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⊳ Annual Events ⊲

The Lord Mayor's Show
This spectacular parade takes place on the second Saturday of November each year, following the election of a new Lord mayor. In 2025 it will be on 8th November starting at 11.00am

The Lord Mayor's Show takes place on the second saturday in November each year, and marks the inauguration of a new Lord Mayor.
The event is marked by a procession through the streets of the City of London, it is a colourful sight, a mix of pageantry and high ceremony, including the new Lord Mayor in his State Coach, with informal, even carnival like elements, representing businesses and organisations with connections to the City.

The procession follows a circular route taking the new Lord Mayor from the Mansion House in the heart of the City, via St. Paul's Cathedral, to the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand. There the Lord Mayor swears an oath of allegiance to the Monarch, before returning to the Mansion House.

For more information visit

Lord Mayors Show

The role of

Lord Mayor

of the City of London dates to the time of King John, the current incumbent being the 694th holder of the office.
The Lord Mayor is head of the City of London Corporation, and is elected annually by and from the Aldermen of the City.
The role should not be confused with that of Mayor of London, currenty Sadiq Khan, who leads the Greater London Authority.

⊳ Annual Events ⊲

⊳ Notting Hill Carnival ⊲

Notting Hill carnival is a celebration of British Caribbean music and culture and takes place over the Sunday and Monday of the August Bank Holiday weekend.
The parade route winds its way through the streets of Notting Hill in west London.
Sunday is family day with a more relaxed feel and Monday tends to have louder music, with harder partying and dancing.
Carnival floats, spectacular costumes, loud music, food, drink, and some pretty intense crowds go to make up an unforgettable experience.
Check your journey, many local streets will be closed, bus routes diverted, and some underground stations will have limited access, typically exit only for busy periods.

For full details see

Notting Hill Carnival

⊳ Hidden London ⊲

Temple Church

This beautiful and distinctive church is tucked away in a maze of courtyards and alleyways to the south of Fleet Street.
It was built by the Knights Templar as part of their London headquarters.

The unusual round nave, a style favoured by the Templars and reputedly based on the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, was consecrated in 1185, making it one of the earliest surviving churches in London.

The nave contains the effigies of nine medieval knights who lived during the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries.

The church also served as a royal treasury during the reign of King John.

The rectangular chancel which adjoins it was added in the early 1200s.

Knights Templar emblem — A figure depicting two knights riding the same horse,an emblem of the Knights Templar, and a sign of their poverty, is still to be seen outside Temple Church.

For details of what's on visit

Temple Church

The Knights Templar

The Knights Templar was a religious military order founded in 1118 for the purpose of protecting pilgrims in the Holy Land.
The Templars adopted the distinctive white tunic with a red cross and gained a reputation as fierce fighters.

Though individual members were sworn to poverty, chastity and obedience, the order itself became a rich and powerful multi national organisation.

Falling out of favour and accused of heresy the organisation was disbanded in 1307 and their properties confiscated,

The Temple

The area know as The Temple today approximates to the land owned by the Knights Templar in the twelfth century.

At the heart of legal London It is now the home to the Inner Temple and Middle Temple, two of the Inns Court from which barristers in England and Wales are called.

The area is privately owned and, retains a certain period charm. It is one of the few places retaining gas street lamps.

Temple Gardens was the location for a fictional scene in Shakespeare's play Henry IV part I depicting protagonists during the Wars of the Roses choosing sides by picking either a red rose, symbol of the House of Lancaster, or a white rose of the House of York,

"And here I prophesy: this brawl to-day, Grown to this faction in the Temple-garden, Shall send between the red rose and the white A thousand souls to death and deadly night."

Temple Church Door — The west door of Temple Church

Nearby........

A little to the east down Fleet Street is St. Bride's Church, designed by Sir Christopher Wren in the 1670s to replace an earlier church destroyed in the Great Fire of London.

⊳ View from the top ⊲

The top of the hill in Greenwich Park in south west London offers commanding views over Greenwich itself and of Canary Wharf. A little to the east can be seen the 02 arena (formerly the Millenium Dome). To the west is the City of London and the Shard. For those with keen eyes or a long lens St. Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge and the Momument can, on a clear day, be made out.

Greenwich Park - view towards the city — View west towards the City of London

Greenwich Park view to Isle of dogs — View to Canary Wharf on the Isle of Dogs

Crowds take in the view in Greenwich Park — On a summers evening crowds gather to enjoy the view

At the top of the hill is the Royal Observatory sitting astride the Prime Meridian, which runs north and south through the park. Royal Observatory “Commissioned in 1675 by King Charles II” and designed by Sir Christopher Wren The distinctive red time ball ion the roof acts as a time signal It is raised just before 1PM every day and drops precisely on the hour. The original purpose was to allow ships on the Thames in line of sight to it to synchronise their clocks to Greenwich Mean Time.

The Queens House, Greenwich — The Queens's House, Greenwich

Greenwich Park

Greenwich Park is a former hunting park, and now one of London's Royal Parks and covers 74 hectares (180 acres).
The northern edge of the park is 7m above sea level and from there a steepish climb takes you the the Royal Observatory which is about 35m above that. From here there are spectacular views towards Docklands and the City of London.
Beyond the park to the south is Blackheath.

For more information and opening hours of the park
Greenwich Park

Nearby.....

The Cutty Sark

was built as a tea clipper in 1869. She bought tea from China to England, and later wool from Australia. For ten years she was the fasted ship in the wool trade.
The Cutty Sark has been a museum ship, in dry dock at Greenwich, since 1954.

Cutty Sark

Greenwich Market

Antiques and collectables on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, Arts and crafts at weekends as well as Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Also plenty of street food.

⊳ Annual Events ⊲

Trooping the Colour

Trooping the Colour is an annual event celebrating the Sovereign's birthday. It will take place on Saturday 17th June 2023.

What happens, and When

Troops start to assemble on Horse Guards Parade from around 09:15. The King, accompanied by a ceremonial procession of mounted and foot soldiers and military bands will leave Buckingham Palace at 10:45 and proceed down The Mall to Horse Guards Parade, where he will arrive at 11:00.
The King will review his Guards and the Colour will be Trooped through the ranks.
The King will leave Horse Guards at 12:20 and the procession will make the return journey up The Mall to Buckingham Palace, where the King will watch a march past.
At 12:52 the Kngs's Troop, The Royal Horse Artillery will give a 41 gun salute in The Green Park.
At about 12:55 the King, along with other members of the royal family are expected to appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch a fly past by the Royal Air Force, at 13:00.

Where to watch

Without a ticket the only place to watch Trooping the Colour itself is from the west side of Horse Guards Parade, the side adjoining St. James’s Park. From here you can get a reasonable view, if you get there early enough, but you won't be very close to the action. A better view of the troops marching by can be had from either side of The Mall, but again you need to get there early to get a good view, at least an hour before it starts.