London is one of the leading destinations in Europe and the world, and many people visit the city and do exactly what everybody else has done before. Since our idea was always to bring cool people to fantastic places, we decided to create this list of unusual things to do in London.
Also, this list of unusual things to do in London includes places to visit for free or almost for free. London can be a pretty expensive city, so we wanted to show you that you can still have fun and entertain yourself without spending too much.
Enough with this introduction. Let’s start with five unusual things to do in London.
Free and Unexpected London: Exploring the City’s Hidden Delights on a Budge
The Only Statue of Lenin in London
Not many people know London almost had a housing project named after Lenin. It was supposed to be called Lenin Court and was a product of the 1940s. The political scenario was different when it was completed in 1954, and the Cold War made this project impossible.
However, the statue of Lenin, which was part of a memorial built in a square nearby, can still be found in London. Since 1996, the Lenin statue has been in the Islington Museum, a small local museum focused on telling the history of this part of London.
The Islington Museum is free for all, and its main focal point is the Lenin statue.
Looking for the first Public Drinking Fountain in London
It’s hard to think about how complicated it was to have access to clean drinking water in the 19th century. Freshwater wasn’t available until 1859 when the Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association was established in London. They are responsible for something nobody had done before: the First Public Drinking Fountain in the world, and you can still visit it today.
The first public drinking fountain in London is a unique place to visit, and most people who watched us take pictures of it were probably wondering why we were taking pictures of it. There are cups attached to chains, and no water comes from them anymore—at least we didn’t see any when we visited the fountain in February 2017.
Looking for Britain’s smallest police station
Most people at Trafalgar Square don’t even know what is on the corner. But it wasn’t always like that. Back in 1926, Britain’s smallest police station was built so the Metropolitan Police could keep an eye on everything that was happening around. This police station was designed to be somewhat hidden to avoid attracting any unintended attention. There is even an ornamental light fitting on the top.
The smallest police station in Great Britain looks small from the outside, but it could accommodate up to two prisoners at a time. Today, this little building is no longer used by the police, so you won’t find any trace of what it used to be. Right now, it’s used by the Westminster Council cleaners as broom storage, but we couldn’t see anything inside when we were there.
A visit to Joseph Grimaldi Park
Joseph Grimaldi Park is a small park close to King’s Cross that captured our eye the first time we walked by due to the presence of gravestones next to a basketball court. This weird site made us enter the park, trying to find a reason for this unique decoration.
After some research, we discovered that Joseph Grimaldi Park used to be the former burial ground for St James’s Episcopal Chapel. The park used to be a cemetery, and today, there is a weird combination of life and death that everyone can see while they play basketball or just sit down to have lunch in this green area in Islington.
While we walked around the park, we found an enclosed grave with a name that sounded familiar, but we didn’t know what it was. Joseph Grimaldi used to be the most popular English entertainer of the Regency era. He was an actor, a comedian, and a dancer, but he was more than all these things. Most people consider Joseph Grimaldi to be responsible for creating the clown we know nowadays.
London Canal Museum and its Ice Well
The London Canal Museum tells the rich story of the UK waterways, the people who lived and worked around them, the horses that helped pull the boats, and everything else related to them. The museum opened in 1992 in an old building close to King’s Cross with a unique story.
The building was a central part of Carlo Gatti’s ice cream empire in London in the 1860s. He used to store the ice he imported from Norway in two huge ice wells that are still inside the building. One of them even has a web-controlled camera inside it!
We have some other tips besides these five places outside the main tourist books about London. The first one is the amazing MeatLiquor King’s Cross burgers, so you don’t starve in the British capital. Close to it, you can find one of England’s oldest sites of Christian worship: St Pancras Old Church.
London’s Quirky Charm: A Guide to the City’s Unusual Attractions
If you are interested in street art, you should try to visit the insane-looking Leake Street Tunnel. For those interested in North American history, there is a Texas Embassy Memorial Plaque and the tomb of Karl Marx in the High Gate Cemetery.
All of them are a bit unusual but perfect for those who have seen London more than once.
