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Forget Old Street or the IMAX at Waterloo, London’s most magical roundabout is surely Arnold Circus. Hidden just a stone’s throw away from the hipsters, between Columbia Road, Shoreditch High Street and Bethnal Green Road, it’s surrounded by impressive Victorian redbrick buildings, complete with a peaceful garden and bandstand. This is not your average roundabout – it’s worth a visit for its beauty and also for its history. It just so happens to be the home of the very first council estate in the world.
 
Constructed in the 1890s from the rubble of the notorious Old Nichol slum that had stood here for decades previously, today Arnold Circus is a people-watching paradise. From families dropping their kids off at The Virginia Primary School to fashion designers heading to their studio at The Rochelle creative hub, the local community is a diverse bunch indeed. The imposing architecture that surrounds them holds a times-gone-by atmosphere, meaning you may even spot a film crew recreating Victorian or Edwardian London.
 
However, the picturesque beauty of Arnold Circus and the surrounding area hides a far darker history. This was once the location of London’s most infamous slum. In 1896, the author Arthur Morrison wrote a novel called “A Child of The Jago”. He never called out the Old Nichol by name, but it was clear that his hard-hitting story was set there, in the slum that once sat where Arnold Circus sits today. In the novel, he compares the slum dwellers to rats scrambling for any food, water or shelter they could find. He even suggests that many who find accommodation there eventually realise they would rather live on the streets than in their filthy, dilapidated shanty-like shacks. It paints a picture of a truly helpless underclass, leading lives fraught with disease, crime and abject poverty. The middle-class Londoners who read the novel thought it was fiction – surely in the most thriving city in the world, people couldn’t live like this. In fact, this fiction was a scarily accurate depiction of an area of London they daren’t visit.
 
By the time the book was published, the slum was already slowly being dismantled. The buildings that took its place, the Boundary Estate, formed the first council estate in the world. Surely there was no more necessary place for this progressive social project than London’s East End. It eventually paved the way for more around the country and around the globe. A pretty bandstand, a planned circular street design and two schools made this a practical and desirable place to live and all with cheap, subsidised rent. A huge success? Well, not entirely. Even the cheap rents were prohibitively expensive for most of the original slum dwellers, who really were London’s most poor. They were forced to leave the area, forgotten once again.
 
A stroll around the beautiful redbrick buildings of the Boundary Estate makes for a lovely weekend activity. Grab a coffee in Shoreditch, wander around the residential side streets, and maybe even pick up a copy of “A Child of the Jago” for a little read. The bandstand is raised, as it was built on top of piles of rubble of the Old Nichol slum. So, sit there, read your book, look out at the roundabout and the community that lives there today, but ponder on the stories buried underneath you and what life was like here in times gone by. 

​I have a feeling after the recent snow that you are thinking to yourself  “Wouldn’t it be nice to go on a luxurious cruise right about now?” While London may not offer the oasis lifestyle of a Caribbean Island, you need look no further for a fun and lively trip through historical London along the river Thames. A cruise? Along the Thames? OK, so I lied about the cruise bit, there is no cabin service and no captain’s table but you will get to see more on a 30 minute jaunt up and down the Thames than for several hours on a cruise ship!
 
Not only will you see attractions and sights galore, did you know that the river Thames is home to over 119 species of fish, as well as otters, voles, and eels? Sounds like an oceanic expedition in the making if you ask me!
 
All aboard the Thames Clipper! This serves as both transportation for locals and also a fun way to see some of the city most notable attractions for those visiting the city. I will say that this is a comfortable, fun and very relaxed way to travel around town as long as you are not in a hurry.  While gazing out of the windows of the boat you may see such sights as Tower Bridge which has over 40,00 daily visitors or the Emirates Air Line cable cars which offer astonishing views of London skyline. How about looking at St. Paul’s Cathedral or Shakespeare Globe theatre from a different angle? This cruise is certainly guaranteed to give you a bang for your buck.  No need for a travel agents or hundreds of hours on booking websites, this cruise is easily accessible by topping up your oyster card or booking tickets on the Thames clipper website.

If you’re hungry on board the 5 Star voyage why not hop off and grab lunch at “The Ship and Whale” one of the oldest authentic pubs in London located at Greenland Pier. Or take a bite at one of the many places to eat in St Katherine’s Dock next to the Tower of London.
Are the young ones getting a little sea sick? No worries! Hop off at Embankment Pier and on to terra firma and maybe treat them to The Lion King at Lyceum theatre or Matilda at The Cambridge theatre – if you can get tickets. 

​ Please visit: http://www.coutours.co.uk/ or contact Emma Parker at +44(0)207 118 9090
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Above Ground, Below Ground, and Into The Skys. : Interesting Travel Suggestions  For New Comers to London

You’ve finally made it. Bags in hand and eyes full of excitement. You begin clearing through customs at Heathrow, Gatwick, or London City airport and your day of traveling is nearly complete. Now that you’re here in the “Square Mile” city how will you get around the bustling city while seeing some pretty cool things at the same time?
 
Here are a few tips to help you navigate around town! 
Get an Oyster Card. No this card will not get you a fresh cold serving of cold shells on a plate, rather it is a must have card that will give you easy access to London network of busses and underground trains. The Underground or the Tube as Londoner call it is the worlds oldest underground transit systems in the world. Always remember to tap in and tap out at every tube station to avoid any unnecessary charges. One of London’s  additional hidden underground marvels is the Rail Mail, in which visitors can experience an immersive underground experience abroad miniature trains that used to deliver mail to London residents in the  1930s.

Don’t just use the underground however!  While the underground is an architectural marvel in in out itself, why not explore the city above ground as well?. Two of the most interesting bus routes in the city that any new comer to London should take and adventure on are the number eleven and number fifteen buses. This are two of the oldest bus routes around town and will transport back to the mid 1900’s. Ok, not literally! But the old-fashioned bus structures are sure to remind you of the great historical nature of the city. The iconic number fifteen bus journey will start near the Tower of London and continue on down to Trafalgar square via St Pauls Cathedral. This route will offer amazing sights and sounds for you, young ones, and families who are eagerly waiting to take in all that the beauty that the great city has to provide. The number eleven bus route starts at Liverpool Street station and finishes at Victoria Station. Hop off along the route as see sits like the Bank of England or The Royal Exchange.

​For a brief trip into London’s Skyline hop on the affordable and easily accessible emirates royal dock cable cars service. The short ten minute journey will offer astonishing views over the Thames River. Don’t worry about paying in cash simply top up your handy oyster card and enjoy your leisurely ascent into the skies of London. One either ends of the gondola experience you can easily access tube stations to continue your onward adventures into London.

 Please visit: http://www.coutours.co.uk/ or contact Emma Parker at +44(0)207 118 9090 +44 (0)207 118 9090+44 (0)207 118 9090