Because in London, being “off course” is often the point. There’s a particular pleasure in walking through London without a plan. Not aimlessly, that’s different, but with a kind of gentle, deliberate looseness. A willingness to drift. A readiness to be surprised. It’s a skill, really, and one the city rewards more generously than most.… Continue reading The Art of Getting Lost (On Purpose)
Tag: Walking
If you want the truth ask a local tour guide.
I’ve been lucky enough in the last week to have been chasing a bit of winter sunshine. Before departing I was reviewing my notes for a project I have to create a number of tours which take in all the churches within the City of London. Amongst them is one of my favourites, St James… Continue reading If you want the truth ask a local tour guide.
Pavements in the sky (part 4)
This is the last part of a hunt for the remains of the London Pedway system that was proposed by architects and designers in the 1970s. You can find the preceding parts here. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 So, in part 3 I found that remains of what was known as the Bishopsgate system… Continue reading Pavements in the sky (part 4)
Pavements in the sky (Part 3)
The continuing hunt for the remainder of London’s abandoned pedway system. If you’ve made your way here via part one and part two, thanks for sticking with it. In part two I wandered around the Barbican, which is the area with the only properly functioning pedway remaining. At the end of the piece I had… Continue reading Pavements in the sky (Part 3)
Pavements in the sky (Part 2)
So, hopefully you’ve arrived here from the first part of Pavements in the sky and have watched the video? If not, part two isn’t going to make much sense. Make yourself a nice cuppa and sit down for thirty minutes and catch up on the video and then come back here. London is always changing,… Continue reading Pavements in the sky (Part 2)
What did you get for Christmas Sam?
The Sam in question being Samuel Pepys, the answer is obviously a new diary. I decided that this year I’ll try and read each of his diary entries on the day he wrote them over three hundred and sixty years ago. Luckily his first ever entry is January 1st 1660, so I can start right… Continue reading What did you get for Christmas Sam?
“Lord have mercy upon me, I am killed”
I was doing a bit of housekeeping with my audio tours the other day and came across a tour that I must admit I’d forgotten all about. Everything about the process of compiling it I remembered was easy. The research went well and the writing just flowed from the pen. This was going to be… Continue reading “Lord have mercy upon me, I am killed”
Dogstones
Now there’s a word for you, “Dogstones”. Gallstones found in canines perhaps, or some type of artisanal device for holding something in place? If you Google it, it appears there’s a large stone in Oban in Scotland, but that’s not it. Let me cloud the waters even further by linking the Dogstone with a Hen… Continue reading Dogstones
A baby, but no bath water
Whilst rooting about in A Survey Of The Cities Of London and Westminster written by John Strype in the 1720s for some information, I came across a story by accident that is too good not to tell. The story is set near to the Tower of London and centres around the Churchyard of All Hallows-by-the-Tower,… Continue reading A baby, but no bath water
Sometimes you just have to relax
Six Word Saturday
A LONDON MISCELLANY 