I've been involved in a conference on science blogging for the past day or two, and in preparing for it before that, hence the infrequent posts this week. As part of the proceedings, Nature Network London editor Matt Brown organized an impressive scientific walking tour of London for some of the people attending the meeting. We had such a great day that I thought I would share his itinerary here, in case anyone planning to visit the city would like to recreate it, or at any rate know of these wonderful places that can be seen in the space of a few hours. Many thanks to Matt for such a mind-expanding and sociable day.
10.30 am Tour of Nature's offices (aim to get here for 10.20), kindly conducted by Maxine Clarke.
11.30 am Wellcome Collection – awesome museum of medical curiosities. Includes lots of dead bodies. Free entry.
12.30 Head off to get lunch, taking in some of the blue plaques and scientific sights of interest in Bloomsbury and Soho. [Lunch was at an outside cafe in Russell Square.]
2.00 Tour and talk at the Linnean Society.
2.30 Pop into the Geological Society of London to look at the famous William Smith geology map.
2.45 Whistlestop tour of the Mayfair/St James area, including the Royal Institution, Royal Society, Newton's House and many other places.
4.30 Behind the scenes tour of the Darwin Centre – part of the Natural History Museum – courtesy of Karen James.
Update: photo by Martin Fenner. I'm the bag lady in the middle. Matt is to my left, with dark jacket and blue jeans. For more tour pictures, see Martin's Flickr stream.
