OT: Some London advice

Satu

Hello Londoners!

I will be invading your city tomorrow to get my passport renewed, and I wonder if anyone could give me some travel advice.

My train is going to Euston. I need to get to Belgrave Square. Now, originally I was planning to take the tube to Victoria and walk from there, but I've just looked on Google and it's only three miles, so I'm thinking I might just walk the whole way because I'm not very fond of the tube. (Had this occured to me earlier, I could perhaps have signed up for the Boris Bike scheme, but I guess it's too late now!)

Is this a silly plan? Has anyone got suggestions for a route? I really don't know London at all well, but if I buy an A-Z at Euston I'm sure I could find my way.

Any help would be gratefully received!

Cheers,
Satu

ooermissus

Google Maps is your friend. 2.9 miles. 58 minutes. Possible routes on links below. Drizzle forecast for tomorrow though.

http://bit.ly/bDyNG7

Alternatively, if you want to stay above ground but not get wet, take bus number 73 from Euston and get off at Hyde Park Corner - Belgrave Square is v close.

deptfordmarmoset

ooermissus wrote:

Google Maps is your friend. 2.9 miles. 58 minutes. Possible routes on links below. Drizzle forecast for tomorrow though.

http://bit.ly/bDyNG7

Alternatively, if you want to stay above ground but not get wet, take bus number 73 from Euston and get off at Hyde Park Corner - Belgrave Square is v close.

A possible variant on the first of ooermissus' route would be to not turn right into Shaftesbury Avenue but continue downhill to Trafalgar Square and then follow the Mall up to Buckingham Palace. It will be a little bit further but it should be more scenic, plus you'll get a good walk in St James' Park.

ooermissus

deptfordmarmoset wrote:

...continue downhill to Trafalgar Square and then follow the Mall up to Buckingham Palace. It will be a little bit further but it should be more scenic, plus you'll get a good walk in St James' Park.

+1

Satu

Thank you both -- that looks like it might be a nice walk.

The bus tip is a good one as well, if the weather is too vile -- but I've been commuting long enough to be fairly waterproof.

Thanks again!

S.

soundninjauk

Nothing more to add other than to say it's definitely the better idea to walk. When people get the tube everywhere they don't connect up all the dots, and it really doesn't take that long to walk most places, especially in zone 1.

jds_1981

Yup, good old shanks pony

cjcp

Another vote for walking and the route above.

kelsen

Or you could take a detour by carrying on down Whitehall past Millbank and onto the famous Death Star Canyon and witness for yourself the carnage that makes up the SCR thread!

EKE_38BPM

Since you want to ride but can''t get a BB, why not just hang around at a set of traffic lights. Wait until it turns red and someone on a bike you like stops and then punch them in the chops and ride off on their bike.

When in Rome and all that.

In all seriousness, people who use the tube all the time have no idea of the geography of the city. Stay above ground, use an A to Z and you'll see how close everywhere is zone 1 is.

I remember hearing that when the Underground network was being planned the idea was that when are in Cental London you should never be more than 400 yards from a station. That should tell you how close everywhere is.
When you get out into the sticks the stations are much further apart and the original designers were very sensible to mainly avoid the cesspit that is South London (look at a Tube map and note how few stations are south of the river).
As a North Londoner, I suggest you follow their example.

Satu

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Since you want to ride but can''t get a BB, why not just hang around at a set of traffic lights. Wait until it turns red and someone on a bike you like stops and then punch them in the chops and ride off on their bike.

What a wonderful idea -- I hadn't thought of that! I'll bring a d-lock. (Oh, but wait -- cyclists don't stop at red lights!)

Thanks for the advice everyone -- have copied down directions and am about to head off to the station. The weather forecast now looks worse than yesterday, but there we go!

Cheers,
S.

bigmat

EKE_38BPM wrote:

When you get out into the sticks the stations are much further apart and the original designers were very sensible to mainly avoid the cesspit that is South London (look at a Tube map and note how few stations are south of the river).
As a North Londoner, I suggest you follow their example.

t wat

Sewinman

MatHammond wrote:

EKE_38BPM wrote:

When you get out into the sticks the stations are much further apart and the original designers were very sensible to mainly avoid the cesspit that is South London (look at a Tube map and note how few stations are south of the river).
As a North Londoner, I suggest you follow their example.

t wat

+1

deptfordmarmoset

Sewinman wrote:

MatHammond wrote:

EKE_38BPM wrote:

When you get out into the sticks the stations are much further apart and the original designers were very sensible to mainly avoid the cesspit that is South London (look at a Tube map and note how few stations are south of the river).
As a North Londoner, I suggest you follow their example.

t wat

+1

As someone who has been stopped by the police at the Isle of Dogs end of the Greenwich Foot Tunnel and been asked whether I was taking anything through to the other side, and then being dishonestly told by them that the tunnel was shut, I've concluded that a) you can never believe what North Londoners say and b) they have severe transpontine phobias that deserve our most compassionate understanding.

Cafewanda

MatHammond wrote:

EKE_38BPM wrote:

When you get out into the sticks the stations are much further apart and the original designers were very sensible to mainly avoid the cesspit that is South London (look at a Tube map and note how few stations are south of the river).
As a North Londoner, I suggest you follow their example.

t wat

I'd agree with you but he's way taller than me

Bloody North Londoners :roll:

Alphabet

EKE_38BPM wrote:

When you get out into the sticks the stations are much further apart and the original designers were very sensible to mainly avoid the cesspit that is South London (look at a Tube map and note how few stations are south of the river).
As a North Londoner, I suggest you follow their example.

as someone who has lived for a long time on either side of the river, the south is much better than the north. so there.

and we have the herne hill velodrome.

rjsterry

EKE_38BPM wrote:

(look at a Tube map and note how few stations are south of the river).

That's because we prefer our public transport above ground - we have plenty more rail stations than North London, so don't need the tube.

lardboy

deptfordmarmoset wrote:

transpontine

*applauds*

Harveytile

and we have the herne hill velodrome

Well for the time being... :roll: What will happen when the Velodrome in the OP opens to the public? Would North of the river win hands down?

I'm from much further south so can't really comment on the North/South thing other than how the Southerners tend to beat Northers into submission on the rubgy field. But that's not for here.

rjsterry

lardboy wrote:

deptfordmarmoset wrote:

transpontine

*applauds*

+1

biondino

deptfordmarmoset wrote:

Sewinman wrote:

MatHammond wrote:

EKE_38BPM wrote:

When you get out into the sticks the stations are much further apart and the original designers were very sensible to mainly avoid the cesspit that is South London (look at a Tube map and note how few stations are south of the river).
As a North Londoner, I suggest you follow their example.

t wat

+1

As someone who has been stopped by the police at the Isle of Dogs end of the Greenwich Foot Tunnel and been asked whether I was taking anything through to the other side, and then being dishonestly told by them that the tunnel was shut, I've concluded that a) you can never believe what North Londoners say and b) they have severe transpontine phobias that deserve our most compassionate understanding.

Pity me - I am just about to move north of the river for the first time since I was 1. Ugh.

gaz545

Walk? haha just take the tube. saves about 40mins!

EKE_38BPM

Now that I have a bullet proof vest and all of the necessary jabs, I feel a little bit safer in SLondon.




Still think there should be some sort of check point manned my armed police on the bridges though. Stop too many of the riff-raff coming north of the river!

hatbeard

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Now that I have a bullet proof vest and all of the necessary jabs, I feel a little bit safer in SLondon.

Still think there should be some sort of check point manned my armed police on the bridges though. Stop too many of the riff-raff coming north of the river!

not that I agree with what you're saying but there's a funny scene in 28 weeks later where the main group of people escape the firebombing of canary wharf by running under the foot tunnel to greenwich whilst all the zombies escape off into central london to do some shopping or something.

the next shot of the family after they arrive in greenwich is when they go running back across the millenium bridge into zombie infested central london as if it were the lesser of two evils compared to being in south london.

electric_blue

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Since you want to ride but can''t get a BB, why not just hang around at a set of traffic lights. Wait until it turns red and someone on a bike you like stops and then punch them in the chops and ride off on their bike.

When in Rome and all that.

In all seriousness, people who use the tube all the time have no idea of the geography of the city. Stay above ground, use an A to Z and you'll see how close everywhere is zone 1 is.

I remember hearing that when the Underground network was being planned the idea was that when are in Cental London you should never be more than 400 yards from a station. That should tell you how close everywhere is.
When you get out into the sticks the stations are much further apart and the original designers were very sensible to mainly avoid the cesspit that is South London (look at a Tube map and note how few stations are south of the river).
As a North Londoner, I suggest you follow their example.

There's a North London? Wow!! :shock: