<Back to Northumberland Avenue : See All Posts : On To Bow Street> Marylebone is one of the smallest of the London train stations and is the prettiest I have visited so far. It lies to the north of the Marylebone Road and a little west of Regents Park. It is both an overground and an underground (on the Bakerloo line) station and dates from 1899 (once a London terminus for trains heading to Sheffield and Manchester). I started my visit with a walk around the outside of the station walking up Harewood Avenue, along Rossmore Road and then back down Boston Place (many pretty properties down here), then back to the main entrance on Melcombe Place. The front of the station has an attractive glass and ironwork canopy (where the taxis drop off). But my images came from inside the station. The staff at the station all seemed very friendly and helpful and obviously take great pride in their station. The first image includes some greenery which is trying hard not to look out of place at the end of the platform. The second image is of a lady trailing her wheeled cases as she makes for her train. The third is of a man (looking way too cool) checking his phone for messages. I hope you like the images as much as I liked this station. I will be back some time I am sure. My next location is Bow Street, so after a bite to eat I am on my way.
Rather than retracing my steps from Northumberland Avenue, I walk east along Marylebone Road past Madame Tussaud's and keep going until I get to Great Portland Street. I then head south down Bolsover Street past the University of Westminster students union (which was the Polytechnic of Central London when I was there many years ago). I then cut over down to Piccadilly Circus. Then it's a short hop over to Covent Garden and onto Bow Street.
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Turning the corner from Whitehall into Northumberland Avenue takes you from the bright bustle into a darker area. The trees down each side of the road make it seem darker and more intimate that the grandeur of Whitehall. At the top corner were a few guys busking complete with full drum kit, guitars and amplifiers. They drew quite a crowd, but I carried on down towards the river. The avenue is a mixture of hotels, offices and a theatre. It also includes the Korean Cultural Centre which gave me my first image, the London bus reflected in a large image in the window of the centre. The centre runs a K-pop education programme, which reminded me of watching kids dancing to K-pop (and J-pop) in the parks in Lima, Peru, last year (view a youtube video). Further down the avenue I liked the look of the bicycle. I like photographing bicycle parts (I know, it's sad!) so I took one of the spokes in the rear wheel. Having passed the Playhouse Theatre, (currently showing 1984), I wandered back up the other side of the avenue and found my third image of the leaf in a puddle. I like a good reflection and although the reflection of the branches and sky above are very blown out, I really liked the feel of this one. My next location, Marylebone Station, is about 3 miles north (and a bit west) of Northumberland Avenue, so I had some lunch at the Crypt at St Martins in-the-Field (a great place for a break) before wandering up through Leicester Square and then over to Regent Street and up to Oxford Circus before cutting through to Baker Street and then north to Marylebone Road and finally up Great Central Street to the station. I think I will take the tube back at the end of the day!
It was a pleasant walk back from Tate Modern to Whitehall. I pretty much retraced my steps by going west along the South bank and then crossed the river again at the Golden Jubilee footbridge. Then I headed south (west) along the river down towards Westminster Bridge but cut up to Whitehall through Horseguards Avenue. Once on Whitehall I started looking for images. I spent some time wandering around, looking at the seats of power, and the powerful people scurrying between buildings and in and out of government cars. But these people were not to be my focus. I was drawn to the memorials and the thought provoking flags at the Cenotaph which are such a feature of our history. Also from our history are the old red telephone boxes. While no one seems to use them any more to make calls, they are well used here as a tourist photo prop for holiday selphies. I was also interested in the never ending security. When I was a boy you could walk up Downing Street (just off Whitehall) to see number 10, the home of the British Prime Minister. These days you are faced with very bleak barriers, heavily armed Police and yet more surveillance cameras. It's sad, but not surprising, that out politicians feel they need this level of security. From the north end of Whitehall you can see Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery, but next I turn right into our next location, Northumberland Avenue...
See all Monopoly posts <Back to Electric Company Forward to Northumberland Avenue> <Back to Pall Mall See all monopoly posts Forward to Whitehall> After a good rest it was back to the street picking up where I left off at Pall Mall. Next stop Electric Company. I thought I might look out EDF as they were very close, but it was a location I knew I would revisit, so I looked further afield. I decided to stretch the idea of the electric company to a location which used to generate electricity. . . Tate Modern. The walk is a nice gentle one, down to the river and then over the Golden Jubilee footbridge, then east past the London Eye and all along the Southbank and keep going for about 30 minutes until the stunning Tate Modern comes into view. Once there I spent some time in the turbine hall (one of my favourite places) and where I took 2 out my 3 images. The third is a reflection in one of the windows of the newly opened extension. If you look you will be able to see the ancient and modern reflection of me and the Shard (another of my favourite photographic locations). It was a lovely clear sunny day which contrasted with the relative darkness within the turbine hall. I made the most of the contrast which I thought gave some interesting images. From Tate modern it was back to Whitehall. If I ever do this tour again I will definitely cut corners and do some locations out of order. It would save a lot of time as I am now heading back Whitehall which is very close to Pall Mall, where I just came from!
<Back to Pall Mall See all monopoly posts Forward to Whitehall> <Back to Jail See all monopoly posts Forward to Electric Company> It had been a long walk from Pentonville Prison down to Pall Mall and the contrast between the locations was pretty stark. By comparison to the Caledonian Road, Pall Mall felt pretty smug and happy with itself. It's just a short distance from Buckingham Palace and you can feel the money here. I was surprised to see a camera shop towards the end of the street but I wasn't surprised to see that Richard Caplan Photographic specialises in Leica and Hasselblad. Pall Mall is certainly out of my price range, but it had some interesting photo opportunities. I particularly enjoyed the flames and the flag, and the image of the pictures through the window at the IoD made me smile. By the time I was finished with Pall Mall it was getting late and the moon was visible in the darkening sky. A few extra images from Pall Mall. . . From Pall Mall I was off to find an Electric Company, but the search for that would have to wait for another day.
<Back to Jail See all monopoly posts Forward to Electric Company> The game of Monopoly starts at GO! But this has no obvious location within London. After a bit of googling I learn that (according to the Ordnance Survey) the location of GO is Lambeth North tube station. Doesn't sound too convincing to me, but it proved an interesting location to start my photographic journey around London's Monopoly board locations. Lambeth North is a dirty and pretty unloved station languishing south of the river. But it is close to the Imperial War Museum and a good starting point for a visit to the Lee Miller "A woman's war" exhibition.
If black and white grime photography is your thing then give Lambeth North a try. |
peter merryPhotographing London, Surrey and beyond. From the top of the Shard to the end of the garden. . . Categories
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