There
are certain stereotypes which people bring to mind when they think of London;
certainly you just need to watch a Hollywood film to see how London is depicted
when on the big screen. Red
double-decker buses, Big Ben, the Tower Bridge and Buckingham Palace are just
some of the iconic images you are likely to see. Perhaps this is partly the reason why people
head for these attractions (or board the buses) when they visit London for the
first time. They feel as though they are
capturing a part of the London they have come to know and love through the
world of media.
However,
there are other, seemingly innocuous parts of London which have also received
iconic status simply because they have featured in certain popular films,
television shows or books in recent years.
These locations are almost as popular as the historical landmarks, if
not more so and you can often spot them by the random crowds of tourists who
appear to have gathered to have their photographs taken. Of course, if you are a fan of Harry Potter,
James Bond, Doctor Who and so on then you may well be interested to know where
some of these locations can be found so that you too can visit and have that
all important photograph taken!
For
that reason we have gathered some of the best pop culture landmarks in London:-
Abbey Road
This
is perhaps one of the world’s most famous zebra crossings; and it happens to be
on one of the most innocuous looking roads.
Made famous following ‘that’ album cover from The Beatles, this St
John’s Wood road now sees hordes of tourists descend daily to re-enact the very
same photo. Whilst it is expected by
locals, be aware that Abbey Road is a fully functional road in the city and so
you will need to be wary of cars when trying to take your capture.
Kings Cross Station
Made
famous by the Harry Potter series; Kings Cross has appeared in every single
film being the station from which the Hogwarts Express departs. More specifically, it is platform 9 ¾ which
has made this station famous. You can
have your photo taken pretending to push your trolley through the wall into the
magical world beyond or visit the Harry Potter shop which is located here and
buy your HP merchandise.
The Tardis
You
aren’t reading this incorrectly; there is a real life TARDIS (or Time and
Relative Dimension in Space for those of us not in the know) situated in London
just outside Earl’s Court Tube Station.
Made famous by Dr Who, the blue box was originally a police box where
the police or members of the public could go to telephone the police
directly. It was chosen as the time
travelling vehicle for Dr Who in the original BBC television series and has
become an iconic image ever since.
221B Baker Street
Following
the new television series featuring Benedict Cumberbatch there has been a new
increase in the popularity of 221B Baker Street otherwise known as the
residence of Sherlock Holmes. It is now
the home of the Sherlock Holmes Museum which has period exhibits, wax figures,
memorabilia and Sherlock’s iconic study.Baker Street is located in the Marylebone district of London which is very easy to get to, especially if you are staying somewhere central such as the Park Grand London Hyde Park hotel. In fact, staying at this hotel will put you within easy reach of all these pop culture fixes.
The Blue Door and The Travel Book Company
If
you haven’t watched the film you will no doubt be curious as to why hundreds of
tourists would descend each year to hunt out a simple blue door. Made famous by the film Notting Hill, ‘that’
blue door was actually 280 Westbourne Park Road, the home of the film’s
screenwriter. The original door has
since been auctioned off but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth a visit to see
where the actual scene from the movie was recorded. Another important building in the film was
the Travel Book Company although this doesn’t actually exist. Scenes for the bookshop were based on The
Travel Bookshop which is located on Portobello Road. Of course the entire film was shot on
location so a walk around Notting Hill will no doubt highlight other points and
places of interest from the movie as well which can be wonderful for true fans
of the film.
The MI6 Building
The
MI6 Building is the centre of British Secret Intelligence and was made famous
by Britain’s top spy: James Bond. The
actual building is known as the SIS Building and overlooks the River
Thames. It was said to have cost around
£150 million to build and is equipped with the most advance security systems in
the world although that didn’t seem to stop it being exploded in the more
recent James Bond film, Skyfall!
Alongside
these six popular London landmarks there are also others which have regularly
featured on the silver screen. TowerBridge has been the backdrop for many blockbusters including the likes of
Mission Impossible, Tomb Raider and The Mummy Returns. Trafalgar Square featured in Captain America,
St Trinian’s and Ugly Betty and the Old Royal Naval College was the site for
the epic riot scenes in Les Miserables.
In
fact, London has so many of these iconic settings that it is even possible to
book tours which specifically take you around these sites. These can be great for any fans who want to
get some unique insight into the making of the films and discover some parts of
London that you might otherwise have missed.
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