Autumn Kelly set to be first 'native' Canadian royal

Canadian Autumn Kelly will marry Peter Phillips, the son of Princess Anne, in a service in St George's Chapel, Windsor, next Saturday. The service is set to be low key and light on pageantry in royal terms. Phillips is 11th in line to the throne. He has been able to pursue his own interests with relatively little media scrutiny for much of his life. That may all change, for a short time at least, as Kelly and Phillips have sold the much sought after story of their marriage to Hello magazine.

Visitors to London wanting to see pomp and pageantry need not have to wait until to the next royal wedding or big state occasion. Tourists can see the Queen's Life Guard at Horse Guards and discover which monarch formed the Guard and why with the Palace Trail mp3 guided tour. The two sentries on duty by the boxes, on Whitehall, form part of the Queen’s Life Guard which is charged with protecting the monarch when she is in London. The men of the Queen’s Life Guard are part of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment. The final commentary point on The Palace Trail iPod travel guide is Buckingham Palace, where the Changing of the Guard Ceremony takes place. To make the most of your podcast guided tour look at our Where and When page to find out the precise times that the Changing of the Guards take place.



Obviously, Britain and Canada have long established ties. Autumn Kelly hails from Montreal and has renounced her Roman Catholic faith, so that her husband-to-be should not be debarred from ascending to the throne. Under the existing laws a member of the royal family would be excluded from the succession if they were married to a Roman Catholic.

North Americans in London can discover the sights with a Walk Talk Tour city guide. The Palace Trail begins outside Westminster Abbey takes in the New Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament, including Big Ben), Parliament Square, the Cenotaph and Downing Street. Listeners to the Palace Trail downloadable travel guide then take in Horse Guards - and Horse Guards Parade - before heading into Trafalgar Square, then under Admiralty Arch along the Mall, through St James's Park to Buckingham Palace.

Britain's great war leader, Sir Winston Churchill, was fond of Canada and her people. He described Canada as the "linchpin of the English-speaking peoples." Churchill was extremely quick witted, as listeners to the audio sample from the Palace Trail tour guide will discover.

Walk Talk Tours five tourist guides of London are available in French, German and Spanish.

St Paul's backdrop for City Salute

Last night Britain's service personnel were honoured in an open air display on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral which was full of the pomp, pageantry and music more usually associated with the annual Trooping of the Colour. Flypasts, bands from the Royal Navy and ceremonial troops all featured in the ceremony. The City Salute was held to raise money for servicemen and women wounded on active service. The Help for Heroes charity and the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSFA) will both benefit from the event.

Princes William and Harry are both patrons of the appeal. Proceeds from last night's display will contribute to the funding of a gym and swimming pool at a rehabilitation centre at Headley Court, near Leatherhead in Surrey and a project at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham. The Princes were part of a large crowd that assembled on the steps to St Paul's Cathedral. Pictures of proceedings were relayed to spectators in Paternoster Square via four big screens.

The famous Cathedral has a rich history as listeners to The Ride & Stride mp3 guided tour, The City & The Tower tourist guide or the City & South Bank Circular podcast guided tour will discover. During the City Salute images of serving British personnel were projected onto the front of St Paul's.

Inside Sir Christopher Wren's masterpiece servicemen from overseas are commemorated. The American Memorial Chapel located behind the High Altar commemorates over 28,000 American service personnel who gave their lives in the defence of liberty, while stationed on, or travelling to, these shores. The roll of honour can be found by the chapel’s altar.

French, German and Spanish speaking tourists can enjoy Walk Talk Tours five downloadable travel guides of London in their own native tongue. Each tour comes complete with a downloadable map to help Walk Talk Tourists navigate from A to B. To hear an audio sample from The City & South Bank Circular tour please click here.

Visitors or undercover locals with a Walk Talk Tour iPod travel guide will find out how Wren overcame the difficulty of creating such a large dome. The Cathedral was devastated by the Great Fire of London in 1666. Discover which was the only monument to survive the inferno with a Walk Talk Tour city guide.

Visitors who missed last night's display of pageantry can still see serving soldiers on ceremonial duties at Horse Guards and outside Buckingham Palace. Both of these famous venues are commentary points on The Palace Trail tourist guide. Take a look at our Where & When Page so as to make the most of your Walk Talk Tour mp3 guided tour.

Edinburgh Fringe Still Top Dog

The Brighton Fringe began this weekend, showcasing a range of stand up comedy and carabet acts. The festival finishes on 26th May. The annual Edinburgh Fringe is still top dog in terms of numbers of paying customers, range of acts appearing and international appeal. Brighton has a lot going for it, not least the fact that it is a mere sixty miles from London.

Heading to The Edinburgh Fringe can be an extremely costly undertaking. Competition for Fringegoers attention and patronage is at its most fierce on the Royal Mile. You may well want to get away from it all, stretch your legs before heading to one of The Fringe's venues later in the day. Discovering the secrets behind some of the Old Town's most famous and lesser known landmarks need not cost the earth. The Royal Mile & More, Walk Talk Tour mp3 guided tour begins in the Castle Esplanade, where the annual Edinburgh Military Tattoo is held in August. This year's Tattoo runs from 1st August to 23rd August.

Listeners to The Royal Mile & More iPod travel guide can learn about the native of Edinburgh who was the last person to be tried under the Witchcraft Act in the UK. Walk Talk Tourists then continue down the Royal Mile, past the Tron Kirk, which is now better known as The Hub, the Home of the Edinburgh International Festival. The Edinburgh International Festival began in 1947. It showcases the performing arts - opera, classical music, dance and theatre - and runs for three weeks between late August and early September.

Thankfully, visitors to the Scottish capital or undercover tourists are free to discover the sights - at their leisure, in their own time - with a Walk Talk Tour downloadable travel guide.

The Old & New Towns city guide begins outside the Castle before heading down into the Grassmarket where listeners to the Old & New Towns podcast guided tour will learn about two infamous characters from the city's past. To hear an audio sample from The Old & New Town downloadable travel guide please click here. The Grassmarket is situated close to two of the Fringe Fesitval's most popular venues: the Underbelly, on the Cowgate and the Underbelly's Baby Belly, which is located in The Caves on Niddry Street just off the Cowgate.

The Old & New Towns travel guide passes another of the Fringe's main venues, The Assembly Rooms. Visitors can learn about the building's distinguished past and hear about some of the famous individuals who have been honoured there. The Old & New Towns mp3 guided tour ends in Charlotte Square - where the annual International Book Festival, the world's largest international book festival, is held - and where the First Minister of Scotland has his official residence.

To hear an audio sample from The Royal Mile & More podcast guided tour please click here.

Banish Your Bank Holiday Blues

Many people in England and Wales will be off work this Bank Holiday, Monday, 5th May. And their children will be off school, too. What should be a relaxing, fun day for all concerned is often fraught with difficulties, as different generations have dissimilar views as to how best to spend their additional day off.

Why not make the most of the extra day to explore the sights in three of Britain's most visited cities with a Walk Talk Tour mp3 guided tour? Walk Talk Tours offer excellent value for groups and parties. Have your kids got to that stage where they don't want to be seen with you, but you still want to keep an eye on them? By simultaneously undertaking the same tour at the same time, your offspring can learn something but feel 'independent'. The beauty of a Walk Talk Tour podcast guided tour is that it gives the user the freedom to stop and start as they see fit. No more traipsing after a man with an umbrella, or straining to hear a guide, or feeling conspicuous with mum in dad in tow.

There are five Walk Talk Tours of London which are available in French, German and Spanish. On The Palace Trail iPod travel guide users can discover where the 'true' centre of London is located and where the first ever General Assembly of the United Nations was held. To hear an audio sample from The Palace Trail please click here. Fancy a ride on an iconic Routemaster bus? The Ride & Stride city guide is for you. Discover what else design consultant Douglas Scott was responsible for designing during his distinguished career. The kids think that sightseeing is boring? Families taking The Ride & Stride downloadable travel guide together will find there is something for everyone. Learn about the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. That's Sweeney Todd to you me.

Have you ever been into the City of London on a Sunday? Why not have a look round this Bank Holiday Monday with The City and The Tower mp3 guided tour. Find out how Lloyd's of London got its name. Learn what one meaning of 'foreigner' was in fourteenth century Londoner in Leadenhall Market. In the same market spot where part of Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone was filmed.

Feeling creative? Fancy discovering some of the stories behind some of London's most famous Museums, Galleries & Performing Arts iPod travel guide. Follow in the footsteps of the stars in Leicester Square. From William Shakespeare to Charlie Chaplin its got it all. Enjoy the ambiance of Covent Garden. Hear about the area's colourful history. Take an interactive look at the history of the capital's transport in the London Transport Museum.

Feeling energetic? You could decide to embark on the City & South Bank Circular podcast guided tour. The city guide is a combination of the best of The Ride and Stride downloadable travel guide and The City and The Tower mp3 guided tour. Begin at St Paul's Cathedral take in The Bank of England, Lloyd's of London, The Monument and The Tower, before heading over the Thames via Tower Bridge and walking along the South Bank by the way of The Clink Prison, The Globe Theatre and Tate Modern...

In addition there are two Walk Talk Tour podcast guided tours in Edinburgh. There is one Walk Talk Tour mp3 guided tour of York, The Best of York.

Leicester Square in the Limelight

On May 12 Leicester Square will host the opening premiere of the new Sex and the City Movie. Glitz and glamour are nothing new to Leicester Square as visitors to London listening to The Museums, Galleries & Performing Arts, Walk Talk Tour mp3 guided tour will discover. The red carpet is regularly rolled out - and the Square sprinkled with star dust - for premieres of one film or another.

A marble statue of William Shakespeare is the Square's centrepiece. The bard was born and brought up in Stratford upon Avon before he headed to the capital, where he wrote plays that were staged at the Globe Theatre. Tourists wanting to learn about the Globe Theatre can find out more by purchasing the Ride and Stride downloadable travel guide or the City & South Bank Circular podcast guided tour.

A modern master of both talkies and silent movies is commemorated with a statue in Leicester Square. Charlie Chaplin was born into a poor London family in 1889. Chaplin’s first silent movie was screened in 1914 and a year later The Tramp was a box office hit. His trademark down-at-heel appearance, in formal dinner wear, is well depicted in this statue. Chaplin did not appear in his first 'talkie' until the late 1920s.



Chaplin was banned from re-entering the USA in 1952, after promoting Limelight in the UK. Discover why he was prevented from re-entering the States and when he finally returned with The Museums, Galleries & Performing Arts city guide. Later in the tour listeners to this mp3 guided tour will also find out which nineteenth century actor turned theatre manager pioneered on stage lighting, the so-called limelight.

French, German and Spanish speakers can purchase any of the five London iPod travel guides in their native tongue.

To hear an audio sample from The Museums, Galleries & Performing Arts mp3 guided tour please click here.

Dr Sentamu's Protests Strike a Chord

York is a beautiful, peaceful city as visitors who purchase the Best of York Walk Talk Tour mp3 guided tour will discover. The current Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, has persistently voiced his opposition to Robert Mugabe's despotic regime in Zimbabwe. On Sunday,27 April, Sentamu led a day of fasting and prayer in a show of solidarity with the impoverished people of Zimbabwe.

The picture postcard Shambles is one of the oldest surviving Medieval streets in Europe. Undercover tourists or interested locals can discover the history of the street with The Best of York podcast guided tour. The Shambles was once home for a time in the late sixteenth century to a woman called Margaret Clitherow. She converted to Catholicism and refused to attend the established Church. Worse still, in the eyes of the authorities, she allowed neighbours to take the sacraments in her home. Margaret was imprisoned for practicing her beliefs on three occasions as listeners to the Walk Talk Tour iPod travel guide will discover. Margaret was charged of several 'crimes', including harbouring Catholic priests in her home inThe Shambles.



Margaret's purported defence to the charges made against her was eloquence and bravery personified: "Having made no offence, I need no trial." Margaret Clitherow was sentenced to death. She met a particularly grisly end, as listeners with The Best of York Walk Talk Tour city guide will find out.

Margaret Clitherow became a martyr for her faith. Her death helped to radicalise a young Protestant who later converted to Catholicism. Discover who the man was, and what he then went onto do with The Best of York Walk Talk Tour downloadable travel guide.

Thankfully, religious toleration and freedom of speech are two of the pillars of British democracy. Others are not so lucky. The information that is coming out of Zimbabwe seems to suggest that Mugabe and his henchmen will stop at nothing to retain their grip on power. Dr Sentamu cut up his dog collar in December and vowed not to wear it again until Mugabe had been removed from power.

To find out more about The Best of York podcast guided tour please click here. To listen to an audio sample from The Best of York mp3 guided tour please click here.

City Hall making a splash as election looms

A burst water pipe near to London's City Hall forced the building - and several businesses located near it - to close earlier today. The water main began to gush into Tooley Street on Sunday morning. The BBC reported that up to 4,000 homes in south-west and south-east London found that their water was been supplied at a low pressure or they had lost it altogether. All the properties had their supply fully restored by the end of Sunday afternoon. The iconic London City Hall building is home to the Mayor of London, the London Assembly and the Greater London Authority as listeners to either The Ride and Stride or City and Southbank Circular Walk Talk Tour mp3 guided tour will learn.

The Mayor of London should not be confused with the Lord Mayor of London. The first Lord Mayor of London was appointed in 1189. The Lord Mayor is entrusted with the task of promoting the Square Mile internationally.

Registered voters in the capital have the chance to elect their Mayor on Thursday, 1st May. Only time will tell which of the three main candidates - Ken Livingstone the current Mayor and Labour candidate, Boris Johnson the eccentric Conservative or Brian Paddick the Liberal Democrats candidate - will emerge victorious and which of the candidates will be left high and dry.



Visitors undertaking a Walk Talk Tour iPod travel guide will hear about the powers that the Mayor of London enjoys. Additionally, tourists or interested Londoners will discover some of the design features that the architect, Sir Norman Foster, included to make the building eco-friendly.

Foster probably never envisaged that City Hall would flood. He has been responsible several iconic structures in London, including the Millennium Bridge - which visitors undertaking either The Ride and Stride city guide or The Southbank Circular travel guide will cross - and the Gherkin (former Swiss Re building) that is covered in The City and The Tower podcast guided tour. For more information on The City and The Tower downloadable travel guide please click here.

The five Walk Talk Tours of London are available in French, German and Spanish.

To find out more about The Ride and Stride mp3 guided tour please click here. To listen to an audio sample from The Southbank Circular iPod travel guide please click here.