Love London

What did you get up to? The meeting point for the tour was Hampton Court train station, which is a cute little station, located next to the palace. Once our group all arrived it was time to set off and collect our bikes. The tour started behind a pub over the bridge called the Prince of Wales. Each bike had its own royal name ranging from Anne to Henry. The bikes were vintage and had a spacious basket for us to pop our belongings in. Within our group there were 8 people which is the average sized group for the tour. Here is where our guide introduced herself and allowed us to test out the bike, all seats were adjustable to suit our needs. Hampton Court is located on the edge of Richmond upon Thames due to the fabulous weather the streets were buzzing with people coming to visit the palace. The guide advised us it would be better to walk our bikes over to the palace instead of biking due the busy streets and narrow bridge. As soon as we reached the palace grounds, our guide informed us of where were going during the tour – through the gardens, along Chestnut Avenue, through the parks which were Henry VIII’s hunting grounds to the pub for a nice refreshment and back along the palace grounds via a bike trail next to the Thames. Our guide led the tour, and everyone could go at their own pace, she would stop at different places and wait for everyone to arrive before telling us stories and the history of Hampton court. The ground was flat and easy to bike around however the bikes do take a little getting used too. The pub is called the White Hart which has a lovely beer garden full of flowers and live music which made for a perfect pit stop. Everyone had time to enjoy the scenery and a much-needed drink before setting off back to Hampton Court whilst riding along the river Thames. The tour ended at the palace where the guide told us about Henry and his many wives. After which we were welcome to spend the day in the grounds or exploring the facilities. What did you enjoy the most? We really enjoyed the relaxing pace and seeing sites of London we wouldn’t normally get to see. The tour guide was extremely knowledgeable to it felt like we came away knowing so much about London’s history.

What did you get up to? We arrived at Hiver Tap Room and met our helpful guide Paul, he introduced himself and explained the itinerary for the next few hours. Our first beer of the day was the Hiver Blonde, Paul explained the tasting notes and the fact the beer is made with pure honey! Definitely something different and I will be looking out for this in the shops. We then moved on to Anspach & Hobday where I tried the stout porter, this was very different to the previous beer as it was a lot darker and bitter. Paul explained the history of the brewery and tap room as well. Once we had finished our drinks we had a short walk to Brew by Numbers, here I tried the Berliner Weisse, I have never tried a beer like this before, and it was very similar to a fruit cider but had the bitterness of a beer, perfect for a hot summer’s day! The final and my favourite stop was the Bianca Road Brewery Co, an American themed brewery with a Jamaican vibe, Paul explained how this brewery came to be and we even got to meet the owner! I tried the Salt Lake Shake which is a cinnamon and ginger milkshake IPA this was a very interesting combination of flavours and something I would definitely try again. Overall a very enjoyable day and it opened my eyes to the craft beer scene in Bermondsey’s. What did you enjoy the most? My favourite stop was the Bianca Road Brewery Co. The vibe was super fun and I loved the Salt Lake Shake!

What did you get up to? The tour started in Mayfair where we were taken to Fortnum and Mason where we were treated to 2 different types of cheese, one of which was an amazing double truffle Gloucester cheese! I didn’t think I liked Gloucester until that day. We were then taken to an elite cheesemongers called Paxton and Whitfield, probably one of the oldest cheese vendors in the business. We tried some fantastic blue cheese! We moved on to Lina Stores where we tried cheese which has been soaked and matured in red wine and also we also tried a prosecco one. I hadn’t tried cheese like that before. After this, we had a little sit down outside and ate a slice of margarita pizza at an adorable pizzeria not too far from Lina Stores. Once we had finished sitting down the tour guide brought over some goats’ cheese for us too! What did you enjoy the most? The truffle Gloucester was definitely my favourite out of the lot!

What did you get up to? Today we visited the London Bridge and London tombs experience. The whole event was thrilling and lasted around 60 minutes. There is so much to learn about and we found out so much about the dark history of London. What did you enjoy the most? We really enjoyed seeing all scary replications and learning about London’s dark history.

What did you get up to? Our experience started with an Afternoon Tea at Novotel London Bridge. From the beginning, staff members were all very welcoming and to our surprise one of them visited our hometown in Ukraine. All cakes were not only photo worthy but scrumptious as well. We were also given a drinks menu, from which we ordered a cappuccino and a green tea which came in a lovely tea pot. After this we went to The View From The Shard. After the elevator took us up to the 68th floor, we had the option to walk up three more floors. Whilst going up, we had a lot of fun looking for beloved London attractions: St Paul Cathedral, Tower Bridge and Tower of London. Everything was decorated for the Queen’s Jubilee and felt highly appropriate as we continued embracing Britishness after our Afternoon Tea. What did you enjoy the most? For example: Our favourite part of the experience was tasting all the lovely cakes and taking photos and videos of them, while catching up. At the Shard my favourite spot was roofless terrace with all the photo zones. It was also interesting to see London from a different perspective.