Also known as Neasden Temple, Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Sanstha (BAPS) Shri Swaminarayan Mandir is an active place of worship for Hindus and features an incredible display of spires, domes, columns and balconies, all lit by chandeliers.  Built in 1995, it was hand-carved in India from 5,000 tones of Italian Carrara and Indian Ambaji marble for the […]

Our multicultural capital is home to all sorts of groups: Neil Simpson finds out how London’s Chinese community have built a home away from home Parallel to the bright lights of Shaftesbury Avenue, China Exchange on Soho’s Gerrard Street works to promote China’s impact on the world. China Exchange CEO Freya Aitken-Turff reveals the story […]

In defiance of our obsessive screen scrolling, bookshops have become cultural oases; sanctuaries that can expand the mind and let the imagination run wild – often with a good cup of coffee to hand. This is certainly the case at Stanfords, which continues to satisfy wanderlust more than 165 years after it was founded. Its new […]

Calling all thrill seekers: have you climbed The O2 yet? Self-proclaimed scaredy-cat Flora Neighbour reaches the summit and lives to tell the tale. Up at The O2 is a 90-minute climb over the roof of Greenwich’s massive entertainment venue. Choose from a day, sunset, or twilight climb (all from £36) and see panoramic views of […]

To get scared in style this Halloween, Fabian Pountney checks into the most haunted locations. Halloween seems like an unusual holiday, with today’s celebrations hugely popular in America, yet its origins date back to the Celts who inhabited Britain thousands of years ago. ‘Samhain’, on 31 October, originally celebrated the ghosts of the dead returning […]

Spit spot! Everyone’s favourite nanny returns to the West End in Mary Poppins The Musical on 23 Oct. Kathryn Conway hunts for the magic of Mary around town. One of the original film’s most iconic moments is set at the London landmark found in Michael’s snow globe: St Paul’s Cathedral is featured in the scene […]

This London icon is slowly coming back to life, so Neil Simpson and Sarah Riches took a Thames trip to see its transformation. Battersea Power Station was designed by the Londoner Giles Gilbert Scott (the man behind the red telephone box) and opened in 1933, but by 1982 this ‘superstation’ was no longer in use. […]

Are you tough enough to climb 528 steps to reach the pinnacle of St Paul’s Cathedral? We decided to set Neil Simpson the challenge – read on to find out what he thought and how you can do it for yourself. There are lots and lots of fabulous views to enjoy in London: The Shard, the Sky […]

Neil Simpson takes a sightseeing day trip from London to Blenheim Palace – find out what he thought and how to get there yourself. I have wanted to visit Blenheim Palace for a long time: if you’re looking for a sweeping, Downton Abbey-style English country estate to visit, this eighteenth-century World Heritage Site is the place […]