Journey planner
(The underground map with my journeys highlighted: London, UK)
Alright, it’s a bit silly, and a deplorable waste of precious time, but out of interest, I wondered how much of the London underground I’ve covered in the past few weeks. After all, I’ve lived in three places for a start. By the way, they are shown with a large black ring around them – right near the top. And to show where I’ve been, the areas are overlaid in grey.
To be honest, I thought there would be more grey areas, except that I have taken a heap of buses and done so much walking that I got a blister on my foot that looked like a wee white grape. Thankfully that went away with a change of shoes, but seriously, I don’t think I’ve done so much sustained walking since I was on a genuine walking holiday with family years ago. What you can see from the image is that I’ve used the Overground and the DLR (Docklands Light Railway) in the East. I met a friend in Deptford and she told me that the DLR feels like a themed ride of London. I couldn’t fathom why until she left me at the station and I could experience the theme park atmosphere myself. The DLR snakes through Canary Wharf and across the river at the height of a couple of storeys, so there are no short buildings or vehicles to block any views. That fact gives the journey a distinctly surreal edge; passing the glazed windows of the fifth floor of an office block whilst reading a free newspaper is bizarre. It isn’t quite Disneyland, especially because there are few proper thrills and everyone is wearing a crisp dark suit. In the West, I have been as far as Richmond in my confusion to leave Kew Gardens. It’s quite a trek – It took around an hour and a half from ‘Stokey’ where I was based at the time. It feels quite ridiculous for someone who is used to walking from East to West Glasgow in the same length of time.
You’ve been missing out on the best bit! The bit from Baker Street to the Bayswater!