Connected London
It seems so big until you know how everything connects
My first experiences in London were on day visits on my off-days from uni. This included a train commute and, as I had a travelcard, often involved a lot of underground travel to get to the hot-spots throughout London. It wasn’t until I moved into London for my MA that I really started to connect the city as a sprawling metropolis. Before London was a series of islands of interest. I could go without knowing that one thing was right next to another. That Dalston was actually a pretty short walk away from Shoreditch. Taking buses helped me orientate more than I ever could when taking the London Underground, but it was walking and exploring the streets that really solidified how everything in London fit together for me.
Oh, you go down this street to get from Covent Garden to Chinatown? Wow, who knew? You go this way to get there? Oh wow, seriously? That was right next to that the entire time? I’ve seen the map of London plenty, but it wasn’t until I walked around that my mental map connected and I remembered how to get to what from where. It’s fantastic to be able to direct people to where they need to go, because it makes you feel like you own the place. Oh, yes Mr. Tourist, what you want is just down this road and to the right. Third right. You find places you would never expect to know of – the little joints off the beat and track that suddenly turn out to be wonderful (or awful, we must admit).
If you have the chance, I suggest you walk the city. At the very least to feel like you know London. I have a personal philosophy that you only truly feel like you belong to a city once you’ve walked through it. Knowing how it combines is useful, both for orientating yourself and for feeling like you belong, but walking it is what makes it yours.
Load more triptoids