Here comes William Whiskersonin his amazing travelling globe!
Greetings, adventurers!I am William Whiskerson,the famous mouse explorer.
Where has our intrepidmouse explorer landed today?
William is in a big city,with a riverand lots of important-lookingbuildings.
Cheese phone, reveal my location.The cheese phone shows Williamwhere he is in the world.
'Hi, William! Today you're inthe south-east of England,'in the city of London.
'London is the capital of England.'It's the home of the Queenand the Houses of Parliament.'You're just outside the main city,'in a place called Bermondsey.'
BEEPING
Wow! I've got a messagecoming through on my cheese phone.
Hi, William. I'm Kulala.
Come and meet me at my flat.I want to show you London.
How exciting! Kulala's goingto take me on a city adventure.
Lock the location, cheese phone!
The map shows Williamwhere to meet Kulala.
Explorers away!
On his way to meet Kulala,William sees lots of trafficand lots of people.There are eight million peopleliving in London.Because the city is quite crowded,many people like Kulalalive in flats,which are homes builton top of each other to save space.
Here comes Kulala and her mum.
Hello, Kulala. Pleased to squeak you.
Konichiwa, William.
What does that mean?
"Hello."
It means hello? In which language?
Japanese. Oh!
Are we in Japan, then?
No. No. Oh!
Then where are we?
Lon-don.
Kulala?
Would you show me around London?
Yes! Oh, thank you!That sounds like a real adventure.
Explorers away!
There are lots of waysto travel around London.Bicycle,red London bus,taxi and car,or even a boat.
Today, Kulala and Williamare going on the London Underground.
Where are the trains, Kulala?
This way, William.
They're going to take a trainthat travels deep below the ground.
First, they pay for their journeywith a travel card.
BEEP!
Then they take the escalator downto the platform under the ground.
What's this?
This is the map of the Underground,showing all the train lines.Each line has a different colour.
Which coloured line are we travellingon? The silver line.
From Bermondsey to Green Park.
Oh! Oh! I can hear the train coming!
Explorers away!
The Undergroundis also called the tube,named after the round tunnelsthat the trains move through.It's still the quickest way fortourists and people living in Londonto travel around the city.
On his way out,William passes a jolly buskerperforming with a guitar.
Here we are, William.This is the centre of London.The streets are even busier here!Look at the rows of tall buildings.There are also tourist shopsand smart hotels.And so much traffic!There are also green spacesin London, William. Where?
Come and see.
Green Park is one ofthe five Royal Parks.People come here to relax,keep fit,play鈥
THEY GIGGLE
鈥nd escape the bustle of the city.
What do you like doing in the park?
Playing on the swingsand slides and roundabouts.
What sort of animals live here?Squirrels and mouses like you.
Mice like me?
HE GIGGLES
Next,they go somewhere really special,a huge palaceknown as Buckingham Palace.
What a magical place. Who lives here?
Buckingham Palace is the Queenof England's official home.The palace is very bigand has 600 rooms.
Outside, the Queen's Guardsare marching up and down.
Can you see their bearskin hats?
There's a flag on top.What do you think it means?
It means the Queen's at home.
Now somethingreally exciting happens.Two beautiful carriages go past.Perhaps it's special visitorsfor the Queen.
Next come the Royal Troopson horseback.Look at their magnificent capes.They alsohave shiny helmets and swords.
Now Kulala's mumtakes William and Kulalato an area called Westminster.
Wow! Look at those grand buildings!
That's the Houses of Parliament.
They look very important.Who lives there?
No-one lives there. That's wherethe Prime Minister works.Here, the Prime Ministerand a group of people calledthe government make important lawsthat affect everyone in the country.
This is a very famous clock.Do you know what it's called?
CLOCK CHIMES
That's the biggest clockI've ever seen! What's it called?
It's called Big Ben.
That's a funny name.Why is it called Big Ben?
It was named after a big belland it chimes every hourand lots of tourists go and see it.
Oh. I can see why.
William spots a huge wheelcalled the London Eye.
Can we go on it?
Yes, we can. Let's go.
The London Eye is one ofLondon's most modern landmarks.
Kulala and William boarda special carriage called a pod.
We're going up into the sky!I can see the whole city fromup here. It stretches on for miles!
Look at that big river!What's it called? The River Thames.It's the longest river in Englandand it stretchesthroughout the city.Like many cities,London grew up around a riverwhich leads all the way to the sea.
Why are so many bridges on the river?
That helps people to cross one sideto the other side of the city.
They go to take a closer lookat one of the most famous bridges.
Look at that bridge. It's giant!
What's it called? Tower Bridge.Is that because of the two towers?
Yes. Yes. I see.
Just then, a tall ship arrivesand something very unusual happens.The road across the bridge is raisedto let the boat through!
Not many bridges can do that!
Oh! And what's that castle there?Do you see it?
Tower of London.
The Tower of London was builtover 900 years ago.It was once a prison, but nowit houses the Queen's jewels.
I've had a wonderful time.Thank you for showing me around.
I've got a present for you. Oh, wow!
It's a red London bus!
Thank you, Kulala.
I'll squeak you later.
Mata ne!
Bye! Ooh, hee-hee!
Can you rememberwhere William went today?
He visited his friend Kulalawho lives in the city of London.
Kulala and her mumtook William sightseeing.They travelled by tube.
Can you rememberthe places they visited?
They went to Buckingham Palace,the Houses of Parliament,the London Eye,and Tower Bridge.
Kulala gave William a toy London busso he could rememberall the wonderful things he'd seen.
Now it's time to fly, explorers.We're off on another adventure!See you soon, William!
Video summary
William Whiskerson meets Kulala who lives in London, the capital city of England and the United Kingdom.
We follow them as they journey from her flat and take the London Underground to the city centre.
Along the way, William learns about the diverse range of people who live and work in the city and the transport that they use to travel around.
They then visit some of the key landmarks in the city including Green Park, the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye and Tower Bridge.
They even see a royal procession at Buckingham Palace.
This clip is from the series William Whiskerson.
Please note that the film refers to London and Buckingham Palace as the official home of Queen Elizabeth II. It was made prior to the accession of King Charles III in 2022.
Teacher Notes
Children could use freeze-frames from the clip to sketch London landmarks for a wall display.
With your help, they could go on to use a London A to Z or an online street map of London to find some of the locations mentioned in the clip.
Challenge pupils to find all the stations shown on a particular map, or square, of the A to Z.
Can the children see any signs of other kinds of transport (for example, roads, railway lines, airports, bridges or river piers)?
On a map of the underground, can pupils find Bermondsey, where Kulala, the little girl who they saw in the clip, lives?
Guide children to trace the route Kulala and William took.
The class could go on to make a survey of a nearby road, to discover how many different vehicles use it over the period of an hour.
This clip will be relevant for teaching Geography.
This topic appears in KS1/KS2 in England and Northern Ireland, Knowledge and Understanding of the World Foundation Phase in Wales and Early/1st/2nd levels in Scotland.
Jobs and tourism in a seaside town. video
William Whiskerson visits the seaside town of Weymouth. He explores the beach and sees tourists on the esplanade.
How honey is made. video
William Whiskerson meets Sophie and Ben and they visit a bee farm.
Travelling on a canal boat. video
William Whiskerson meets Sophie and Harry on their narrow boat and they take a trip along the Birmingham and Worcester canal
Exploring a cave in Yorkshire. video
William Whiskerson meets Emily and together they explore a cave in Yorkshire.
Living in an eco-village. video
William Whiskerson meets his friend Ewan, who lives in an eco-village in Shropshire.
A visit to the Caledonian Forest. video
William Whiskerson travels to the Highlands of Scotland to meet his friends Lewis and Breya.
Fossil hunting along the Jurassic Coast. video
William Whiskerson meets a fossil expert and learns how fossils were formed from the remains of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago.
Mountains and electricity. video
William goes to Scotland to see his friend Euan and visit a power station deep inside a mountain.
Growing and picking orchard fruit. video
William Whiskerson meets Lucy and Laura in an orchard. He learns about the different types of fruit that grow there including berries, cherries and apples.
How our milk gets from the farm to the shop. video
William Whiskerson meets Theo on his family farm. He learns how female cows make milk and then takes a trip around the farm where he sees a calf being born.
Life on the Isles of Scilly. video
William Whiskerson travels to the Isles of Scilly, a group of islands lying off the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain.
听