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Royal Albert to King George V - a river walk in East London

Tue November 11 2008

Walking through Docklands in the East of London might not be everyone's idea of a grand day out. Regeneration is all around, and even some parts that ... read more

Walking through Docklands in the East of London might not be everyone's idea of a grand day out. Regeneration is all around, and even some parts that have been redeveloped are not attractive. I am including this walk because it traverses an important part of London. One cannot appreciate the development of the capital without appreciating that London Docks which was the powerhouse of the capital's trade until the 1960's has changed completely. There are flats - many much more affordable than in other parts of London. There is business - especially the financial district of Canary Wharf. There is a small airport. Shops. Manufacturing. In fact, pretty much everything except docks. The dockland names live on though: they are either marinas or DLR stations. The walk starts at Royal Albert. You can reach this station in Zone 3 by taking the Jubilee Line from central London (Bond Street or Westminster for example) and changing to the Docklands Light Railway at Canning Town. Remember to touch your Oyster card on the Reader as you descend the steps at Prince Regent. From the DLR we walk through Beckton Park to Gallions via Cyprus and the Docklands Campus of the University of East London. Here there is a choice of route, either along the lonely river path and across the locks at Gallions Reach, or across the bridge to King George V. hereafter the walk continues along the Thames to finish at the Woolwich Free Ferry. The walk is 3 miles in length, but you can add an extra half mile by crossing the river to Woolwich. There are two means of doing so - either the free ferry or the Woolwich Foot Tunnel, opened in 1912 (note: there are steps at each end). Alternatively, having admired the sight of the Thames Barrier in the distance, you can take a bus from the bus station, or walk for 6 minutes to the King George V DLR station. This walk is part of the Capital Ring. You can download a map of all 15 walks in the Capital Ring and full instructions. This episode of the London Walks podcast is sponsored by GoToMyPC. Click here to access your PC from anywhere. Try it FREE for 30 days. read less

Brompton

Mon October 13 2008

London's Transport

Wed September 24 2008

It is almost 2 years now since I recorded two episodes of the London Walks podcast. One episode gave advice on how to get to and from London's airport... read more

It is almost 2 years now since I recorded two episodes of the London Walks podcast. One episode gave advice on how to get to and from London's airports. The other concerned how to get around London by public transport. These episodes are now out of date, and so the time has come to record them once again. This time I am putting all the information in one place, and in only 40 minutes offering a lot of information in one place, from a local as it were to someone who may be unfamiliar with the transport system in this greatest of capital cities. At the outset, I must make it clear I am giving you my personal recommendations. You may find some aspects conflict with what you have been told or with what you have read elsewhere. Listeners who live in London may disagree with me, but I offer you my advice based on what I do myself, with no axe to grind and nothing to gain from what I suggest you do. The podcast is in 3 parts. Firstly I talk about London's airports. Secondly I mention the trains to and from continental Europe. Thirdly I discuss ticketing systems in London, and advise what are the best choices in our integrated transport whether you are staying one day, one week, one month or even longer. London has 5 airports. London City in Docklands is the smallest and is mainly used for business travel. It is easily and quickly accessible from central London via the Underground and the Dockland Light Railway (DLR). Listeners from abroad to the London Walks Podcast are more likely to arrive at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted or Luton. These are all large airports, ranging from 20 - 40 miles from the City. All are easy to reach by public transport, and I advise on the choices and the tickets to buy. My top tips are: 1. It is easier and maybe even quicker to use the Underground rather than the Heathrow Express, when you take into account the time taken getting to and from Paddington, buying a separate ticket, and waiting up to 15 minutes for the next train. This advice is particularly relevant now that Terminal 5 has opened if your plane arrives and departs from Terminal 4 which is no longer directly served by the Heathrow Express Train. The Underground is also much cheaper, costing less than a fifth of the total price for most journeys. 2. If you have 2 or more in your party, consider taking a taxi. The total price might be as much as Â45 - Â50 but divided between as many as 5 passengers a cab is affordable. You also get to hear the political views of your friendly and garrulous cab driver. She or he will have done The Knowledge - a fearsome test taking more than 2 years study. Once qualified, cab drivers will know hundreds of routes by heart, most streets in Greater London, and all the places on those routes. The cabs are clean, undamaged and tightly controlled by the quaintly named Public Carriage Office. A great way to travel. 3. I do not recommend the Gatwick Express. It is expensive (costing up to Â17.90) and no longer more modern, more comfortable, or even very much quicker than alternative trains. Look for the Southern train which is clean, modern and comfortable. It stops once or twice, adding a few minutes on to the journey but costs half the price. 4. Luton and Stansted are easy to reach by train. Luton is cheaper by far, but both take around the same journey time. Travellers on a budget can save huge amounts by taking the Easybus, which costs as little as Â2. 5. It is no longer sensible to fly from London to most places in nearer continental Europe. The Eurostar is very fast indeed - you can spend 10 hours in Paris on a day trip and pay a good price for your ticket if you plan ahead. My top tip is to look at a wonderful personal web site by The Man in Seat 61. This is a comprehensive guide to getting around Europe by train. Please consider making a donation towards his work (after you have donated to London Walks using the Pay Pal button at http://londonwalks.org). 6. It makes no sense to use cash on London's transport. Paying cash is prohibitively expensive by design. If you are staying one day, buy a paper Travelcard. If you are staying longer, get a pay-as-you-go Oystercard. You can buy one with a Â3 deposit when you arrive, or get a visitor Oystercard for Â2 from some travel agents worldwide which can be charged with cash and used from Heathrow right off the plane. Links: Transport for London - start here What is Oyster? Buying Oyster cards from overseas agents Oyster ticket stops How to use Oyster cards for visitors to London Stansted Express Gatwick by Southern Railway About London's airports from BAA the current operator Ordering transportation tickets from USA National Express Dot2Dot transfers to Heathrow Eurostar read less

Spitalfields

Wed August 20 2008

Doing the Lambeth Walk

Tue July 22 2008

"The Lambeth Walk" is a song from the 1937 musical Me and My Girl (with book and lyrics by Douglas Furber and L. Arthur Rose and music by Noel Gay). T... read more