Discovering new areas of London is something I love, be it great free parking, or Borough Market i just love the new areas and events you can find in this great city.
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You could miss the Burlington Arcade as i have many times, you’ll find it just off Piccadilly adjacent to the Royal Academy and a short walk from both Green Park and Piccadilly Circus underground stations.

Burlington Arcade is a row of tiny Georgian shops and i think fair to say virtually unchanged since when they were first built in 1819.

First a bit of history the Burlington Arcade was built to cover a narrow alley that ran alongside the London home of Lord Cavendish. He suffered from a something that seems common even today, basically as he sat in the garden of Burlington House he was often being hit by items thrown over the wall from an alley alongside his home. He bascially grew tired of oyster shells, apple cores and old bottles so he decided to do something about it. He had built a row of shops would put stop this nuisance and mean he could sit in his garden in peace. The shops remain almost unaltered to this day with the famous beadles on hand to stop you running, whistling or carrying an open umbrella.

So when your next in Picadilly why not pop by, you will bear witness to a covered shopping street over 200 yards in length and something that delights me is that each of the shops is designated as a historic and architectural masterpiece.

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