Ready. Set. London!
Andy Meddick The London Travel Podcast Guy 35 episodes Nov 9, 2026
Ready. Set. London! is a London travel podcast that blends trip planning with storytelling. Hosted by a Brit, it offers an audio-guided exploration of the city through immersive walking stories, historic pubs, hidden streets, and food culture. The show aims to cut through overwhelming online travel advice and help listeners curate a trip that feels personal and meaningful. Each episode examines neighborhoods and everyday spaces, revealing local rhythms, histories, and details that typical guides miss.
Episodes
Beyond Buckingham Palace - London's Power Mile Decoded
We'd love to hear from you!You've photographed Buckingham Palace, watched the guards and admired the famous balcony. Now what? Don't leave—you're standing at the beginning of one of London's most extraordinary walks. In this episode of Ready. Set. London!, Expat Andy takes you beyond the palace railings to discover where King Charles actually lives, why the royal court stil
London Tube - Going Underground Without Getting Lost Overground
We'd love to hear from you!Planning to use the London Tube? There’s one thing you need to know before you go underground.The Tube map is a map of trains. It is not a map of London.Expat Andy learned that lesson the hard way when a perfectly sensible-looking journey from Notting Hill Gate to Hampstead Heath deposited him in…West Hampstead.Right name. Wrong Hampstead.In this episode of Ready. Se
Roupell Street – Circus, Scandal & Secrets Behind Waterloo
We'd love to hear from you!Come out of Waterloo Station, ignore the London Eye, turn away from the crowds and follow me.Just a few minutes away is Roupell Street—a remarkably preserved pocket of London where workers once crowded into tiny houses, the modern circus was born nearby, a Victorian pub still guards the corner, and the family whose name is on the street produced one of the more spect
Plan Your London Trip Better - Less Stress, More London
We'd love to hear from you!What if the best way to experience London isn’t to see more—but to start noticing more?In this episode, Expat Andy reveals a new direction for Ready. Set. London! and five ways we’re going to explore the city: Streets of London, London Decoded, The London You’re Standing In, Pub With a Past, and Why Is That There?Because London isn’t a checklist.A street you nearly w
The Red Bull, Peckham - Victorian Tile Masterpiece at Risk
We'd love to hear from you!Think Peckham isn't worth the trip? Think again. In this episode, Expat Andy uncovers one of London's most remarkable hidden treasures: The Red Bull, home to an extraordinary Victorian tile mural depicting Shakespeare's Henry VIII. Discover how this historic masterpiece survived years of neglect, why it's now at risk, and why this overlooked corne
Winchester Day Trip From London - Kings, Cathedrals, Legend
We'd love to hear from you!Planning a London vacation and looking for an easy, unforgettable day trip?Join Expat Andy as he travels from London to Winchester, England's ancient capital, where medieval streets, the magnificent Winchester Cathedral, King Alfred the Great, Jane Austen's final resting place, and centuries of royal history bring over 2,000 years of England's story to
York in One Day from London - What to See, Skip and Book
We'd love to hear from you!Can you do York in a day from London? Yes - if you know what to prioritize. This practical, independent itinerary takes you by direct train from King’s Cross to Roman ruins, Viking Jorvik, York Minster, the medieval walls, the Shambles, and a realistic return journey - without a car or an organized tour.I’ll tell you what to book ahead, which attractions to choose be
York In A Day from London - Up Next!
We'd love to hear from you!Next Monday’s episode of the Ready. Set. London! podcast has us taking that Day Trip from London you’ve all been waiting for! We’re going to York! Say it ain’t so!Can you do York in a day from London? What stations and what trains do you need to take? How much does it cost? How much of York’s layers of history, incredible sights, and food, can you realistically do in
A Mayfair Tour - Shoppers & Sightseers Kept Happy
We'd love to hear from you!Shopping or sightseeing in Mayfair and looking for something more than luxury shop windows? This self-guided London walk begins near Bond Street and follows the less obvious side of Mayfair - a buried river, a surviving mews pub, Georgian squares, American wartime history, old clubland, and the monumental finish at Hyde Park Corner.Along the way, Expat Andy takes you
Christmas In London 2026 Guide
We'd love to hear from you!Dreaming of Christmas in London but wondering when to go, where to stay, what to book, and how to make the most of the festive season? This episode helps you plan Christmas in London 2026, from the famous Christmas lights, markets and ice skating to Winter Wonderland, Christmas at Kew, Hogwarts in the Snow, pantomime, The Nutcracker, carol concerts, festive food and
The London Pub That Changed History - The Duke's Head Putney
We'd love to hear from you!Looking for historic London pubs, fascinating London history, a walk along the River Thames, or something different to add to your London itinerary?This episode of the Ready. Set. London! Love Letter to London Pubs series takes you to The Duke’s Head in Putney, a beautifully preserved Victorian riverside pub overlooking the Thames and the starting point of the Oxford
Is Windsor Worth a Day Trip from London? Train Tips, Castle, Eton & Itinerary
We'd love to hear from you!Planning a Windsor day trip from London? This practical one-day guide helps you decide whether Windsor is worth your time, choose the easiest train route, and plan a day around Windsor Castle, the Long Walk, Eton and a proper riverside pub.You’ll learn:Which train route makes the most sense from LondonHow much time to allow for Windsor CastleA simple walking order th
London Trip Planning Made Easy - Meet Ready. Set. London!
We'd love to hear from you!Planning a London trip just got easier. Publicity – Your London Travel Toolkit has evolved into Ready. Set. London! Trip Planning Made Easy, a redesigned London travel planning website, podcast and content hub built to help you make sense of one of the world’s biggest cities. Discover a smarter approach to London trip planning, from choosing where to stay and underst
Where to Stay in London - How to Choose the Best Area
We'd love to hear from you!Where should you stay in London—and what’s the best area for a first-time visitor? In this episode of Publicity — Your London Travel Toolkit, Expat Andy explains why there isn’t one universally “best” area to stay in London and offers a more useful way to choose your London home base. Learn how to match your hotel location to your itinerary, preferred neighborhood at
Kew Gardens & The Pub Behind Mutiny on the Bounty
We'd love to hear from you!Planning a London vacation, Kew Gardens needs to be on your itinerary. Don't miss the remarkable history waiting just across the road. In this episode, discover how an unassuming historic London pub - the Coach & Horses on Kew Green - connects to Thomas Gainsborough, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Joseph Banks, Captain Cook, and the extraordinary events that l
Canterbury - A Beautiful, Easy Day Trip from London
We'd love to hear from you!Planning a London itinerary? Discover why Canterbury is one of the best and easiest day trips from London.Just 55 minutes by high-speed train from St Pancras, this UNESCO World Heritage city packs 2,000 years of history into a walkable afternoon. Explore the magnificent Canterbury Cathedral, follow the footsteps of Chaucer's pilgrims, see Roman ruins, visit Engl
The Kinks' Muswell Hill — The Clissold Arms Pub Walk
We'd love to hear from you!Where did The Kinks play their first gig? The Clissold Arms in Muswell Hill, North London — the same pub where the full band gathered for the last time, 36 years later.Ray and Dave Davies grew up at 6 Denmark Terrace, directly across Fortis Green from the pub their father drank in. In this Love Letter to Pubs short, Expat Andy walks the North London streets where one
Day Trip From London - Portsmouth Museums, Southsea Victorian Seaside
We'd love to hear from you!London is incredible — and after three or four days, exhausting. Here's the move smart travelers make - take a day off in the middle of your trip and get out of town.This episode is your blueprint for Portsmouth and Southsea — 90 minutes by train from Waterloo, and a world away from the city. Actual sea. Actual horizon. Eight hundred years of British naval histo
Beyond Baker Street - Harrow-on-the-Hill, Metro-land's Hidden Gem
We'd love to hear from you!A 25-minute ride from Baker Street takes you to a 1901 pub, an ancient hilltop, and the school that shaped Churchill, Byron, and Nehru.You've got your days in London mapped out — the towers, the museums, the markets. But what about the morning you want something quieter, older, and a little off the usual route? Expat Andy takes us to Harrow-on-the-Hill. A green
Brighton Day Trip from London - Is It Worth It?
We'd love to hear from you!Thinking of taking a day trip from London to Brighton? In this episode, I cover whether Brighton is worth visiting for a day, how to get there by train, what to see and do, and how to make the most of one day in Brighton. An hour from Victoria sits "London by the Sea." Here's the one-walk, half-day Brighton plan—palace, pier, oldest pub in town—for you
Is Bath Worth Visiting from London? The Ultimate One-Day Guide
We'd love to hear from you!Planning a day trip to Bath from London? This episode shows you how to spend one day in Bath, England, exploring 2,000 years of history, iconic architecture, literary landmarks, local food, and a traditional pub—all on foot.Just 90 minutes west of London by train, Bath is one of England’s most rewarding day trips. The only city in the UK that's a UNESCO World He
The Great Stink – How London Finally Got Its Stuff Together
We'd love to hear from you!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 Embank
Wimbledon - More Than Tennis
We'd love to hear from you!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, Expa
Day Trip From London – Cardiff’s Victorian Splendor
We'd love to hear from you!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, h
Hidden London - Stunning Victorian Backstreet Boozer
We'd love to hear from you!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 L
Bow – Experience London on a Human Scale
We'd love to hear from you!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 unde
Summer Shorts Series Trailer - London Pubs & Day Trips Ideas
We'd love to hear from you!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 sightse
Old Isleworth – London's Hidden Thames Village Escape
We'd love to hear from you!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
King's Cross: From Run-Down to London's Hottest Neighborhood
We'd love to hear from you!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, str
London's Hardest Pub to Find - Where Elizabeth I Danced
We'd love to hear from you!This bonus episode is our love letter to Ye Olde Mitre, one of London's most hidden and historically rich pubs. When we visited recently, the bar staff gave us one of the most friendly welcomes we've experienced in a busy city center pub. So, this episode is our return gift to you.Tucked down a narrow alleyway off Hatton Garden, accessible only through a pa
The Lord Raglan - London's Roman Wall Pub
We'd love to hear from you!The Lord Raglan pub recently proudly announced the launch of their new food menu.To congratulate the pub on this great news, we decided to gift them with a special, short, bonus episode featuring the history of their pub - The Lord Raglan, Holborn.Enjoy and share the joy! Send this episode onto your network. It's a great way to support British tourism, and the h
Beyond Borough Market - Bermondsey Beer Mile
We'd love to hear from you!Before craft beer, before the taprooms, before the Saturday crowds with their route maps, Bermondsey smelled of rotting hides, urine, and dog filth. In short, industry! Episode 11 of Publicity - Your London Travel Toolkit pulls us south of the Thames to trace the evolution of one of London's most overlooked neighborhoods. From stinky medieval tanneries banished
Pie & Mash Explained – London's Strangest Great Meal
We'd love to hear from you!Step into the bustling streets of old East London, where the air is thick with history and the scent of freshly baked pies, and discover the story behind one of the city’s most iconic comfort foods, now part of Britain's "Heritage Foods Movement". This bonus episode serves up more than just pie and mash—it’s a journey through generations of grit, flavo
How London Created Charlie Chaplin
We'd love to hear from you!Join Publicity – The Guidebook Gap in our two-mile walking tour of Charlie Chaplin’s London neighborhood. Our walk maps how institutional poverty and family chaos produced the raw material of Chaplin’s art.We’ll visit pubs, music hall sites, residences, markets, and street art in Walworth, Kennington, Lambeth, and Camberwell. Discover how Chaplin’s character of The T
Eat Your Way Through History – London's Best Street Foods
We'd love to hear from you!It's all about London's great street food in this episode. We start with a famous Earl who named the humble sandwich. John Montagu, Fourth Earl of Sandwich, is remembered not for his long career at the Admiralty, nor for giving Hawaii its first English name, but for a piece of bread with meat inside it. We follow that legacy into the broader story of London
Marylebone - Posh Streets & Dark Secrets
We'd love to hear from you!We're off to Marylebone - using the neighborhood's dark origins as a launch pad for a story of spectacular reinvention. Our walk begins at Marble Arch, where a barely-noticed pavement plaque marks the site of Tyburn Tree - London's primary gallows for nearly six hundred years and the execution ground for over 50,000 people. From there, we traces how th
Covent Garden Explained – Hidden Stories, Pubs & History
We'd love to hear from you!In this episode, we rip the polished Instagram filter off Covent Garden and ask a far more interesting question than “Where’s the Apple Store?”We ask what scene this place is playing. Beneath the street performers and opera crowds lies a district that has shape-shifted more times than London itself. From monastic vegetable patch to aristocratic social experiment, fro
Why The City of London Pubs Feel Different
We'd love to hear from you!What if the secret to understanding a London neighborhood and its pubs… were the grocery stores?In this episode of Publicity – The Guidebook Gap, Expat Andy takes us to the City of London - where historic pubs and modern finance meet. We reveal a travel planning superpower - The Publicity M&S Litmus Test. By learning to decode the type of Marks & Spencer near
London's Lost River Rediscovered - Part 2
We'd love to hear from you!Brutalist estates, haunted pubs, Roman temples, and a river you've never seen—Part 2 of our world exclusive Walbrook walk dives deep into the hidden heart of London. Join Expat Andy as he traces the true, long-lost path of the Walbrook to its mouth on the Thames. Along the way: buried tributaries, literary ghosts, the city’s first coffee shop, and a riverside my
London's Lost River Rediscovered - Part 1
We'd love to hear from you!Beneath London’s bustling streets flows a river you’ve never seen—and until now, we’ve all been walking it wrong. In this world exclusive, Publicity uncovers the true path of the lost Walbrook River, hidden for over 600 years. Join Expat Andy as he follows this buried waterway from Roman Londinium through plague pits, pubs, and surprising side streets. From Islington
Notting Hill – The Boom and Bust Behind a London Icon
We'd love to hear from you!A guided walk through 275 years of urban failure, reinvention, and the long, slow gentrification of Notting Hill - told through the pubs that developers built first (usually before they went bankrupt). From gravel pits and pig farms to punk gigs and overpriced pints, we trace how these buildings reveal the neighborhood’s real story. Featuring forgotten racetracks, ba
Decode London - Why Every Neighborhood Feels Different
We'd love to hear from you!Why did Bermondsey’s working-class pubs serve up pints to tanners reeking of dog poo. While Hampstead boasts literary haunts filled with poetry and spa visitors? It’s not luck. It’s topography - for the answer is buried deep. From glacial gravel, to wandering water, to the winds of fortune, this episode takes you on a rollicking ride through the forces that shaped Lo
The Chelsea Most Visitors Miss
We'd love to hear from you!Welcome to Publicity - London By Pub - the travel podcast that helps you actually experience London, not just tick off landmarks.In this debut episode, we crack open Chelsea - London’s posh-meets-punk neighborhood -where our host Andy (a British expat now based in Miami) retraces a trip that should’ve been epic… but ended in full-on travel regret. With Expat Andy on
