Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2012-03-16 00:26:48 - Graham Ellis
Two days in London - with a start on the 05:44 Bradford-on-Avon to Paddington train on Wednesday, and on Thursday a finish that's not yet happened and we're actually into Friday morning. But I'll admit I love being busy. And I'm very thankful for the lifts from Lisa at the extreme ends of the trip.
How Transport for London expect to cram the contents of three eight coach trains arring in Paddington within a quarter of an hour into one tube train every 10 minutes to the City is beyond me; the system is creaking at the seams with overload. Some of the load within Paddington station will, I understand, be taken in the future by extra steps and a lift, and come 2016 or so, the new Crossrail service will carry quite a number of passengers on this flow, with many of them not even needing to change at Paddington any longer.
But as well as the rush and crush, I've had time to look around over the last couple of days, take some pictures and (accidentally) look around St Pancras, Camden Town, Highgate, Maida Vale and Little Venice - I say "accidentally" because I wanted to go to Lancaster Gate, spotted a bus headed there and jumped on not realising that route 46 runs in a great horseshoe shape through north London.
Holborn Viaduct Station, with buidings dating from around 1960, was closed some 30 years later - no trace of platforms now, and this modern structure which (it must be admitted) is more artistic has taken its place. Actually, trains do still rumble past underneath in "City Thameslink", and deeper again the Central line, but it doesn't stop here and never has done.
You get to realise just how deep the Central line is when you walk down the 123 steps to the platform at Queensway, then back up the 99 at St Paul's - lift and escalator maintenance helping the fitness regime.
So why was I in Queensway? Because I was staying at this hotel on Princes Square - one of my "try out what others do" evenings. The price was "surely too good to be true" for London, and in fact it turned out to be much more acceptable than I would have dared hope ...
... dated, for sure. Very busy with tourists. Economy breakfast with cold sausages, scrambled eggs and beans to represent the full English. Skewed Loo seat and chipped enamal bath. Cheap pictures that I've seen everywhere in the stairwell, with lighter patches aroudn them where bigger pictures once hung. But clean, and a staff that smiled, exchanged a friendly word, looked out for the individuals that were not part of one or two large parties, and seemed to be please to see everyone.
Even in March, London is has a healthly load of tourists. The steps of St Paul's are clear again, and the visiors look up at the great buiding in wonder. No, I don't want to move back up to town to live, but it's great popping back from time to time to the places I knew when I was growing up.
Two days in London - with a start on the 05:44 Bradford-on-Avon to Paddington train on Wednesday, and on Thursday a finish that's not yet happened and we're actually into Friday morning. But I'll admit I love being busy. And I'm very thankful for the lifts from Lisa at the extreme ends of the trip.
How Transport for London expect to cram the contents of three eight coach trains arring in Paddington within a quarter of an hour into one tube train every 10 minutes to the City is beyond me; the system is creaking at the seams with overload. Some of the load within Paddington station will, I understand, be taken in the future by extra steps and a lift, and come 2016 or so, the new Crossrail service will carry quite a number of passengers on this flow, with many of them not even needing to change at Paddington any longer.
But as well as the rush and crush, I've had time to look around over the last couple of days, take some pictures and (accidentally) look around St Pancras, Camden Town, Highgate, Maida Vale and Little Venice - I say "accidentally" because I wanted to go to Lancaster Gate, spotted a bus headed there and jumped on not realising that route 46 runs in a great horseshoe shape through north London.
Holborn Viaduct Station, with buidings dating from around 1960, was closed some 30 years later - no trace of platforms now, and this modern structure which (it must be admitted) is more artistic has taken its place. Actually, trains do still rumble past underneath in "City Thameslink", and deeper again the Central line, but it doesn't stop here and never has done.
You get to realise just how deep the Central line is when you walk down the 123 steps to the platform at Queensway, then back up the 99 at St Paul's - lift and escalator maintenance helping the fitness regime.
So why was I in Queensway? Because I was staying at this hotel on Princes Square - one of my "try out what others do" evenings. The price was "surely too good to be true" for London, and in fact it turned out to be much more acceptable than I would have dared hope ...
... dated, for sure. Very busy with tourists. Economy breakfast with cold sausages, scrambled eggs and beans to represent the full English. Skewed Loo seat and chipped enamal bath. Cheap pictures that I've seen everywhere in the stairwell, with lighter patches aroudn them where bigger pictures once hung. But clean, and a staff that smiled, exchanged a friendly word, looked out for the individuals that were not part of one or two large parties, and seemed to be please to see everyone.
Even in March, London is has a healthly load of tourists. The steps of St Paul's are clear again, and the visiors look up at the great buiding in wonder. No, I don't want to move back up to town to live, but it's great popping back from time to time to the places I knew when I was growing up.