Well that was me, Royal Iris, on the river Mercy beat n’ with the band, that was me Paul McCartney, That Was Me, 2007 Few people who pass by what’s left of the MV Royal Iris in Woolwich realise the important role the boat played in the cultural history of Britain and the world. The ship has been moored by the Thames Flood Barrier since 2002, seemingly left to rot. But for most of the preceding fifty years she was at the centre of cultural life in Liverpool and played an important role in the development of the Merseybeat scene and the emergence of the Beatles.Read More →

In the mid-19th century, London had an unpleasant problem. An event known as “The Great Stink” brought a ghastly odor to all and even death to the most unfortunate.

The heart that pumped this engineering marvel became known as “the Cathedral of Sewage,” the Crossness Pumping Station.

But necessity is the mother of invention. From this foul situation, one of London’s greatest Victorian heroes came up with an engineering solution that saved lives and still serves us today – the magnificent feat of infrastructure that is the London sewerage system.

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The two most important things to know about the new river are as follows: it is neither new, nor a river. It is, in fact, an aqueduct completed in 1613 built to deliver spring water from Hertfordshire to North London.

When it was originally designed, the aqueduct followed the natural features of the land, so its route twists and turns, creating a pathway through the London suburbs. Read More →

Billed as “London’s first dedicated modern and contemporary art walk” the Line links a series of al fresco art pieces through a route running from the O2 in north Greenwich to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London. It takes its name from the Greenwich Meridian which it crosses and crisscrosses on its meandering path. Read More →