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As London swelters through record-breaking June temperatures in 2026, we look back to another scorching June that changed the city forever. In 1858, soaring temperatures turned the Thames into a foul-smelling open sewer, creating the Great Stink and forcing Parliament to approve one of the greatest engineering projects in British history. Walk along the Thames Embankment with me as we visit two historic Westminster pubs that bookend the story of a Victorian public health crisis and discover how Joseph Bazalgette's engineering masterpiece transformed London's riverfront—and why every visitor to London still benefits from it today.

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The Fox & Grapes - A London Country Pub by Wimbledon Common. “One of the few pubs in London that's best reached by horse,” and, “About as rural as you can get in Zone 3.” [Londonist]

London pubs are more than a place for a pint — they're the key to a whole neighborhood.

In this Love Letter to Pubs short from Publicity – Your London Travel Toolkit, Expat Andy raises a glass to The Fox & Grapes, a Georgian country pub on the edge of Wimbledon Common that feels more English village than big city.

Built in 1787 and one of the few London pubs best reached on horseback, it's the thread that ties together everything first- and second-time visitors miss when they come to Wimbledon only for the tennis: ancient woodland and heathland, a 200-year-old windmill, the football folklore of Wimbledon FC and AFC Wimbledon (the supporters' club born in this very pub), the Wombles, and the affluent, leafy charm of Wimbledon Village.

If you love historic London pubs and want London travel tips, neighborhood guides, and London pub history that help you plan a smarter trip and see the real London, this is your London travel podcast. Perfect for travelers planning a first or second trip to London who'd rather find a great country pub and a quiet common than queue with the crowds.

Subscribe for more historic London pubs, London neighborhood guides, and London travel tips.

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Planning a trip to London and looking for an easy day trip from London by train? Skip another packed day in the UK capital, and head two hours west to Cardiff, the grand coal-built capital of Wales. A whole other country, with its own language, anthem, and parliament. Yet no passport check needed!

In this Day Break episode of Publicity – Your London Travel Toolkit, host Expat Andy walks you through the best of Cardiff in a day. The Victorian fantasy of Cardiff Castle, the City of historic Victorian shopping arcades, Cardiff Market, Captain Scott's Antarctic connection, and the beautiful tiled Golden Cross pub. Plenty of Welsh led food options for lunch - a proper pub lunch at a Brains Brewery tied house, The Hayes, Cardiff's Cafe Quarter, and "Chippy Lane." Cardiff Bay - the old Tiger Bay docklands where Shirley Bassey, "Our Shirl," was born.

Part travel guide, part love letter to a proud rugby city, it's the London day trip your guidebook probably forgot to mention. Whether you're building a London travel itinerary, searching for London travel tips, or just want a reliable London travel podcast for Americans planning a UK trip, this is your signal in the travel information static. For more London travel guides and day trips from London, visit publicitythepodcast.com. Special gift this episode! Since Wales is, "The Land of Song", we've got some lovely music queued up with the episode.

Croeso i Gymru, fy mamwlad. Cymru. Gwlad y Gân.

This is Cardiff, there’s a lot to cover. Welcome to Wales, my homeland. Wales. The Land of Song.

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Planning a trip to London and looking to go beyond the usual tourist checklist? In this Summer Shorts episode of Love Letter to London Pubs, Expat Andy takes you to Stockwell, a South London neighborhood that offers a fascinating glimpse into the city's Victorian past.

The Marquis of Lorne is just ten minutes from the crowds of Leicester Square by tube. One of London's most striking surviving Victorian pubs, wrapped in spectacular ceramic tilework and surrounded by stories of royal scandal, railway expansion, David Bowie, and London's largest Portuguese community.

If you're researching authentic London neighborhoods, historic London pubs, South London attractions, Victorian London history, or where locals go in London, this episode will add a new dimension to your trip planning.

It's a perfect introduction to the Summer Shorts series—and an invitation to explore more of Publicity: Your London Travel Toolkit, the podcast that helps travelers experience London with greater depth, context, and confidence.

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Tired of London crowds? Build a day off into your trip. London Travel Expert, Expat Andy shares the perfect escape from the tourist treadmill. A slow, self-guided day in Bow in the East End of London. Just a few Tube stops from central London but a world away from Westminster's queues and tour groups.

Wander without deadline through one of London's best under-the-radar neighborhoods. Tree-lined Victorian streets, canal-side parks, and historic pubs, with a relaxed pub lunch as the anchor of your day. Along the way you'll find the Green Bridge and Mile End Park, Victoria Park, the site of London's first WWII "doodlebug," Sylvia Pankhurst and the Bow suffragettes, the 1888 Matchgirls' Strike, Chaucer's medieval nuns, and the spot where Gandhi stayed in 1931. Finish with a pint at The Morgan Arms or The Lord Tredegar beside one of London's finest Georgian squares.

An easy, walkable day built for first- and second-time visitors who want real local history, hidden gems, and a break from the crowds — proof that London rewards you for slowing down.

Publicity — Your London Travel Toolkit is the London travel podcast for American visitors planning a first or second trip to London, hosted by British expat "Expat Andy" from Miami.

To be a guest contributor — London pub owners, tour guides, and travel experts welcome — email expatandy@publicitythepodcast.com. Learn more at publicitythepodcast.com.

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Planning a trip to London? Publicity – Your London Travel Toolkit helps travelers build a London itinerary that hits the highlights without burning out.

All summer, two short series alternate weekly. Love Letter to London Pubs takes you inside one historic London pub and decodes the neighborhood around it. Day Break solves the mid-trip slump — when jet lag and sightseeing catch up — with a planned day trip anchored by a great lunch.

In the fall, Season Two of the main show returns with 30-minute episodes, new segments, and special guests.

Subscribe, catch up on past episodes, and pass it to a friend planning a London trip.

Email: expatandy@publicitythepodcast.com Web: publicitythepodcast.com

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Discover Old Isleworth, London's hidden Thames village, home to the 500-year-old London Apprentice pub, Lady Jane Grey, Syon House, Henry VIII, riverside walks, and one of London's most peaceful day trips.

Planning a London trip and looking for hidden London pubs beyond the usual tourist crowds? Our podcast shorts series is perfect for quick travel research tasks and a great way of supporting London pubs.

In this episode of Publicity – Your London Travel Toolkit, Love Letter to London Pubs shorts, we explore The London Apprentice in Old Isleworth. Getting ready to reopen after a major refurbishment by Greene King aimed at preserving the building’s Tudor and Georgian character while modernizing the pub for future generations.

A historic Thames riverside pub connected to Lady Jane Grey, Henry VIII, smugglers, ghost stories, and over 500 years of London history.

Discover hidden London history, riverside walks, authentic local neighborhoods, Tudor intrigue, Thames beer gardens, and one of west London’s most atmospheric historic pubs near Richmond, Twickenham, Kew Gardens, and Syon House.

Perfect for travelers searching for:

• hidden London gems
• historic London pubs
• Thames walks
• unusual things to do in London
• authentic London experiences
• London pub culture

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King's Cross sounds like it should have an ancient, heroic origin story, but the name comes from a mocked 1830 monument demolished fifteen years after it was built.

This episode traces the incredible arc of one of London's great train station neighborhoods. From open countryside to Victorian industrial powerhouse, decades of post-industrial abandonment, street prostitution, and a fatal Underground fire that killed thirty-one people. Finally reinvigorated as a global benchmark for urban regeneration.

Along the way, our story takes in, a lot! Boudica's alleged burial ground at Platform 9¾. The graveyard where Mary Shelley fell in love and modern science fiction was born. A Welsh drifter found near the station in 1943 who became a World War Two spy after his death. The poet laureate who saved St Pancras from demolition with days to spare. Shane MacGowan founding the Pogues in a local pub, and fifteen regulars who bought their own pub to stop it becoming a coffee shop. Oh — and Elvis is barred from one of them. The reasons are not recorded. We manage to stop at several historic pubs along the way, because as always it's the pubs that survive to tell the tales of evolving neighborhoods.