Embankment
At first, when the London Underground was built, trains were hauled by steam locomotives. But the smoke from the locomotive chimneys would soon have suffocated the passengers. That's why vents were made in the tunnels to let the sneaker out. Later, when electricity started to move the trains, these openings were no longer needed for the new lines, and the tunnels were also built deeper. But the air vents of the old tunnels are still there. But you hardly ever notice these while walking in London. Many such vents are located in courtyards between buildings. But when they are in public, they are very well disguised. You can see such places in the following two photos. In the first case, the hole is surrounded by a dense hedge, in the second, it is located behind the statue. When exiting the underground station by the park, you have to walk in the northeast direction.
Embankment
A very peculiar street. It would be like some kind of basement tunnel, but actually in street rights. All the houses around it have been built new, the street is the only thing that remains from the time when completely different houses stood here. Recommended for a walk in the evening, then it must have been haunted here. 
Sloane Square
Sloane Square - The 'Venus Fountain'. It has been standing here on the square since 1953. Sculptor Gilbert Ledward. The upper part shows Venus, while the lower vase-shaped part has scenes of King Charles II with his mistress Nell Gwynn by the Thames. Unfortunately, these images cannot be seen well in flowing water, much less can be photographed.
Tower Hill
All Hallows by the Tower is a very old church. There are many interesting things to see there. But it's also worth going down to the basement. In one place, the floor is the stone pavement of the road built by the ancient Romans, which later remained in the basement of the building under construction. But in one of the showcases you can see a church book in which the marriage of John Quincy Adams, the 6th president of the United States, to Louise Catherina Johnson on July 26, 1797 in this church is recorded (the paper with an arrow indicates this place).
Borough
Church of St. George The Martyr. The four clocks of the tower face different directions. At night, three dials are illuminated, the fourth is not. Why, I don't know exactly, but people know how to say that the people there did not want to pay the church tax.
Paddington
A very quaint pedestrian drawbridge quite close to Paddington station. There is also another bridge on the same canal, which turns into a roll. They are usually raised on Fridays at noon.
Charing Crosss
A building with a gate leading to a square called Horse Guard Parade. But there is a clock at the top of the building. Well, so what? But if you take a closer look at the clock, you will notice that there is a dark spot on the face of the otherwise nice clock at two o'clock. Why? If we mentally step twenty meters to the left of the place where the second picture was taken, we are at the place where King Charles I was executed. And it happened exactly at two o'clock in the afternoon. Some doubt it, but no one has offered a better explanation.
Marble Arch
Former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned with polonium isotope 210 in the Millennium Hotel restaurant. The amount of the substance added to the teacup costs over a million dollars on the open market. Undoubtedly the most expensive cup of tea ever. The owners of the hotel must have been scared, now this hotel is called The Biltmore.
Charing Cross
Currently, all public transport in London is united under the name TfL (Transport for London). It is very convenient, with your transport card you can use all trains, buses, trams. Of course, this has not always been the case, at one time there were a large number of companies that kept appearing, disappearing, merging and, of course, competing.
But the colorful history of London transport is gathered in the relevant museum right on the edge of Covent Garden market. A place that is really worth visiting, interesting for both adults and children. There are also interactive exhibits that children can touch with their hands.
One man seems to hold a mobile phone.
Cannon Street
A stone that is considered a symbol of something important. What exactly, is not very clear.
Igal pool Elizabeth Line is a recently completed rail transport line. It does not count as an Underground, nor does it count as a railway. Something special. Enormous long trains, moving quickly and quietly, connect the various fringes of London through the city center. Completion took longer than expected; it cost more than prognosed - but it is really magnificent!
Piccadilly Circus
Equestrian Monument to William III. There seems to be a boring equestrian figure. Who cares about this king who ruled from 1688 to 1702 and his riding? But in fact, the monument hides a secret sign in itself. William III died falling from a horse when his horse stumbled upon a pile of mole soil. And if you look carefully at the monument, we can also see this pile of soil under the horse's foot.
Queen's Park
The Carlton Tavern, an old pub. But it's actually "Version 2". A real estate developer wanted to build a house here, like the one on the right in the picture. But he wasn't allowed to do that because the building was a national monument. Under some pretext, the developer managed to close the pub for a few days and in one night the building was demolished. But the developer obviously regretted that. The case went to court and the developer was ordered to restore the building exactly as it was at his own expense. The laws are tough there. The developer had to do it. It was made easier by the fact that there were very accurate drawings of the listed building.
Paddington
A nice group to the left of Paddington station. Two of the taburets are still empty, you can sit in the company.
St John's Wood
Bridge over the Regent Canal. In the second photo you can see the grooves in the pillar. These were worn away with ropes when the ferry was hauled from the shore by horses. But the grooves are on both sides of the pillar. Why? It has to do with the fact that this bridge has been built twice. Once, a steam-powered boat was towing a barge with over a tonne of gunpowder as cargo. But it was apparently under this bridge that a spark flew from the chimney.... The explosion destroyed the bridge. Some parts of the boat are said to have been blown several hundred metres away. But the massive pillars survived intact and were put back in place when the new bridge was built. And some of them apparently the other way round, which explains the grooves on either side.
Marlebone
There are around 1,000 blue round signs in London, marking places where famous people have either lived, worked or stayed. But this one is special. Danger Mouse was a secret agent from the cartoons of the eighties, a great favourite with British children.
Royal Arsenal
The royal arsenal. This is where cannons were cast for the British army. The first picture is not of a church (as might be mistakenly thought), but of a foundry.
Leytonstone
"The King of Horror" Alfred Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone, East London. His birthplace is no more, the site is now a petrol station. But in front of Leytonstone tube station, in the connecting corridor, there are mosaics of his films on the walls. It's good to quiz yourself on how many films you recognise.
Pinner
St John the Baptist church garden. A curious grave monument. Legend has it that a man ordered a person to be paid a monthly allowance from his property 'while he was still on earth'. After his death, it was decided that the coffin should be raised high above the ground so that the person would continue to receive the allowance.
An interesting legend, but not true. In fact, the man and his wife are still buried underground. Their son designed this strange grave monument. I don't know why.
Angel
Once upon a time, there was great enthusiasm in England for the discoveries made in Egypt. Sphinxes became very popular as a result. One interesting example is Richmond Avenue, where all the houses on one stretch are decorated with tiny sphinxes.
Temple
We've probably all seen lots of pictures and statues of angels. But have you ever seen an angel talking on the phone?
Earl's Court
Such signs can be seen all over London. And you can believe that nothing really happened at the time shown here. In fact, with the change from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar, the day simply disappeared. Nothing can really happen on a day that hasn't happened
Liverpool Street
All that remains of the old house is the front wall, with a new house built behind. There has been some respect for the old house though, the old doorway has been blocked up and is probably a different colour quite deliberately.
Putney Bridge
During the Second World War, it was feared that German troops might invade London. Therefore, special defences were built in key locations, such as railway stations, from which invaders could be fired upon if necessary. Most of these did not survive, but one can still be seen at Putney Bridge station.
Putney Bridge
At one time, there were many special kilns for firing ceramics in London. Few survive, for example one in North Kensington. But this one is really just an advertisement for a ceramics company.
For us, perhaps, the word "pottery" is associated with flower vases and other trinkets. But what about the stones from which many of London's beautiful houses are built? And even the lion you see at the eastern end of Westminster Bridge has been 'matured' in sections over four days in a steady fire in a ceramic kiln.
Pimlico
During World War II, it wasn't just central London that was bombed. Houses in the suburbs were also hit. Here too, a house once stood. But all that remains of it is the fireplace used to heat the rooms.
Liverpool Street
Don't think this sauna is tiny. As is the custom here, important rooms are underground.
Aldgate
The drinking water pump is first shown on a map in 1574. But the townspeople were getting their water from here much earlier.
King's Cross
This "beacon" was probably built just to decorate the house. There is no navigable waterway nearby where it can be seen. The only real lighthouse in London is at Trinity Buoy Wharf. But even that is not intended for navigation, but as an educational tool for sailors.
Manor House
Abney Park Cemetery. Interesting in that the trees are planted in alphabetical order from the entrance to their Latin names. A number of famous people are buried there, including of William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army. There's also a memorial to those who took part in the Air Wars and a nice chapel, which until recently was in a poor state of repair. But now looks excellent.
Tottenham Coart Road
The door to this house is very tall. Theater decorations were once made here, and otherwise they would not have fit through the door.
Earls Court
There were many of these in the 1930s. Inside was a telephone that could be used to contact the police. But this one was erected in connection with the filming of "Doctor Who." There is a camera on the roof, but the telephone inside is not connected to a line. The black structure behind the box is a public toilet.
Gunnesbury
A beautiful park with a lake. A pleasant place for a morning walk.
Barons Court
It seems to me that this house was probably home to artists who needed lots and lots of light for their work.
The house was built in 1891 by architect Frederick Wheeler. Its most famous resident was probably ballerina Margot Fonteyn.
Battersea Power Station
It is a protest against the use of animals in medical experiments. The statue has changed locations several times. Its current location is so hidden that many people who visit the park every day have probably never seen it.
Sloane Square
Winnie-the-Pooh lived in this house. The toy bear was bought at Harrods department store and given as a gift to the author's son, whose real name was Christopher Robin. The bear was named Winnie after a bear seen at the zoo. It's strange, really, because Winnie is a girl's name, but Pooh was a boy... But the real bear was named after a Canadian medical officer who donated the bear cub to the zoo. The officer was from the city of Winnipeg.
But the Hundred Acre Wood is a hundred kilometers south of London, where the author had a summer home.
Highgate
Alexandra Palace is a rather large building located quite far from central London. It is 2.5 km from the nearest underground station. But if walking is not a problem, I would recommend taking a detour to Highgate Wood, where you can enjoy beautiful nature and meet friendly and polite dogs.
The palace hosts a bunch of cultural events, and you can go skating there, but on November 2, 1936, they started regular high-resolution TV broadcasts from there. Of course, the word "high resolution" should be interpreted according to the times. Initially, the television image consisted of 240 lines, later changing to 405 lines. Interestingly, this standard was used until 1985.
The palace is surrounded by a magnificent park with an artificial lake. You can also swim and ride a water bike there. There used to be a underground station near the palace, but unfortunately it was closed down a long time ago. Getting there is a bit difficult, but it is a very beautiful place.
Hampstead
The house is called the Admiral's House, but no admiral has ever lived there. The name probably comes from the platform on the roof of the house, which resembles a captain's bridge. As the house is located on a hill, it probably offers a very beautiful view from above. However, architect George Gilbert Scott (more than 800 buildings, including the Albert Memorial) has lived in the house.
Holland Park
A statue of a sulky man in Holland Park. More precisely, by the wall of the Dutch Garden. No one knows who the statue represents or why his face is so sour.
Canada Water
The old dock. As the name suggests, goods were mainly imported from Canada, and the main commodity was timber. Now it is a nice place to walk around, but once upon a time, heavy manual labor was done here when rafting logs. The interestingly shaped building in the background is a library. The bridge over the water at the edge of the shore was completed relatively recently and is mainly for aesthetic purposes. It doesn't really shorten the route much.
By the way, about terminology. According to reference works, a dock is a facility for lifting ships out of the water. This would then be more of a harbor. But traditionally, this place is still called a dock.
St Paul's
The house on which this bas-relief stood has long since been demolished. However, it has been placed on a new house, where everyone can admire it. Here we see a boy sitting on some kind of basket. But what kind of basket it is and what this symbolizes has been lost over time.
Balham
Du Cane Court is a monstrously large house. During World War II, the surrounding houses were bombed to smithereens, but this building, clearly visible from the air, remained untouched. This is probably what gave rise to the rumor that Hitler had planned to make this house his headquarters after conquering all of Europe. This rumor is perhaps supported by the fact that, when viewed from the air (albeit very indirectly), the house resembles a swastika. Whether there is any truth to these rumors is doubtful. The main character is dead and we cannot ask him.
