RUDDICK TOURS   'Great Tours of Britain & Ireland'               

Apsley House: Home to Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington, and his descendants, known colloquially as 'No 1 London', as it was the first house to be encountered after passing the tollgates at the top of Knightsbridge. The 7th Duke gave the house and contents to the nation in 1947, the family retaining the private rooms, which they use to this day.

 

 

Army Museums: Free. The Army Museums Ogilby Trust supports the development of those museums in the United Kingdom displaying the collections of the regiments and corps of the British Army.

 

 

Baden Powell House: Free. The ScoutBase UK Team is not a group of computer nerds who think that sitting in front of a computer is more fun than real Scouting. Most of us work on a regular basis with one of the training sections; we have real experience of real Scouting and our contacts range from the grass roots of Scouting to the National HQ.

Banqueting House: The only remaining complete building of Whitehall Palace, the sovereign`s principal residence from 1530 until 1698 when it was destroyed by fire. One of London's hidden treasures. (Historic Royal Palaces manages some of the most visited historical attractions in Great Britain: Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace, Kew Palace, Banqueting House and the Tower of London).

Barbican Art Gallery: Free. From acclaimed architects, to Turner prize-winning artists, Barbican Art Gallery presents major exhibitions by leading international figures. See some of the best exhibitions in the heart of the City of London, including a dynamic mix of architecture, design, fashion and photography.

 

Bankside Gallery: Free. Home of the Royal Watercolour Society and the Royal Society of Painter Printmakers. The Gallery's exhibition programme seeks to reflect the activities of the Members of both Societies through a mixture of Society exhibitions, one person shows, and themed mixed exhibitions of both watercolours and prints.

 

(HMS) Belfast: HMS Belfast served throughout the Second World War, playing a leading part in the destruction of the battle cruiser Scharnhorst, and also the Normandy Landings. In service with the Royal Navy until 1965, she was saved for the nation in 1971 as a unique reminder of Britain’s naval heritage.

 

Ben Uri Gallery: The London Jewish Museum of Art is Europe's only dedicated Jewish Museum of Art working in partnership with both secular and Jewish Museums in the UK and internationally. Conceived in 1914, it was founded in 1915 in the East End of London by the charismatic Russian-born Jewish artist Lazar Berson. It has a fascinating and often illustrious 90 year history and is this country's longest established Jewish arts & cultural institution.

British Airways London Eye: The passenger capsules of the London Eye incorporate an entirely new design form for observation wheels. Instead of being suspended under gravity they turn within circular mounting rings fixed to the outside of the main rim, thereby allowing a spectacular 360 degree panorama at the top.

British Library: Free. The national library of the UK, one of the world's greatest libraries, they receive a copy of every publication produced in the UK and Ireland. Collection includes 150 million items, in most known languages. 3 million new items are incorporated annually. Have manuscripts, maps, newspapers, magazines, prints and drawings, music scores, and patents.

British Museum: Free. Founded in 1753 to promote universal understanding through the arts, natural history and science in a public museum, it holds in trust for the nation and the world a collection of art and antiquities from ancient and living cultures - in one of Britain's architectural landmarks. The collection, one of the finest in existence, spans two million years of human history. Free entry.

Buckingham Palace: Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of Her Majesty The Queen and serves as both home and office. During August and September, the Palace's nineteen state-rooms are open to visitors.  The Changing of the Guard ceremony takes place at 11:30 daily from April until the end of July and on alternate days for the rest of the year, weather permitting.

Bob Hope Theatre: The Bob Hope Theatre is not a ‘members only’ club, but a public theatre licensed annually by Greenwich Council. It is a wholly amateur theatre in the sense that all performers, management and ancilliary workers give their services without payment, apart from payments made to professional musicians. As a result of Bob Hope’s generosity the theatre has continued to be refurbished. In August 1991, Bob donated £28,000 from the Benefit Performance he staged at the London Palladium to raise money directly for the theatre.

Cabinet War Rooms: As bombs rained down on London in 1940, Winston Churchill and his War Cabinet met in The Cabinet War Rooms. Today visitors can see it just as it looked during the war years. The Churchill Museum, an exciting new project, will be the first national museum dedicated to Sir Winston Churchill.

Cartoon Museum: Over 200 original cartoons, caricatures and comics from today's premier cartoonists, as well as leading established artists from the past ..

 

Chessington World of Adventures: One of London's biggest and best family fun parks, rides plus animals. Whether it be taking a flight of fright on Vampire or twisting and turning through the spin-tastic Dragons Fury, Chessington World of Adventures & Zoo has all the screams, thrills and spills an adventurer could wish for!

Churchill's Britain at War: A museum of civilian life during World War 2. Watch the film in the underground station, try gasmasks, sit in the Anderson shelter. Children’s quiz and dressing up. WALK THROUGH THE LONDON BLITZ. SEE IT! FEEL IT! BREATHE IT! Daily except 24-26 December.

Canal Cruises: Cruises along the historic Regent’s Canal as it slips quietly along the green and leafy fringes of Regent’s Park. From the Regency elegance of Little Venice to the lively bustle of the markets of Camden Lock, through Regent’s Park and the Maida Hill Tunnel. Trips one way or return, with a stopover for a picnic or shopping. Or take the boat to London Zoo, with admission through our own canal gate.

Clink Prison Museum: A prison from the C12th until its destruction in 1780 .. exhibition of not suitable for the young ..

 

 

 

Concert Halls List - click here

 

 

Dulwich Picture Gallery:  One of the greatest finds in London - where you can view a magnificent collection of old masters: Poussin, Claude, Rubens, Murillo, Van Dyck, Rembrandt, Watteau, Gainsborough and others.

Family Fun Parks List - click here

 

 

 

(The) Fan Museum: The Fan Museum is the first and only museum in the world devoted in its entirety to all aspects of the ancient art and craft of the fan. It has been described as "an architectural and artistic gem", and as "an oasis of tranquillity".

 

Firepower - The Royal Artillery Museum: Europe's biggest collection of historic and modern artillery. I tells the powerful and dramatic story of artillery, scientific discoveries made through warfare and human stories of courage and endeavour. The ‘ground shaking' Field of Fire audio-visual show puts you in the midst of battle as shells whiz overhead and guns roar..

(The) Foundling Museum: The Foundling Museum tells the story of the Foundling Hospital, London's first home for abandoned children and of three major figures in British history: its campaigning founder the philanthropist Thomas Coram, the artist William Hogarth and the composer George Frideric Handel. This remarkable collection of art, period interiors and social history is now housed in a restored and refurbished building adjacent to the original site of the Hospital, demolished in 1926.

Geffrye Museum: Free. The Geffrye Museum is one of London’s best-loved museums. It shows the changing style of the English domestic interior in a series of period and garden rooms from 1600 to the present day. ..

 

Gilbert Collection: The superb collection of gold, silver, micromosaics and gold boxes, given to the nation by the late Sir Arthur Gilbert in 1996, is moving from its current home in Somerset House to the Victoria and Albert Museum. It is one of the most important collections of works of art ever gifted to Britain will open in Autumn 2009 in a suite of galleries at the V&A.

Golf: Tournaments/Courses List  Click to go to a list of London's Golf Courses with links to their websites ..

 

 

 

Heritage Organisations List  Click to go to a list of Heritage Organisations with links to their websites

 

 

 

Hermitage Rooms: The State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg holds one of the finest art collections in the world with some 3 million pieces housed in the Winter Palace and the magnificent buildings erected specially for the collections. Here at Somerset House, one of London's great 18th century buildings, the Hermitage Rooms recreate in miniature the décor of the Winter Palace and provide a perfect backdrop for rotating exhibitions drawn from the museum and other collections.

HMS Belfast: A cruiser, moored on the River Thames. She served throughout the Second World War, playing a leading part in the destruction of Scharnhorst, and the Normandy Landings.

 

Hotel Finder List click to go to a list of Hotel Booking Agencies with links to their websites ..

Imperial War Museum:  Free. The wars of the twentieth century have affected each and every one of us in some way, and the Imperial War Museum is here to tell all our stories, covering all aspects of life in wartime. Highly recommended.

 

Institute of Contemporary Arts: Free. The Institute of Contemporary Arts was established in 1947 by a collective of artists, poets and writers to showcase and champion contemporary culture across a wide range of art forms. Since its establishment, it has been at the centre of many of the most significant artistic and cultural developments in the past 60 years.

 

 

Jewish Heritage UK: Jewish Heritage UK is dedicated to caring for the historic buildings, sites and collections of Britain’s Jewish community. The task of Jewish Heritage UK is the protection of British Jewry’s material cultural heritage, covering synagogues and cemeteries and also movable property such as archives, artefacts and ritual silver.