Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
younger visitors. Thankfully, the museum also boasts a hands-on “Creative Gallery”
and organizes free activities and workshops for children on weekends and during the
school holidays.
Cambridge Heath Rd., E2.
&
020/8983-5200.
www.vam.ac.uk/moc. Free admission. Daily 10am-
5:45pm. Tube: Bethnal Green.
Whitechapel Art Gallery
GALLERY In 2009 East London's premier art
gallery reopened following the most significant revamp since its foundation in 1901.
Throughout its history the gallery has often played a leading role in the development
of artistic movements. In the 1930s, it hosted Britain's first showing of Picasso's
Guernica,
as part of an exhibition protesting the Spanish Civil War. It then shocked
postwar audiences by introducing them to Jackson Pollock's abstracts, and pioneered
Pop Art in the 1960s. Expect further revelations in the future. It also offers regular
free talks, as well as cheap film screenings and concerts.
77-82 Whitechapel Rd., E1.
&
020/7522-7888.
www.whitechapelgallery.org. Free admission. Tues-
Sun 11am-6pm. Tube: Aldgate East.
North & Northwest London
British Library
MUSEUM One of the world's great repositories of topics,
the British Library receives a copy of every single title published in the U.K., which
are stored on 400 miles of shelves. In 1996, the whole lot (14 million topics, manu-
scripts, sound recordings, and other items) was moved from the British Museum to
the library's new home in St. Pancras. The current building may be a lot less elegant
than its predecessor, but the bright, roomy interior is far more inviting than the rather
dull, redbrick exterior suggests. Within are a number of permanent galleries, the
highlight being the “Treasures of the British Library”, where some of the library's most
precious possessions are displayed, including a copy of the
Magna Carta
(1215), a
Gutenberg Bible, and the journals of Captain Cook.
96 Euston Rd., NW1.
&
0843/208-1144.
www.bl.uk. Free admission. Mon and Wed-Fri 9:30am-6pm;
Tues 9:30am-8pm; Sat 9:30am-5pm; Sun 11am-5pm. Tube: King's Cross or Euston.
Hampstead Heath
PARK This 320-hectare (791-acre) expanse of high
heath is made up of a great mixture of formal parkland, woodland, heath, meadow-
land, and ponds. One of the few places in the big city that feels properly wild, it's a
fantastic place to lose yourself on a rambling wander. On a clear day, you can see St.
Paul's Cathedral, the Houses of Parliament, and even the hills of Kent from the prime
viewing spot atop Parliament Hill, 98m (322 ft.) up. For years Londoners have come
here to sun-worship, fly kites, fish the ponds, swim, picnic, or jog.
Much of the northern end is taken up by the more manicured grounds of
Ken-
wood House,
a great spot for a picnic, where concerts are staged on summer eve-
nings. Along its eastern end are a group of ponds set aside for bathing (there's a ladies'
pool, a men's pool, and a mixed pool), sailing model boats, and as a bird sanctuary—
the heath is one of London's best
birdwatching
locations.
South of the heath is the leafy, well-to-do
Hampstead Village,
a longtime favorite
haunt of writers, artists, architects, musicians, and scientists. Keats, D. H. Lawrence,
Shelley, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Kingsley Amis all lived here. The village's
Regency and Georgian houses offer a quirky mix of historic pubs, toy shops, and chic
boutiques, as exemplified by
Flask Walk.
Hampstead, NW3.
&
020/7482-7073.
www.cityoflondon.gov.uk. Free admission. Open 24 hours.
Tube: Hampstead/Train: Hampstead Heath or Gospel Oak.
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