Happy Holidays!
Welcome to Charles Dickens’ London — where one will find wonder and delight at every turn!
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Begin your tour just inside the South Hall’s UPPER LOBBY. You have just arrived in London’s VICTORIA STATION, with the sounds of steam trains just out of sight. The Railway porters will take your tickets and point you down the walkway to our LOWER LOBBY and The Great Dickens Christmas Fair!
Upon the left as you enter is FEZZIWIG’S WAREHOUSE, where you can learn to dance or play a parlour game. To your right is a spectacular Christmas tree and the Tours of London office! Stop by with questions or sign up for a free tour. Next door is Patterson & Sons Souvenir Shop where you may meet our Silhouette Artist, who can cut your likeness out of paper in less than 5 minutes.
Continue down the GRAND CONCOURSE beneath the avenue of British flags and stop by Mrs. Piper’s Photo Parlour to dress in Victorian clothing and pose for a portrait of family and friends. Then stop by Whirlwood Magic Wands and try your hand at making magic. Also on BAKER STREET you will find the home of Sherlock Holmes or Dr Watson. They may need your help to unravel a mystery as you travel through London in The Sherlock Holmes Experience. See if you can be the one to solve the puzzle!
Pass through the doors of GRENADIERS GATE to discover the dark and notorious LONDON DOCKS where you will find the Paddy West School of Seamanship. Try your hand at knot making, be hoisted up into the rigging by a helpful sailor, and enjoy the lively shows on the Paddy West Stage.
Continue your wander past the Docks and into MAIDEN LANE to find the Coin Strike, where you can stop to watch as the hammer drops with a loud Bang! Continue down Ale House Alley where more adult entertainments are at MAD SAL’S THEATRE with lively music and dance always on offer.
Through the doorway to your left wander into CHANCERY LANE, where Dickens’ characters such as Mr. Scrooge, Bob Crachit, and Tiny Tim reside or work. Across from Chancery Lane is Mr. Dickens’ Study at Tavistock House. Make yourself welcome! Perhaps you will find him busy at work on a new novel and interacting with his friends and family (and even some of his characters!). Mr. Dickens will also be giving readings of his famous story A Christmas Carol at intervals throughout the day.
Through the doorway to the right of Mr. Dickens’ Study, you’ll enter HOLLYBERRY PARK, home to the Corinthian Rose Fencing Academy, providing the finest tutoring in swordsmanship for aspiring defenders of the realm. After that, relax and share a refreshing pot of tea with the family at Cuthbert’s Tea Parlour; here you may have peanut-butter & honey sandwiches or scones, hot chocolate and other lovely treats! Reservations for both the Fencing Lessons and the Tea Parlour are recommended as you arrive at the Fair.
After your tea, head straight down FISH STREET towards The MERMAID TAVERN STAGE where some of London’s finest musicians and dancers gather. Across from the stage, pick up a cake at London’s Finest Cakes, and as you head towards the door stop to have a picture taken with the fantastical Time Machine. Then pass through the doorway and find yourself in FAGIN’S DEN (at the far end of the LONDON DOCKS). Here you may meet Oliver Twist and the Artful Dodger as they make short work of picking pockets, snatching hankies, and generally getting up to mischief. Nearby, the Peeler’s Clink Jail will hold you or any such riff-raff caught by Her Majesty’s Royal Constabulary behind bars. Get “locked in” and take a photo!
Push on! Your tour is nearing the land of wonder and delight! Continue past FAGIN’S DEN to enter TINSLEY GREEN, where Father Christmas makes his appearance and poses for pictures on the FATHER CHRISTMAS STAGE 11:45 am and 4:00 pm daily. Don’t miss the Punch & Judy Puppet Theatre – then enjoy a beverage from Judy’s Juice Stand and a delicious meal at Mr. Punch’s Pasta or Oscar’s Meat Pies as you take in a show. You will also find good fun with the Boot the Cat game, or flipping a chimney sweep into a chimney at Flip A Sweep, then tossing a paintbrush and helping Paint the Roses Red. See the spectacular Adventure Carousel and take a ride on your favourite animal! Discover the Fairy House Workshop and make your own fairy house, and the Painting Garden where you can purchase an ornament and paint set to use in the Garden or take home to paint. Don’t miss freshly baked warm cookies at Maclaren’s Cookies & Milk, or a visit to the Spectaclez Toy Shoppe.
Nearing your final destinations! Jog your merry way into JINGLES GATE and PICKWICK SQUARE, where you will find more eateries. Don’t miss the whimsical Holiday Pantomime The Tale of Puss and Boots at the VICTORIA & ALBERT BIJOU MUSIC HALL ~ enjoy a box of freshly-popped popcorn, and take any seat!
As you exit the theatre and turn right, you are once again near the entrance to London, and now is the time to retrace your steps to visit whatever you missed on the first go’round!
Happy Christmas!
The A to Z of Tea
~ All Things British by Will Wood
B ~ British folk, as you see, brew Tea properly
C ~ Cup of bracing tea, breakfast for you and me
D ~ Darjeeling of the East, perfect company’s taste feast
E ~ Enough of coffee’s Tars, Tea has the strength of Mars!
F ~ Found floating in the Emperor’s cup, tea leaf of the first Sup
G ~ Grind your Tea carefully, to be brewed appropriately
H ~ High Tea in the Tea Room, reservations needed soon
I ~ In your sweet cup of tea, sugar lumps? 1, 2 or 3?
J ~ Judge the company you keep, and the Tea you steep
K ~ Kindness is the quality, aided by thought and Tea
L ~ Long should you keep, your Tea Caddy to steep
M ~ Many a one, or two, deserves a more bracing brew
N ~ Never watch a kettle boil, for that is an endless toil
O ~ Oh, for a full cup of Tea, & not a single penny from me
P ~ Porcelain cup delicacy, perfect setting for your Tea
Q ~ Quality purveyors of Tea, Royal Appointment to her Majesty
R ~ Run the Tea water gently, damping the leaves simply
S ~ Serve Tea sweets at Teatime, our British hour sublime
T ~ Tea then must British be, everything from A to Z
U ~ Under the Teapot’s dome, a broiling brew comes home
V ~ Volumes of 8 ounces or less, a teacupful can only bless
W ~ Waltz the Christmas night away; our tea dance is your display!
X ~ Xmas and Christmas Tea, holiday gifts for you and me
Y ~ Yuletide in our Tea garden, let mercy rule and pardon
Z ~ Z to A British Tea has its way, & our proper salute to Earl Grey!
“Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.”
~ Charles Dickens, David Copperfield