Middlesborough to London King's Cross trains

Much is said about the British Museum's mummies of Ancient Egypt but perhaps less well-known are their feline companions.

That's right, cat mummies. Cats ruled in Ancient Egypt, they were considered sacred.

Cats owned by important people were often mummified, and the British Museum exhibit shows a cat that has been wrapped rather elaborately. You'll never look at your pet moggie the same way again.

Liberty is a department store with a difference. From the outside it looks like a country house from the Tudor period – all black and white wood panelling and leaded windows. There’s an off-kilter, slightly eccentric feel too. Its timbers come from navy ships, and its founder was inspired by Eastern Bazaars.

Step inside and it’s rather magical. Small wood-panelled rooms tumble into one another – full of nooks and crannies and bursting with all manner of decadent products. Browse high-end fashion, homewares and beauty products from some of the best brands around.

The Bed of Ware is an incredibly large bed that lives at the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Curators call it ‘One of the V&A’s greatest treasures,’ and it was even mentioned by Shakespeare in Twelfth Night! So what’s so special about it? Well, it’s 3 metres wide for starters – with enough room for 4 couples (ahem).

It became a bit of a thing to have slept in it, and visitors began to carve their names into its heavy oak frame – perhaps that’s where the phrase ‘another notch on the bedpost’ originates?

London is full of old pubs with magnificent histories.

Take the Old Bell Tavern on Fleet Street – built by renowned architect Sir Christopher Wren to give people working on his St Bride’s Church designs somewhere to get a drink.

Wren, who also designed St Paul’s Cathedral, was rebuilding the capital after the Great Fire of London had wiped much of it out in 1666. 

By the 1700s Fleet Street was home to the nascent newspaper industry and the early printers were soon making the Bell Tavern their own

Today, you'll still find a solid pint and an authentic atmosphere.