Houses of Parliament Trivia

The world's "oldest gentleman's club" has been attracting press for all the wrong reasons recently with the scandal regarding MPs' expenses. So, I decided to list five pieces of trivia that you can impress/bore your friends with.

1. The Houses of Parliament's proper title is the new Palace of Westminster. The original Palace was established in the eleventh century. Back then the site was an island in the River Thames, known as Thorney Island. It remained a royal residence until Henry VIII (six wives and all that) and the royal family vacated the Palace in 1512. The Houses of Parliament was largely destroyed by fire in 1834. The new Palace of Westminster was finished in 1870.

2. The Big (or Great) Stink. Britain's Parliamentarians at Westminster may be having a tough time of it at the moment, but in the nineteenth century the stench from the River Thames could be unbearable. The smell was at its worst when untreated sewage in the river combined with unseasonably hot temperatures. This was the case in 1858 when temperatures peaked at 35 Degrees Celsius. The Great Stink did lead to Parliament instructing Joseph Bazalgette, a highly regarded engineer, to implement his plan for a comprehensive sewerage system under London.

3. The long and the short of it. The longest Budget Speech was made by William Gladstone on 18 April 1853, it lasted 4 hours and 45 minutes. His great adversary, Benjamin Disraeli made the shortest Budget Speech, fourteen years later, which lasted just 45 minutes.

4. The iconic clock tower is called St Stephen's Tower, not Big Ben. Big Ben refers to the bell in the tower. Nobody knows for sure whom Big Ben is named after. One theory goes, that the bell is named after Sir Benjamin Hall, the first commissioner of works, engaged on the reconstruction of the Houses of Parliament after the fire of 1834. Some others have argued that Big Ben was named after a well known nineteenth century heavyweight boxing champion called Benjamin Caunt.

5. Women at Westminster. Countess de Markievicz became the first female MP, when she was elected in 1918. The Countess was a Sinn Fein MP for a constituency in Dublin, but she never took her seat in the House of Commons. The first female MP to take a seat in the Lower House was Lady Astor. She was the MP for Plymouth Sutton from 1919 to 1945.

Discover more about the Houses of Parliament and the best of royal and monumental London with the Palace Trail audio tour guide.

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.

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.

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.

London cheaper than Moscow & Tokyo

London is not cheap, but according to an annual survey of over 140 cities comparing the prices of 200 items and services, the UK capital is less expensive than Moscow and Tokyo. The consultancy, Mercer, conducted based its survey on March, 2008.

The company used New York as its guide city, giving it a notional score of 100 points. Peter Stiff reported in The Times, on Thursday July 24, that "London had an index of 125 compared with 126.3 in 2007, with sterling relatively stable against the dollar."

According to the survey on average a cup of coffee complete with service cost, on average, £2.20 in London, whereas a coffee would set you back £5.19 in Moscow and £2.57 in Tokyo.

An international paper was less than half the price (£1.50) in the UK as it was in Moscow (£3.05).

Let's not kid ourselves, London ain't cheap either. Unsurprisingly, London was more expensive than Moscow and New York when the average price for renting out a luxury two bedroom unfurnished apartment was calculated. Tokyo came top of that particular pile.

Visitors to London have every right to expect value for money, too.

There are five Walk Talk Tours of London which customers can download to their iPod, MP3 player, mobile phone, blackberry or 3G phone. Each Walk Talk Tour, London downloadable travel guide is composed of commentary points. Listeners hear about the personalities and landmarks that have shaped the British capital. At the end of each commentary point, listeners receive instructions explaining how to get to the next commentary point. Walk Talk Tourists are then asked to press pause at the end of that track. Listeners then press play when they reach the next commentary point.

Each Walk Talk Tour comes complete with a downloadable map - for you to print off - so you won't miss a thing.

With a Walk Talk Tour, London visitor 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 follow - let alone hear or understand - the tour guide with the umbrella.

All the Walk Talk Tours of London are available in English, French, German and Spanish. All of the tours with the exception of the longer City & South Bank Circular podcast guided tour can be completed in two hours, though with a Walk Talk Tour you have the flexibility to stop and start as you see fit - or the weather dictates.

Walk Talk Tours are professionally produced. Each Walk Talk Tour audio downloadable walking tour of London costs just £5.95. Customers purchasing two tours simultaneously will receive a twenty per cent discount. Buy three or more at the same time and receive thirty per cent off.

Make the most of your Walk Talk Tour mp3 guided tour by checking out our Where & When pages before you begin your tour to ascertain the opening times and admission charges for many of the key attractions and spectacles on each tour's route. Some of the top Museums and Galleries in London are free like Tate Modern, the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery. To hear an audio sample from the Museums, Galleries & Performing Arts mp3 guided tour (which takes in the latter two aforementioned galleries) please click here.

Understandably, many tourists in London want to enjoy the pageantry associated with the Royal Family. Keen to see Mounting the Guard and Changing the Guard? You can walk the coronation procession, in reverse, from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace on the Palace Trail, London tour guide. Have a look at the Palace Trail's Where & When pages to find out the dates and times of Mounting the Guard and Changing the Guard.

Explore London on a budget

Chancellor Alistair Darling's first Mansion House Speech, last night, was eclipsed by news that the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, Sir John Gieve, will step down from his position with the Bank next year. Sir John's reputation suffered after the Northern Rock crisis last autumn, which led to the first run on a bank in the UK since 1866.

During straightened economic times, the optional extras - like gym memberships and expensive foreign holidays - are often the first thing people ditch in a bid to reign in costs. Sightseeing in London need not cost the earth, as independent travellers listening to Walk Talk Tours' five audio downloadable walking tours of the capital will discover.

Each Walk Talk Tour, London travel guide costs just £5.95 and can be typically completed in two hours (with the exception of the longer City & South Bank Circular podcast guided tour). Customers purchasing two or more tours simultaneously will receive a twenty per cent discount, buy three tours simultaneously and receive a thirty per cent discount.

The five Walk Talk Tour London iPod travel guides are available in English, French, German and Spanish. Each professionally researched and recorded city guide comes complete with clear instructions providing directions from A to B and a downloadable map for you to print off, so you won't miss a thing!

The area the Mansion House has a rich heritage, which independent travellers in the capital can enjoy with The City & South Bank Circular audio walking tour or The City & the Tower, London city guide will discover how Elizabeth Fry campaigned tirelessly for the welfare of Britain's prisoners in the nineteenth century. Fry lived in St Mildred's Court, opposite the Mansion House, for many years. Fry died in 1845. It is estimated that more than 1,000 people paid their silent respects at her burial.

Fry's image can still be seen on the back of English five pound notes today.

Tourists in London can admire the Bank of England's Headquarters on Threadneedle Street. Listeners to The City & the Tower mp3 guided tour can hear how the Bank's HQ was christened the 'Old Lady of Threadneedle Street'. Listeners to The City & the Tower audio travel guide or The City & South Bank Circular mp3 guided tour will discover how some con men have attempted to defraud the Bank of England down the years.

To hear an audio sample from The City & the Tower podcast guided tour please click here.

Tourists or curious Londoners are free to stop and start as they see fit. No need to stick out like a sore thumb with a guidebook in your hands, or struggle to follow - let alone hear - the man with the umbrella. With a Walk Talk Tour audio downloadable travel guide you're in charge.