Walking The London Overground: Done, and I Think I’m The First!

Kentish Town West

Photos of Kentish Town West taken 10 hours and 59 minutes apart on my final walk

On Sunday September 14th, 2014 I completed walking the London Overground as part of my ongoing attempt at walking the Tube (done), Overground and DLR. I believe I’m the first and, at this point, only person to have walked all of the London Overground (unless of course anyone knows of anyone else).

In a slight shift of focus, I’m now aiming to be the first person to walk the entire Standard Tube Map, which means I’ll also have to add the Emirates Airline into the mix (and more Overground if I don’t finish before the end of this year). Fortunately, mainline trains and the tram network don’t make it onto the map, which saves me walking them.

Overground Walk Stats

Total distance walked: 109.45 miles (176.14km) – 27% of the Tube’s distance
Time spent walking: 34 hours and 52 minutes – 23% of the time spent walking the Tube
Total number of walks: 5 (although I did walk the former East London Line as part of my Tube walks)

Shortest walk: New Cross Gate to West Croydon via Crystal Palace – 13.32 miles (21.44km)
Longest walk: Walking the Overground Circle from Kentish Town West to Kentish Town West – 34.48 miles (55.49 km) – Will be the longest walk of this whole adventure

Average walking speed: 3.14 miles/hr – 20% faster than walking the Tube
Average walk length: 21.89 miles (35.23 km) – 28% longer than the average Tube walk
Average walk time: 6 hours 58 minutes – 6% longer than the average Tube walk

Grand total distance walked to date (Tube + Overground): 503.75 miles (810.7 km)

Fundraising Reminder

Just a reminder that I’m doing the walks to help support Bowel Caner UK. So far I’ve raised £1,773.43 but am aiming to raise £16,013 – so please donate here

Blog Post Updates

You may have noticed that while this blog has been relatively active lately, there have been few posts about the Overground walks and none from my past Tube walks. The reason is that those posts take a long time to compile and I don’t really have a lot of free time.

However, my goal is still to publish photos from each of my Tube walks, just without the long winded prose to go along with them. So look out for those and photos from the rest of my Overground walks (and upcoming DLR walks) here soon.

You can read more about my Tube Challenge here.

Euston To Watford Junction: Walking The Overground In Pictures

This post is part of my continuing series of walking the Overground & DLR, now that I’ve successfully walked the entire Tube network. The walks are in continued support of Bowel Cancer UK.

001 - Euston Station
Euston is probably the ugliest mainline station in London, but at least it was a sunny day.

My second Overground outing was a somewhat ambitious trek from Euston all the way out to Watford Junction. I completed the 22.27 mile (35.84km) walk on a very sunny June 21st, 2014 in just under 7 hours.

A significant portion of line uses the same tracks as the Bakerloo line. This meant I ended up walking some of the same streets I had previously, although this time going in the opposite direction. In fact, until 1982, the Bakerloo line used to run all the way up to Watford Junction, which means this walk could also be considered a tube walk extension.

Here are just a few of the photos I took along the way. As always, I hope you enjoy!

Continue reading Euston To Watford Junction: Walking The Overground In Pictures

Walking The 8th Wonder of the World: Thames Tunnel Pictures

24 - Thames Tunnel Entrance
Tunnel entrance from Wapping

This past bank holiday weekend, I and thousands of other Londoners got a rare opportunity to visit the 8th Wonder of the World: the Brunels’ Thames Tunnel.

Started by Marc Isambard Brunel and completed by his son Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the tunnel finally opened in 1843 after nearly 20 years of work. On top of being the first tunnel under a navigable river, it was also the first underwater shopping arcade and underwater dining hall. And it remains the oldest part of TFL’s infrastructure.

50,000 people are supposed to have walked through the tunnel on opening day in 1843. However, these days it’s a bit more difficult to get access, as it now forms an integral part of the Overground network. Fortunately, a confluence of engineering works allowed myself and others a rare walk through.

This was an extra treat as I’ve previously walked the East London Line above ground and it’s the first time while walking the Underground/Overground that I’ve actually been able walk directly between two stations along the track. You have no idea how times people have asked me if that was how I was doing my walks.

Here are just a few of my photos:

07 - Rotherhithe Platforms
Rotherhithe Station from track level

11 - Original Arch Thames Tunnel
One of the original arches

12 - Ghost in Thames Tunnel
Possible ghost sighting

13 - Original Arch Thames Tunnel
Old arch next to the preserved one

14 - Walking in the Thames Tunnel
Gives you an idea on the height of the Tunnel

17 - Thames Tunnel
Clear view down the tunnel

18 - East London Railway Marker
This used to be part of London Underground’s East London Line

20 - Thames Tunnel
Looking down the tunnel from Wapping

25 - Wapping Station
Wapping Station from track level

28 - Warning in Thames Tunnel
The irony is this sign can only be read when on the tracks

29 - Red Signal in Thames Tunnel
Just to be sure, the red signal was still turned on

30 - Surprise in Thames Tunnel
Surprise!

31 - 33,000 volts
Very glad the power was switched off

33 - Middle of Thames Tunnel
Roughly the middle of the tunnel

35 - 300m
Rotherhithe, that way

36 - Preserved arches in Thames Tunnel
There are a lot of arches

37 - Old and New archs in Thames Tunnel
Original section next to a preserved one

43 - Pumping Equipment in Thames Tunnel
If this pumping equipment wasn’t there, the station would quickly fill with water

47 - Rotherhithe Station from track level
A different view of a landing at Rotherhithe Station

49 - Water channel in Thames Tunnel
Just some of the water that has to be constantly pumped from the tunnel

53 - No service
Seems a little unnecessary to state this

54 - Thames Tunnel plaque
Thames Tunnel Plaque

56 - Original Thames Tunnel shaft
Original shaft down to the tunnel

57 - Original Thames Tunnel shaft
You can clearly see where the spiral staircases used to be

58 - Thames Tunnel door to shaft
Just be advised that the entrance to the original lift shaft is not for the claustrophobic

Learn more about the Thames Tunnel:

The Brunels’ Tunnel
King of the Underworld: Building The Thames Tunnel
Brunel Museum: History of the Thames Tunnel
Thames Tunnel on Wikipedia

More pictures of this past weekend’s visit from other blogs:

BBC – Thames Tunnel: Rare access to ‘eighth wonder of world’
Do Not Alight Here: Thames Tunnel Visit
Walking through a Tunnel under the Thames — Part 2
London Reconnections: In Pictures: The Thames Tunnel

Gospel Oak To Barking: Walking The Overground In Pictures

This post is part of my continuing series of walking the Overground & DLR now that I’ve successfully walked the entire Tube network. The walks are in continued support of Bowel Cancer UK.

Gospel Oak Station
The somewhat randomly located Gospel Oak station was the starting point for my walk

On March 8th, 2014 I completed the first of my Overground & DLR walks by walking from Gospel Oak to Barking. Unlike my previous Tube walks there is no rhyme or reason to the order in which I’ll walk them. I started with Gospel Oak simply because it’s within walking distance of my flat.

Overall, the walk was just over 17 miles (27.4 km) and took a little over five and a half hours. This gave me an average walking speed of just over 3 miles per hour. Not terribly fast, but better than what I averaged walking the Tube. It was a beautiful sunny day so I took a few photos along the way. Hope you enjoy:

Continue reading Gospel Oak To Barking: Walking The Overground In Pictures

Tube/Overground: Walking The Former East London Line In Pictures

This post is part of my continuing series of walking the Overground & DLR now that I’ve successfully walked the entire Tube network. The walks are in continued support of Bowel Cancer UK.

Former Shoreditch station
Former Shoreditch station was the end of the original East London Line

While I’ve only just announced my intention to walk the Overground & the DLR, I walked the former East London Line with Pete Stean from the Londoneer and Mandy Southgate from Emm in London last February as part of my original Tube challenge. They both wrote great summaries of the walk, which you can read by clicking the links above.

Continue reading Tube/Overground: Walking The Former East London Line In Pictures

Announcement: I’m Going To Be Walking The Overground & DLR

27j - Services from Stratford

Stratford, the only place where all services & my walks will intersect

On August 24th 2013 I successfully completed my walk of the Tube network. In the interim I’ve been rather quiet about what my next major project would be. I’ve toyed with the idea of walking the Capital Ring and/or the London Loop.

While those are both projects I’d like to tackle at some point, I’ve decided to be wholly unoriginal and instead walk the Overground (that is the TFL Overground, not National Rail; at least for now) and the DLR.

I’ve no desire to repeat my long walks though London in the rain and cold. Thus, the project has no fixed order in which I’ll walk the lines nor a fixed end date to be completed by. I’m going to choose walks when I want to do them, rather than forcing myself to do them because I have to.

The format of the blog posts is also going to be slightly different. These days I find I have far too many projects to work on and far too little time to work on them. So instead of writing book chapter length posts, I’m just going to post some of the photos from each walk.

I hope you enjoy them just as much.

Finally, I’m going to keep raising money for Bowel Cancer UK. Please donate here.

What’s Happening With My Tube Posts?

I have no idea how closely you read this blog, but if you’re a particularly keen-eyed, long time reader you’ll have noticed that I still haven’t written up most of my tube walks (or even tube station visits).

Well there is still a plan to get these written up. The bad news is that it will take some time. In the meantime I hope you do enjoy the other posts on this site.

The Overground Circle Pub Crawl – How 2 Aussies & A Canadian Became The First People In History To Complete It

the start and finish of the overground pub crawl
The 3 of us at Clapham Junction, the start and finish of the Overground Circle Pub Crawl. Proof that we can take photos at the same station during the day and at night.

Warning: The following account is not a part of my tube walking. It in no way endorses binge drinking or drinking along the Overground. It was an experiment to see if it was possible. It was in no way endorsed, supported, condoned or even tolerated by the Overground network and/or Transport for London. We did it so you don’t have to.

Well, it was bound to happen. Once the new Overground Circle opened on 9 December 2012, it was only a matter of time before some group of people attempted to outdo the Circle Line Pub Crawl using it instead. Turns out I was one of the first 3 people to complete it, on 16 February 2013.

So how does it compare to the Circle Line pub crawl? The Circle Line pub crawl goes through 27 stations, with 28 total stops, as you’re supposed to have a drink back at the original starting location. The Overground Circle has 33 stations, and we decided to adopt the Circle Line convention and have a final drink back at the starting point for a total of 34.

Continue reading The Overground Circle Pub Crawl – How 2 Aussies & A Canadian Became The First People In History To Complete It