Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Ready. Set. London!

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Planning to use the London Tube? There’s one thing you need to know before you go underground.

The Tube map is a map of trains. It is not a map of London.

Expat Andy learned that lesson the hard way when a perfectly sensible-looking journey from Notting Hill Gate to Hampstead Heath deposited him in…West Hampstead.

Right name. Wrong Hampstead.

In this episode of Ready. Set. London!, we’re going London, Decoded to discover why one of the world’s greatest transport maps can also lead visitors into one of London’s easiest travel mistakes.

Why doesn’t the Tube map show you where places really are? Why can the station with the “right” name be the wrong station? Is the route with the fewest changes really the best route? And why might the Overground, a bus, or even your own two feet get you there faster?

Using Andy’s Hampstead misadventure, we’ll show you how to plan the whole journey—not just the bit underground.

You’ll learn how to choose the best station for where you actually want to go, check that all-important final walk, use London’s wider transport network, and plan one-way explorations that start at one station and finish at another.

And if you emerge from a Tube station, look around and think:

“I have absolutely no idea where I am…”

We’ve got you covered there too.

The London Underground is brilliant. The Tube map is brilliant.

You just need to know what it is—and what it isn’t.

Go underground. Explore London. Know where you’ll be when you come back up.

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Come out of Waterloo Station, ignore the London Eye, turn away from the crowds and follow me.

Just a few minutes away is Roupell Street—a remarkably preserved pocket of London where workers once crowded into tiny houses, the modern circus was born nearby, a Victorian pub still guards the corner, and the family whose name is on the street produced one of the more spectacular scandals of the 19th century.

Welcome to Streets of London, a new Ready. Set. London! series where we take one short London street and discover the stories most visitors walk straight past.

And, naturally, there’s a strategically placed pub.

Today we're exploring Roupell Street, tucked behind Waterloo Station.

We’ll discover how this corner of London went from marshland to a working-class neighbourhood; meet Philip and Patty Astley, whose extraordinary horsemanship helped give birth to the modern circus; and step inside The King’s Arms, a Grade II listed pub that tells us something about how people lived when as many as twenty people could share one small house.

Then things get wonderfully messy.

Meet William Roupell - grandson of the man who developed the street, property heir, Member of Parliament…and forger.

There’s a family fortune, a destroyed will, a replacement forged will, mounting debts, a dash to Spain, the Old Bailey and a sentence of penal servitude for life.

Honestly, Netflix, call me.

But Roupell Street's biggest story may simply be that it's still here.

Railways transformed the neighborhood. Waterloo grew into one of Britain's great stations. The Blitz came. London redeveloped around it.

Yet this little street survived.

Today, people admire its brick houses, sash windows and extraordinary sense of stepping back in time. But behind all that charm is another London—the builders, bakers, blacksmiths, printers, nurses, teachers and families who actually lived and worked here.

So grab your metaphorical walking shoes.

We're going behind Waterloo.

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What if the best way to experience London isn’t to see more—but to start noticing more?

In this episode, Expat Andy reveals a new direction for Ready. Set. London! and five ways we’re going to explore the city: Streets of London, London Decoded, The London You’re Standing In, Pub With a Past, and Why Is That There?

Because London isn’t a checklist.

A street you nearly walked past could contain centuries of stories. The Tube map can send you somewhere completely different from where you thought you were going. The famous landmark you came to photograph may be only the beginning of the neighborhood worth exploring. And that odd green hut, dragon, windmill or mysterious object hiding in plain sight?

There’s probably a very good reason it’s there.

From avoiding bad itineraries and decoding London’s geography to discovering historic pubs, overlooked streets and the wonderfully peculiar details most visitors never stop to question, this episode is about learning to read London rather than race through it.

Five themes. One city. And a lot more reasons to stop, look around and ask:

Why is that there?

Welcome to the next chapter of Ready. Set. London!

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Think Peckham isn't worth the trip? Think again. 

In this episode, Expat Andy uncovers one of London's most remarkable hidden treasures: The Red Bull, home to an extraordinary Victorian tile mural depicting Shakespeare's Henry VIII. Discover how this historic masterpiece survived years of neglect, why it's now at risk, and why this overlooked corner of South London deserves a place on every traveler's itinerary. Along the way, you'll uncover fascinating stories of William Blake, Thomas Tilling, rooftop skyline views, and the vibrant character that makes Peckham one of London's most rewarding neighborhoods. Visit while you still can—and see for yourself why this Victorian masterpiece is worth saving.

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Planning a London vacation and looking for an easy, unforgettable day trip?

Join Expat Andy as he travels from London to Winchester, England's ancient capital, where medieval streets, the magnificent Winchester Cathedral, King Alfred the Great, Jane Austen's final resting place, and centuries of royal history bring over 2,000 years of England's story to life. 

Discover the best things to see, practical travel tips, scenic walks, great places to eat, and fascinating connections between Winchester and London's Bankside. If you're building the perfect London itinerary, this episode will help you decide why Winchester deserves a place on your must-visit list. 

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Can you do York in a day from London? Yes - if you know what to prioritize. This practical, independent itinerary takes you by direct train from King’s Cross to Roman ruins, Viking Jorvik, York Minster, the medieval walls, the Shambles, and a realistic return journey - without a car or an organized tour.

I’ll tell you what to book ahead, which attractions to choose between, what you can see for free, where to stop for lunch or afternoon tea, and what to skip when you have only one day in York.

Escape London for one unforgettable day and discover why York is one of England's most rewarding destinations. 

Just under two hours by direct train, this beautifully preserved medieval city is packed with Roman ruins, Viking history, ancient city walls, cobbled streets, magnificent York Minster, the world-famous Shambles, Clifford's Tower, the JORVIK Viking Centre, the National Railway Museum, historic pubs, and Bettys for a traditional Yorkshire afternoon tea. 

Along the way, uncover fascinating stories, practical travel tips, and the best walking route to experience the city's 2,000 years of history. Whether you're planning a London vacation, building the perfect UK itinerary, or searching for the best day trips from London, this episode is your complete guide to making the most of a day in York. 

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Next Monday’s episode of the Ready. Set. London! podcast has us taking that Day Trip from London you’ve all been waiting for! 

We’re going to York! Say it ain’t so!

Can you do York in a day from London? 

What stations and what trains do you need to take? 

How much does it cost? 

How much of York’s layers of history, incredible sights, and food, can you realistically do in one day? 

How much do you need to hold back for a future visit? 

We don’t hold back and neither should you! Our answer to York in a Day from London, is a whole-hearted, Yes! Do it! The Ready. Set. London! Way. 

Live on all podcast platforms and our website readysetlondon.com Monday September 28. 2026.

Catch up on all our Day Trip From London episodes at readysetlondon.com Just one more of our summer break sessions left – and that’s, drum roll..

Winchester, City of Kings, Monday October 5, 2026!

You’re welcome! 

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Shopping or sightseeing in Mayfair and looking for something more than luxury shop windows? This self-guided London walk begins near Bond Street and follows the less obvious side of Mayfair - a buried river, a surviving mews pub, Georgian squares, American wartime history, old clubland, and the monumental finish at Hyde Park Corner.

Along the way, Expat Andy takes you to Avery Row and The Iron Duke, Mayfair’s last surviving mews pub; explains how the Tyburn Brook disappeared beneath the street; and reveals the overlooked stories behind Albemarle Street, Berkeley Square, Grosvenor Square, Shepherd Market, Apsley House and Wellington Arch.

It is a perfect audio companion if one person in your group wants to browse Bond Street while the other wants London stories, architecture, local history, a traditional pub stop, and a route that makes the whole neighbourhood make sense.

Start: Bond Street station
Key stop: The Iron Duke, 11 Avery Row, Mayfair
Finish: Hyde Park Corner / Wellington Arch
Best for: Visitors who want to add hidden history, a characterful pub and a more memorable walk to a Mayfair afternoon.

Ready. Set. London! helps you plan London by place—and understand the stories hidden in plain sight.

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Dreaming of Christmas in London but wondering when to go, where to stay, what to book, and how to make the most of the festive season? 

This episode helps you plan Christmas in London 2026, from the famous Christmas lights, markets and ice skating to Winter Wonderland, Christmas at Kew, Hogwarts in the Snow, pantomime, The Nutcracker, carol concerts, festive food and Christmas afternoon tea. 

Discover the best time to visit, where to stay in London at Christmas, what to book in advance, what to wear, and how to put it all together with 3-night and 7-night London Christmas itineraries. 

Plus, if you’re traveling over the holidays, find out what really happens in London on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Twixmas, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, including public transport changes, closures and practical tips that could make or break your Christmas trip. 

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Looking for historic London pubs, fascinating London history, a walk along the River Thames, or something different to add to your London itinerary?

This episode of the Ready. Set. London! Love Letter to London Pubs series takes you to The Duke’s Head in Putney, a beautifully preserved Victorian riverside pub overlooking the Thames and the starting point of the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race.

But Putney’s story goes far beyond rowing and riverside pints.

Just moments away is St Mary’s Church, site of the Putney Debates of 1647, where soldiers and political leaders debated voting rights, representative government, and the idea that people should be governed by consent. Discover why this remarkable moment in British history continues to attract the attention of historians studying the development of democratic ideas.

You’ll also uncover Putney’s connection to Thomas Cromwell, explore the remarkable Victorian interior of The Duke’s Head, and discover some of the famous historical figures who once called this corner of southwest London home.

From Tudor history and the Putney Debates to Victorian pub heritage and the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race, Putney packs centuries of London history into one fascinating stretch of the Thames.

If you’re searching for things to do in Putney, historic pubs in London, River Thames walks, London history, the history of the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, or authentic London experiences beyond the famous landmarks, this episode will show you why Putney deserves a place on your London itinerary.

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Planning a Windsor day trip from London? This practical one-day guide helps you decide whether Windsor is worth your time, choose the easiest train route, and plan a day around Windsor Castle, the Long Walk, Eton and a proper riverside pub.

You’ll learn:

Which train route makes the most sense from London

How much time to allow for Windsor Castle

A simple walking order that avoids wasting the day backtracking

Whether Eton is worth adding

Where to pause for lunch, a pint, or a quieter view

The royal and local stories that make the place more meaningful when you see it

This episode is for first-time London visitors, returning travelers, and anyone choosing between Windsor and another day trip. Save it for the train ride—or use it to plan before you book.

readysetlondon.com

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Planning a London trip just got easier. Publicity – Your London Travel Toolkit has evolved into Ready. Set. London! Trip Planning Made Easy, a redesigned London travel planning website, podcast and content hub built to help you make sense of one of the world’s biggest cities. 

Discover a smarter approach to London trip planning, from choosing where to stay and understanding London neighborhoods, Tube stations and fare zones to grouping attractions geographically, exploring beyond famous landmarks, finding historic pubs and walking routes, and adding the stories that bring London to life. 

Plus, get a first look at the new London Landmark Trip Planner, designed to turn your must-see London attractions into sightseeing days that actually make sense on the map. 

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Where should you stay in London—and what’s the best area for a first-time visitor? In this episode of Publicity — Your London Travel Toolkit, Expat Andy explains why there isn’t one universally “best” area to stay in London and offers a more useful way to choose your London home base. 

Learn how to match your hotel location to your itinerary, preferred neighborhood atmosphere, budget and London transport connections; why staying “central” isn’t always the answer; and when Central London makes sense for a first visit. 

Andy also walks through a practical six-step method for narrowing the city down to two or three areas that fit the London trip you actually want to take.

For more help, visit https://publicitythepodcast.com/start-here/

Publicity – Your London Travel Toolkit (“Podcast”) and its website and related materials provide travel information, recommendations, opinions and commentary for general informational and entertainment purposes only. They are not intended to provide professional, legal, medical, safety or other professional advice.

Information Changes and Must Be Independently Verified

Travel information can change at any time and without notice. This includes, but is not limited to, prices, opening hours, reservations, ticket availability, admission requirements, transportation schedules and routes, accessibility, walking conditions, construction, closures, laws, regulations and the availability or condition of attractions, restaurants, pubs, hotels, tours and other businesses or services.

Neither the Podcast nor its producer, host or guests guarantees that information presented in an episode, on the website, in show notes, on social media, in promotional materials or elsewhere will be accurate, complete, current or available when a listener chooses to act upon it.

Before making a reservation, purchase, journey or other travel decision, you should independently verify current information directly with the relevant business, attraction, transportation provider, governmental authority or other appropriate official source.

Bookings, Reservations, Prices and Availability

Mention of a hotel, restaurant, pub, attraction, tour, event, ticket, transportation service or other business, product or service does not guarantee its availability, price, quality, suitability, admission, reservation availability or continued operation.

You are solely responsible for confirming current information before making travel arrangements, reservations or purchases.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Podcast, Producer, Host and Guests are not responsible for losses, expenses, cancellation charges, additional travel costs, inconvenience, disappointment or other consequences resulting from inaccurate or outdated information or from the unavailability, closure, cancellation or changed price, schedule, policy or condition of any business, attraction, service or destination discussed in the Podcast or related materials.

Walking Routes and Physical Safety

The Podcast and website may describe or recommend walking routes, streets, sidewalks, footpaths, stairs, steps, entrances, exits, pubs, restaurants, attractions, transportation facilities and other locations.

A description or recommendation of a route, attraction, business or location does not mean that the Podcast, Producer, Host or Guests have inspected, evaluated or guaranteed its safety or suitability.

Conditions may change at any time. Potential hazards may include, without limitation, stairs or steps; uneven, wet or slippery surfaces; cobblestones; curbs; road crossings; traffic; bicycles; construction; crowds; inadequate lighting; restricted access; weather conditions; temporary obstructions; and other natural or man-made hazards.

You are responsible for observing your surroundings, obeying signs and instructions, evaluating current conditions, considering your own abilities and circumstances, and deciding whether a particular route, location or activity is safe and appropriate for you.

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Hotels, restaurants, pubs, attractions, museums, transportation providers, tour operators and other businesses or organisations discussed by the Podcast are independent third parties unless expressly stated otherwise.

The Podcast, Producer, Host and Guests do not control and are not responsible for the condition, maintenance or safety of third-party premises or for the acts, omissions, products or services of those third parties.

A recommendation, description or discussion of a third party does not constitute a representation or warranty concerning the safety of its premises or services.

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BY USING INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE PODCAST OR WEBSITE TO PLAN OR UNDERTAKE TRAVEL, VISIT A LOCATION, FOLLOW A WALKING ROUTE, ENTER A BUSINESS OR ATTRACTION, OR PARTICIPATE IN AN ACTIVITY, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT TRAVEL AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES INVOLVE RISKS AND THAT YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ASSESSING THE CONDITIONS YOU ACTUALLY ENCOUNTER.

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TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THIS LIMITATION IS INTENDED TO APPLY TO CLAIMS ARISING FROM ORDINARY NEGLIGENCE TO THE EXTENT SUCH LIABILITY MAY LAWFULLY BE LIMITED OR DISCLAIMED. IT DOES NOT EXCLUDE OR LIMIT LIABILITY THAT CANNOT LAWFULLY BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED.

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No statement made by the Podcast, Producer, Host or a Guest should be interpreted as a guarantee that a particular destination, walking route, attraction, business, activity or premises is free from hazards.

For example, a recommendation to visit a particular pub or attraction does not constitute a representation that the route to that location, its entrance, stairs, steps, floors, exits or other premises are safe.

Listeners and website users remain responsible for their own travel decisions and personal safety.

Geographic Scope

Although Publicity – Your London Travel Toolkit primarily discusses travel in London and the United Kingdom, the Podcast is produced in the United States and is distributed to an international audience. Travel activities take place under the laws and conditions applicable at the location where the listener travels.

This disclaimer is subject to the Podcast's Terms of Use and to applicable law.

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Planning a London vacation, Kew Gardens needs to be  on your itinerary. Don't miss the remarkable history waiting just across the road. 

In this episode, discover how an unassuming historic London pub - the Coach & Horses on Kew Green - connects to Thomas Gainsborough, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Joseph Banks, Captain Cook, and the extraordinary events that led to Mutiny on the Bounty. 

Stroll through one of London's most beautiful neighborhoods, uncover hidden gems, royal history, Georgian coaching inns, famous graves at St Anne's Church, and the surprising stories most visitors walk right past. 

Whether you're building a London itinerary, searching for hidden things to do in London, or looking for the best historic pubs near Kew Gardens, this episode will change the way you experience one of London's most iconic destinations.

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Planning a London itinerary? Discover why Canterbury is one of the best and easiest day trips from London.

Just 55 minutes by high-speed train from St Pancras, this UNESCO World Heritage city packs 2,000 years of history into a walkable afternoon. Explore the magnificent Canterbury Cathedral, follow the footsteps of Chaucer's pilgrims, see Roman ruins, visit England's oldest parish church, wander medieval streets, enjoy a traditional English afternoon tea, and have lunch in one of the country's oldest pubs. 

From hidden gardens and riverside walks to Shakespeare-era history and fascinating WWII stories, this episode gives you the perfect self-guided Canterbury itinerary - helping you make the most of a memorable day beyond London before you're back in the city for dinner. 

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Where did The Kinks play their first gig? The Clissold Arms in Muswell Hill, North London — the same pub where the full band gathered for the last time, 36 years later.

Ray and Dave Davies grew up at 6 Denmark Terrace, directly across Fortis Green from the pub their father drank in. In this Love Letter to Pubs short, Expat Andy walks the North London streets where one of Britain's most influential bands was made.

You'll hear how a slashed speaker cone from a Muswell Hill radio shop produced the guitar sound behind "You Really Got Me"; why the pub carries two plaques giving two different dates for the same first gig; how Alexandra Palace turned a village built around a medieval well into an Edwardian suburb; and why Muswell Hill still has no Tube station.

Also on the walk: the Grade II* listed Everyman cinema, the site of the first ever Wetherspoons, and the railway line that became London's longest nature reserve.

Planning a London trip and want to get past the guidebook into the real neighbourhoods? This is your London travel toolkit — historic London pubs, hidden London, and the things most visitors walk straight past.

Nearest Tube: East Finchley (Northern line). Allow half a day.

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London is incredible — and after three or four days, exhausting. Here's the move smart travelers make - take a day off in the middle of your trip and get out of town.

This episode is your blueprint for Portsmouth and Southsea — 90 minutes by train from Waterloo, and a world away from the city. Actual sea. Actual horizon. Eight hundred years of British naval history and a grand Victorian seaside resort packed into one walkable day.

Expat Andy, a Brit who spent his twenties living nearby, walks you through it the way a local would. 

Start in the Historic Dockyard with Nelson's HMS Victory, the ironclad Warrior, and the raised Tudor warship Mary Rose. Break for lunch at a harborside pub from 1700, where warships pass close enough to make you duck. 

Then spend the afternoon in Southsea. Victorian piers, the D-Day Story museum, a seafront common lined with naval memorials, and the spot where Henry VIII watched the Mary Rose sink.

You'll learn which station to get off at (and which to ignore), why locals call the place "Pompey," where Charles Dickens was born, and how to read a city that's half rough naval town, half genteel seaside resort.

No guidebook filler. Just the day-trip that makes your London week better.

I'm Expat Andy. This is Publicity — Your London Travel Toolkit.

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A 25-minute ride from Baker Street takes you to a 1901 pub, an ancient hilltop, and the school that shaped Churchill, Byron, and Nehru.

You've got your days in London mapped out — the towers, the museums, the markets. But what about the morning you want something quieter, older, and a little off the usual route? Expat Andy takes us to Harrow-on-the-Hill. A green hilltop in the city's northwest that people have treated as sacred for more than twelve hundred years, sitting just 25 minutes from Baker Street on the Metropolitan line.

There's a pagan shrine older than England, a hilltop church consecrated in 1094, and the famous school where Byron carved his name into the paneling, Churchill came back to sing during the Blitz, and a future first Prime Minister of India read his way toward revolution. At the foot of the hill sits The Castle — a Fuller's pub built the year Queen Victoria died, with its original curving bar, glazed partition, and three working fireplaces still in place. CAMRA rates its interior of outstanding national importance. It's barely changed since opening day in 1901.

Expat Andy gives you the story and the logistics in one go: why this hill matters, what to look for inside the pub, and exactly how to get there (Harrow-on-the-Hill tube, Zone 5, then a ten-minute walk up the hill). If you want one easy, atmospheric escape from central London that most visitors never find, this is your blueprint. Real history, real ale, no clichés — a signal in the travel information static.

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Thinking of taking a day trip from London to Brighton? In this episode, I cover whether Brighton is worth visiting for a day, how to get there by train, what to see and do, and how to make the most of one day in Brighton. 

An hour from Victoria sits "London by the Sea." Here's the one-walk, half-day Brighton plan—palace, pier, oldest pub in town—for your London trip. 

You've done the museums. You've queued. Your feet hurt and everyone around you is staring at their phone. So here's the move smart London visitors have made for two hundred years: get on a train at Victoria and an hour later you're standing on the beach in Brighton — "London by the Sea."

This is your half-day escape, planned door to door. One downhill walk to the water, one historic pub in the middle, and a town that exists, to misbehave beautifully by the sea.

You'll get the lay of the land before you arrive. The bohemian North Laine, the bonkers Royal Pavilion that looks like a Mughal palace dropped by a twister, the Palace Pier, the burnt-out skeleton of the West Pier, and the oldest working electric railway on Earth. Lunch is sorted at The Cricketers, the oldest pub in Brighton, where Graham Greene wrote part of Brighton Rock.

Then the why. How a Saxon fishing village became a royal party town, how the 1841 railway turned an aristocrats' resort into everybody's, and why Brighton has always been the place where the rules loosen — right up to its standing as the unofficial LGBTQ+ capital of Britain.

If you're planning a London trip and want one perfect day out of the city — no car, no kids to wrangle, no guidebook autopilot — this is the one to save.

I'm Expat Andy. This is Publicity — Your London Travel Toolkit, Summer Shorts Series.

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Planning a day trip to Bath from London? This episode shows you how to spend one day in Bath, England, exploring 2,000 years of history, iconic architecture, literary landmarks, local food, and a traditional pub—all on foot.

Just 90 minutes west of London by train, Bath is one of England’s most rewarding day trips. The only city in the UK that's a UNESCO World Heritage Site in its entirety.

Discover the Roman Baths, Bath Abbey, the Royal Crescent, the Circus, Pulteney Bridge, the Pump Room, and the city’s connections to Jane Austen, William Herschel, Ralph Allen, and Georgian society.

Along the way, explore Bath’s Roman origins, medieval wool trade, honey-colored Bath stone architecture, hidden historic streets, and famous landmarks. You’ll also discover where to stop for a Sally Lunn bun, afternoon tea, and a traditional pint before catching the train back to London.

For travelers looking for the best things to do in Bath in one day, this episode provides a practical walking route through the city and the fascinating stories behind the places you’ll see.

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As London swelters through record-breaking June temperatures in 2026, we look back to another scorching June that changed the city forever. In 1858, soaring temperatures turned the Thames into a foul-smelling open sewer, creating the Great Stink and forcing Parliament to approve one of the greatest engineering projects in British history. Walk along the Thames Embankment with me as we visit two historic Westminster pubs that bookend the story of a Victorian public health crisis and discover how Joseph Bazalgette's engineering masterpiece transformed London's riverfront—and why every visitor to London still benefits from it today.

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The Fox & Grapes - A London Country Pub by Wimbledon Common. “One of the few pubs in London that's best reached by horse,”  and, “About as rural as you can get in Zone 3.”  [Londonist]

London pubs are more than a place for a pint — they're the key to a whole neighborhood. 

In this Love Letter to Pubs short from Publicity – Your London Travel Toolkit, Expat Andy raises a glass to The Fox & Grapes, a Georgian country pub on the edge of Wimbledon Common that feels more English village than big city. 

Built in 1787 and one of the few London pubs best reached on horseback, it's the thread that ties together everything first- and second-time visitors miss when they come to Wimbledon only for the tennis: ancient woodland and heathland, a 200-year-old windmill, the football folklore of Wimbledon FC and AFC Wimbledon (the supporters' club born in this very pub), the Wombles, and the affluent, leafy charm of Wimbledon Village. 

If you love historic London pubs and want London travel tips, neighborhood guides, and London pub history that help you plan a smarter trip and see the real London, this is your London travel podcast. Perfect for travelers planning a first or second trip to London who'd rather find a great country pub and a quiet common than queue with the crowds. 

Subscribe for more historic London pubs, London neighborhood guides, and London travel tips.

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Planning a trip to London and looking for an easy day trip from London by train? Skip another packed day in the UK capital, and head two hours west to Cardiff, the grand coal-built capital of Wales. A whole other country, with its own language, anthem, and parliament. Yet no passport check needed! 

In this Day Break episode of Publicity – Your London Travel Toolkit, host Expat Andy walks you through  the best of Cardiff in a day. The Victorian fantasy of Cardiff Castle, the City of historic Victorian shopping arcades, Cardiff Market, Captain Scott's Antarctic connection, and the beautiful tiled Golden Cross pub. Plenty of Welsh led food options for lunch - a proper pub lunch at a Brains Brewery tied house, The Hayes, Cardiff's Cafe Quarter, and "Chippy Lane." Cardiff Bay - the old Tiger Bay docklands where Shirley Bassey, "Our Shirl," was born. 

Part travel guide, part love letter to a proud rugby city, it's the London day trip your guidebook probably forgot to mention. Whether you're building a London travel itinerary, searching for London travel tips, or just want a reliable London travel podcast for Americans planning a UK trip, this is your signal in the travel information static. For more London travel guides and day trips from London, visit publicitythepodcast.com. Special gift this episode! Since Wales is, "The Land of Song", we've got some lovely music queued up with the episode. 

Croeso i Gymru, fy mamwlad. Cymru. Gwlad y Gân.

This is Cardiff, there’s a lot to cover. Welcome to Wales, my homeland. Wales. The Land of Song.

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Planning a trip to London and looking to go beyond the usual tourist checklist? In this Summer Shorts episode of Love Letter to London Pubs, Expat Andy takes you to Stockwell, a South London neighborhood that offers a fascinating glimpse into the city's Victorian past. 

The Marquis of Lorne is just ten minutes from the crowds of Leicester Square by tube. One of London's most striking surviving Victorian pubs, wrapped in spectacular ceramic tilework and surrounded by stories of royal scandal, railway expansion, David Bowie, and London's largest Portuguese community. 

If you're researching authentic London neighborhoods, historic London pubs, South London attractions, Victorian London history, or where locals go in London, this episode will add a new dimension to your trip planning. 

It's a perfect introduction to the Summer Shorts series—and an invitation to explore more of Publicity: Your London Travel Toolkit, the podcast that helps travelers experience London with greater depth, context, and confidence.

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Tired of London crowds? Build a day off into your trip. London Travel Expert, Expat Andy shares the perfect escape from the tourist treadmill. A slow, self-guided day in Bow in the East End of London. Just a few Tube stops from central London but a world away from Westminster's queues and tour groups.

Wander without deadline through one of London's best under-the-radar neighborhoods. Tree-lined Victorian streets, canal-side parks, and historic pubs, with a relaxed pub lunch as the anchor of your day. Along the way you'll find the Green Bridge and Mile End Park, Victoria Park, the site of London's first WWII "doodlebug," Sylvia Pankhurst and the Bow suffragettes, the 1888 Matchgirls' Strike, Chaucer's medieval nuns, and the spot where Gandhi stayed in 1931. Finish with a pint at The Morgan Arms or The Lord Tredegar beside one of London's finest Georgian squares.

An easy, walkable day built for first- and second-time visitors who want real local history, hidden gems, and a break from the crowds — proof that London rewards you for slowing down.

Publicity — Your London Travel Toolkit is the London travel podcast for American visitors planning a first or second trip to London, hosted by British expat "Expat Andy" from Miami.

To be a guest contributor — London pub owners, tour guides, and travel experts welcome — email expatandy@publicitythepodcast.com. Learn more at publicitythepodcast.com.

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Planning a trip to London? Publicity – Your London Travel Toolkit helps travelers build a London itinerary that hits the highlights without burning out.

All summer, two short series alternate weekly. Love Letter to London Pubs takes you inside one historic London pub and decodes the neighborhood around it. Day Break solves the mid-trip slump — when jet lag and sightseeing catch up — with a planned day trip anchored by a great lunch.

In the fall, Season Two of the main show returns with 30-minute episodes, new segments, and special guests.

Subscribe, catch up on past episodes, and pass it to a friend planning a London trip.

Email: expatandy@publicitythepodcast.com Web: publicitythepodcast.com

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Discover Old Isleworth, London's hidden Thames village, home to the 500-year-old London Apprentice pub, Lady Jane Grey, Syon House, Henry VIII, riverside walks, and one of London's most peaceful day trips. 

Planning a London trip and looking for hidden London pubs beyond the usual tourist crowds? Our podcast shorts series is perfect for quick travel research tasks and a great way of supporting London pubs.

In this episode of Publicity – Your London Travel Toolkit, Love Letter to London Pubs shorts, we explore The London Apprentice in Old Isleworth. Getting ready to reopen after a major refurbishment by Greene King aimed at preserving the building’s Tudor and Georgian character while modernizing the pub for future generations.

A historic Thames riverside pub connected to Lady Jane Grey, Henry VIII, smugglers, ghost stories, and over 500 years of London history.

Discover hidden London history, riverside walks, authentic local neighborhoods, Tudor intrigue, Thames beer gardens, and one of west London’s most atmospheric historic pubs near Richmond, Twickenham, Kew Gardens, and Syon House.

Perfect for travelers searching for:

•  hidden London gems 
•  historic London pubs 
•  Thames walks 
•  unusual things to do in London 
•  authentic London experiences 
•  London pub culture

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King's Cross sounds like it should have an ancient, heroic origin story, but the name comes from a mocked 1830 monument demolished fifteen years after it was built. 

This episode traces the incredible arc of one of London's great train station neighborhoods. From open countryside to Victorian industrial powerhouse, decades of post-industrial abandonment, street prostitution, and a fatal Underground fire that killed thirty-one people. Finally reinvigorated as a global benchmark for urban regeneration. 

Along the way, our story takes in, a lot! Boudica's alleged burial ground at Platform 9¾. The graveyard where Mary Shelley fell in love and modern science fiction was born. A Welsh drifter found near the station in 1943 who became a World War Two spy after his death. The poet laureate who saved St Pancras from demolition with days to spare. Shane MacGowan founding the Pogues in a local pub, and fifteen regulars who bought their own pub to stop it becoming a coffee shop. Oh — and Elvis is barred from one of them. The reasons are not recorded. We manage to stop at several historic pubs along the way, because as always it's the pubs that survive to tell the tales of evolving neighborhoods.

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This bonus episode is our love letter to Ye Olde Mitre, one of London's most hidden and historically rich pubs. When we visited recently, the bar staff gave us one of the most friendly welcomes we've experienced in a busy city center pub. So, this episode is our return gift to you.

Tucked down a narrow alleyway off Hatton Garden, accessible only through a passage barely wide enough for two people. 

We trace the site's remarkable 700-year backstory. From a medieval Bishop of Ely's palace that hosted John of Gaunt, King Henry VII, and King Henry VIII, through the story of Christopher Hatton (the dancing commoner who became Elizabeth I's Lord Chancellor and gave Hatton Garden its name), to the street's evolution into the world's diamond capital and the scene of the 2015 Hatton Garden Heist.

We also explore Ye Olde Mitre's famous jurisdictional quirk. The the land belonged to the Diocese of Ely in Cambridgeshire, the pub was technically not in London for most of its existence, meaning Victorian criminals could outrun the Metropolitan Police by ducking through its alleyway. 

The episode closes with a practical guide to the pub's interior and a warm personal note from Host & Producer Expat Andy after a recent visit. 

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The Lord Raglan pub recently proudly announced the launch of their new food menu.

To congratulate the pub on this great news, we decided to gift them with a special, short, bonus episode featuring the history of their pub - The Lord Raglan, Holborn.

Enjoy and share the joy! Send this episode onto your network. It's a great way to support British tourism, and the host of small businesses that are our historic pubs.

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Before craft beer, before the taprooms, before the Saturday crowds with their route maps, Bermondsey smelled of rotting hides, urine, and dog filth. In short, industry! 

Episode 11 of Publicity - Your London Travel Toolkit  pulls us south of the Thames to trace the evolution of one of London's most overlooked neighborhoods. 

From stinky medieval tanneries banished across the river by the City of London, the world's largest brewery, Victorian railway arches built of sixty million bricks, post-war council estates that held a community together through decades of industrial collapse, to the night a furious Irish cheesemonger returned from New York, rented an arch on Druid Street, and accidentally started a revolution. 

The Bermondsey Beer Mile gets decoded, Publicity style. Not just as a fun Saturday crawl, but as the latest chapter in a five-hundred-year story about what happens when a place is cheap enough and overlooked enough for the right people to do something important in it. 

The episode where a railway arch becomes the most honest expression of a pub in centuries, and where the smell of malt turns out derives from the same story as those nose curling tanning pits, except now we have Instagram.

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Step into the bustling streets of old East London, where the air is thick with history and the scent of freshly baked pies, and discover the story behind one of the city’s most iconic comfort foods, now part of Britain's "Heritage Foods Movement". 

This bonus episode serves up more than just pie and mash—it’s a journey through generations of grit, flavor, and tradition, from eel-slinging street vendors to the tiled institutions still standing today. You’ll meet the legendary families who built this culinary empire, uncover the surprising origins of that vivid green “liquor,” and feel the pulse of a city that fed its people fast, cheap, and with heart. By the end, you won’t just be hungry—you’ll be planning your own pilgrimage to London, ready to pull up a marble-topped table, order a “two and two,” and taste a living piece of history. 

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Join Publicity – The Guidebook Gap in our two-mile walking tour of Charlie Chaplin’s London neighborhood. Our walk maps how institutional poverty and family chaos produced the raw material of Chaplin’s art.

We’ll visit pubs, music hall sites, residences, markets, and street art in Walworth, Kennington, Lambeth, and Camberwell. Discover how Chaplin’s character of The Tramp was not invented in California but assembled from lived experience on these specific streets. 

We begin with Chaplin's disputed birth on East Street in 1889, run through his parents' separation, mother Hannah's mental collapse, the workhouse, the pauper school at Hanwell, and the death of his alcoholic father.

We then follow Chaplin’s professional growth from a childhood spent absorbing crowd mechanics at the Canterbury Music Hall, to Fred Karno's mime-based training at the Fun Factory in Camberwell, where the grammar of silent performance was drilled into him six years before Hollywood needed it. 

We pivot through Chaplin’s American ascent, The Tramp's debut at Keystone in 1914, the political courage of The Great Dictator, and the revocation of his re-entry permit at sea in 1952, before closing with his honorary Oscar, his 1975 knighthood, and that stolen coffin. 

At our final stop at the Chaplin Mosaics at Chandler Hall on Lambeth Walk where we consider that pub back rooms created music hall, music hall created Chaplin, and Chaplin by removing dialogue, turned a South London street education into a global art form.

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It's all about London's great street food in this episode. We start with a famous Earl who named the humble sandwich. John Montagu, Fourth Earl of Sandwich, is remembered not for his long career at the Admiralty, nor for giving Hawaii its first English name, but for a piece of bread with meat inside it. 

We follow that legacy into the broader story of London's street food - from Roman oyster shells in the mud of Londinium to the eel pie shops of the Victorian East End, the surprisingly global origins of fish and chips, and the foods that didn't survive long enough to be romanticized. 

We visit the George & Vulture Pub, Cornhill, home of the Earl of Sandwich's Hellfire Club, The Red Lion, Barnes - the pub running the world's biggest sausage roll competition. 

We trace the line from a jellied eel to the birth of British rock and roll, and ask why the oyster went from the food of the poor to the food of the privileged while the whelk just disappeared. 

Plus the best street food markets in London, and where to find the city's finest fish and chips.

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We're off to Marylebone - using the neighborhood's dark origins as a launch pad for a story of spectacular reinvention. 

Our walk begins at Marble Arch, where a barely-noticed pavement plaque marks the site of Tyburn Tree - London's primary gallows for nearly six hundred years and the execution ground for over 50,000 people. 

From there, we traces how the area shed its grim "Tyburn" identity through a medieval rebranding around a church dedicated to St Mary, eventually becoming the elegant Georgian grid of Harley Street, Portland Place, and Baker Street laid out by the Portland and Portman estates in the 18th century. 

Against that backdrop, Expat Andy guides listeners through a carefully chosen set of historic pubs - including the 1791 Barley Mow on Dorset Street, one of the last free houses in central London, with its rare surviving Victorian drinking booths - weaving in characters ranging from executed highwaymen and Catholic martyrs to Charles Babbage and the piano player Tony "Fingers" Pearson, who has been holding court at the Golden Eagle on Marylebone Lane since 1988. 

Marylebone's pubs are the living memory of a neighborhood that reinvented itself so thoroughly it nearly erased its own history. Its pubs are the best place to find what was buried underneath. 

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In this episode, we rip the polished Instagram filter off Covent Garden and ask a far more interesting question than “Where’s the Apple Store?”

We ask what scene this place is playing. 

Beneath the street performers and opera crowds lies a district that has shape-shifted more times than London itself. From monastic vegetable patch to aristocratic social experiment, from chaotic fruit-and-veg battlefield to theatreland playground of actors, rogues, and bare-knuckle brawlers. 

Designed as a pristine piazza for “Gentlemen and men of ability,” it veered way off script, and filled with market traders, taverns, gossip, vice, and spectacle. When you build a stage, London sends in a cast. 

Through pub lore, architectural ambition, market mayhem, and near-demolition drama, we trace how Covent Garden became a pressure valve between power and performance - a place that was never what it was supposed to be, and is far more compelling because of it. 

By the end, you won’t just see Covent Garden - you’ll decode it. 

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What if the secret to understanding a London neighborhood and its pubs… were the grocery stores?

In this episode of Publicity – The Guidebook Gap, Expat Andy takes us to the City of London - where historic pubs and modern finance meet. We reveal a travel planning superpower - The Publicity M&S Litmus Test. By learning to decode the type of Marks & Spencer nearby, we’ll know exactly what kind of neighborhood we're in - and what kind of pub experience to expect.

This isn’t about lists, or lectures. It’s about reading the city, and going beyond your guidebook.

We'll walk Fleet Street, duck into Leadenhall Market (pun intended), and sip stout in historic cellars. Most importantly, we’ll understand why certain pubs feel like neighborhood living rooms… and others... boardrooms with beer.

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Brutalist estates, haunted pubs, Roman temples, and a river you've never seen—Part 2 of our world exclusive Walbrook walk dives deep into the hidden heart of London. 

Join Expat Andy as he traces the true, long-lost path of the Walbrook to its mouth on the Thames. Along the way: buried tributaries, literary ghosts, the city’s first coffee shop, and a riverside mystery that ends at a freight terminal. This isn’t just history—it’s a revelation beneath your feet. 

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Beneath London’s bustling streets flows a river you’ve never seen—and until now, we’ve all been walking it wrong. In this world exclusive, Publicity uncovers the true path of the lost Walbrook River, hidden for over 600 years. 

Join Expat Andy as he follows this buried waterway from Roman Londinium through plague pits, pubs, and surprising side streets. From Islington’s ghostly springs to Shakespeare’s stomping grounds, this is history with a pint in hand and a story around every corner. 

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A guided walk through 275 years of urban failure, reinvention, and the long, slow gentrification of Notting Hill - told through the pubs that developers built first (usually before they went bankrupt). 

From gravel pits and pig farms to punk gigs and overpriced pints, we trace how these buildings reveal the neighborhood’s real story. 

Featuring forgotten racetracks, bad drainage, Joe Strummer, Tsarist Russia, and one wildly confident pub that stood alone on a muddy hillside. 

Welcome to the pubs that built Notting Hill - and survive to tell the tale.

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Why did Bermondsey’s working-class pubs serve up pints to tanners reeking of dog poo. While Hampstead boasts literary haunts filled with poetry and spa visitors? 

It’s not luck. It’s topography - for the answer is buried deep. From glacial gravel, to wandering water, to the winds of fortune, this episode takes you on a rollicking ride through the forces that shaped London’s pub map long before the first pint was pulled.

From gravel terraces and Victorian fogs to posh mews pubs and riverside alehouses, we’re mapping the city through sediment.

You’ll learn why there are more Tube lines north of the river (hint: mud), why Belgravia even exists (money and dirt - literally), and how pub names like The Flask or The Woolpack are basically geological signposts in disguise.

This isn’t trivia. This is the secret decoder ring for understanding where pubs are, what they meant, and why your pint tastes different in Hampstead than it does in Bermondsey.

Listen before you plan your next trip - because the ground beneath your feet might just tell you more than your guide book.

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Welcome to Publicity - London By Pub - the travel podcast that helps you actually experience London, not just tick off landmarks.

In this debut episode, we crack open Chelsea - London’s posh-meets-punk neighborhood -where our host Andy (a British expat now based in Miami) retraces a trip that should’ve been epic… but ended in full-on travel regret. 

With Expat Andy on board, we’ll get to revisit Chelsea but with a walking tour of five iconic pubs, each one a portal into the stories guidebooks don’t tell - from royal scandals to Rolling Stones auditions to a still-unsolved murder in the cellar.

From bohemian past to posh present, Chelsea's pubs are more than just pretty pints - they're cultural cornerstones. From The Cross Keys to The World's End, each stop reveals a different side of Chelsea - art, royalty, punk, pottery, and that unsolved murder.

You’ll also learn why British pubs are disappearing fast, and why visiting them now isn’t just fun - it’s urgent.

This is trip planning meets storytelling. A podcast to listen to before you pack your bag.