Over February half term 2010 a group of Sixth form historians, politicians and interested third parties spent 4 packed days in London enjoying the historical sights and sounds of the capital. We travelled only by public transport and stayed at Palmer’s Lodge Boutique Hostel in Swiss Cottage. We visited the Cabinet War Offices and Imperial War Museum to kick start the trip on the first day before dinner and film night (Titanic for Valentine’s Day!) at the hostel. On our second day we took the train out to Hampton Court Palace where the Lower Sixth attended Henry VIII’s wedding to Katherine Parr while the upper sixth joined in with the museum’s “meet the conservationist” activities. That afternoon we enjoyed the galleries of the Museum of London, some free time in Covent Garden, dinner at Planet Hollywood and front of house seats at “The 39 Steps”.
Day three took us to the Tower of London, a tour of HMS Belfast and a superb visit to Churchill’s Britain at War Experience where the group discovered the dressing up area and managed to blend seamlessly into World War Two. Dinner was at the Silver Cross in Whitehall before we enjoyed a night flight on the London Eye. Our last day was spent on a whistle stop tour including Harrods, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum. We had a picnic lunch outside the V&A then walked to the National Army Museum in Chelsea, finally arriving back in Gloucester that evening. It was an excellent, if tiring, trip that was enjoyed by both staff and students.