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VISIT BRITAIN Write-up
The River Thames east of MI6 provided
the setting for one of the most action-packed Bond scenes – the
high-speed boat chase in The World is Not Enough. Spot the locations
all the way past Westminster and the Houses of Parliament to Tower
Bridge and the London Docklands. To find some of Ian Fleming’s London
haunts, head for 22 Ebury Street in Pimlico, where a blue plaque marks
his birthplace, or the Admiralty in Whitehall, where in a ground-floor
room overlooking Horse Guards’ Parade, Commander Ian Fleming worked
with the Director of Naval Intelligence throughout World War II. Track
down the Ritz on Piccadilly, where movie-Bond stayed in Diamonds are
Forever (note for dedicated 007 buffs – Fleming’s Bond always stayed
at The Savoy). The College of Arms near St Paul’s Cathedral is where
Bond went to check Blofeld’s ancestry in On Her Majesty’s Secret
Service, and Sotheby’s auction house is where Bond switches a rare
Fabergé egg with a fake in Octopussy. And then, of course, there’s
Buckingham Palace, official London residence of the sovereign, which
puts in a dramatic appearance in Die Another Day, when arch-villain
Gustav Graves drops in to collect his knighthood by helicopter. For a
guided tour of some of the London locations associated with 007, take
a James Bond Tour with London Taxi Tours
(www.londontaxitour.com).
by Lindsay Hunt,
www.visitbritain.com
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