London Tour

London Tour

Why not take a tour to to the city of London. It can be a super place to have a tour around with all the histroy and culture ot can be a super place to have a vacation or holiday to. And see all the histroic sites You may want to enjoy a bus tour or a sight seeing tour. You may want to rent, sell, hire, buy, loan, a tour.
London is the largest urban area and capital city of the United Kingdom. Greater London covers an area of 609 square miles. London is a port on the Thames , a navigable river. The river has had a major influence on the development of the city. London began on the Thames' north bank and for a long time the main focus of the city remained on the north side of the Thames. For many centuries London Bridge was the only bridge in or close to the city. When more bridges were built in the 18th century, the city expanded in all directions as the mostly flat or gently rolling countryside presented no obstacle to growth.

Rivers

River Thames

The River Thames is by far the largest river of the London area, flowing west to east across the London Basin. It is rather larger than would be expected if it only drained the basin, since its headwaters cut into the London basin through the Goring Gap and also drain parts of the Cotswolds and Vale of Aylesbury. Similarly tributaries such as the Mole cut through the North Downs into the basin from the south. Further downstream the flow of the Thames is boosted by springs which open onto the riverbed where this is on chalk.

The Thames was once a much broader, shallower river than it is today. It has been extensively embanked. The Thames is tidal up to Teddington Lock, and London is vulnerable to flooding by storm surges. The threat has increased over time due to a slow but continuous rise in high water level, caused by both the slow 'tilting' of Britain (up in the north and down in the south) caused by post-glacial rebound and the gradual rise in sea levels due to climate change. The Thames Barrier was constructed across the Thames at Woolwich in the 1970s to deal with this threat, but in early 2005 it was suggested that a ten mile long barrier further downstream might be required to deal with the flood risk in the future.

Within London a considerable number of rivers and streams flow into the Thames, some large enough to have exerted a significant influence on the geography of the area. Many of the smaller London tributaries now flow underground.

The former Grand Surrey Canal (1807) was intended to run from the Thames at Rotherhithe to the industrial town of Mitcham, but got no further than Camberwell. It closed with the Surrey Commercial Docks in 1970 and has been filled. The Grand Surrey Canal linked to the Croydon Canal (1809) which continued as far as West Croydon; this closed in 1836.

Further afield a link from London to Bristol is provided by the Kennet & Avon Canal which connects the Avon at Bath via the River Kennet to the Thames at Reading. Basingstoke could once be reached via the Thames, Wey Navigation and the Basingstoke Canal. The south coast at Littlehampton could be reached via the Thames, Wey and the Wey and Arun Canal.

Canal construction in the London area started with navigation works on the Lea and Stort from 1424 onwards, leading to the River Lee Navigation and Bow Back Rivers. Initially used for transport of agricultural product from Hertfordshire, this later became an important industrial waterway connecting the heavily industrialised Lea Valley with the docks. A short-cut to the Thames avoiding the winding mouth of the Lea (Bow Creek) and closer to central London was provided by the Limehouse Cut (1760). A number of canals or canalised rivers have been constructed in the London area, mostly in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Some Islands in the Thames in London

Chiswick Eyot, Eel Pie Island, Isle of Dogs, Millwall, Cubitt Town

At the largest scale London lies within the bowl of the London Basin, with most of the built-up area lying on the Tertiary and younger sediments, and only a small part of south London (Sutton, Banstead and Croydon) lying on the chalk backslope of the North Downs. The centre of the basin is dominated by the modern valley of the Thames, which forms a level corridor running from west to east. The modern floodplain is around half a mile wide to the west of Greater London, expanding to two miles wide to the east. This is bordered by slightly higher and older terraces often extending several miles from the floodplain, for example in Hounslow and Southwark. Other significant river valleys include those of the Colne, Crane, Brent, Lea (with a floodplain more than a mile wide in places), Wandle and Ravensbourne, which run north and south towards the Thames.

There are a few notable hills in Greater London, but none of them more than a few hundred feet high, and they have not impeded the development of the city in all directions. It is therefore very roughly circular.

The City

The hills in the City of London, from west to east, Ludgate Hill, Corn Hill and Tower Hill, are presumed to have influenced the precise siting of the early city, but they are very minor, and most of central London is almost flat. These hills are developed in various gravel terrace deposits of the river Thames.

North London

To the north of the City a ridge capped by sands of the Bagshot formation forms high ground (in places around 130m) including Hampstead Heath and Highgate Hill. The ridge continues eastwards in the London clay to Crouch Hill and Queen's Wood. To the south, fingers of the ridge run down towards Primrose Hill and Parliament Hill. This ridge is a surviving area of Tertiary rocks younger than the London Clay, surrounded by former routes of the Thames where much younger deposits overlie the clay. Smaller outliers of younger Tertiary high ground exist to the west of the main ridge including Harrow Hill where Bagshot sands survive and at Horsendon Hill and Hanger Lane, where the Claygate Beds of the top of the London Clay formation are capped by much younger gravels deposited by the Thames.

Although the majority of London's tourist attractions are located in Central London, others can also be found outside the city centre. Within central London, the City of London is home to St Paul's Cathedral, with the Tower of London and Tower Bridge just outside its official boundary. The Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace bring visitors to the City of Westminster to the west, which also counts many of London's top museums and galleries amongst its attractions, including the British Museum, the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, the Tate Britain and Madame Tussaud's. Royal attractions are always popular — as well as the various palaces, Horse Guards Parade is a ceremonial photo opportunity, whilst nearby Downing Street is home to the Prime Minister whom, in June 2007 changed from Tony Blair to Gordon Brown

To the north of the City of Westminister, the London Borough of Camden feautures the northern end of Regent's park and the famous London Zoo, both inside Central London. Just outside is Camden Town, home to the well known market, an attractor just to the north.

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea further to the west includes the museum district of South Kensington (home to the Science Museum, Natural History Museum, and Victoria and Albert Museum) and Kensington Palace. Many hotels are also located in this area.

Recent years have seen the regeneration of the South Bank and Bankside areas across the river from the City and Westminster, featuring the Globe Theatre, the London Eye, the London Aquarium and the Tate Modern.

Outside the centre, the Greenwich, in the eastern area of South London, is a popular tourist destination with the Cutty Sark, Royal Observatory and National Maritime Museum.

On the other side of the city, in West London, is the London Borough of Richmond, which features Kew Gardens and Richmond, with Hampton Court Palace in the south-western edge of the borough on the other side of the river.

You may want a london bus tour. You may want a haunted london tour.

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