The Big Bus Tour

If you've not been to London before then The Big Bus Tour is a great way to get your bearings and view the city from the dizzy heights of the top of a double-decker. The ones with a red sign have a live commentary and the guide regales you with snippets of history, anecdotes, facts and figures etc. as you go along, e.g. all park railings are painted black by order of Queen Victoria after the death of her beloved Albert! Your ticket lasts the whole day so you can hop off and on at any time. There are also some guided walks and a river cruise thrown in. The trouble is there's not enough hours in the day to fit it all in!

I do a full circuit then hop off to touch base at the Reform Club from where Phileas Fogg started his epic (albeit fictional) travels. The Reform Club is one of two male only London clubs still in existence, and one needs to be registered at birth if one ever hope's to sip a whisky and soda (or whatever is the favourite tipple at the Club), and do a bit of male bonding inside these hallowed walls.

Back on board the next passing bus and off to the Globe Theatre. In luck, a play about to start! Out of luck, all sold out. I look around the exhibition, and a young German couple, an Asian girl student and myself take the guided tour of what's left of the old Rose Theatre. Not much as it turns out. What is left of the Rose is under water so to acquaint us with the lay-out, a series of lights are strung out in the shape of the stage areas. The room is very dark to enable us to see the lights. I could perhaps sneak out now, this is not the most riveting tour, but the young couple have already dropped off because the wife's English isn't up to it. So I take pity on our guide who will surely be downcast if she arrives at the end with only one out of four.

Next stop the Tower. If it were the 16th century and someone said 'off to the Tower with you', you'd get a horrible sinking feeling in the tummy. Today the citizenry flock to the Tower of London in droves. And no wonder. This fascinating place of history, mystery and myth is a wonder to behold. It's like stepping into a fairy-tale. To touch a wall that has stood in this place since the 12th century, to imagine the little princes imprisoned and murdered here, to see the spot where Anne Boleyn was beheaded, and then to stand in a queue for ¾ of an hour to see the crown jewels. Oh well, even that didn't take the shine off it all. My favourite piece in the fabulous collection was the dear little diamond coronet that Queen Victoria wore in one of her most published photographs.

Just time for the river cruise before heading home. On board near Tower Bridge, an entertaining commentary as we pass various landmarks. We pass under the ill-fated Millennium Bridge (it was closed for structural amendments a few days after opening) and our guide points out that this tribute to a new millennium obstructs the view from the river - carefully maintained until this point - of St Paul's Cathedral. Oops.

All ashore at Westminster Bridge where we can marvel at the tower of Big Ben, everything in perfect proportion. An architectural delight.

I set off up the street sure that I'm heading in the general direction of Bedford Avenue. But evidently not because a large park has appeared. Consult map. St James's Park. Charming pond, beautiful trees, pretty flowers, but not near Bedford Avenue. Never mind, it's not every day you get to stroll through St James's Park on a summer's evening!