The London Stations Walk

Saturday 23rd March 2024

Following my walk of a month ago through the Royal Parks of London I was keen to return to London as soon as possible and eventually I bought my train ticket despite not really knowing where I was going to walk. My first idea was to do the counterpart to the walk I’d done in February, which would be the east London Sightseeing Dash from the YHA website instead of the west London walk done previously. However, there was less appeal for me in this walk as it largely passes through tedious city landscapes instead of the more natural scenery of the Royal Parks in west London, but I then realised it passes many of the mainline terminus stations in London and this gave me the idea of visiting every one, which would interest me as I am a bit of a railway nerd and since there is no such thing as an original idea, I found the route for a London Stations walk on the website for the Saturday Walkers Club. My train took me to Euston Station, but the walk starts at Kings Cross, so first I had to make my way there and soon I was standing outside the station. Inside, I saw the fantastic, high arching roof of the metal and glass train shed built by the Great Northern Railway and opened in 1852, but soon I emerged by the western entrance onto Kings Boulevard where I followed the advice of the walking club and turned right to pass over a canal and into Granary Square where the buildings used to be part of the goods yard for the station and rail tracks are still imbedded into the ground.

After a wander around I returned to Kings Boulevard and turned right into St Pancras International, originally opened in 1868 by the Midland Railway and I have fond memories of arriving there in the eighties when it was dark, dirty and underused. Now it has been transformed into the terminus for Eurostar as well as for trains from the Midlands and from Kent while the old underfloor warehouses have been transformed into the main passenger concourse. After a good wander around I eventually emerged to pass behind the British Library and return to the comparatively dull Euston Station. Opened in 1837 by the London & Birmingham Railway, it was ruined in the mid-sixties and now has low concrete ceilings in stark contrast of the high, sweeping arches of Kings Cross and St Pancras, so I quickly moved on and joined my route of the month before and was soon in Regent’s Park. I loved being back in the Royal Parks and comparing the changes in the flora since I was there in February. Daffodils had been the dominant flower then, but now it was tree blossom that caught the eye, though many daffodils were still in bloom. On the far side of the park I made my way to Marylebone Station which was opened in 1899 by the Great Central Railway and it looked quaint to me with just a small number of platforms and plenty of natural light. After years of neglect and threatened closure it is good to see this station now flourishing under Chiltern Railways.

My onward progress brought me to Paddington Station where four high arched roofs span an enormous space, built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the Great Western Railway and opened in 1854, and his stature stands between platforms eight and nine looking out over his work of art. This was my favourite station that I saw on the walk. Not far from Paddington I entered Kensington Gardens and reacquainted myself with this beautiful park, passing the Italian Gardens and walking beside the Long Water and Serpentine while enjoying my surroundings. It had been sunny at the start of this walk but with a cold breeze and now it was starting to cloud over, so even though the weather was poorer a month ago, it was actually warmer. When I finally came out of the royal park I passed through Belgravia on an extended stretch of road walking, but the streets were quiet and I passed by several European embassies until eventually I reached Victoria Station. At first I found this confusing with temporary barriers and narrow streams of passengers, but eventually I emerged onto a much more open area with high ceilings and natural light. Part of the reason for the difference was because this had originally been two stations, one opened in 1860 by the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway and the other by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway in 1862, but also because the former part was later heavily redeveloped with offices built above the platforms.

After making my way out of the station, I passed through a shopping centre and soon found myself back at Buckingham Palace where the crowds in St James’s Park were as bad as they had been a month ago. These continued through Admiralty Arch and around Trafalgar Square until I finally got to Charing Cross, opened by the South Eastern Railway in 1864 and with a small, bright concourse but low ceilings on the platforms. Across the River Thames is Waterloo Station with, bizarrely, the tracks coming out of Charing Cross passing in front of the station. This was opened in 1848 by the London and South Western Railway and is enormous encompassing more platforms than any other station in Britain. The former Eurostar platforms were a notable see but it was difficult for me to get a good look beyond the ticket barriers elsewhere, though most of the station was good to look at with plenty of natural light through glass roofs. When I finally felt the station I made my way to the River Thames and walked along the south bank past the National Theatre to reach Blackfriars station, built on Blackfriars Bridge. Some would name this one of the London Stations, but since it is not a terminus I passed it by, though beside the southern entrance, until I reached Southwark Bridge where I crossed the Thames again to reach Cannon Street Station, which on this day was closed for engineering works. This was opened by the South Eastern Railway in 1866 and I was able to look through the barriers at the empty station before crossing the Thames again on London Bridge to reach the eponymous station.

London Bridge Station was opened in 1836 by the London and Greenwich Railway but has recently been heavily rebuilt with the result that I was unable to see the through platforms, but I was able to see the terminus platforms and they are surely what counts on this walk. The station is now similar to St Pancras in that the passenger concourse is on a lower level and the platforms are above. Back beside the River Thames I walked past the World War Two cruiser, HMS Belfast, and up to the iconic Tower Bridge, which was awesome to walk over, but the experience was severely diminished by the crowds so I was glad to get away and after walking around the Tower of London and between densely packed skyscrapers I reached Fenchurch Street Station. This tiny station was opened in 1841 by the London and Blackwell Railway and was a dark and unpleasant place, but with a striking frontage. The confusing street navigation continued till I reached Liverpool Street Station where I was told I was not allowed to take pictures of the station, which was a surprise to me, but the station supervisor later told me it was actually the security cameras I was not allowed to photo. It was surprising that no one had told me this earlier on any of the other stations I had been to, and this was actually my last one. Opened in 1874 by the Great Eastern Railway, it has escaped the ruination typical of other stations and I was able to get a good picture, clear of security cameras, overlooking the platforms.

With a couple of hours spare before my train was due I spent the time on the underground trains before finally returning to Euston, but my experience at Liverpool Street Station had rather marred the day. It was good to make a return visit to London and the Royal Parks, but the crowds have convinced me that I should not be such a hurry to return. It was interesting to explore the various stations and note that the best ones were those with natural light through glass roofs.

The Royal Parks of London

Saturday 17th February 2024

I had an idea, at least four years ago, of going for a walk through the Royal Parks of London, but Covid intervened and my plan was shelved until eventually I decided I would now do my long anticipated walk, so despite poor weather I caught a train to London. When I left the railway station I started to follow a route that I’d found on the OS Maps app and also on the YHA website described as a sightseeing dash. There are two tours and I was taking the one through West London, which was initially rather dull as I passed through enclosed streets with high buildings either side, but eventually I reached my first Royal Park: Regent’s Park, entering through the English Gardens. Even though I came to London many times as a child, I don’t remember being in Regent’s Park before as my family was focused on the usual tourist attractions and the Royal Parks were not a priority. Despite being February there were many daffodils in bloom thanks to the mild weather and there were even some snowdrops clinging on despite the mild weather. It was also noticeable how many runners there were in the park at this early hour, but I was happy to just walk as I made my way into Queen Mary’s Gardens where I turned left passing a wonderful display of daffodils and out of the gardens.

After passing Regent’s University and the boating lake I left Regent’s Park and turned right onto Marylebone Road, past Madame Tussauds waxworks museum to reach Baker Street tube station where a stature of Sherlock Holmes stands looking at the entrance. From there I turned down Baker Street for a spell of tedious road walking that brought to mind a comment I made a couple of months ago that I love walking so much I even love walking along streets and at this moment I was really testing that claim. I suppose what I found enjoyable about walking along a street in the Lake District was the trees lining the road and the lack of people, which I certainly didn’t have on Oxford Street, but fortunately I soon reached Marble Arch where I turned off the road and entered Hyde Park. The misty weather that had accompanied me so far now tried to rain, though it was never very heavy and soon stopped. Hyde Park was a maze of paths and finding the right one was often a game of trial and error until eventually I found my way to the Serpentine where I turned right to walk beside the lake past the many ducks that were quacking loudly to encourage the tourists to feed them.

Following the side of the lake I passed Serpentine Bridge to follow the lake now known as the Long Water to the northern tip and the fountains of the Italian Gardens which are part of Kensington Gardens and Budge’s Walk brought me to the Round Pond in front of Kensington Palace. After a wander around the Princess Diana Memorial Garden I set off along Mount Walk, before branching off to visit the enormously opulent Albert Memorial with the Royal Albert Hall beyond. At this point the prescribed trail headed past the concert hall into Knightsbridge where there are many large museums and then through Belgrave past Harrods, but I wanted to linger in the Royal Parks so I turned back into Hyde Park passing beds of crocuses to return to the Serpentine. I was now following the route of the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Walk and I realised that it had originally been my intention for the walk to follow this trail across the Royal Parks before I decided to follow the YHA walk instead. I lingered at the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain and paused again beside a bed of snowdrops near the memorial to Queen Caroline for whom the Long Water and Serpentine were created.

Eventually I emerged through Hyde Park Corner to pass the military memorials beside the Wellington Arch and enter Green Park which was wonderfully decorated with daffodils and crocuses. I was now reunited with the YHA walk and followed that across Green Park to the tube station and past the Ritz before turning down St James’s Street to reach St James’s Palace. The crowds of tourists now increased significantly as I turned onto the Mall with the iconic Buckingham Palace ahead of me and it was interesting for me to note many small groups clustered around someone describing the scene in a foreign language. While walking past the gates of Buckingham Palace I realised that I hadn’t been here since I was a child, but I wasn’t enjoyed the crowds, which continued as I passed into St James’s Park and while walking beside the lake. On the far side of the park I crossed Horse Guards Parade and under the arch into Whitehall where the crowds continued as I passed by many government buildings including Downing Street and past the Cenotaph. While Big Ben struck twelve o’clock I squeezed through the crowds over Westminster Bridge and then turned left to walk beside the Thames and below the London Eye.

After crossing the Golden Jubilee Bridge I was completely fed up with the crowds and by the time I reached Trafalgar Square I had lost interest in following the trail, which was now almost complete except for a traverse of Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circle. So I abandoned the trail, if only because I had plenty of time left before my train was due, and wandered back to the Thames to visit Cleopatra’s Needle, an ancient Egyptian obelisk erected beside the river. After returning to Trafalgar Square through Victoria Embankment Gardens my mind was now more decisive about where to go next as I made my way back onto the Mall and into St James’s Park to rejoin the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Walk, which I followed along the southern side of the lake. Plaques set into the ground guided my route through St James’s Park, past the front of Buckingham Palace again and into Green Park. Protestors at Hyde Park Corner blocked my onward progress, but I was able to use a subway under the road to get past them and back into Hyde Park. The memorial walk took me through Hyde Park and into Kensington Gardens until finally I reached the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground.

I was now at the extreme north western corner of the circular trail having started at the eastern end while most of the rest of the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Walk had been covered earlier so I decided that I would now head back to the railway station. There was some appeal in taking the tube but since I still had plenty of time I decided to walk which was my purpose in coming to London. I kept inside Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park until I reached Marble Arch and then less appealingly I walked along Oxford Street until I rejoined the YHA walk for the final stretch past BBC Broadcasting House and beneath the BT Tower. This was a surprisingly strenuous walk that left me aching for several days afterwards, but despite the large crowds I really enjoyed it and was soon wondering when I would next be in London.