History & Politics Trips to London

The famous London Eye is one of the world’s highest observation wheels, standing at 135 metres high. The wheel has thirty-two capsules, each of which holds 25 people and views possible as far away as twenty-five miles on a clear day.

The View from the Shard is situated on floors 68, 69 and 72, almost twice the height of any other viewing platform in London, where you can take in all of London at once with 360 degree views of up to 40 miles long.

Hop-on hop-off bus tours are great for general sightseeing, giving access to all the major sites. Departing from Grosvenor Gardens it includes Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, St Paul's Cathedral, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, London Eye and Piccadilly Circus.

A great opportunity for you to discover the 'must-see' sights in London. Watch as the River Thames weaves its way through the heart of London and see the history of this city around every bend. Cruises depart frequently from Westminster Pier, Waterloo (London Eye) Pier, Tower Pier and Greenwich Pier.

Rising to a height of 90 metres, the IFS Cloud Cable Car offers you an exciting 1.1km cable car journey across the Thames on the UK’s only urban cable car connecting the Greenwich Peninsula and the Royal Victoria Dock.

Transport yourself back to the darkest moments in the capital's history within the deep depths of the London Dungeon.

The ArcelorMittal Orbit in the Queen Elizabeth Park, Stratford which is the iconic structure of the London 2012 Games and has the longest and tallest tunnel slide in the world. 

Take the lift up to the viewing platform, 80 meters high, and after marvelling at the view take the slide down which lasts a thrilling 40 seconds! Go back to the top and take some time learning about the city on the interactive touchscreens or making use of the free Key Stage 1-4 resources before walking back down the winding staircase with its 455 steps.

You can book with or without the slide and you can choose to stay the whole day in the park by taking a behind the scenes tour at the iconic London Stadium, swimming at the London Aquatics Centre or visiting the Lee Valley Velopark; alternatively, explore the parklands and waterways with a local Blue Badge guide.

Tower Bridge, which crosses the River Thames, was built between 1886 and 1894 and is an iconic symbol of London with its two towers and bridge deck which opens to allow tall ships through. You can walk across the lower bridge deck but the twin towers and high-level glass walkways and Victorian engine rooms are part of the Tower Bridge Exhibition.

At Christmas the South Bank of the River is transformed into a wintry wonderland, where global cuisine and an artisan Christmas market come together in one sparkling location.  Amble past wooden chalets which line the banks of the Thames and pick up gorgeous stocking fillers from the Winter Market. Or, tuck into some Christmas fare underneath the glittering Christmas lights.

In Hyde Park, you can truly immerse yourself in the festive atmosphere of Winter Wonderland, one of the biggest Christmas markets in London.  Other locations for Christmas Markets in London include Leicester Square, London Bridge City and Greenwich.  Many of these pop-up London markets appear in mid-November and stay open until the New Year

Founded in 1852, it is well known for the wide variety of its collection. The items include furniture, fashion and textiles, sculpture, paintings, silver, glass, ceramics, jewellery, books, prints and photographs which illustrate the artistic life of many different cultures from all over the world.

The Science Museum, founded in 1857, is one of London’s major tourist attractions, attracting 3.3 million visitors annually. They do not charge for admission, however, there may be a charge for temporary exhibitions.

The Science Museum holds a collection of over 300,000 items, including such famous items such as Stephenson’s Rocket, Puffing Billy (the oldest surviving steam locomotive), the first jet engine, the Apollo 10 Command module, hundreds of interactive exhibits and an IMAX 3D Cinema.

The Science Museum is made up of a number of themed galleries including; Power, Exploring Space, Making of the Modern World, Flight, Information Age, Engineer Your Future and Medicine.

Go behind-the-scenes in the making of Harry Potter and see how many things the camera never showed. From breathtakingly detailed sets to stunning costumes, props and animatronics, Warner Bro. Studio Tour provides a unique showcase of the extraordinary British artistry, technology and talent that went into making one of the most successful film franchises. Short workshops are also available in a variety of subjects including set design, camera choices and many more.

The Natural History Museum exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history.

As well as being located in a stunning and striking Romanesque architecture building, which is considered a work of art in its own right, the museum is famous for the dinosaurs and is home to over 80 million specimens spanning 4.5 billion years of Earth's history.

The museum offers too much to mention here but have collections under the categories of: oceans, human evolution, space, dinosaurs, British wildlife as well as visiting collections and exhibitions. Check out their website for up-to-date information.  https://www.nhm.ac.uk/

ZSL London Zoo is the world's oldest scientific zoo and one of London’s main tourist attractions, located on the edge of Regents Park. 

They have a range of online resources available to download and use before, during and after a visit to ZSL London Zoo. Some of the resources are for the pupils to use and some are for the accompanying adults.

The £25 million London Aquarium is the first attraction of its kind in London and is one of Europe's largest exhibitions of global aquatic life displayed in over 2 million litres of water. 

Visit to discover the amazing marine life at SEA LIFE London Aquarium, find out about penguins, sea turtles, sharks, jellyfish and much more. Travel through Pacific Ocean tunnels, tropical rainforests (and even a shark reef!) to see the different habitats on planet earth!