I’m a bit like that with Rome! I went for a flying visit two years ago when I was poorly, so we’ll definitely go back for longer when I’m well and have more funds!
Oooh yes, the Tower of London is spectacular! I happened to visit the day they did a gun salute for the birth of Prince George and it was really quite something to witness from within the walls of the medieval fortress.
" My next priority would be the distant past. I’d love to be on the banks of the Thames when the first Romans arrived. I’d want to shadow their progress and find out why they chose to build Londninium precisely where they did. Which individual gave that order, who named the city, and why? Finally, I’d want to visit the city in the long years between the Roman withdrawal and the coming of Alfred, when the old Roman city was effectively abandoned. So little is known about this time. I’d love to roam that deserted city, and see the Roman buildings in ruins. I suspect it wasn’t quite so abandoned as the history books make out. It would be so interesting to see how the people around at the time (a mix of Anglo-Saxons and Romano-Celtic peoples, living in what is now Covent Garden) regarded the abandoned city to the east. Were they afraid of it? I have to recommend the novel Dark Earth by Rebecca Stott, which is a deeply evocative story of two sisters growing up outside the ruins of Londinium. (Somebody on Substack recommended it to me, actually… I can’t remember who, but thank you if you’re reading this!)"
I second Matt’s recommendation of Dark Earth by Rebecca Stott - a very moving reflection on London life in those intervening years between Roman and Anglo-Saxon.
Great interview! I love Londonist, and also recommend Footsteps of London for walking tours.
Thanks Anna! Yes Footprints are brilliant... a rare (unique?) guiding company that's as good for Londoners as for tourists.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I've been there once, rushed, so I did not get to see much. I'd love to go again with plenty of time and funds to do it justice.
I’m a bit like that with Rome! I went for a flying visit two years ago when I was poorly, so we’ll definitely go back for longer when I’m well and have more funds!
Personally, the Tower of London was my favourite experience as a tourist in London.
Between that and Churchill’s War Bunkers.
Oooh yes, the Tower of London is spectacular! I happened to visit the day they did a gun salute for the birth of Prince George and it was really quite something to witness from within the walls of the medieval fortress.
It is something that I would instantly go back to when I go back to London
I like the advice just to wander and read all the plaques.
Yes! They contain such a wealth of history, and really connect us to the people before us whose lives played out on these streets.
" My next priority would be the distant past. I’d love to be on the banks of the Thames when the first Romans arrived. I’d want to shadow their progress and find out why they chose to build Londninium precisely where they did. Which individual gave that order, who named the city, and why? Finally, I’d want to visit the city in the long years between the Roman withdrawal and the coming of Alfred, when the old Roman city was effectively abandoned. So little is known about this time. I’d love to roam that deserted city, and see the Roman buildings in ruins. I suspect it wasn’t quite so abandoned as the history books make out. It would be so interesting to see how the people around at the time (a mix of Anglo-Saxons and Romano-Celtic peoples, living in what is now Covent Garden) regarded the abandoned city to the east. Were they afraid of it? I have to recommend the novel Dark Earth by Rebecca Stott, which is a deeply evocative story of two sisters growing up outside the ruins of Londinium. (Somebody on Substack recommended it to me, actually… I can’t remember who, but thank you if you’re reading this!)"
Very, very cool.
I second Matt’s recommendation of Dark Earth by Rebecca Stott - a very moving reflection on London life in those intervening years between Roman and Anglo-Saxon.