London Attractions Unfamiliar Attractions Rib TripRib Trip - Imperial War Museum - £££
If you fancy something pacier than the usual, sedate Thames cruises, then try a Rib Trip. They zip along at up to 35 knots as you pass major landmarks 
including: Westminster Palace, the London Eye and Tower Bridge. The Rib Trips come in a variety of themed packages, including a Bond style adventure and Pirates of the ThamesRibbean. While not cheap, they are memorable experiences and score high levels of satisfaction with visitors.
After the high-octane thrills of pretending to be James Bond, then a diversion to the calmer waters of the Imperial War Museum would be welcome. Not far from the rib's base at the Embankment Pier.
The Imperial War Museum documents British and Commonwealth war history since 1914. The museum is housed in the former Bethlem Royal Hospital building on Lambeth Road, it used to be a well-known asylum, 'Bedlam' which is where the term is derived.
The Photograph Archive preserves the official British photographic record of both World Wars and conflicts since 1945. It currently holds more than 6,000,000 images and the Second World War collection includes the work of photographers such as Bill Brandt, Cecil Beaton and Bert Hardy.
The Sound Archive, originally named the Department of Sound Records, administers a collection of over 56,000 hours of historical recordings and was 
opened to the public in July 1977. The core of this collection are oral history interviews with people who were affected by war in the 20th century. This collection has been used for a series of radio programmes and books, called Forgotten Voices, concerning war in the 20th century.
It is perhaps these sound archives at the Imperial War Museum, that for me reveal the most telling and insightful views of what wartime London was like. They are oral histories, which means they're derived from ordinary people, who although not able to handle a pen, or express themselves in a written form, give very moving accounts of what the experience was to everyday folk. Their stories, from stray doodlebugs, to first loves, arguments, unpatriotic behaviour, getting drunk and wandering through a full-scale bombing raid by the Luftwaffe - somehow manage to capture the authentic detail, often absent from academic accounts or film dramatisations. Entrance to the museum is free.
Ant and Dec take a high speed rib trip up the Thames. (The Ryan Seacrests of British entertainment TV - for our American chums).
For further information about Rib trips, visit www.thamesribexperience.com
Thames RIB Experience, Embankment Pier, Victoria Embankment, London WC2N 6NU
Embankment Tube.
Call: 0207 930 5746
Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, SE1 6HZ.
Lambeth North or Elephant and Castle Tube.
Call: 020 7416 5320
