A weekend to remember
Country Life UK|May 03, 2023
You’ve already seen Big Ben and the Natural History Museum–so what next? Jo Rodgers describes her dream long weekend in London
Jo Rodgers
A weekend to remember

ASK another Londoner to describe a few perfect days in town and their ideas will never line up with yours. London is one of the broadest urban churches on earth, and the people who live here, including me, are guilty of kippering in their own narrow habits. Even worse, more often than not, I am simply at home, rather than climbing the spiral staircase at a glasshouse in Kew or squinting at Big Ben. But this itinerary is what I wish I were doing. The writer Dorothy L. Sayers once said something to the effect that when she was stuck at her desk, she liked to lavish the fortune of the hero she created, Lord Peter Wimsey. ‘When I was dissatisfied with my single unfurnished room, I took a luxurious flat for him in Piccadilly,’ she said. ‘When my cheap rug got a hole in it, I ordered him an Aubusson carpet. When I had no money to pay my bus fare, I presented him with a Daimler double-six, upholstered in a style of sober magnificence, and when I felt dull I let him drive it.’ Reader, pull around your Daimler.

Friday

Emerging into the pinball grandeur of Piccadilly at about lunchtime, you’re spotted by a bellhop around the corner on Arlington Street, who reels you in and guides you under a shell of navy and gold awning to The Ritz (www.theritzlondon. com). The Ritz is a gilded hotel close enough to Buckingham Palace to make a telephone out of tins and string. There are families here for afternoon tea, choosing scones in the Palm Court, and young couples having bucket-list lunches in the frescoed dining room, as well as guests climbing the stairs to Louis XVI style bedrooms. The variety keeps the atmosphere moving.

Esta historia es de la edición May 03, 2023 de Country Life UK.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición May 03, 2023 de Country Life UK.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE COUNTRY LIFE UKVer todo
All gone to pot
Country Life UK

All gone to pot

Jars, whether elegant in their glazed simplicity or exquisitely painted, starred in London's Asian Art sales, including an exceptionally rare pair that belonged to China's answer to Henry VIII

time-read
3 minutos  |
December 04, 2024
Food for thought
Country Life UK

Food for thought

A SURE sign of winter in our household are evenings in front of the television.

time-read
2 minutos  |
December 04, 2024
Beyond the beach
Country Life UK

Beyond the beach

Jewels of the natural world entrance the eyes of Steven King, as Jamaica's music moves his feet and heart together

time-read
5 minutos  |
December 04, 2024
Savour the moment
Country Life UK

Savour the moment

I HAVE a small table and some chairs a bleary-eyed stumble from the kitchen door that provide me with the perfect spot to enjoy an early, reviving coffee.

time-read
3 minutos  |
December 04, 2024
Size matters
Country Life UK

Size matters

Architectural Plants in West Sussex is no ordinary nursery. Stupendous specimens of some of the world's most dramatic plants are on display

time-read
5 minutos  |
December 04, 2024
Paint the town red
Country Life UK

Paint the town red

Catriona Gray meets the young stars lighting up the London art scene, from auctioneers to artists and curators to historians

time-read
7 minutos  |
December 04, 2024
The generation game
Country Life UK

The generation game

For a young, growing family, moving in with, or adjacent to, the grandparents could be just the thing

time-read
3 minutos  |
December 04, 2024
Last orders
Country Life UK

Last orders

As the country-house market winds down for Christmas, two historic properties—one of which was home to the singer Kate Bush-may catch the eye of London buyers looking to move to the country next year

time-read
5 minutos  |
December 04, 2024
Eyes wide shut
Country Life UK

Eyes wide shut

Sleep takes many shapes in art, whether sensual or drunken, deathly or full of nightmares, but it is rarely peaceful. Even slumbering babies can convey anxiety

time-read
6 minutos  |
December 04, 2024
Piste de résistance
Country Life UK

Piste de résistance

Scotland's last ski-maker blends high-tech materials with Caledonian timber to create 'truly Scottish', one-off pieces of art that can cope with any type of terrain

time-read
3 minutos  |
December 04, 2024