Five free things to see and do in London

We've just returned from another summer trip to the British capital, seeing some of the sights that we didn't manage to fit in last year. Although London is a vibrant and exciting place to visit, this can come with a hefty price tag; it's a city with a reputation for being stonkingly expensive, whether you're a hapless holidaymaker or a bona fide Londoner. But it doesn't need to be - having conducted extensive research, I've compiled a list of my top five things to do in London which don't need to set you back a single penny.

1. Browse at Borough Market - Admittedly, you'll need some serious willpower here; if you have as little self-discipline as me, you're likely to come away clutching a bunch of artisan goodies and an empty purse. It is, though, perfectly possible to enjoy the market's sights, sounds and smells for nothing. Many stallholders offer free samples of their wares - particularly if you ask nicely - such as honey, breads, oils and sweets, so that you can try before you buy. My absolute favourites have to be The Cinnamon Tree Bakery, who I first encountered last year at The Cake and Bake Show, and Bread Ahead, whose doughnuts are out of this world. To really make the most of the market, head to Borough High Street on a Friday or Saturday, when traders set up early and go home late.

Nearest underground station: London Bridge.

2. Visit the Imperial War Museum - One thing that pleases me immensely, as I've always been a bit of a history nerd, is that wherever you go in Britain, the museums are, more often than not, free. The Imperial War Museum is one such institution, and has been on our list for a while. It's only just reopened after undergoing massive transformation, including the construction of a state-of-the-art sunken atrium and brand-new terraces, and looks absolutely stunning - the entrance hall alone houses a Spitfire, a V2 rocket, a Harrier jet, and a T-34 tank, among other over-sized artefacts. Upstairs, the Family in Wartime follows the lives of a local family during the Second World War, while the refurbished Holocaust exhibition documents the rise of Nazism and its appalling culmination. It makes for sombre viewing, but is an absolute must-see.

Nearest underground station: Lambeth North or Elephant and Castle.

3. Take a Thames-side walk - If you want to see some of the main London attractions, but don't fancy shelling out for a bus tour, a great way to see the city is to walk along the banks of the Thames. Following the Thames footpath, you can take in such sights as the Shard, Southbank, the London Eye, and even - if you're not completely out of puff - the Houses of Parliament. One not to miss is the Tower of London, currently home to 'Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red', the installation of ceramic poppies commemorating the centenary of the outbreak of war in 1914. It's possible to walk from Tower Bridge right up to Westminster (though you might need frequent breathers!), but you'll have to cross the river at various points. This, though, is a good excuse to see - and set foot on - some of the city's famous bridges, like London Bridge, Westminster Bridge, and, for Harry Potter fans, the Millennium Bridge. Thankfully, in real life, it's still standing.

Nearest underground station: you can begin wherever you like, but I recommend starting from Tower Hill and heading west.

4. Wander through Regent's Park - despite being such a huge city, London has green spaces in abundance. I think that Regent's Park is one of the prettiest - even on a thundery day like the one pictured above! It's a pleasant mix of open grassy areas, perfect for little ones to run around and let off steam, and landscaped gardens, complete with manicured flowerbeds and fountains. There are a handful of places to eat within the park, including cafes, a restaurant and the Smokehouse, a barbecue takeaway, but make an afternoon of it by bringing your own snacks and eating al fresco - though perhaps hold out for better weather before you unfurl your picnic blanket!

Nearest underground station - Baker Street, Regent's Park, or Great Portland Street.

5. Take in the Tate Modern - if contemporary art is your thing, you definitely won't want to miss this off your itinerary. Although it's one of London's premier tourist attractions, entry is free, unless, as with most museums and galleries, you want to visit one of the special exhibitions, which are on throughout the year (Henri Matisse's cutouts are currently on show, as are works by Kazimir Malevich, created during one of the most turbulent periods of Russian history). However, with so much to see inside the old Bankside Power Station, a trip to the Tate Modern can be just as absorbing without seeing one of these, with free guided tours every day. You'll also find free displays on various themes, like 'Poetry and Dream', within which are mini-displays such as 'Beyond Surrealism' or 'Energy and Process', featuring Cy Twombly among others.

Nearest underground station: Southwark or Blackfriars

If you've enjoyed a free or budget day out in London recently and want to shout about it, or if there's anything at all you'd like to see featured on my blog, feel free to leave a comment below!

A solo voyage on the Tube and a visit to the Cake and Bake Show

Look, look, it's a non-Bake Off blog post! Yay! As much as I love GBBO, I think that recently I've been neglecting the other side of the blog (as in the exciting bits where I go out and do things). So you'll be glad to here that yesterday, Olivia and I were lucky enough to visit The Cake and Bake Show at Earl's Court in London. Thanks to the very kind people at Tea With Tom (thank you!), I won two tickets to the show and so I took myself off to London to meet Olivia and see lots and lots of cakes.

Now, on the off-chance that you've been following my ramblings on here, you'll know that I've already been to London this summer. But this was the first time that I'd been on my own, so getting my train into Paddington and going on the Tube to Earl's Court was quite a big deal for me. I'm actually quite surprised that I managed to get where I wanted to go without getting horribly lost but I guess that I am supposed to be a big girl now, what with the rather daunting 2. 0. coming up in October...

After Olivia and I had found one another successfully, we joined a long queue of cakeophiles (that's a real word, right?) and headed into the exhibition centre.

We decided that perhaps the best plan, given the vast size of the show and our somewhat poor sense of direction, would be to have a wander and not try to find anything specific just yet - to get our bearings, if you will. The range of different cakes and bakes on offer was amazing. Our first purchases of the day were made at The Brownie Bar, where I bought a raspberry and almond blondie and Olivia a salted caramel brownie. 

As we had hoped, there were lots of free testers around. One of our first was a little chip of a 'coconut drop', which was lovely but perhaps more gingery than coconutty (which I have to say I didn't mind, as I love both flavours).

One of our next stops was at the Cake On The Catwalk display (sponsored by Stork, natch), where an array of professional and nonprofessional bakers had designed and created a beautiful selection of cakes, based on the brief 'London fashion through the decades'. 

All of those in the pictures above are from the nonprofessional category - I know, aren't they amazing? One of my favourites was the peach Edwardian style cake with the beautiful handmade topper, and the 1920s-inspired cloche hat cake with coordinated accessories, which actually won the category at the end of the day. Well done to fab baker Abigail Anderson for such a clever cake!

The professional category was just as impressive, with some really unusual and complex designs. My favourite in this section has to be Frances Jackson's box-style cake, with each side representing a different era in London's fashionable history. I think my sister would have really liked the Doc Martens cake and one of Olivia's favourites was Ramia Khan's cake, which was 'inspired by a mad girl's bedroom', with a pile of magazines and hatboxes. 

Many of the stalls at the show weren't displaying or selling cakes of their own, but selling various baking bits, such as decorations, toppers, piping sets and cases. Olivia bought some very exciting contraptions called Whizzy Whisks, which took seconds to turn skimmed milk into a firm froth, perfect for coffee. Also on offer were official Cake and Bake Show goody bags, complete with free gifts, one of which was a Betty Crocker cake mix. Although we wouldn't usually use cake mixes, we're definitely going to give these a try. And actually, after tasting a salted caramel cupcake at the Sainsbury's stand, I bought a couple more mixes (one salted caramel, the other red velvet), so I'm not going to be a cake snob or a bun purist about it, I think they should work really well.

As well as the bigger, more widely available brands like Sainsbury's and Lakeland, vanilla and flavourings makers Nielsen-Massey were on hand with cakes and cocktails, which we greatly enjoyed, despite the fact it was not-quite midday! But don't worry, the cocktail Olivia kindly treated me to was a virgin margarita, which I think should be perfectly acceptable at most times of the day. This was actually, shockingly, the first margarita I've had and Olivia is now something of a connoisseur, as she worked in Italy for nine weeks this summer, so she was more than able to advise me. (We're now thinking of having a couple of visits to the rather nice cocktail bar 44 Below when we're back in Exeter!)

One of the other displays at the show was 'The Wedding Cake of the Future', featuring a myriad of quirky cakes, beautifully decorated with stencils, flowers and lace. I think the lace icing was actually one of the most popular decorations, it was quite prominent among the wedding cakes. It's clearly the 'in thing' to have, if you're at all concerned about having a fashionable wedding.

Aside from eating, drinking and shopping, there were several stages where we watched demonstrations by Shelina Permalloo, the winner of last year's Masterchef, Simon Rimmer, of Sunday Brunch, and most excitingly of all, John, James and Cathryn from last year's Great British Bake Off! As you'll have seen on my blog, I am a HUGE Bake Off fan (along with most of the country, I daresay), so it was very exciting to see some of last year's stars baking in the flesh.

In addition to the main stages set up by the Cake and Bake people, there were smaller versions run by, among others, Renshaw and Dr Oetker, both of whom I really like. I use lots of Dr Oetker products (although I've always thought that it's a bit off-putting, eating something made by a doctor...) so it was interesting to see all of their products on show and of course we entered the competition to win lots of cake decorating goodies.

The beautiful Billington's-sponsored dessert tables showcased some of the industry's best cake decorating and sugarcraft work, from delicate pastel-coloured and floral tea parties to an elaborate trio of burlesque style celebration cakes. The woodland scene made me think of our chocolate squirrels and of the Bake Off's lovely, if slightly eccentric, Frances. Other highlights included the Mad Hatter's tea party and a special Jubilee themed table, complete with stamp cookies and Union Flag macaroons. 

Gluten-free and vegan baking was a big thing at the Cake and Bake Show, which is fantastic, because everybody should be able to enjoy tea and cake, regardless of allergies or dietary requirements (although you still have to pay a little more for one of these bakes, which would suggest that they're still a bit of a speciality). There was lots of advice about adapting recipes to be vegan and gluten-free, particularly from Australian Bake Off judge Dan Lepard, so I'm seriously thinking about trying a variation on some standard recipes to try and tempt coeliacs and vegans with my cake. There will be no escape!

Happily, sweets, marshmallows and fudge were in plentiful supply at the show and I picked up three varieties of Tom's Fudge as gifts to bring back for the fudge fans at home - rum and raisin, ginger, and Rolo - so we're looking forward to trying those!

Naturally, both Olivia and I came away with bagfuls of goodies, both bought and free, so I thought I'd show you just what I bought. (One of the Cinnamon Tree Bakery cookies mysteriously disappeared before it could partake in its photo shoot, but I think I know who the culprit is...)

We had a great day at Earl's Court and I hope you enjoyed my return to 'what I call blogging' as much as I enjoyed doing the hard work for it!

Keep your eyes peeled for links on my many social networking pages (if everything is functioning as it ought to, there should be some links to the right-hand side of this post), because I'm hoping to have a Freshers' Week post or two up by the end of next week.

(: xx