England: The Monument, Central London

The Monument to the Great Fire of London was definitely my favourite. After paying a small fee at the entrance, you will have to take 311 steps to get to the top. Not going to lie, it almost killed my unfit body. The spiral stairways are also really narrow so if you suffer claustrophobia, probably would not be such a great idea to go. Even so, the view in the end makes everything absolutely worth it. The top of Monument gives you a clear view of Central London, and it is spectacular.

More information regarding The Monument at the end of this post.

Visitor Information
Opening Hours
Summer Opening Hours: April – September 9:30am – 6:00pm daily (last admission 5:30pm)
Winter Opening Hours: October – March 9:30am – 5:30pm daily (last admission 5:00pm)

Admission Prices
Adults £4.50
Children (aged 5-15) £2.30
Students (with identification) £3.00
Seniors (aged 60+) £3.00

PLEASE NOTE: The Monument only accepts cash payment, and children under the age of 13 must be accompanied by an adult. In order to preserve the Monument’s original structure, visitors with large bags are requested to leave these at the base of the staircase. Due to the limited space in the viewing gallery a maximum of 33 people are allowed inside at any one time.

How to get to the Monument

• By bus use numbers 17, 521, 21, 43, 133, 141, 48, 149 (all routes through London Bridge).
• By train use London Bridge, Fenchurch Street or Tower Gateway DLR stations.
• By tube use Monument on the District and Circle lines or London Bridge on the Northern and Jubilee lines.
• By car the nearest car parks are: Q Park (Tel 020 7248 5874) Bucklesbury House, 4 Wallbrook, London EC4N 8DQ or Thames Exchange NCP (Tel 020 7248 6089), Bell Wharf Lane off Upper Thames Street, London EC4R 3TB.

Website: [Here]

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England: Camden Market, Central London

Stepping out of Camden tube station kind of feels like you are stepping into a different world. If I were to describe Camden in one word, it would be eccentric. From funky tees and accessories, retro furniture and crafty goods, to second-hand books and antiques, all sold in various kind of stallholders and store owners.

The downside would be the crowd. Known to be the alternative scene of London, tourist and angsty teenagers flocks here especially during the weekends. I choose to visit London during peak winters and despite having to freeze my butt off in the brutal weather, it turned out to be a good decision. The streets were not as packed as what I saw in all pictures and travel guides, yet still enough to annoy you a little.

TIPS:

• Approach from Chalk Farm station instead of Camden station to avoid the crowd.
• Camden was Amy's place. Make sure to find the Statue of Amy located nearby Stables Market.
• Be sure to check out [Cyberdog]! The store seemed like it was from the future, selling cutting edge futuristic clothing that comes in techno funky colour. I do not want to give away too much but lets just say upon entering the building, you will be greeted by 2 techno dancers on their own mini stage built right up the wall.

Signing off with a photobooth picture we took over there,
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England: Buckingham Palace, Central London

There is not much to talk about really. I am sure you can search online for all the facts and such. Watch the changing of the guards, or if you have got the money, do a palace tour.  For more information, click here. Warning: It is going to be crowded. Very, very crowded, and annoying.

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England: Wellington Arch, Central London

Wellington Arch is a triumphal arch located to the south of Hyde Park, now isolated on a traffic island. If you are already planning on visiting the Buckingham Palace, I would strongly recommend making Wellington Arch your stop ahead of it. Just because you could easily get off Hyde Park Corner underground tube station, and have the arch just in front of you. To get to Buckingham Palace from there would be easy. Via Constitution Hill, it takes only about 10 minutes to get there by walking.

It is impressive even from a distance. Originally built as an entrance to Buckingham Palace, it has a quadriga (chariot drawn by 4 horses) sitting on top of the structure. With Nike descending from it, The Goddess of Victory, I assume the entire sculpture signifies the victory of Britain in the Napoleonic Wars.

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England: York, North Yorkshire

Founded by the Romans in 71 AD, York city has a rich heritage and offers a wealth of historic attraction. It was just under freezing temperature when we arrived, the fog instantly adds on to the mysterious vibe of that place. Apparently York is considered one of the most haunted city in England, almost just behind ever sealed door there is a spooky story.

We wandered about and York Minster was our very first stop. I was instantly blown away by how massive the entire structure is. The architectural work is absolutely amazing and the entire atmosphere is just superb.

Stinks doing the infamous Asian squat.

Constantine The Great, or what Stinks call ' The Boss'. 

Me for scale!

The Shambles is a meandering medieval street with much character, it features overhanging timber-framed buildings, some of which date back to as early as the fourteenth century.

It was once known as The Great Flesh Shambles, probably deriving from the Anglo-Saxon Fleshammels which literally meant 'flesh-shelves', the word for the shelves on which butchers used to display their meat for customers. As recently as 1872 there were twenty-five butchers' shops in the street but now there are none.

In some of the narrower sections of the Shambles it is possible, with your arms outstretched, to touch both sides of the street. During the medieval period there were no sanitary facilities or hygiene laws as those that exist today, and offal and blood were often thrown into a runnel down the middle of the street. The pavements were raised either side of the cobbled street to form a channel where the butchers would wash away their offal and blood twice a week. [1]

If you happen to be in York, do visit House of the Trembling Madness! Walking in you will see that it is a liquor store with a huge variety of alcohol. With just a walk of stairs, you will find one of York's most famous pub, a medieval drinking hall with a great selection of ales and beers. Food was definitely great and everything was perfect to the edgy decorations on the wall. We walked in on a quiet Tuesday afternoon and we were told to be lucky as it is usually jam packed with people.

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