Need some help finding hidden gems

All In London Forum
Page 1 of 1
EuroQuest
Hi,

I am organising an event for a scout style organisation that involves teams of 4-7 people racing around the city completing challenges (a mix of Crystal Maze, Anika Rice and The Cube TV shows).

We have 20 teams who will do this for a whole weekend in July and I am looking for great hidden places for them to go to, for example Postman's Park. We will be staying in zones 1&2 and will of course be hitting the big landmarks, but do you know of any not-so-well-known places. Most of the participants have not been to the city before.

Anything quirky and cheap /free is ideal.

thanks
Adric

http://eqlondon.boys-brigade.org.uk
Posted: 2010-06-03 16:36:52
Steven Gardner
Hi EuroQuest!

Here's some facts you could use for a treasure hunt - it's a youtube link for a 3 min video about London..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y39wMcJh6o

and here's one about a few of the landmarks on the Southbank - all free!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__g7e0JdMCo

Hope they're useful!
Steven
Posted: 2010-06-11 14:31:59
Jez the Yank
ORIGINAL: EuroQuest

Hi,

I am organising an event for a scout style organisation that involves teams of 4-7 people racing around the city completing challenges (a mix of Crystal Maze, Anika Rice and The Cube TV shows).

We have 20 teams who will do this for a whole weekend in July and I am looking for great hidden places for them to go to, for example Postman's Park. We will be staying in zones 1&2 and will of course be hitting the big landmarks, but do you know of any not-so-well-known places. Most of the participants have not been to the city before.

Anything quirky and cheap /free is ideal.

thanks
Adric

http://eqlondon.boys-brigade.org.uk



Off the top of my head I would suggest...

1. "The cafe in the Crypt" which is under St. Martin's in the Fields (in Trafalgar Sq). It is free to just go down and look at even if you dont want to eat.

2. York Watergate - This is cool because it can educate the lads as to where the Thames used to be before it was pushed back 150 yards by the embankment (at the same time you can also educate them on the great stink of 1858 and why the embankment was build to push the water back and how the Underground wa also begun at the same time since they were digging everything up). This gate used to belong to George Villers Duke of Buckingham which he used to board his boats etc. It can be found in embankment gardens near Embankment station and is within walking distance from St Martin's in the fields.

Here is more info

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/York_House,_Strand

3. Broad St. Pump in Soho - A significant event in the history of epidemiology and public health was Dr. John Snow's study of an 1854 outbreak of cholera in Soho. He identified the cause of the outbreak as water from the public water pump located at the junction of Broad Street (now Broadwick Street) and Cambridge Street (now Lexington Street), close to the rear wall of what is today the John Snow public house.

John Snow mapped the addresses of the sick, and noted that they were mostly people whose nearest access to water was the Broad Street pump. He persuaded the authorities to remove the handle of the pump, thus preventing any more of the infected water from being collected. The spring below the pump was later found to have been contaminated with sewage.

The actual pump is no longer there but the landmark to find on your hunt can be the John Snow Memorial. It is a black pump without a handle on Broadwick St. in Soho (It is off of Carnaby St.) I usually go to Oxford Circus stop when taking people there. It looks like this by the way.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:John_Snow_memorial_and_pub.jpg

4. The Benjamin Franklin House - This tends to go over better with touring Yanks but it is still kind of cool to show people it is rather obscure and unknown and it is a stop to be made between the Cafe in the Crypt and The Watergate. IT can be found at 32 Craven St.

http://www.benjaminfranklinhouse.org/site/sections/default.htm

5. Mason's Yard - Meeting Place of John and Yoko Ono. While this is more Pop history than educational history it is a nugget that few people know about in the capital. The art shop that led to the fateful meeting that led to the breakup of the Beatles was in Mason's yard a small street/mews off of Duke St.

6. Abbey Rd. Zebra Crossing - While we are on the subject of the Beatles, you could always get your lads to pose on the famous crosswalk depicted ont he album by the same name. It is up in the MAdia Vale/ St. John's wood section of London. The actual zebra crossing is at the intersection of Abbey Rd and Grove end Rd. Instruct the lads to be careful as this is a high traffic area but I am sure the locals are used to stopping for tourists who reenact rhe beatles famouse pose. St. John's wood or Madia vale are the closest stops.

7. Marble Arch - This often overlooked attraction has a rich history that you can read about. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marble_Arch (I once had the fortune of being able to go up inside the arch as I happened to be nearby on a very rare occasion that it was opened, very cool indeed)

Additionaly you can tell the lads that it is located near the Tyburn where many a hanging occured.

8. Little Ben - You want quirky? How about this little known landmark.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Ben

Thats all I can think of off the top of my head if I get any more ideas I will let you know. I havent lived in London for some time but I was showed many of these landmarks by a blue badged guide and they are burned into my head. Anytime I take people on tours of London I try and hit these sites as most of them are not mainstream.

Good luck with your hunt

Cheers then,

Jez the Yank
Posted: 2010-06-16 15:22:45
All In London
Excellent post Jez the Yank :applause: :thumbsup:


Haven't seen you around for a bit. Hope all is well.


AIL Staff
Posted: 2010-06-18 12:16:56
Jez the Yank
ORIGINAL: AIL Staff

Excellent post Jez the Yank :applause: :thumbsup:


Haven't seen you around for a bit. Hope all is well.


AIL Staff



Why Thank you...All is well with me Thanks for asking...

I like to pop round now and then to see if there is a topic I am qualified to comment on or am interested in, many times I lurk though because I dont live in London anymore am many times can only offer insights from 1996-1997. For example of how out of the loop I am, I was shocked when I gave my wife a tour of London last year to to find the the area around Trafalgar square was no longer accessable to motor vehicles. I was like what the heck, this wasn't always like this?? And on the tube TFL are now selling Oyster Whatsits? I have to say I rather liked those Oyster Cards. (also TFL had just been formed when I left London most of the time I was there it was LUL)
Posted: 2010-06-22 18:24:08
Page 1 of 1