Our short break in London began with a couple of surprises. The first was that our taxi ride across the city from Victoria Coach Station to Tower Bridge Road cost us just 75p less than a Bradford-London return fare for one of us on the National Express coach (£13.25 with the 50 per cent over-60s discount).

Second surprise was to be delivered to a different hotel to the one we were expecting due to a booking blunder on my part. On an earlier visit we'd clocked a low-level, traditional-looking Premier Travel Inn right next to the river under the shadow of the Cannon Street railway bridge and thought what a good billet it would be. That was what I thought I'd booked over the phone.

Turned out, instead, to be a five-storey modern building in Tower Bridge Road about ten-minutes' walk from the river but still close to the South Bank - the home of the Globe Theatre, Tate Modern, the Old Vic and National theatres and the London Eye.

It was close to the Butler's Wharf riverside restaurant/residential area, Ken Livingstone's architecturally-unique City Hall and the HMS Belfast floating naval museum, with the Tower of London just across the river. So while it wasn't the anticipated hotel, it was more than OK.

A third surprise was London itself. Despite the vast crowds milling about, the streets are remarkably litter-free, particularly in the central area, and sparkling new buildings are being put up everywhere.

Despite the terror attacks on its public transport and the strength of the pound that makes London an expensive destination for overseas visitors, the place is booming with tourists.

We decided to see London by bus rather than use the Underground. If you sit on the top deck you get a terrific sightseeing tour. And at £3.50 the all-day bus passes are excellent value for money (you can buy them at tourist offices or tube stations).

It was by bus from Tower Hill that we travelled through the City of London, past St Paul's and Pudding Lane where the Great Fire of London started, along Fleet Street (now bereft of most of the newspaper and magazine offices that made it famous) past The Aldwych and down The Strand to Charing Cross.

First port of call was to be the National Gallery at the top end of Trafalgar Square. What a glorious place! We were quite overwhelmed by room after room of art treasures. Although admission is free, they ask that you pop at least a couple of pounds into a box to help with the upkeep.

We strolled down Whitehall with its security-gated Downing Street to Westminster. The Abbey (a tenner a time, with concessions) was busy, but not overwhelmingly so. There was still room to stroll around and soak in the atmosphere of this ancient place where you can feel the history wrapping around you.

As we left and headed for St James's Park, we discovered a London idiosyncrasy. The tourist signposts don't always point in the right direction. Has someone been messing around with them?

We made our way to the busy park eventually though and sat on the grass in the sunshine with a sandwich before continuing past Buckingham Palace and up through shady Green Park where lunching office workers sat alone or in small groups on the many benches or on the grass.

At Piccadilly, where a lifetime ago during our brief London adventure my wife worked as receptionist for a posh estate agent while I learned the rudiments of journalism in Farringdon Street two miles away, we decided to abandon feet in favour of the bus again.

Progress was slow as we ground on past Piccadilly Circus and up Shaftesbury Avenue with our sights set on Covent Garden and its street entertainers.

We weren't disappointed as we joined a large crowd around a pair of young men with a tall unicycle, some juggling clubs and a lively line in patter who kept their audience laughing and applauding.

Back on the bus from the bottom of Regent Street we headed back to Tower Bridge and a welcome beer or two on the by the river at one of the Butler's Wharf bars near the Design Museum which were filling with after-work drinkers on their way to their homes in the many expensive riverside apartment blocks.

At a nearby restaurant the following evening, joined by our London-based son and his fiancee, we watched as the floodlights went on to illuminate the historic shape of bridge while other lights picked out the contrasting outline of the Gherkin, that 41-storey, rounded, tapering modern architectural edifice designed by Lord Foster which has rapidly become an indispensable part of the capital's skyline.

A pleasure cruiser headed down the Thames, disturbing a cormorant from its perch on a moored boat to flap across the river's smooth surface in the dusk and land on a tall timber post.

What a magical place of infinite variety London is. Small wonder people flock to see it from all over the world.


  • Bradford-London by National Express coach takes about five hours (non-stop after Leeds, but there's an on-board loo) and costs £26.50 return (over-60s half price). There are Family Coachcard money-saving deals for children.
  • Price of a room at the Premier Travel Inn, Tower Bridge Road, is £90 weekdays, £80 weekends (family rooms sleep two adults and up to two children).
  • Buffet breakfast, cold or hot or both, is £7.50 a head (under-16s eat free with a paying adult). There's a reasonably-priced restaurant for evening meals. Central Reservations on 0870 242 8000.