How to visit the Old Bailey

As a bonus to my first post, here's a very simple little "how it works", and it's practical in nature.

How to view court cases at the Central Criminal Court in London, England

The Central criminal Court in London is known as the Old Bailey - named after the street it's situated in. It's just around the corner from St. Paul's cathedral, and it seems that very few people know they can just walk in and observe cases free of charge.

The Old Bailey is open from 9:45 each day to the public. You're not allowed to take in mobile phones,cameras, bags or food. If you want to make it easy on yourself, drop your bag off at the Old Bailey Cafe diagonally opposite the Old Bailey for £1. Go into the building via the Public Entrance (to the right of the building if you're standing in front of it; it looks like a tunnel). Go early - there are often school groups taking up all the seats. Don't just barge in, but ask the guards at the doors just off the stairwell if there's a case that you can watch. If possible, find someone who goes a lot and latch onto them - the guards are a lot friendlier with regulars.

A large part of the fun is patching together the story as the arguments unfold. If you're lucky, you'll also witness an ace solicitor cross-examining a witness and playing to the gallery. And you get used to those silly silly wigs pretty quickly, believe me.