Timetable for the Coronation and where to watch in Central London

Central London is expected to be packed for the Coronation, and for those who don't get a spot along the parade route, a number of large screens are being set up in the Royal Parks around the parade route.

London’s Alleys: Craig’s Court, SW1

This is a narrow passageway off bustling Whitehall leading to a large quiet courtyard and is reputed to be the location for a secret tunnel, and a parliamentary mishap.

Military flypast over central London tomorrow

Look to the skies, as there's a flypast of aircraft over central London tomorrow (Thur 5th May) morning.

Unbuilt London: Demolish Downing Street

Not an anti-government protest slogan, but plans from 1854 to demolish most of the western side of Whitehall and replace it with a grand monolithic building.

Unbuilt London: Brutalist Whitehall

Whitehall, the heart of government is lined mostly with grand Victorian and Edwardian buildings, but it nearly looked like the Southbank - lots of concrete.

This Sunday – English Civil War march along The Mall

This coming Sunday, you could be watching several hundred people in English Civil War attire march along the Mall in central London.

Enter a ballot to march past the Cenotaph on Armistice Day

On 11 November 2018, following the traditional service of remembrance at the Cenotaph, members of the public will also have a unique opportunity to take part in a procession past the Cenotaph,

Open House – Going inside Admiralty House

Hidden behind one of Whitehall's classical facades can be found a building as old as the Times newspaper, and described as the smallest Grand House in London.

Find the Lost Palace of Whitehall

If you wander around the streets of Whitehall at the moment, you might bump into a few rather odd looking objects.

Traditional bale of straw added to a Whitehall Statue

As is traditional, the statue of Prince George, Duke of Cambridge, which stands in central London gains a bale of straw over the Christmas holidays.

Overnight rehearsal of the State Opening of Parliament – photos

Earlier this morning, the police and military sealed off the streets around Parliament. In many countries that is the cue for panic and coups, but in Britain it means pomp and ceremony.

Operator – connect me to Whitehall 1212. Urgent!

One of the most famous things to say down the phone was to ask for Whitehall 1212 -- that being the official phone number for the police at Scotland Yard. But did you know that the phone number still works?

A bale of straw has been added to a Whitehall Statue

An equine statue standing majestic on Whitehall has gained a bale of straw to eat and some wood chippings to rest upon in a fairly recent annual Christmas tradition.

A few photos of the “secret” Whitehall cable tunnel

Tunnel enthusiasts and conspiracy theorists will be well aware of a large tunnel running under Whitehall -- often codenamed as Q-Whitehall.

London’s Lost Pneumatic Railways – Part 3

Despite having apparently surveyed the plans to great detail and being sure that there were no hidden costs to dismay the investors, it wasn't long before unforeseen problems started to crop up.

London’s Lost Pneumatic Railways – Part 2

"in its present form the pneumatic system is simply an adaptation of the process of sailing to railway; the wind being produced by steam power and confined within the limits of a tube."

London’s Lost Pneumatic Railways

In an age of steam locomotives and horse drawn carriages, a group of Victorians tried to build the world's first true tube tunnel railway. A railway that would have also harnessed the power of the atmosphere to propel carriages in a manner that would astound the people of the time.

Look out for the English Civil War march on Sunday

This Sunday, a spectacular sight will greet anyone in central London as roughly 500 members of the King’s Army of the English Civil War Society will march along The Mall and muster in Horseguards.

Civil War march through Whitehall to mark the Nine Regicides

This Sunday marks the 350th anniversary of the Nine Regicides. The what? The Nine Regicides, or to put it another way, the week that nine men were executed by the gruesome method of being hanged, drawn and quartered. Their crime?…

Book tickets for Trooping the Colour

For 2024 booking details, go here. —   The annual Trooping the Colour ceremony occurs in June at Horse Guards Parade – and while you can watch it on the telly or parts of it from The Mall, it is…

More on the “secret” tunnel under Whitehall

There are many rumours of secret tunnels and facilities under London operated by the government, and while the vast majority of the rumours are just wishful thinking, various stories of a secret tunnel network under Whitehall are based on a very real and substantial tunnel.

The Horrid Murder of His Majestie, King Charles I

This morning, roughly 500 members of the King’s Army of the English Civil War Society marched through Whitehall – in the footsteps of King Charles I in commemoration of ‘His Majestie’s Horrid Murder’ at the hands of the Parliament in…

More on the Waterloo & Whitehall Railway

Long term readers may recall that I am slowly researching the history of the Waterloo and Whitehall Railway – a short lived attempt to build a pneumatic railway in an iron tube running under the River Thames between Great Scotland…