Covent Garden: A great half term day out

October half term provides a great chance for school children to take a well earned break. Parents, grandparents and carers can be stuck with ideas as to how to best occupy their charges.

Luckily, there are many interesting, inexpensive - and whisper it quietly educational - activities with which hard pressed parents can seek to occupy their children.

Covent Garden provides a wealth of entertainment for people of all ages. Kids and adults alike can be captivated by the street entertainers in London's Mecca of street theatre. St Paul’s Covent Garden, the first Anglican Church to be built in London after the Reformation is often called the actors’ church. The Church is set in the heart of London's theatreland. Designed by Indigo Jones, it faces away from the Piazza and the entrance to the rear, overlooks a pleasant garden square.

Youngsters with an interest in planes, trains and automobiles will love visiting the London Transport Museum. Exhibits illustrate how both public transport and the capital itself have evolved from 1800 to the present day. Visitors can have a go at being a bus driver by sitting at the wheel of a London bus or drive a Tube train in a special simulator.

Secondary school aged children and their parents can find out more about the history of the Museums, Galleries & Performing Arts, London audio guide. The London travel guide begins outside the National Gallery. Listeners then walk to Covent Garden via Leicester Square. This London mp3 guided tour concludes in front of the British Museum. To hear an audio sample from the Museum, Galleries & Performing Arts audio walking tour please click here.

The Museum, Galleries & Performing Arts London iPod travel guide is one of five Walk Talk Tour city walking tours of the English capital. Each of the Walk Talk Tour London audio guides is available in English, French, German and Spanish.

A Walk Talk Tour London audio walking tour represents excellent value at just £5.95. Purchase two tours simultaneously and you will receive a twenty per cent discount. Buy three at the same time and get thirty per cent off.

To find out about the opening times and admission charges of the key attractions along each tour's route check out our Where & When pages.

London's Royal Parks a sea of calm in uncertain times

Earlier today, over 12,500 runners took part in the first ever Royal Parks Half Marathon. The participants were running in aid of the Royal Parks Foundation and 150 plus other charities. The run began and ended in Hyde Park. Among the London landmarks runners would have seen on the route were Buckingham Palace, the London Eye and Trafalgar Square.

The Royal Parks Foundation conserve the royal parks (which cover some 5,000 acres) for the public.

The oldest of the eight royal parks in London is St James's Park. King Henry VIII purchased the land in 1532, drained the marsh and populated it with deer. He even built a hunting lodge which later became St James’s Palace.

St James's Park is a pleasant place to relax and unwind away from the stresses of the current times. The park covers 58 acres (23 hectares) and is home to geese, ducks and pelicans. The pelicans are fed each day at 14:30.

Independent travellers in London can use twenty-first century technology to hear about the history of St James's Park with the Palace Trail, Walk Talk Tour, London travel guide.

There are five Walk Talk Tour London travel guides. Each Walk Talk Tour London walking tour costs just £5.95. Customers purchasing two tours simultaneously will receive a twenty per cent discount. Buy three at the same time and get thirty per cent off.

A Walk Talk Tour London audio walking tour represents excellent value compared for people wishing to explore the British capital in groups and parties. For more information about making a group booking please click here.

All of the Walk Talk Tour audio walking tours of London are available in English, French, German and Spanish.

All of the Walk Talk Tour London iPod travel guides - with the exception of the longer City & South Bank podcast guided tour - can be completed in two hours.

Unlike a conventional guide, listeners to a Walk Talk Tour mp3 guided tour are free to explore the sights at their own pace. No need to feel conspicuous with a guidebook in your hands or struggle to keep up - let alone hear - your tour guide. Listeners to a Walk Talk Tour London city walking tour are free to stop, start and listen again to any part of their commentary as they wish - or as the weather dictates.

Broadcaster and actor Johnathan Keeble narrates all of the Walk Talk Tour London travel guides. Listeners receive directions explaining how to get from one commentary point to the next. In addition, customers can print out a free downloadable map of the tour's route. To hear an audio sample from the Palace Trail mp3 guided tour please click here.

The other seven royal parks in London are Bushy Park, The Green Park, Greenwich Park, Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, The Regent's Park and Richmond Park. Admission to all of the royal parks is free.

Glass Roofed Routemaster for London?

An eye catching new design for the replacement Routemaster bus was unveiled on Friday, October 3. The design put forward by Fosters & Partners features a curved glass roof, which would give passengers a different view of London.

The first of the capital's controversial 390 plus bend buses will be put out to pasture next year. The new Routemaster in whatever form it takes will take to London's streets in 2012.

The original Routemaster was an icon of London. Visitors to London can still enjoy a ride on a Routemaster on Heritage Route 15.

Independent minded visitors can hear about the history of the Routemaster with the Ride & Stride, London city walking tour.

When, in 1954, the prototype Routemaster first appeared it was hailed “the most modern double deck bus in the world”. Five years the first Routemasters entered service. The buses quickly became a hit with Londoners and visitors alike. The buses were withdrawn from service - except on two Heritage routes - in 2005 because of concerns about access for disabled passengers.

Listeners to the Ride & Stride mp3 guided tour climb aboard at Bus Stop F on the Strand, near to Trafalgar Square. (The cost of the ticket is not included in the tour's price). The route from the Strand to St Paul's Cathedral is one of London's oldest thoroughfares linking the City of Westminster with the City of London.

Listeners to the Ride & Stride alight by St Paul's Cathedral. Walk Talk Tourists then cross the Thames via the Millennium Bridge. Enjoy a stroll along the South Bank. Hear about attractions including Tate Modern, the new Globe Theatre, the Clink and remains of Winchester Palace, HMS Belfast and City Hall.

There are five Walk Talk Tour London travel guides. All of the Walk Talk Tour London iPod travel guides can be completed in two hours - with the exception of the longer City & South Bank podcast guided tour. The five Walk Talk Tour London city walking tours are available in English, French, German and Spanish.

Listeners to the Ride & Stride London mp3 guided tour and City & South Bank Circular walking tour can hear how a quick-thinking bus driving averted disaster on Tower Bridge in 1952. To hear an audio sample which mentions the incident please click here.

The Ride & Stride podcast guided tour concludes outside the Tower of London.

A Walk Talk Tour London walking tour represents excellent value. Each professionally produced Walk Talk Tour London travel guide costs just £5.95 and comes with a free downloadable map of the tour's route for you to print off. Customers purchasing two tours simultaneously will get twenty per cent off. But three simultaneously and receive a thirty per cent discount.

New age of austerity

The British Government is broke or so the Shadow Chancellor, George Osborne, told the annual Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham yesterday. Mr Osborne told his Party that: "We built an economy on the engines of finance and housing and government spending, and the government never stopped to think what would happen if the engines stalled. Now the credit has dried up, the engines of the economy have stalled, the party is over."

Regardless of their political persuasion, individuals are having to realign their finances under the gathering clouds of the credit crunch.

However poor the economic outlook is, everyone deserves the chance to take a break.

There are five Walk Talk Tours of London, which are available in English, French, German and Spanish. All of the mp3 guided tours of the British capital cost just £5.95 each. Customers purchasing two tours simultaneously will receive a twenty per cent discount. Customers who buy three tours at the same time will get thirty per cent off.

By way of contrast, an adult ticket for the Original Sightseeing Bus Tour will set you back £22 (£20 online). Buying an adult Big Bus Sightseeing ticket online will cost you £22. A single adult ticket on one of the Duck tours will cost you £19.

Listeners can enjoy a ride on a genuine London icon, a red Routemaster bus, for the price of a London Transport single, on the Ride & Stride iPod travel guide. Listeners begin their journey from Bus Stop F by Trafalgar Square. Hear which other British icons design consultant Douglas Scott helped create. Alight by St Paul's Cathedral. Hear about the trials and tribulations that Sir Christopher Wren overcame in designing and overseeing the construction of the Cathedral.

Then head over the Millennium Bridge to the South Bank. Ponder the meaning of art at the Tate Modern and hear about stagecraft in Shakespeare's day at the new Globe Theatre. Hear about the origins of the term 'in the clink' and discover what 'Winchester geese' were.

See a replica of the Golden Hinde, hear about the importance of the old London Bridge. Enjoy a light refreshment or a spot of retail therapy in Hays Galleria. Then walk past City Hall home to the Mayor of London and the Greater London Assembly, before crossing back over to the North Bank of the Thames via London's most photographed bridge, Tower Bridge.

The Ride & Stride mp3 guided tour concludes by the once notorious Tower of London. Make the most of your tour by checking out the Ride & Stride's Where & When page, which provides information regrading admission charges and opening times of key attractions along the tour's route.

Enjoy the trappings of royal and monumental London without paying through your nose with the Palace Trail, London travel guide. The Palace Trail, London city walking tour follows the Coronation Procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey in reverse.

Hear about the origins of the saying 'robbing Peter to pay Paul,' discover how you can tell if Parliament is in session ('or sitting'), hear about some of the great statesmen commemorated in Parliament Square and more. To hear an audio sample from the Palace Trail podcast guided tour please click here.

Make the most of the Palace Trail by taking a look at the tour's Where & When page.

All of the Walk Talk Tours of London - with the exception of the longer City & South Bank Circular mp3 guided tour - can be completed in two hours, though listeners are free to take as little or as long as they wish to complete the tour. With a Walk Talk Tour audio tour you're in charge. Simply stop, start and replay your tour as you see fit - or as the weather dictates. No need to feel too overtly like a tourist or struggle to keep up with your guide - or break the bank.

Palaces Feel Pinch

Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle are among the royal residences that require an urgent injection of cash to implement much needed renovations and repairs.

Leaks in Buckingham Palace's roof have been identified as a potential threat to valuable works of art.

The upkeep of the royal palaces is currently paid for by the State. Currently, £15 million is provided from the Public Purse to pay for the buildings' upkeep.

Staffing, administrative and energy bills are also met by the State in what is called the Civil List.

The Queen holds a weekly private audience with the Prime Minister, in one of the 19 official State rooms at Buckingham Palace. The State rooms have not been fully redecorated in nearly sixty years.

The palaces now have a backlog of maintenance repairs that stands at over £30 million.

Members of the Royal Family and the public have been put at risk, as The Daily Telegraph noted on September 25, 2008. "The Government has consistently refused to help meet the cost of buildings refurbishment despite reports that a lump of masonry narrowly missed the Princess Royal last year as she was getting into her car at Buckingham Palace."

Independent minded visitors to London can hear about the history of Buckingham Palace with the Palace Trail audio walking tour. The Palace Trail is one of five London travel guides brought to you by Walk Talk Tours.

The Palace Trail mp3 guided tour follows the Coronation Procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey in reverse. To hear a short audio sample from the Palace Trail, London iPod travel guide, please click here.

Each of the Walk Talk Tour London city walking tours costs just £5.95. Customers purchasing two tours simultaneously will receive a twenty per cent discount. Buy three at the same time and get thirty per cent off. A Walk Talk Tour represents excellent value compared with many other guided tours of the city. And listeners can keep in shape and reduce their carbon footprints while they see the sights.

All of the Walk Talk Tour London travel guides - with the exception of the longer City & South Bank Circular audio walking tour - can be completed in two hours. The Walk Talk Tour London walking tours are all available in English, French, German and Spanish.

Make the most of your time in the English capital by checking out our Where & When pages which provide information about opening times, admission charges and ceremonies, such as Changing the Guard, along each of the tour's route.

Each Walk Talk Tour London travel guide is professionally produced. All of the tours come complete with easy-to-follow instructions and a free downloadable map - for you to print off - so you won't miss a thing. Unlike with a conventional guided tour, listeners to a Walk Talk Tour are free to stop, start and listen to their tour as they see fit - or as the weather dictates.

London as you've never heard it before - And at a price you can afford

For thousands of students across the capital Freshers' Week has arrived or is on the horizon. Students have the chance to drink, join a society or two and make new friends. Sightseeing might not be high on the list of most students' priorities, but is something that they should consider particularly when a student receives a visit from parents and needs to keep them entertained - without breaking the bank.

London is a city awash with opportunities for newcomers. One of the first things that newcomers to the capital should consider is getting their bearings in the city. Understandably, conventional sightseeing might not be every one's cup of tea. Taking a ride on one of those tour buses can be expensive.

Why not embrace the future as you hear about the capital's past with a Walk Talk Tour London audio downloadable walking tour? There are five Walk Talk Tour London travel guides which customers can listen to via their iPod, MP3 player or mobile phone. All of the Walk Talk Tour London city walking tours are available in English, French, German and Spanish.

Enjoy the sights and sounds of royal and monumental London with the Palace Trail mp3 guided tour. This Walk Talk Tour London city walking tour follows the Coronation Procession, from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey, in reverse. Hear about the origins of the term 'robbing Peter to pay Paul', discover which iconic statesmen are commemorated in Parliament Square, find out where the 'true' centre of London is located and more. To hear an audio sample from the Palace Trail please click here.

Take a ride on an iconic Routemaster bus on the Ride & Stride London iPod travel guide. Alight by St Paul's Cathedral. Hear about the determination and dedication of Sir Christopher Wren, the architect charged with rebuilding St Paul's after the Great Fire of London. Then cross over to the South Bank via the Millennium Bridge. Hear about the Tate Modern's former life and discover how the original Globe Theatre came to be on the South Bank. Hear about the origins of the term 'in the clink' and discover what a Winchester geese once was. To hear a short audio extract from the Ride & Stride mp3 guided tour please click here.

Continue along the South Bank past City Hall - another structure designed by Lord Foster of Thamesbank - and then cross back to the North Bank of the Thames via London's most photographed bridge, Tower Bridge. The Ride & Stride podcast guided tour concludes by the Tower of London.

Each Walk Talk Tour London iPod travel guide costs just £5.95. Customers purchasing two tours simultaneously will get a twenty per cent discount. Buy three simultaneously and get thirty per cent off. A Walk Talk Tour podcast guided tour represents excellent value for independent minded travellers who want to explore a city as part of a group. For more information on our group rates please click here.

Unlike taking a conventional guided tour, listeners to a Walk Talk Tour London city guide need not feel conspicuous with a guidebook in their hands. Listeners to a Walk Talk Tour London travel guide can stop, start and listen again as they see fit - or as the weather dictates.

All of the Walk Talk Tour London city walking tours with the exception of the longer City & South Bank Circular mp3 guided tour can be completed in two hours. Each Walk Talk Tour London city walking tour is professionally researched, produced and narrated. Each tour comes with easy to follow instructions and a free downloadable map for listeners to print off, so you won't miss a thing.

'Can of ham' garnished with a Gherkin

Developers have unveiled plans to build a new 18-storey skyscraper close to the site of Lord Foster of Thamesbank's Gherkin. The proposed building designed by Foggo Associates would stand 90m (295ft) tall.

Julian Wells from developers Targetfollow told the Evening Standard that: "The design is spectacular and we think it will add a huge amount to the City skyscape."

Planning permission for the building will be decided upon in Autumn. If permission is secured, the demolition of the two office blocks currently on the site will begin in two to three years time.

30 St Mary Axe is one of the tallest buildings in London. However, most Londoners now affectionately call it, “The Gherkin”, because of its obvious similarity to the vegetable’s shape. It reaches 180 metres/590 Feet skywards – making it over three times higher than the Niagara Falls.

Despite its shape, there is only one curved piece of glass in the entire building which can be found in the lens right at the top.

Independent travellers in the English capital can explore the City of London with The City & The Tower audio downloadable walking tour.

The City & The Tower, London visitor guide, begins outside St Paul's Cathedral. The magnificent place of worship is the handiwork of another great architect, Sir Christopher Wren. Walk through Sr Paul's Churchyard where the founding father of Methodism, John Wesley, is among the figures commemorated. Continue along Cheapside to St Mary-le-Bow. The Church was all but destroyed by the Great Fire of London (only the crypt survived). Wren was responsible for designing the building that stands today.

Listeners to the City & The Tower mp3 guided tour then walk on to Watling Street. The original street was one of the most important Roman roads in Britain. Hear about the remains of the Temple of Mithras. Walk along Queen Victoria Street and pause by the statue of one Arthur Wellesley - better known as the Duke of Wellington. Hear about some of his exploits on the battlefield. Hear about a famous female nineteenth century reformer Elizabeth Fry. A likeness of Fry appears on the back of five pound notes in England and Wales. And hear about the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street.

Next stop on The City & The Tower London walking tour is The Gherkin. This Walk Talk Tour audio walking tour of London finishes outside the Tower of London. To hear an audio sample from The City & The Tower, London city walking tour, please click here.

There are five Walk Talk Tours of London, which are available in English, French, German and Spanish. Each Walk Talk Tour mp3 guided tour of London costs just £5.95. Customers purchasing two tours simultaneously will receive a twenty per cent discount. Buy three at the same time and get thirty per cent off.

With a Walk Talk Tour, London travel guide, you're in charge. No need to struggle to follow - let alone hear - the man with the umbrella. Listeners to a Walk Talk Tour podcast guided tour are free to stop, start and listen again. Each Walk Talk Tour mp3 guided tour comes complete with easy-to-follow instructions and a free downloadable map - for you to print off - so you won't miss a thing.

Make the most of the City & the Tower, London iPod travel guide, by consulting our Where & When page, which provides information about admission charges and opening times along the tour's route.

Covent Garden Cooks Up a Feast

One of the most popular areas in London will be staging a nighttime market. Covent Garden will play host to the capital's only food night market, reliving its role as the original Larder of London. An array of delicious foodstuffs will be on on sale from over forty stalls erected on Covent Garden's famous piazza.

Covent Garden is more commonly associated with street entertainers. The market will start this Thursday, August 7 and Friday, August 8. The night markets will continue for every Thursday and Friday for the remainder of August. A List chefs will cook up a storm in kitchen theatres. The Hairy Bikers are due to appear on August 15.

Independent travellers can hear about Covent Garden's rich and varied history with the Museums, Galleries & The Performing Arts, London travel guide. The London tour guide begins outside the National Gallery, take in the National Portrait Gallery, before listeners have the chance to follow in the footsteps of the stars in Leicester Square. Walk on to St Martin's Theatre, the home of the world's longest running theatre show. Then head to Long Acre and the site where John Logie Baird made the first television broadcast in Great Britain in 1929. Then walk back in time with Walk Talk tours to Covent Garden.

When the Romans left Britain in the fifth century it was thought that their city of Londinium had been abandoned. However, recent excavations under the London Transport Museum building revealed that Covent Garden was the hub of a thriving Saxon settlement called Lundenwic, with its own port on the nearby Thames. This settlement was in turn abandoned after the Vikings invaded. Monks from Westminster Abbey (then known as Westminster Convent) tended ‘convent’ garden. The monks grew fruit and vegetables, and they sold their surplus produce to the town’s people.

There are five Walk Talk Tours of London. Each of the audio walking tours is available in English, French, German and Spanish. Each Walk Talk Tour audio walking tour of London costs just £5.95. Customers purchasing two tours simultaneously will receive a twenty per cent discount. Buy three at the same time and get thirty per cent off.

Walk Talk Tour, London visitor guides represent excellent value for people travelling in groups and parties.

With a Walk Talk Tour, London iPod travel guide, you're in charge. No need to feel like you stick out like a sore thumb with a guidebook in your hands, or struggle to keep up - let alone hear the tour party leader with the umbrella. To hear an audio sample from the Museums, Galleries & The Performing Arts mp3 guided tour please click here. Each Walk Talk Tour podcast guided tour comes complete with a downloadable map, so you won't miss a thing.

All of the Walk Talk Tour podcast guided tours of London - with the exception of the longer City & South Bank Circular mp3 guided tour - can be completed in two hours. Unlike conventional sightseeing, listeners to a Walk Talk Tour audio walking tour are free to take as little or as long as they want to explore the sights along each tour's route.

Make the most of your Walk Talk Tour London city walking tour by checking out our Where & When pages, which provide information about the admission prices and opening times of attraction along each tour's route.

Enjoy London on a Budget: Go Walk About

Visiting London can be a costly experience, particularly if you're sightseeing with friends and family. Accommodation and getting round the UK capital on public transport - to say nothing of eating and drinking - can hit you where it hurts most, in the pocket.

Independent travellers need not despair, there is a way to see the best of London. Visitors to the capital can see the sights and hear about the personalities behind London's most famous - and some lesser known buildings - with a Walk Talk Tour audio walking tour of London.

All of the Walk Talk Tour London tour guides - with the exception of the longer City & South Bank Circular mp3 guided tour - can be completed in two hours. All of the Walk Talk Tours of London are available in English, French, German and Spanish. Each of the Walk Talk Tour audio walking tours of London costs just £5.95. Customers purchasing two tours simultaneously will receive a twenty per cent discount. Buy three tours simultaneously and get thirty per cent off.

Many of the capital's top attractions and experiences can be enjoyed for free or next to nothing. Keen to enjoy the pomp and ceremony associated with the Royal Family in London? Then the Palace Trail, London city walking tour, is for you. The Palace Trail mp3 guided tour follows the route of the Coronation Procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey, in reverse. The Palace Trail iPod travel guide begins outside Westminster Abbey. Discover what a Royal peculiar is, and where the term robbing Peter to pay Paul is said to originate from.

See another palace, the New Palace of Westminster, home to the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Discover how those in the know can tell if the House of Commons is in session and hear about Parliament Square's lone surviving anti-war protester. To hear an audio sample from the Palace Trail, London city guide, please click here.

Walk up Whitehall. See Downing Street home to arguably the most famous front door in the world, Number 10. Then continue up Whitehall until you reach Horseguards. To make the most of your trip, check out our Where & When pages, which provide information about the admission charges of attraction on each tour's route, opening times and times at which official ceremonies are due to take place. Hear when and why a Royal bodyguard was first introduced.

Listeners to the Palace Trail London travel guide will learn about some of the interesting characters to have left their mark on Trafalgar Square down the years. See where London's smallest police station was once located. Hear about the history of the equestrian statue depicting King Charles I which stands at Charing Cross. The statue is depicted in the photograph, above left.

The Palace Trail podcast guided tour then continues through Admiralty Arch onto the Mall. The Mall is the traditionally the place where the London Marathon finishes and where the flags of foreign dignitaries fly on official visits to London. Walk along the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Way into St James's Park. St James's Park is the oldest of the six royal parks in London. Walk on to Buckingham Palace, the administrative centre of the British Monarchy.

With a Walk Talk Tour London travel guide you're in charge. No need to feel conspicuous with a guidebook in your hands or feel like you are getting forced round the sights at breakneck speed - by an enthusiastic, but barely audible guide.

All of the Walk Talk Tours of London are narrated by Jonathan Keeble. Each of the Walk Talk Tour London visitor guides comes complete with a downloadable map, so you won't miss a thing!

So what are you waiting for? Why not go walk about in London with Walk Talk Tours - and do your bit for your carbon footprint, your waistline and your wallet.

Buckingham Palace: On this Day...

The administrative centre of the Monarchy was in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons on this day, 9 July, in 1982. Michael Fagan managed to evade security measures, climb up a drain pipe and enter the Queen's bedroom.

The Queen talked with Mr Fagan for ten minutes or so, before she was able to call a footman - when Mr Fagan went for a cigarette break. The footman then detained the barefooted trespasser until Police arrived.

The Queen should have happier memories of 9 July, too, as it was on this day in 1947 that Princess Elizabeth, as she then was, and Lt Philip Mountbatten became engaged to be married.

Breaches of royal security, although rare, understandably grab attention. Many of you may remember when the self styled Comedy Terrorist (surely a contradiction in terms) managed to breach security at Windsor Castle and gatecrash Prince William's 21st birthday party.

Visitors to London often want to see the pageantry associated with the Royal Family. Independent travellers can undertake the coronation procession in reverse, from Westminster Abbey up Whitehall - via the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, 10 Downing Street and Horseguards - then under Admiralty Arch and along the Mall to Buckingham Palace with the Palace Trail audio downloadable walking tour. The Palace Trail guides listeners through St James's Park (rather than straight down the full length of the Mall).

The route is steeped in history. At Westminster Abbey hear about the origins of the term robbing Peter to pay Paul. Hear why the Houses of Parliament's official name is the New Palace of Westminster. In Parliament Square see where two giant statesmen of the modern era are commemorated. To hear an audio sample from the Palace Trail, featuring an extract about Sir Winston Churchill, please click here.

The Mall was filled with over one million people crowed onto the Mall in June 2002 to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee.

Visitors to London can still enjoy regal London at its best at Horseguards and outside Buckingham Palace. Mounting the Guard takes place at Horseguards and Changing the Guard takes place at Buckingham Palace. Check out our Where & When pages to find out when the ceremonies are due to occur.

There are five Walk Talk Tours of London. Each of the London iPod travel guides is available in English, French, German and Spanish.

Each Walk Talk Tour is divided into commentary points. Listeners receive instructions explaining how to get from one commentary point to the next. In addition, each Walk Talk Tour, London city guide comes complete with a downloadable map - for you to print off - so you won't miss a thing. Each commentary point is numbered on the map, so, for example, on the Palace Trail, Westminster Abbey is labelled 1.

With a Walk Talk Tour you're in charge. No need to feel too overtly like a tourist with a guidebook in your hands or struggle to follow - let alone hear - the tour guide with an umbrella.

Each Walk Talk of London costs £5.95. Customers purchasing two tours simultaneously will receive a twenty per cent discount. Buy three at the same time and receive thirty per cent off. Walk Talk Tours represent excellent value for people travelling in groups and parties, too.

All of the tours with the exception of the longer City & South Bank Circular mp3 guided tour can be completed in two hours, but you're free to take as little or as long exploring the attractions en route.

Must See London: Buckingham Palace

Queen Victoria was the first Sovereign to take up residence in Buckingham Palace in 1837. She acceded the throne 151 years ago today. King George III bought Buckingham House in 1761 and began the work on converting the residence into a palace.

Buckingham Palace is not the Queen’s only official residence – Her Majesty also has the use of Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse, in Edinburgh – but it is the most widely recognised of her official residences and is also the administrative centre of the Monarchy.

Buckingham Palace has almost 800 rooms. Nineteen of the rooms are State Rooms which are used for official business. When she is in residence, the Queen holds a weekly private audience with the Prime Minister at the Palace.

Visitors to London can undertake the Coronation Procession (from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey) in reverse with the Walk Talk Tour, Palace Trail audio downloadable travel guide.

Queen Victoria made the first recorded royal appearance on the balcony, in 1851, during celebrations marking the beginning of the Great Exhibition of that year. The balcony of Buckingham Palace has often played host to celebrations marking momentous events and special occasions, such as the end of World War Two. Members of the Royal Family appeared before crowds on VE Day, 9 May, 1945. They were joined by Winston Churchill. More recently, on 12 June, 2002, the Queen and her offspring and grandchildren celebrated her Golden Jubilee on the balcony before a crowd in the Mall estimated to be a million strong.

To hear an audio sample from the Palace Trail, London city guide, featuring an example of Churchill's masterful oratory and wicked sense of humour, please click here.

The Palace's State Rooms will be open to members of the public from 29 July - 29 September. Visitors to the capital can still enjoy the Changing the Guard, before the Palace is open to members of the public. For information on the dates and time of the ceremony, please look at our Where & When pages.

There are five Walk Talk Tours of London. The London travel guides are available in English, French, German and Spanish. Each professionally produced iPod travel guide comes complete with clear verbal instructions as to how to get from A to B and also a downloadable map of the route, so you won't miss a thing!

Each Walk Talk Tour consists of commentary points. Listeners hear a commentary about a particular attraction and then receive instructions directing them to their next commentary point, before pressing pause. Independent travellers press play when they reach their next commentary point.

With a Walk Talk Tour downloadable travel guide you're in charge. No need to struggle to follow - let alone hear - the man with the umbrella or stick out like a sore thumb with a guidebook in your hands.

The Palace Trail mp3 guided tour and the other Walk Talk Tour London audio walking tours cost just £5.95 each. Customers purchasing two tours simultaneously will receive a twenty per cent discount. Buy three at the same time and receive a thirty per cent discount.