If you are travelling to London this summer or live in or around the capital and are wondering what to do, why not pay a visit the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace in London?

One of the world’s most recognisable buildings, Buckingham Palace is just 10-15 minutes’ walk from Victoria Station and Victoria Bus Station, and about 10 minutes walk through Green Park to the Ritz Hotel on Piccadilly, where you can enjoy a quintessential English tea!

The State Room tour at Buckingham Palace is open from 27 July to 1 October 2010 (9.45am to 6pm – last admission 3.45pm), and if you’re lucky enough to be at the Queen’s Residence when the Sovereign’s standard is flying high from the central flagstaff, then you know “she is home”.

The tickets are timed so it is a good idea to book t in advance if you can, purchased either from the Palace Shop on Buckingham Palace Road close to Victoria, or from a reputable ticket agent. A family ticket for two adults and three children under 17, costs £45, with adults tickets costing £17 per person (reductions for students, under 17 children, over 60s – free for under 5s).

There is a special exhibition for the 2010 opening of the State Rooms, “The Queen’s Year”, where each season is beautifully displayed with ceremonial robes, dresses, uniforms, jewellery, gifts (including a Wallace and Gromit) and photographs.

You enter through to the Palace from Buckingham Palace Road at the Ambassadors Entrance (look out of the white canopies), where you’ll walk through airport style security before receiving your free audio tour headset.  This media source means that you can tour The Staterooms at your leisure, although expect the tour, of which you will visit 50% of the Palace, takes around two hours.  This is dependant however, on if you click on all the extra options on your headset, how long you rest in The Ballroom, how many cakes and cups of tea you enjoy in the Palace Cafe overlooking the gardens at the end of the tour, how much time you spend browsing and buying gifts in the Palace Gift Shop and how slowly you walk the half mile from the Palace to the exit through the beautiful gardens!

During the Stateroom Tour, you will walk via the Quadrangle viewing platform to the Grand Hall, through the Guard Room to the stunning Green Drawing Room. Then onto the State Rooms designed by Nash, where receptions, dinners and conferences are held, then to the Throne Room.

Walk through the 50 metre long Picture Gallery full of old master paintings including Ruben’s Self Portrait, through the Silk Tapestry Room, East Gallery and down to the Grand Hall.  This is where you will come to The Queen’s Year exhibition before re-entering the Ball Room where the robes worn by The Queen and Prince Phillip for the State Opening of Parliament are encased.

From here you’ll visit the tapestry lined West Gallery which leads to the State Dining Room, onto the Blue Drawing Room, Music Room and White Drawing Room, round to the Ante Room and down the stairs to the Marble Hall Gallery, before passing through the Bow Room to the Gardens and time to rest in the cafe.

The London Congestion Charge was introduced to Central London in February 2003; the first in the UK. The Congestion Charge Zone (CCZ) covers a large portion of the city, although there is a charge free zone running through the middle from north to south (and vice versa).

The London Congestion Charge is in operation between 7am and 6pm, Monday to Friday. There is no charge at weekends, English public holidays, between 6pm and 7am or on all charging days between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day inclusive. There are exemptions and discounts available but the general charge is £8 per day and you may travel in and out of the CCZ as many times as is necessary within that period. You have up to midnight the following charging day to pay the Congestion Charge, or fines apply.

There are many signs to warn you that you are in the Charging Zone or approaching it. Look out of the red circle with white letter C on. Cameras are strategically located along the zone border which reads your number plate.

To the north west of London, the Congestion Charging Zone starts between Harlesden and Kensal Green, following the Harrow Road eastwards through Westbourne Green and Paddington.  The zone continues east below Regent’s Park and Euston, and although the St Pancras area is within the charging zone, St Pancras Station and King’s Cross Station are outside.

Still heading east, the CCZ runs along the southern edge of Pentonville Road (A501) which becomes City Road. The boarder splits Whitchapel and whilst the congestion zone does not cover Tower Bridge, if you drive around the Tower of London, you will be within the paying zone.

Now on London’s South Bank, the A100 Tower Bridge Road is the border, with the London Dungeons and Guy’s Hospital within the charging zone but the Bermondsey Spa and Oval Cricket Ground, outside.

From Kennington Lane (A3204), drive over the River Thames on Vauxhall Bridge, following Grosvenor Road (A3212) to avoid paying.  Along the Chelsea Embankment you will spot Battersea Park across the river, but be careful because if you don’t cross over Battersea Bridge (A3220), you will be driving into the Congestion Charging Zone which incorporates Chelsea Harbour.

Now the CCZ heads north and splits the areas of West Brompton, Earls Court and Kensington.  West Cross Route runs along the east side of the massive London Westfield Shopping Centre which is within the zone, although Wood Lane on the west side (where the BBC is currently located) is outside of the zone.

The oldest tennis tournament in the world, Wimbledon in south west London, has held the lawn tennis championships since 1877 – the only Grand Slam played on grass courts.  In 2010 The Championships Wimbledon will take place from Monday 21 June with the Ladies’ Final, Men’s Doubles Final and Mixed Doubles Final on Saturday 3 July and the Men’s Final and Ladies’ Doubles Final on Sunday 4 July.

One hundred and twenty eight players will play in the singles events, with 48 pairs in the Mixed Doubles games and 64 pairs in each of the men’s and women’s single sex doubles games.  There are nineteen courts at Wimbledon with Centre Court (capacity 15,000) and No. 1 Court (capacity 11,000) generally only used during the Championships in June and July.

If you entered the ballot for tickets to watch the tennis matches at Wimbledon during the Championships then you would have had to apply for tickets before December 2009, although successful applicants could still be informed by post up until a week before the matches start.

With the exception of the last four days on Centre Court at Wimbledon, about 500 tickets per day are reserved for sale on the day for matches on Courts Number 1 and 2 and Centre Court, with around 6,000 Ground Admission tickets available each day for entry to the Grounds at the Gate 3 turnstiles (cash payment only; one ticket per person).  Many choose to queue overnight and there are facilities for those who choose to “camp”, with the stewards giving an early morning call at about 6am.

For those without show court tickets, at the side of No. 1 Court is Henman Hill or Aorangi Terrace, where the tennis matches are shown live on giant TV screens.  The atmosphere is electric as spectators enjoy their picnics of traditional strawberries and cream and glasses of Pimms!

So who will win?  Will it be a fight between the Williams sisters in the women’s final? Could Rafael Nadal win again?

This year the UK school’s May Half Term holiday will actually fall in the first week of June, so if you want to avoid the crowds, the latter three weeks of the month are probably best for you.  However, if you are looking for a holiday in Half Term with the family, then there are plenty of cheap holidays on offer in June.

There are many great savings to be made by choosing to holiday in the UK.  Coastal breaks, staying in hotels, holiday parks, cottages, spa breaks, and camping and caravanning are all options. Of course you have four great countries to choose from: England, Ireland, Scotland or Wales!

How about booking a caravan at Sandymouth Holiday Park in Bude, North Cornwall? With family entertainment on site, an indoor pool and beaches nearby there is plenty to do. Hoseasons currently offer the Milan caravan which sleeps up to 6 people from Monday 31 May for four nights from just £229.

For a romantic getaway in the UK, how about a pretty 16th century cottage with timber beams? Ideal for country walks and visiting the historic city of Worcester, Poole Cottage (also bookable through Hoseasons) sleeps up to 4 costing £388 for either 4 nights from Monday 14th June or 3 nights from Friday 18th June 2010. If you travel by train you can always hire a car for the day once you reach your destination.

Outside of the May bank holiday week, Butlins has a good selection of cheap holiday offers starting from £51 per person for a 3 nights Family Entertainment Break with George Sampson’s Street Party in Skegness from 11 June 2010.

City breaks are always great fun and will definitely keep every member of the group entertained especially in London.  The capital’s museums are second to none and entry costs very little.  The Science Museum in South Kensington, London is a favourite with interactive exhibitions and the IMAX cinema, or you may prefer the exhibits and collections at the V&A Museum. Why not broaden you cultural horizons with a visit to the Tate Modern on the South Bank?

To escape the hustle and bustle of city life, there are many excellent campsites in the UK. You don’t need to spend a fortune to camp and borrowing a tent is a great way to try out this type of holiday.  Of course we can never guarantee the weather in the UK for May Bank Holiday but don’t let that put you off. Look at the David Bellamy Award Campsites for eco friendly and green  sites in interesting locations, as well as farm camp sites and coastal locations.

You may live in London or the Home Counties, be travelling to London from elsewhere in the UK or Europe, or flying to one of the London Airports namely Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton or London City Airport?  But how do you travel on a budget once you are there?

Of course walking is free; you see a lot and may discover areas of London you didn’t know existed.  But if you’ve ever walked in London before you will know that the city is huge, can get incredibly congested especially if shopping on Oxford Street in central London and you’ll spend half of the day sitting down to rest your feet!

So how else can you explore?

There is an excellent public transport system in London, with the London Underground otherwise known as The Tube (the below street level train service), the red public buses, DLR and boats, as well as a tram service around the southern outskirts of London. Look at the Transport for London website which suggests the best routes and an up to date timetable of all transport modes.

The Underground tube map may look like a labyrinth of squiggly coloured lines, but you’ll soon see that they make sense with many lines crossing so you can change from one tube line to another easily.  Buses run regularly and are a great way to enjoy the sites of London.

Buy an Oyster card easily purchased at any station, tube station or bus station in central London for budget travel in London.  This reusable blue cards can be topped up and used a little like a credit card, only using what amount you have put on the card – although you can’t go over drawn – and can be used to travel on the tubes, buses and trams as well as on many overland train services.  Oyster automatically works out the cheapest fare for your days’ travel so you never have to pay more than the price of a Day Travelcard (also purchased at stations).  When using an Oyster card you simply swipe it on the yellow card readers as you enter a train station or board a bus (for example) and again at the end of your journey (on the train).

If you would rather not buy an Oyster card and just pay day by day or journey by journey, this can be done too.  If for example you were travelling within Zone 1 (very central London), a single journey (point to point) on the Underground, paid in cash would cost £4.00 whereas the Oyster pay as you go is £1.80 per journey with an off peak price cap of £5.60 (travel Mon-Fri after 9.30am) or peak price cap of £7.20.  The latter two prices are also the cost of a Travelcard used per day within Zone 1 (purchase at a train station).  Be aware that many buses in central London do NOT sell tickets when you board, so it is best to be prepared with your Oyster card or Travelcard!

Don’t be scared to travel in London. It is like all major cities and towns, can be a little usual to begin with but in no time at all, you’ll feel like a native!