Week 17 and 18—Common sites of London and Walks in the Countryside

For my post these two weeks I thought that I would highlight some of the common sites of London (including some London Learning facts about each), as well as share photos from our weekend walks through the English countryside.


Monday, July 12, 2010
London Black Cab

The London Black Cabs are world famous. Black cabs have been on the streets of London since the 17th century. And today there are more than 21,000 seen on the streets. The cars have been specially designed for their purpose of transporting the masses and are required to pass a “Condition of Fitness” test. One of the many specifications is the turn radius—it has to be 25 feet, thus the phrase, “turn on a sixpence.” (bbc.co.uk, Wikipedia)


Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Knowledge Boys

Knowledge Boys (or Girls) are London cab drivers in training and can be seen all over London driving around on their scooter with clipboards attached to the handlebars. On the clip boards are maps and list of landmarks to be learned for that day of training. The goal of the Knowledge Boys—learn the streets and landmarks of the London in order to pass “The Knowledge” or formally The Knowledge of London Examination System. It “is the in-depth study of a number of pre-set London street routes and places of interest that taxicab drivers in that city must complete to obtain a license to operate a black cab” (wikipdeia). And “was introduced in 1851 by Sir Richard Mayne after complaints that cab drivers did not know where they were going. Passing the Knowledge involves detailed recall of 25,000 streets within a six-mile radius of Charing Cross station. The locations of clubs, hospitals, hotels, railway stations, parks, theatres, courts, restaurants, colleges, government buildings and places of worship are also required. It can take three years to pass the test, including the six months it takes to be tested.” (bbc.co.uk)

Other interesting facts about London cab drivers… only 1% of them are women and they are not “legally obliged to give change. If a large note is offered the driver is entitled to take the cash, and offer to post the change to the passenger's home address” (bbc.co.uk).


Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Double Decker Buses

Along with the London Black Cab, another icon on the streets of London is the Red Double Decker Bus. They have been on the streets since the 1820’s—then horse drawn coaches. The red double decker bus as we know it was first seen on the streets in the 1950’s. This year the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, unveiled the design of the new London Double Decker Buses. These Routmaster inspired and green friendly buses are set to be seen on the streets in 2012. Here is a sneak peak...

Thursday, July 15, 2010
Red Telephone Booths

The infamous red telephone kiosk was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in 1923 and several designs followed in the years to come. Today’s well known design is the K6 and is seen throughout London and the UK. There are a few other locations outside of the UK where these famous booths can also be seen—including downtown Glenview, IL! (according to Wikipedia)


Friday, July 16, 2010
Scaffolding

(This is the scaffolding on the hospital at the end of our street.)

You may scratch your head or think I am strange about this one, but scaffolding is everywhere. Since I have been here four building close to our flat have had scaffolding up and this past week they were removed…I almost feel as though I am walking down a new street.


Weekend, Saturday and Sunday, July 17-18, 2010
Henley on the Thames

We enjoyed another walk in the English Countryside near the town of Henley, which is a riverside town along the Thames. The 14 mile walk took us along the southern edge of the Chiltern Hills, through valleys, woodlands, farmlands, and gentle slopes (although at times they did not feel so gentle). The scenery was breath taking and the pictures don’t do the views justice, but enjoy…

The Town of Henley

Pictures from our Walk

 

My London Learning for the weekend is about the famous people connected to Henley on the Thames…author George Orwell (1984), actor David Tomlinson (Mary Poppins, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and The Love Bug), and Beatles member George Harrison.

Tony by the fence of his former property Friar Park. The razor fence and other security measures was installed after the death of John Lennon.


Monday, July 19, 2010
Pubs

With over 7,000 pubs in London and over 53,500 in the UK, it’s hard to miss this common site, especially on a warm summer night when the crowds in front of the pubs overflow into the streets. Pubs date back to the Roman times and the pub Ye Olde Fighting Cocks in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England claims to be the oldest pub.


Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Red Mail Boxes

The familiar mail boxes or pillar boxes in the UK have been on the streets since the 1850’s with the first in London in 1855. Like the phone kiosks and buses, the mail boxes have gone through several design changes. The one shown in the this picture is the Modern Royal Mail branded EiiR Type C double aperture pillar box. (Wikipedia) An estimated 115,000 mail boxes can be found throughout the UK. Originally these boxes were green, but in 1874 were painted red for better visibility. (culture24.org.uk)


Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Grey Skies

Although we have had a dry warm summer here in London, the weather in general is unpredictable. Several times I have left the house with bright sunny skies above and no need for an umbrella--only to find grey skies hovering over an hour later and then running into a store for cover when the rain begins to fall. The unpredictability reminds me of Florida and has the same influence—the coast. As for the rainfall, London’s annual average is 23 inches, which is less than Chicago at 36 inches. It just seems that there are more grey damp drizzly days.


Thursday, July 22, 2010
Blue Plaques

Throughout London you can find blue plaques on the sides of building marking former homes or working sites of famous people. The scheme was founded in 1866 and London is thought to currently have 850 plaques. This is the next one I would like to see outside of 2 Devonshire Street…

Friday, July 23, 2010
Tube Stations

With no car (and no desire to drive on the opposite side of the car and road) one of our main sources of transportation, aside from the bus, is the London Underground—The Tube. There are 12 tube lines with 270 stations serving millions of passengers a year. Though the busiest, Victoria station alone services 78 millions people a year.

So, how far underground is the Underground? The deepest station is the Hampstead station at 192 feet below street level. So how to you get down there—stairs, a lift or an escalator. The deepest lift shaft is at the Hampstead station 181 feet deep. The longest escalator can be found at the Angel Station and is 197 feet. There are over 400 escalators in the tube stations that run 20 hours a day for 364days a year. The London Underground claims that in a given week their escalators travel the equivalent of twice around the earth! Now if they could find a way to get A/C in the Tube stations for that trip it would be very nice!!! (Facts from Wikipedia and tfl.gov.uk)


Weekend, Saturday and Sunday, July 24-25, 2010
Off to the Coast--Hastings to Rye

A few years ago, Tony and I started watching a British TV series shown in the US on PBS called Foyle’s War, which was filmed in Hastings, England. Being so close we had to go to Hastings and see the town for ourselves. Hastings is a two hours train ride from London. We enjoyed the sites of Hastings and then were off on a 12 miles walk along the coast to neighboring Rye. The walk took us along the beautiful coast, through wooded areas, through grazing fields, provided an encounter with a cow, a visit to a local church and ended with a walk through fields.

Picture of the coast town of Hastings

 Picture from the walk...

My London Learning…Hastings is known as the “‘the birthplace of television’ since the pioneer of television, John Logie Baird, lived at 21 Linton Crescent [Hastings] from 1922 to 1924” (wikipedia).