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I cannot imagine London without its ceremonies. There are barracks in several areas of London to house the troops whose duties are largely ceremonial.
The Changing of the Queen's Guards is quite regal. The uniforms are impressive, the martial music is inspiration, and the shouted commands certainly demand attention!
This ceremony is made up of Old Guard who form up in the palace forecourt to hand over their duty to the New Guard. This is a very public ceremony right in front of the Palace. When the Queen is in residence in the Palace, there is one more officer and nine more men.
I had no idea that this popular ceremony was so complicated. It begins outside Wellington Barracks. Each morning a band (one of four) of the Brigade of Guards gather and begin to play. A group of guardsmen in scarlet jackets, black trousers and boots, and, of course, bearskin helmets is inspected before beginning their guard duty. Suddenly, the guard detail marches off, and the Changing of the Queen's Guard is under way.
At about the same time, another group of soldiers (on horseback) move from Hyde Park to Whitehall to change guard duties at Horse Guards Parade. These are members of the Household Cavalry, and they are chaperoned through London's traffic by two mounted members of the Metropolitan Police.
Both of these ceremonies are colorful, musical, dynamic, and EXPENSIVE to keep up. Leave a Comment
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 Admiralty and Horse Guards by irisbe
Before you get to the first castle from direction Trafalgar Square towards Buckinham palace you will have to pass the imposant building(s) (see picture) of the Admiralty and the Horse Guards.
Here it is you might be able to get that picture of the "guard-on-his-own".
Pass through the alley end then end up at the Horse Guards Parade square.
In front of you is the St. James's Park.
If you turn right you end up at The Mall, go left and straight towards Buckingham Palace.
On your way at the right hand side you can discover Saint James's Palace.
St. James’s Palace got constructed under Henry VIII between 1532 and 1540.
It was erected on the site of the Hospital St. James where leper women were threatened. Since Queen Ann moved into the Palace at 1702, it would remain the residence for the kings and queens during three centuries, until Queen Victoria chose Buckingham Palace as the new chief residence.
Officially however, the English court is still known as the Court of St. James.
Tip: if you after all want to take that picture with you and the royal guards, take it before or after the change at Buckingham Palace at St. James Palace.
There is a guard standing all on his own (the poor guy on my other picture) you can go and stand right next to him!
During the ceremony (at about 10.45am and again at 11.40am), the mounted guards will ride past, going up 'The Mall' and returning back down. Leave a Comment
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 Wellington Arch and the
Quadriga by Mariajoy
Originally built as the entrance to Buckingham Palace it is now possible to pay a £3 entry to climb to the top for views over the Royal parks. There are three floors inside telling its fascinating history.
The Arch was once topped with a statue of Wellington on his horse (the largest horse statue ever commissioned) but it was highly unpopular and when the arch itself was dismantled and moved (due to a massive road improvement scheme) in 1912, it was seen as an opportunity to replace it with the "Quadriga" a four horse chariot at full speed, driven by the Winged figure of Peace - by sculptor Adrian Jones.
Opening Hours:
Wed-Sun & Bank Hols 10am - 4pm (5pm from 1st April) Leave a Comment
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 Pearly Kind with Harvest
Offering (1 of 3) by easyoar,
2 more photos
I would highly recommend a visit to this festival. It tends to be around Mid-September. If you want to know more, try the following website:
http://www.pearlysociety.co.uk/events.htm
The event I refer to above is the Pearly Guild Harvest Festival. Leave a Comment
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 Warwick Castle by Dabs
Warwick Castle can be visited on a long day trip from London, this is one of my favorite castles that I've visited and they have activities going on during the day that are entertaining for both adults and kids. The weekends in summer tend to have the most activities but I imagine they are also the most crowded.
There are several different ways to visit Warwick Castle:
Several companies run day trips out to Warwick by bus, these are more expensive than independent travel and also include other stops in Oxford and Stratford.
If you opt for independent travel, the journey takes about 1 hr 40 minutes by train. If you are just planning on spending the day you can get a "cheap" day return, we purchased 2 for 1 tickets in advance from Lastminute.com, you can also get a slight discount by booking on the castle's website, plus you can avoid the queues. The Castle is just a short 15 minute walk from the train station.
Or if you want to try and combine a visit to Warwick with Stratford, there was a Shakespeare Explorer pass for either 1 or 3 days that allowed you to go into Warwick and out of Stratford (or vice versa). As seeing the castle properly takes at least 4 hours, unless you get a really early start on the day, you really can't do justice to both places in one day.
I posted some additional tips and pics on my Warwick page. Leave a Comment
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 London Town's Crier by easyoar
This is the current London Town Crier. I believe he has been in the role for several decades (he did tell me exactly how long, but I have forgotten the precise figure). Of course his role is pretty much just ceremonial these days, but is part of the pageantry of London that is still kept alive that many people may miss. The best way to see him is to either get lucky (I have seen him a few times), or to try and find an event he attends (such as the Pearly Kings Harvest Festival). Leave a Comment
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 A Cheery Chelsea
Pensioner by easyoar
The Chelsea Pensioners live in the Royal Hospital, Chelsea. The building itself was designed by Sir Christopher Wren in 1682. Leave a Comment
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The Horse Guards Parade is the second most popular ceremony outside of the Changing of the Guard. In fact, the two mounted cavalry regiments of the Queens Household Regiments, who march in the Changing of the Guard, make up the Horse Guards Parade. The parade happens every Monday through Saturday at 11.00am and on Sundays at 10.00am. It takes place outside the Horse Guards Building on Whitehall, which was built in 1745 to house the old palace guards
The Guards (Queen's Life Guards) ride along the Mall between Horse Guards parade and Hyde Park. Leave a Comment
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 Horse Guards Inspection,
London by cruisingbug
There is limited space for spectators so be sure to arrive early! Leave a Comment
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The men you see around Buckingham Palace and around London are not only ceremonial guards. While upholding the traditions of the past, they perform duties throughout the world as professional soldiers and are known as some of the most elite and skilled soldiers in the British Army. The responsibility of guarding the Sovereign by the Household Troops dates back to the time of Henry VII (1485-1509). They take an active role in protecting their Sovereign and at night they patrol the grounds of both Buckingham Palace and St. James's Palace. These are some of the best soldiers in the British Army and have fought in many major areas of conflict since the 17th Century.
The Household Division is made up of seven Regiments and comprise of the Household Cavalry Regiment, The Life Guards and the Blues and Royals along with five other Regiments of Foot Guards, the Grenadier Guards, the Coldstream Guards, The Scots Guards, the Irish Guards and the Welsh Guards.
Following is the breakdown of the dress code for the Guards:
Life Guards - Wear a metal helmet with a white plum on the helmet, red tunic no buttons
Blues & Royals – Wear a metal helmet with a red plume on helmet, blue tunic no buttons
Grenadier - Wear a bearskin cap with a white plume worn on the left, red tunic singly buttons
Goldstream - Wear a bearskin cap with a red plume worn on the right, red tunic, pairs of buttons
Scots-Wear a bearskin cap with no plume, red tunic threes of buttons
Irish - Wear a bearskin cap with a blue plume worn on the right, red tunic, fours of buttons
Welsh - Wear a bearskin cap with a white/green/white plume worn on the left, red tunic, fives of buttons Leave a Comment
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