Tate Modern Extension: Will bigger be better?

The architects responsible for Britain's most popular art gallery, the Tate Modern, have unveiled plans to nearly double the South Bank attraction's floor space. The Swiss architects, Herzog and de Meuron, plan to create a brick pyramid which will stand 213 feet (65metres) high.

The original plans (also drawn up by Herzog and de Meuron) for an extension to the iconic gallery would have seen the creation of a huge glass pyramid.

The new plan to create a brick ziggurat will cost £215 million ($430million). The new brick design is far more in keeping with Sir Giles Gilbert Scott's power station. Edwin Heathcote wrote in The Financial Times on 19 July that the design is: "A near-solid brick base with a single vertical slot echoes the bulk of the power station, while the series of slits lightens the structure. The brick and extensive natural ventilation also make this a far more sustainable proposal."

Independent travellers in London can hear about the history of Giles Gilbert Scott's building and the Tate's subsequent acquisition of it, once it had been decommissioned on the Ride & Stride, London city walking tour.

Tate Modern opened in 2000. The power station designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott closed in 1981. The architects preserved the building's external appearance.

Exhibitions at the Tate Modern regularly grab headlines. Remember Doris Salcedo's Shibboleth, a great crack that cut through the former power station's giant Turbine Hall? More recently, a British born artist recently received funding to stage Work No.850. Martin Creed has devised a programme where according to a Tate Britain press release: "A person will sprint as fast as they can every 30 seconds through the 86 metre gallery at the heart of Tate Britain. Each run is followed by an equivalent pause, like a musical rest, during which the gallery is empty."

Visitors can catch a glimpse of the runners until 1 November.

Get to grips with the capital's history - and do your bit for the environment and your waistline, too - with the Ride & Stride mp3 guided tour. The tour begins with a ride on a much loved London icon, an old Routemaster bus (please note the cost of the ticket for the bus ride is not included in the tour). Get off at St Paul's Cathedral. Hear about the Cathedral's architect Sir Christopher Wren. Then continue your tour across the River Thames via the Millennium Bridge. Hear about Tate Modern and why Shakespeare's Globe Theatre was built on the South Bank. Discover how the efforts of an American led to a new Globe been built.

Step inside a recreated prison at the Clink Museum and see a replica of the Golden Hinde. Hear about the gory history of London Bridge. Take a look at HMS Belfast and the London Mayor's seat of power, City Hall. Then cross over to the North Bank of the Thames via Tower Bridge, before concluding your tour outside the once infamous Tower of London. To hear an audio sample from the Ride & Stride podcast guided tour please click here.

There are five Walk Talk Tours of London. Each Walk Talk Tour audio downloadable walking tour of the English capital is available in English, French, German and Spanish. Each Walk Talk Tour also has an accompanying Where & When page, which provides information about the opening times and admission charges of key attractions en route.

Each Walk Talk Tour is divided into commentary points. Listeners will hear about a particular landmark, like the Tate Modern, and then they will receive instructions explaining how to get to the next commentary point. Listeners will then be asked to press pause. Walk Talk Tourists then press play when they reach the next destination on their tour. In addition, each Walk Talk Tour comes complete with a downloadable tour plan (map), so you won't miss a thing.

Unlike on a conventional guided tour with a Walk Talk Tour iPod travel guide you're in charge. Sightseeing with children? Are there times when they drive you to distraction? With a Walk Talk Tour you can stop and start your tour as you see fit.

Each Walk Talk Tour of London costs just £5.95. Customers purchasing two tours simultaneously will receive a twenty per cent discount. Buy three at the same time and receive a thirty per cent discount.