London: a city that conjures up a lot of excitement in me, mainly due to years of listening to music, reading books and watching films set in the city. While it’s not the world’s most beautiful, exotic or affordable place, it is one of the most cosmopolitan and exciting. When I had the opportunity to visit in June on the way to see friends in the southwestern English city of Exeter, I seized it. I had been to London twice before but had never been intentional about how I spent my time there. In short, I never felt like I really got a feel for even part of the city, something I was determined to do this time around.
The Two-Day Trip
Strangely enough, my two previous visits to London had also been two days — it’s like some accidental pattern I can’t break. The main reason for this trend, however, is sadly no mystery: I had and continue to have very little money, and London is one of the most expensive cities in the world.
I was 18 when I first traveled to England — by ferry from France, as part of a French class trip. We did the usual — Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Topshop, and karaoke in a pub, for some reason. I don’t remember much (though I do remember my karaoke selection, Soft Cell’s seminal “Tainted Love”), which is probably because we only really spent a day there, dedicating much of day two to an Oxford-Stratford day trip.
The second time was during my study abroad semester in Ireland, when a friend and I decided to meet in London with another friend studying at University College London. Toward the ends of our semesters and impoverished, my friend and I agreed to share a tiny twin bed in an empty UCL dorm room rather than pay for a hotel. We saw a West End production of When Harry Met Sally starring an aging Luke Perry, spent a day at the Tate Modern, and wandered around pleasantly for the rest of the time. I came away satisfied and happy to have seen friends, but without much understanding of London beyond parks and pints and red phone booths.
Feeling London
This time around I was focused, determined not to waste my two days. My husband and I booked a room at an economical, well-located, and slightly shabby South Kensington establishment called the Cromwell International Hotel, and I set out excitedly to plan my first London trip as a proper adult. My husband was planning some meetings with overseas colleagues, so I would have a good chunk of each day alone to do as I pleased. I perused lists of museums and markets and theatrical performances, but what I was really chasing was a feeling: the feeling of being in London, the city of so much music, literature and film I loved. So I decided to simply do what I like best, which is walk.
As discussed in my post on the “flâneuse,” the best kind of walking for a traveler like me is wandering solo — I don’t much enjoy an organized tour, no matter how informative. Knowing little about the best ways to wander in London, I looked online for self-guided walks and landed on London for Free’s “Bridges Walk,” a very on-the-beaten path kind of stroll that would take me through the heart of tourist London. While I’m not usually one to go full tourist, I couldn’t resist the misery-gray allure of the Thames. Plus, considering I didn’t feel like I’d really seen London, it seemed a logical place to start.
But First, Records
Our first morning in London, my husband and I had one thing to check off our list before I embarked upon my walk: a visit to the original Rough Trade Records on Talbot Street in Notting Hill. Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve been obsessed with British music (of which London is undoubtedly the locus), as well as contemporary London novels by the likes of Nick Hornby and Emma Forrest. I longed to finally get a feel for the city of Rob Fleming’s imaginary Championship Vinyl; the city in which Damon Albarn, brokenhearted and detoxing, wrote “Tender,” one of my all-time favorite songs; the home base of so many great bands, some of whom released music on the Rough Trade label in the ’80s and ’90s.
It was surprisingly pleasant and quiet wandering down the famous Portobello Road on a cloudy Tuesday morning (all in all, I found Tuesday and Wednesday to be excellent days for visiting London), and though the neighborhood is now quite pricey, I was easily able to imagine its humble roots as a home to artists and musicians. The shop itself was small, with a lived-in feel and basement full of great vinyl. The only downside was that I had little money to spend and little room in my suitcase. After much deliberation, a vinyl record by the 1970s post-punk band Magazine and a CD by 1980s London indie-poppers the Siddeleys were enough to satisfy me. I parted ways with my husband and hopped on the tube to Tower Bridge.
“Drinking Tea with the Taste of the Thames”
This line from Morrissey’s song “Come Back to Camden” always springs to mind when I think of the Thames, an evocative line in an aching ballad about lost love in London. It was time to start my journey along the iconic river, and I popped on my headphones with this song full blast. As a big-time music nerd (I spent five years as a critic for the late indie rock zine Cokemachineglow), I always make playlists for my trips. I made this one extra-long and extra-British, with my all-time favorites the Smiths/Morrissey, Radiohead, Blur; lesser-known bands like the Field Mice, The Clientele and Talulah Gosh; and selections from my mom’s record collection like the Beatles, Kinks, Donovan and the Small Faces (see condensed Spotify version of playlist below). I knew it would be just the company I needed for a magical walk.
I decided to reverse the order of the London for Free walk and begin at the Tower Bridge, ending closer to Soho, where I was to meet my husband in early evening. The walk was clearly designed for an optimal Big Ben photo op in the early day sun, but seeing as the famous landmark was surrounded by scaffolding anyway, I was unconcerned. The day began cloudy, and i was fully prepared for a famous London rain shower. But I was pleased to find the sun coming out as the day wore on. The Tower Bridge, the so-called “most famous bridge in the world” (completed in 1894), cut a striking silhouette against the river.
I proceeded from the Tower Bridge into the morass of office buildings in the Southwark neighborhood. Tourists and Londoners alike rested casually on the steps separating buildings from river. Weaving in between smartly dressed people with briefcases, I felt a stab of jealousy toward the central London office worker, who each day hustles into the heart of one of the world’s most exciting cities, feeling the wind off the Thames, breathing in aromas from the food stalls at Borough Market. Having worked for awhile in Midtown Manhattan, I know that this kind of daily commute can become strenuous and repetitive. But I also know that it takes a lot to quell that internal breathlessness: I’m really here, in the heart of New York City. I’m here in London, at the center of it all.
Borough Market is an oft-recommended lunch stop in London for good reason: it’s a place to find something delicious and filling for less than ten pounds, more often than not less than five. It is one of many showcases for London’s robust population of immigrants, featuring food from countries all over the world. Overwhelmed by the options swimming around me, I stopped at stall with no line advertising “food of the Balkans.” Feeling that this was sufficiently far-flung, I ordered a savory pie (I’m pretty sure it was some variation on a börek) filled with spinach, cheese and artichoke. Sitting on a Thames-facing bench with my Balkan pie, people-watching and eavesdropping, I have to admit I was pretty freaking happy.
The Tate Modern and Half-Hidden Big Ben
After lunch, I crossed Southwark Bridge to catch a glimpse of St. Paul’s cathedral before continuing on my way. My next bridge was Millennium, the pedestrian bridge that opened in the year 2000. I’m always pro-pedestrian bridge, and — despite a general disdain for anything dubbed “Millennium” — I find it to be a pretty lovely structure, with a view of St. Paul’s on one side and the Tate Modern on the other. While I hadn’t planned on visiting the Tate Modern again, I couldn’t resist its pull. It’s one of the best museums in the world after all, and as the façade boasts, it’s completely free.
The Tate Modern grounds are also a prime example of London’s excellent public spaces. On this sunny 65-degree day, many congregated on the museum’s green and benches to chat, picnic or read. Nearby, a man slung a small lasso through a pool of bubble solution, sending clouds of iridescent spheres into the air.
After spending time at the Tate, I crossed Blackfriars’ Bridge, walked west along Temple Gardens and crossed again via Waterloo, threading my way through the thongs at the London Eye — the only place on my walk that felt a little too touristy. I was headed to Westminster Bridge and Big Ben, arguably London’s most iconic spot, which was at this particular time shrouded in scaffolding. I had to laugh to myself when I saw it, and thought of the mixture of disappointment and relief the tourists around me must be feeling — freed from the pressure of snapping the “perfect” photo. The scaffolding brought Big Ben down to earth somehow, stripping away its grandeur to reveal a humble clock tower in need of repair.
Protests at Parliament
I concluded my walk at Parliament Square, just as the workday was ending and the crowds were flowing into the surrounding tube stations. As I strolled toward Parliament Square Garden, a gathering of protestors caught my eye. Joining the crowd, I listened as speakers from Northern Ireland argued for abortion rights in that country, in light of the Republic of Ireland’s recent decision to repeal the eighth amendment. Northern Ireland now stands alone as the only country in the UK where women do not have access to safe, legal abortion.
The protest concluded and I ambled down Parliament Street, quickly running into another, larger gathering protesting the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the recent military violence against activists at the border. The crowd at this protest was large and incredibly diverse, with native Brits and immigrants alike cheering support for a roster of speakers. I realized I had come to Parliament Square at the right time, as it was a great opportunity to experience activism in London firsthand and learn more about the issues that matter to people here.
End of an Introduction
I moved on to meet my husband at the Dog and Duck pub in Soho (a former hangout of George Orwell, it must be noted), and early evening in the city was lively and golden. Garrulous after-work crowds gathered outside of pubs, balancing pints on windowsills and smoking in shirts-and-ties and smart dresses (when in England or Ireland, I always experience jealousy pangs that Americans don’t celebrate happy hour with nearly as much gusto).
Though I was tired and ready to settle in for a pint and some conversation, it was bittersweet to end my day of walking — to turn off my headphones and my meandering thoughts and break from my role as silent observer, passerby, sightseer.
After downing some pints with a friend in the crowded, cozy pub, we concluded our day with dinner at Machiya, a reasonably priced, modern and delicious Japanese restaurant in the neighborhood. I still had another day to go in London, but I finished the first proud of what I had accomplished. Not only did I spend the day exactly as I pleased, wandering with no pressure to accomplish anything besides move from point A to point B; I was intentional about my path, and as present in the moment as I could be. I discovered I now had a feeling for London, at least a very small slice of it. I could trace on a map where I had been and what I had seen there, I could remember what it felt like to weave through the office crowds in Southwark, to roam the Tate Modern lawn with bubbles popping around me, to stand surrounded by protestors outside Parliament.
London is a large and complex city, and I am by no means finished with it. But over one day in early June, we had the chance become ever-so-gently acquainted, to make a tentative connection. And for that, I’m thankful.
My London Wander Playlist
My gosh, Maura, you are so much smarter; braver; well written; worldly; knowledgeable about food, places, technology, and music than I have ever been. This beat a postcard by a mile. I could just see you walking all around London soaking up the history and beauty. How you did the music and other inserts into your blog, I will never know. Loved it! Thank you for sharing. As I tell Meggie who has the same feelings about London as you do, you are a bird meant to fly!
Thanks Jill! I appreciate you reading it and I’m so glad you enjoyed!