Westminster in London has been hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons lately. The Westminster terrorist attack in March shook the nation as we learned that a man drove his hired car into pedestrians on the pavement along the south side of Westminster Bridge and Bridge Street. His selfish actions injured 50 people and sadly 4 fatally including him, as police shot the man dead. Then in April, a British man who was under surveillance for weeks was arrested for carrying knives in the area.
Today security has been beefed up and they are considering attack dogs to keep the area safe and secure in the future. Since the devastating 7/7 attacks that killed 52 people in London in 2005, this country has been broadly spared from Islamic or any kind of terrorism. Our border checks and gun controls are keeping terrorists with firearms at bay luckily. So anyone planning on visiting London should not be overly concerned. There is more chance of being hit by a London bus than being a victim of a terrorist attack. Having said that London is a busy city so being vigilant is important.
If you want to pay your respect to the victims of the recent attacks, or you just want to visit the area, our Westminster Tour of London would be a good choice. Our Westminster tour is a 2-hour walking tour which takes in some of the most famous sights and places Westminster has to offer.
Like with all our tour we aim to educate as well as entertain so you will learn lots of information. Our tour guide will take you on a journey through 1000 years of history and offer some interesting facts and anecdotes about our Royal family and our politicians. You will learn lots of famous and some little-known facts and events about The Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, St James’s Palace, Leicester Square, The Ritz Hotel and much more.
If you grew up playing Monopoly you will recognise many of the streets. The guide will tell you which galleries and museums offer free admission and point out the best shops. There will be plenty of opportunity for photographs and if you’re lucky you might manage to get one of the Horse’s guards to laugh. It hasn’t happened yet, but we welcome everyone to try their best. We do have a laugh trying.
To ensure you get a positive experience we limit the number of people on tour and will not take any more than 30 people. We want you to be able to hear the guide so we have found 30 is about the limit. Sensible clothing is important, the weather can quickly change and the tour will go ahead regardless of the weather. We recommend you wearing sensible shoes and have rain coats at hand.
Some little-known facts about Westminster to whet the appetite:
- There are 11,000 listed buildings of architectural and historic interest in Westminster.
- Westminster has 32 public toilets
- Westminster Abbey is not actually an abbey, its officially a Royal Peculiar, a church belonging directly to the monarch. And its Britain’s largest church.
- The famous Big Ben clock slowed down by 5 minutes in 1949 when a flock of starlings landed on the minute hand.
- In 1926 Parliament Square was made into Britain’s first roundabout.
- The House of Parliament has over two miles of passages.
- King Henry V, Isaac Newton, Edward the Confessor, Charles Dickens and over 3000 people are all buried at Westminster Abbey.
- The poet Ben Jonson is the only person buried in a standing position in the abbey.
- There have been 17 royal weddings at Westminster Abbey.
- Westminster Bridge was painted green in 1970 to match the seats in the House of Commons.
If you want to learn more little-known facts about Westminster, join us on our Westminster Tour. It costs £12 for adults and £12 for children under 16.
Click here to learn more and book.
