There aren't many things that we did as a kid that we can still enjoy as an adult. We can't leapfrog over dustbins, can't slide down the stairs on our backside but hey, at least we can still sit at the front of a double-decker bus (assuming that your creaking knees can get you up the stairs, of course).
Unfortunately sightseeing bus tours are ridiculously expensive these days and a family of four can easily blow the best part of 100 quid on a two-hour ride. So if you don't fancy the idea of spending a small fortune on a sightseeing tour, but you still want to go on a tour anyway, then try riding the number 26 bus instead. It's just a normal London bus who's route happens to take it past lots of famous London landmarks. So it's a cheap sightseeing bus!
Catch the bus outside Liverpool Street station
I recommend boarding the 26 bus outside Liverpool Street station. The actual start of the route is only a short distance away but there's nothing worth seeing up there and this is a nice lively part of London, full of city suits and newspaper vendors.
The only guy ahead of me today is a white-haired old gent struggling to smoke a roll-up that he's accidentally bent whilst lighting it and I think he's probably just on a day out like me, looking for something to do, and I'm wondering if I'm looking at a mirror-image of myself in thirty years. Ten minutes later the bus turns up and it's only now that I discover he's a bit nuts because he's started mumbling to himself as he shuffles up the stairs. That's what sixty years of bus travel does to you.
The famous landmarks don't start until the bus reaches Bank but if you board it outside Liverpool Street then you'll have five minutes to warm up your eyes on a couple of lovely old buildings wedged in between the modern offices. The corner of Threadneedle Street is the best one but it's difficult to see its decorations from the bus.
Mansion House, Bank of England & Royal Exchange
Photo: londondrum.comWhen you see Mansion House up ahead you'll have the Royal Exchange and Bank of England on your right. Remember to twist your head right round as you enter the junction so you don't miss the front of the Royal Exchange. Luckily you should have plenty of time to take a few photos because you'll quickly clog on to the end of some traffic around here.
Photo: londondrum.comThat's something that you'll quickly get used to in London. I started out at 10:10 AM and within sixty seconds I was already sitting at the back of my first traffic jam. You typically have thirty-seconds of moving forwards and then two minutes of standing still in a bottleneck of taxis, buses and beeping cars. When the traffic lights turn green absolutely nothing happens. You slowly inch your way forwards until a crack opens up, then the driver puts his foot down for ten seconds before he's back on the end of another traffic jam.
Dome of St. Paul's Cathedral
Photo: londondrum.com
Once you're onto Cannon Street get your camera ready for St. Paul's Cathedral up ahead. You'll get a great shot of the dome as you drive past the side (it's probably one of the best views you can get of it from anywhere) and if you squeeze in a quick look to your left as you drive past that weird angular-shaped building then you'll see the Tate Modern across the Millennium Bridge.
Fleet Street is bunged up with building works today and there's a load of temporary traffic lights and fluorescent yellow wires strung across the street -- it looks like they've put the Christmas decorations up six months early.
Whilst we're sitting here I've been busy listening to a little drama unfolding in the seat behind me. I can't understand the passenger's language but he's been shouting down his phone for five minutes and getting increasingly irate. The guy in the double seat beside me has perched his flip-flopped feet up on the front and his hands are slapping invisible cymbals to the silent sounds in his headphones. I spend some time peering inside the shop windows and have come to the conclusion that London is 90% sandwich shops, coffee shops and banks.
Sweeney Todd's church in Fleet Street
The bus finally gets going again. The first half of Fleet Street is a bit bland but try and find St. Dunstan's on the right (did you see the statue of Elizabeth I above the door?). That's where Sweeney Todd was supposed to have had his barbershop -- next-door to that church.
Temple Bar & Royal Courts of Justice
Photo: londondrum.com
I love the stretch from Temple Bar to Parliament Square and if I were the driver I'd be on the tannoy telling everyone to look out the window because it's going to be one great building after another from here.
When you pass the dragon-topped monument in the middle of the street everyone makes the mistake of focusing solely on the Camelot-like turrets of the Royal Courts of Justice and they completely miss all of the Tudor-style shop fronts on the left. Try and find Ye Olde Cocke Tavern and Prince Henry's Room because that one really is Tudor -- a survivor from the Great Fire of London.
Photo: londondrum.comThen you pass a religious roundabout marooned in the middle of the road -- St. Clement Danes.
Waldorf Hotel, Savoy Hotel & The Strand
As soon as you you're past the Waldorf Hotel and into the Strand see how quickly you can spot the top of Nelson's Column poking over the rooftops. Then keep an eye out for the Savoy Hotel just past Simpson's on the left. Covent Garden is down the side streets on the other side. If you look to the right when you get level with Charing Cross then you'll get a nice view of the National Gallery.
Trafalgar Square, Horse Guards & Downing Street
Photo: londondrum.comI wouldn't normally wish terrible traffic on you but I hope you're driving slowly round Trafalgar Square so you can get a distant glimpse of Buckingham Palace through the middle of Admiralty Arch. Then you're into Whitehall and depending on what time of day you pass Horse Guards you'll either see some foot soldiers or mounted sentries guarding the gates. You'll also see a crowd of about three million tourists all queuing up for a selfie.
Photo: londondrum.comImmediately after that comes Downing Street's big black gate and if you're quick you might be able to spot the policeman standing halfway up the street on the righthand side -- that's where the Prime Minister lives at No.10.
Big Ben, Parliament & Westminster Abbey
Photo: londondrum.comWhen you enter Parliament Square you'll see Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament on the left and Westminster Abbey over the other side. The bus will whizz around to the right and unless you've got fingers quicker than Frederic Chopin you won't have enough time to take photos so I recommend getting off here.
The final stop - Westminster Cathedral
Photo: londondrum.comIf you decide to stick with it to the very end then you'll be heading towards Victoria station. The first half of Victoria Street looks like something out of East Berlin but once you reach the red brick buildings you'll be treated to Westminster Cathedral on the left.
. If you want a proper sightseeing bus then try the Big Bus Tour or Tootbus Tour. You might also like a ride on one of the old Routemaster heritage buses
