratford. It is absolutely gorgeous! Here
is my priority list from your choices: Canterbury, Windsor, Oxford,
Bath. I am glad that I saw them all. The cathedral is fabulous, but if
you see Westminster and St. Paul's that may not be a top priority.
Enjoy!
That week is graduation in Cambridge and Oxford, expect tons of people
and hard to get rooms We landed there twice during graduation week.
Nearby is Hemmingsford Grey where the Greene Knowe books are set, Ely
with its wonderful cathedral.
GO TO BATH it was lovely!!!!
When we went to London we enjoyed Bath, Stonehedge, Canterbury, York,
Winsor Castle, Stratford on Avon, and the museums in London proper. We
also toured the London Zoo. We missed Madame Trusad's wax museum -
because it was so close to our hotel we thought that w would go there
later. I saw signs marking places that Newbery or Caldecott "slept".
We went in 1979. I took 300 photographs.
**********************************************************
I have done the London thing (Tower of London, etc.) a couple of times
and surrounding areas and I really enjoyed Oxford, Bath, and Windsor.
In London try the nightly Jack the Ripper walking tours, Sherlock Holmes
museum and of course Madame Tousset (sp?) wax museum. I never got to
the Charles Dickens house.....
Too bad you aren't doing Dublin and Trinity University then you could
show them their library in what I think was called The Long Hall...it
would give them an appreciation of the Dewey system for locating books.
Have fun on the trip and take a good pair of walking shoes.
One of my favorite places in London is the Sherlock Holmes Pub.
The upstairs is a recreation of Sherlock Holmes' sitting room, and the
walls are decorated with original manuscripts, sketches, etc., from the
writings of Conan Doyle. Don't know if you're a mystery fan, but I
found the pub a fascinating place -- and it has great food too! Also,
we didn't make it to this spot, but I understand the premises at 221B
Baker Street, which is, I hear, a working bank, has an area that has
also been turned into a Holmes museum, which I would love to visit on
our next trip. Hope your trip goes well!
*********************************************************
I haven't been there but my son went on a school trip to England in 2000
in his final year of high school. He raved about Bath and said that if
he went back he would go there first. He also loved Stratford and
Canterbury as well. He wasn't as keen on London. He found it
interesting but crowded and dirty after the pleasant countryside they
had come from. He did have fun riding on the "tube" or the British
subway system. He also enjoyed a play in the West End - it whetted his
appetite for live theatre.
*************************************************************
Don't miss out on Covent Garden; nice restaurants and shops, the church
which will be very familiar to lovers of "My Fair Lady", and great
street performers.
***************************************************
I've taken students to England a number of times, and I have taken one
trip on my own.. and of course, I say to do ALL of the above! But, of
course, you will need to prioritize. Oxford is ok, but it is basically a
"college town." Yes, the architecture is pretty, but you can see most
of it in other places. I was disappointed that on neither of our trips
to Oxford could we gain access to the Bodlean
Library.... you just get to walk through a courtyard on your way to
other buildings. Shopping in that town is basically like shopping in a
college town in America... a lot of college sweatshirts, Tshirts,
etc.... I haven't been to Cambridge, so I don't know how the two
towns compare.
Canterbury Cathedral is very pretty, of course, and the town is
charming, with better shopping than Oxford! However, Canterbury is a
bit of a trip, and I'm not sure the Cathedral is worth the time it takes
(oh, I feel SO sacriligious saying that!) to get all the way there if it
is not part of your itinerary. I imagine you're going to see
Westminster Abbey and maybe St. Paul's in London, and they are both
lovely. If I HAD to pick, I'd choose to go to Windsor instead, where
you could see Windsor Castle, AND St. George's Chapel where so many
kings are buried AND get a great shopping town thrown in. And Windsor
is closer to London, so you don't "waste" as much time getting there
(tho simply driving through those little towns is NOT a waste!)
I also recommend Bath because there is nowhere else you can see
those Roman Baths, AND they have a wonderful Abbey right nearby, and
the Regency architecture is unusual. Bath is still a bit of a drive
(tho not that far from Stratford, I think), but you get more "bang" for
your trip because there is more than just the one cathedral you get in
Canterbury. If you DO go to Bath, try to get a few minutes to visit
Sally Lunn's house, which is a teashop where you can buy a loaf of the
original Sally Lunn and get the history behind her and the bread. It'sa
few blocks from the abbey and kid of out of the way and easy to miss. I
got lost in windy sidestreets and bumped into it by accident!
If you get a chance, Hampton Court is lovely. It is actually
prettier than Windsor, and has lovely gardens. Another great castle to
visit is Warwick Castle because they have people dressed up in period
clothing, and you can watch pitched battles in the courtyard, falconry
shows, etc. My kids LOVED Warwick Castle (tho I think their fascination
with the dungeons, torture devices, and the ratcatcher who greeted us
upon arrival might NOT be your cup of tea!)
One of the best times my husband and I had was simply getting on a
red doubledecker bus one evening and seeing where it went. We wound up
WAY outside London (but saw Abbey Road!) before getting off in a little
town, having dinner and a Pimm's, and catching a train (subway?) back
into London. You'll have a GREAT time! Wish I were joining you!
--
***************************
"Try curiosity!" Dorothy Parker
***************************
Dr. Mary Ann Bell
Assistant Professor
School of Library Science
Sam Houston State University
Huntsville, TX
mbell@main.com
lis_mah@shsu.edu
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