It was one of the jewels in the crown of Georgian London: a building so unusual that a suspicious public were unconvinced it would remain standing when it was built in 1762.  Designed at the height of the 18th century craze for Chinoiserie, The Great Pagoda at Kew was famously adorned with 80 brightly coloured wooden dragons. The eye-catching dragons were the talk of the town for 20 years, before disappearing in the 1780s, rumoured to be payment for the Prince Regent’s gambling debts.

One of the more popular landmarks to tour in London is Westminster Abbey.  In fact, each year, over 1million visitors explore this magnificent church with over 1000 years of heritage, taking in all the building’s rich history on their own or with a qualified Blue Badge Tourist Guide.  Below we highlight eleven facts about Westminster Abbey.  

London’s iconic Palace of Westminster and the Houses of Parliament is in need of  repairs that could take as long as 40 years and cost taxpayers £7 billion if the MPs refuse to temporarily decamp elsewhere, according to a recent report conducted by Deloitte.

ZSL London Zoo has petitioned to build nine wooden cabins next to the lion enclosure which will allow visitors to stay overnight – and fall asleep to the sound of roaring.

World War One Walks have now found a natural home on the homepage of School Travel Organiser. “Plenty of teachers found Blue Badge tours a natural fit for their geography and sports history courses in the run-up to 2012.  We’re hoping we can repeat something like that with the Great War,” says Stan Medland, a World War One Walks committee member.

Visitors to London will be pleased to hear that Transport for London will launch a night time tube service starting the early hours of 12 September. Thereafter, there will be a round-the-clock service on Fridays and Saturdays on Jubilee, Victoria, and most of the Central, Northern and Piccadilly lines.

A new waterlily species has been found on a plant-hunting expedition in a remote spot in Kimberley, Western Australia. As plant-hunter Carlos Magdalena investigated the waterlily, it became clear this was not the first time the species has been encountered by Kew Garden experts. 

It is too soon to claim that the common ancestor of dinosaurs had feathers, according to research by scientists at the Natural History Museum, Royal Ontario Museum and Uppsala University. 

From a basement in New York, Joseph Cornell channelled his limitless imagination into some of the most original art of the 20th century. Cornell hardly ventured beyond New York State, yet the notion of travel was central to his art. His imaginary voyages began as he searched Manhattan’s antique bookshops and dime stores, collecting a vast archive of paper ephemera and small objects to make his signature glass-fronted ‘shadow boxes’.

Currently at the National Portrait Gallery is a fascinating photographic exhibition on the life of actress and fashion icon Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993). 

The Serpentine Gallery unveiled its 15th annual summer pavilion on 22 June brining a touch of Glastonbury to Kensington Gardens in the form of a giant multi-coloured tent.

Sir Kenneth Branagh has announced a whirlwind season of five plays at the Garrick Theatre, created by his own theatre company in a tradition dating back to actor-managers.