Down and Out, Down Underground
“‘No.’ ‘No.’ ‘No.’ ‘No.’ ‘No.’ ‘No.’ ‘Sorry, no – it’s been sold out for days.’” – Gate Steward to tens of people as we waited in the queue outside Rotherhithe Station.
Pop Down and I took a walk through the Thames Tunnel this afternoon, just like every other transport nerd in London, and a jolly interesting, chilly, surprisingly clean step back in time it was. It’s great that it has been opened for the first walking tours since the mid-1800s, if only for a couple of days, but this has turned out to be the hottest ticket in London this weekend. Although I’m sure I could have eBayed the tickets for several quid, this was an opportunity too rare to miss. Photoset here and in this gallery:
There’s no point covering the history of this, the world’s first tunnel under a navigable river, as it’s much discussed in those links above. I kept my camera tucked in my pocket most of the time and soaked up the atmosphere and sensations of this 1,600′ bore, recognising that two million people walked through in the first six weeks. The irregular shaped arches and gentle gradient make for a beautiful, almost ecclesiastical space. To think that this path will be turned back to trains in seven weeks… at least another piece of the brilliant Brunel’s history survives.
PS I understand why, but everyone else’s photos will look the same as mine except they’ve gone to great lengths to cut the people out of them. There were people everywhere – it is a pedestrian tunnel! – so these shots probably give a truer flavour of the tour.
Boris Johnson’s Cycle Superhighway hits the road
And so, the first evidence of Boris Johnson’s remarkable cycle plan emerges with the test of blue tarmac outside Tooting Bec station. Whatever you say about the whole cycle super highway idea – and I say it’s possibly not a very good one since it seems to be a Grand Projet rather than a way to increase ridership for all citizens – blue roads will be a key part of the Mayor’s legacy. London Cyclist has a more considered and positive response.
I am curious about how the blue path is expected to work (but not curious enough to read the TfL website carefully*). In particular, it will be interesting to see the psychological impact of a continuous blue streak across junctions. Will some less experienced cyclists take this as an implication that they have right of way, and sail through traffic lights? We shall see. Blue tarmac plus red blood equals purple road, which will be pretty.
*I’m a completer finisher so did have a careful look in the end and read that:
The selection of the blue material followed customer research with end users and benchmarking across Europe, where the blue finish is used extensively.
Where cycling infrastructure currently exists on a Cycle Superhighway, it will not be resurfaced immediately, but will be upgraded as part of TfL’s usual maintenance programme. This represents the best value for money approach.
As a researcher I’d be curious to see the research, but blue does look nice. Note, however, that this will not be a seamless blue strip for many years.
If ever.
365: And finally…
Sorting through these photos, I’ve just realised that my 365 project ends today!. A whole year of photos taken of, about or during each day. When travelling to places new it’s been a breeze to find something to shoot; when spending weeks in the office it’s a lot harder. There are a couple of gaps that I need to go back and fill (whole sets of trips to the Olympic Stadium and Normandy), which I’ll update in the next few days, but aside from that I’m done.
So it’s appropriate that the last picture should be of one of the greatest constants in the past year: The Selkirk Pub Quiz. After dozens of mid-table performances 2010 has been a great year so far, with two firsts and a second place. That’s almost fifty free bottles of beer! If that’s a metaphor for the next 365 days then the future’s looking pretty good.
365: Train describer cretinery
Much discussed elsewhere, Tooting Bec now has its own spectacularly misplaced next train indicator. On the plus side (i) I think it’s temporary, (ii) I stand at the south end of the platform so this doesn’t affect me and (iii) the southbound platform now has an indicator too. Tooting Broadway, here I come!
365: Two little boys had two little toys
Although I suspect they couldn’t have afforded this lot.
365: The sun does sometimes shine on London
Particularly here, on Mount Street Gardens.
Read more»365: Steamin’
I don’t know how you chose to spend your St Valentine’s Day, but much of mine was spent truding for 19+ miles around South West London. Glad I didn’t get stuck on this fresh tarmac, roadrunner style.
Read more»365: Miga the Mascot
Is Miga male, female or simply a spirit? These fridge magnets and a matching book mark were the only things worth buying in the official Olympic outlet. The rest was tat – expensive tat, of course, but with an over-reliance on man made fibres.
Read more»365: Quatchi the Mascot
Here’s Quatchi – I’m not sure that ear warmers are the traditional dress of Canadian native peoples, but I’d be excited to be proved wrong.
Read more»365: Sumi the Mascot
In honour of the Vancouver (and Whistler!) 2010 Olympics, three Olympic mascots as currently stuck to my fridge. Firstly, Sumi – a cheery little fella.
Read more»