Palaces Feel Pinch

Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle are among the royal residences that require an urgent injection of cash to implement much needed renovations and repairs.

Leaks in Buckingham Palace's roof have been identified as a potential threat to valuable works of art.

The upkeep of the royal palaces is currently paid for by the State. Currently, £15 million is provided from the Public Purse to pay for the buildings' upkeep.

Staffing, administrative and energy bills are also met by the State in what is called the Civil List.

The Queen holds a weekly private audience with the Prime Minister, in one of the 19 official State rooms at Buckingham Palace. The State rooms have not been fully redecorated in nearly sixty years.

The palaces now have a backlog of maintenance repairs that stands at over £30 million.

Members of the Royal Family and the public have been put at risk, as The Daily Telegraph noted on September 25, 2008. "The Government has consistently refused to help meet the cost of buildings refurbishment despite reports that a lump of masonry narrowly missed the Princess Royal last year as she was getting into her car at Buckingham Palace."

Independent minded visitors to London can hear about the history of Buckingham Palace with the Palace Trail audio walking tour. The Palace Trail is one of five London travel guides brought to you by Walk Talk Tours.

The Palace Trail mp3 guided tour follows the Coronation Procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey in reverse. To hear a short audio sample from the Palace Trail, London iPod travel guide, please click here.

Each of the Walk Talk Tour London city walking tours costs just £5.95. Customers purchasing two tours simultaneously will receive a twenty per cent discount. Buy three at the same time and get thirty per cent off. A Walk Talk Tour represents excellent value compared with many other guided tours of the city. And listeners can keep in shape and reduce their carbon footprints while they see the sights.

All of the Walk Talk Tour London travel guides - with the exception of the longer City & South Bank Circular audio walking tour - can be completed in two hours. The Walk Talk Tour London walking tours are all available in English, French, German and Spanish.

Make the most of your time in the English capital by checking out our Where & When pages which provide information about opening times, admission charges and ceremonies, such as Changing the Guard, along each of the tour's route.

Each Walk Talk Tour London travel guide is professionally produced. All of the tours come complete with easy-to-follow instructions and a free downloadable map - for you to print off - so you won't miss a thing. Unlike with a conventional guided tour, listeners to a Walk Talk Tour are free to stop, start and listen to their tour as they see fit - or as the weather dictates.