Another Great Timelapse Video – ‘Timelapse London’

Timelapse London from Ben Grubb on Vimeo.

Besides the Tube, I probably feature more timlapse videos of London than anything else. ‘Timelapse London’ was shot by Ben Grubb and features most of your standard timelpase locations: Waterloo station, Houses of Parliament (with a great shot of the clock on Big Ben rotating), Canary Wharf, Battersea Power Station and St. Paul’s among others.

Overall, the quality of cinematography is better than average. My only criticism is that the video doesn’t really hold any cohesive narrative. It jumps from the West London to East and then back again. Still this is only a minor niggle and the short film deserves more attention than it’s received.

52 Great London Blog Posts Plus One Book From The Past Month

Old Eurostar sign and building at Waterloo

This is the second of my irregular looks at great London blog posts from the past month. Overall, the past month has seen a huge output of great writing and content. Below are just a few of the highlights for me.

Special Mentions

London’s Lost Pneumatic Railways – Ian Mansfield (of IanVisits fame) has written a short Kindle ebook about a forgotten aspect of London’s transport heritage.

Bomb Sight – Maps every bomb dropped on London during the Blitz. See if your address was hit.

Transport for London Urban Design – Just discovered this gem of a website. Looks at all design aspects of TFL’s offerings. The undeniable highlight is the inventory of all listed buildings and structures owned or operated by TFL.

An Edwardian Advent Calendar – Ian from IanVisits looks at ads from 100 years ago. Some highlights so far include: Scrubb’s Ammonia, Foot’s Bath Cabinet, His Master’s Voice, A Motion Photograph of Yourself and my favourite Wolsey Wool Underwear. Fascinating to see the difference in what things are advertised and how it’s done compared to now.

News

Final Section Of Overground Network Opens In South London – London’s second ‘circle line’ opens for business.

London private rents up by a third in three years – Dave Hill has a look at the very worrying statistic.

Fares To Rise By More Than Inflation For Next Ten Years – As if rising rents weren’t bad enough…

Tube/Rail

This section should really just be titled ‘Diamond Geezer and the Tube’ since almost all the posts come from him. One of London’s best bloggers.

Out of station interchanges – Diamond Geezer looks at how long it takes to transfer between stations – that while close to each other – require exiting one and entering the other.

Tube Waiting Times – Mind The Gap – Diamond Geezer looks at how long you may have to wait for a train at some of the more far flung stations, plus the circle line.

No change – Diamond Geezer looks at places where lines cross but there is no interchange.

Chameleon stations – Diamond Geezer looks at which stations are busier at the weekends rather than weekdays.

Nice view – Diamond Geezer looks at some of the best views from the Tube.

The Circle line goes east – Diamond Geezer looks at a little know fact about the circle line.

Mark Lane – Diamond Geezer looks at Mark Lane, one of the lesser known ghost stations.

The platform tiles at Aldgate East – Number 66 of 150 Great Things About The Underground.

The old entrance to Highbury & Islington – Number 67 of 150 Great Things About The Underground.

The river over Sloane Square – Number 69 of 150 Great Things About The Underground.

The escalators at Angel – Number 70 of 150 Great Things About The Underground.

The interior of Westminster – Number 71 of 150 Great Things About The Underground.

How to take your appendix out on the Piccadilly Line – From the The Brand New Monty Python Papperbok found via The Great Wen.

Old Posters from “Ghost Station” Euston at new Exhibition – Annie Mole gives you the details.

The Overground Orbital Loop – Diamond Geezer claims the world record for going around it in 1 hour 40 minutes 40 seconds.

The End of an Era on the South London Line – London Reconnections says goodbye to the South London Line, which has been removed from service due to the Overground extension.

London Underground Stamps & £2 Coin – A preview of the new stamps and coin to commemorate 150 years of the Tube next year.

Walking Overground South – Diamond Geezer walks the new section of the Overground in South London in 4 parts. Read parts 2, 3, 4. This new service also removes the old parliamentary train that used to run between Kensington Olympia and Wandsworth Road.

Tube Map Circuit Board – Working Radio – Mapping London look at a very unique tube map.

Dangleway Data – Not the tube or rail, but it’s on the tube map – Diamond Geezer has a look at passenger numbers for the Emirates Air Line.

Shopping

Roman Road Market – Diamond Geezer has a look around.

The Shops of Old London – Amazing photos – as always – from Spitalfields Life.

First In Store – Diamond Geezer looks at the original locations of many of today’s high-street stalwarts. Turns out I used to live down the road from the very first Sainsburys.

London Winter Markets For 2012 – The Londonist tells you all about them.

London Life

Shit London Awards 2012 – Looking at the very worst of London.

Eel Pie Island – thelondonphile looks around this unique artists community.

Ask A Black Cab Driver: The Swedish Cabbie – The Londonist looks at the only Swedish national to have ever passed the knowledge.

Eleanor Crow’s East End Cafes – Highlights illustrator Eleanor Crow’s work, focusing on East End Cafes.

History

The Streets of Old London – More amazing photos of London’s old streets from Spitalfields Life.

Kentish Town Road – Birthplace of the Laptop – Little known connection between Kentish Town and the laptop.

A Christmas Carol’ London Locations – A View From The Mirror looks at locations from the famous Dickens work.

A Walk Through Time In Spitalfields – blends together old and new photographs of the East End, from the always outstanding Spitalfields Life.

Architecture

Tower Bridge to get a glass floor – Ian has a look at the plan.

London Tunnels – The Londonist includes photos of some of the various tunnels around London.

In Pictures: The Kings Cross Clock Tower – London Reconnections has a look at the clock tower that’s about to get a whole lot more visible.

Turkish Baths, Russell Square – Caroline’s Miscellany has a look a sign I’ve occasionally wondered about.

What A Difference 5 Years Makes – City of London 2007 vs 2012

City of London 2007 vs 2012

While the Shard might be the most dramatic recent change to London’s skyline, it is by no means the only one. Comparing these two photos taken from St. Paul’s shows just how much the skyline in the City of London has changed in just 5 years.

The buildings under construction are the Leadenhall Building and 20 Fenchurch (aka the Walkie-Talkie). Completed new buildings include the Walbrook Building and Broadgate Tower.

You can see each photo below:

2007:

View of City from top of St Paul's Cathedral, London

2012:

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Found via reddit.

London Lights – Shows How Beautiful London Is At Night

London Lights from Nicholas Buer on Vimeo.

With the days continuing to get shorter it can sometimes be difficult to remember that London can be beautiful at night too. This beautifully shot timelapse video by Nicholas Buer shows the lights of London’s buildings. It’s been around for about 8 months now, and was originally shot from November 2011 to February 2012. Still if you’t seen it, it’s the perfect time of year to have a look. Shorter days and long nights aren’t all bad.

Victoria Line Walk – From Walthamstow Central to Brixton

This post is part of my Randomly London v. The Tube Challenge. Get the latest about challenge updates here. Donate to Bowel Cancer UK here.

Buckingham Palace With FlowersBuckingham Palace, just one of the sights you can see along the Victoria line.

Amazingly enough the day of my Victoria line walk happens to be another sunny Saturday in September. I’ve decided walk the line in the reverse order from the station visitsWalthamstow Central to Brixton this time. Walking north to south is a deliberate decision; psychologically, it feels like you’re going downhill.

I set off out of the station at full speed along Selborne Road, passing an Asda and a passed out drunk, then walk parallel to Walthamstow High Street, where you can find Walthamstow Market – Europe’s longest daily outdoor market.

Walthastow Central Station
Walthamstow Central Station, the start of my walk

I decide against my normal better judgement to cut over to the High Street. Normally I avoid crowds whenever I can. I love living in big cities, except for having to deal with all the other people.

Global Markets & Reservoirs

Continue reading Victoria Line Walk – From Walthamstow Central to Brixton

Map Of Average Weekly Rent By Station Along The Victoria Line

Weekly rent by station along the Victoria line
Weekly rent by station along the Victoria line

This Victoria line map created by Rentonomy could not have come out at better time. It shows the average weekly rent at each station along the Victoria line. Prices reflect average 2-bed flats near to stations. The overall shape shouldn’t be too surprising for anyone who’s lived in London for more than a month.

The peak is at Green Park (£965 per week), just north of Buckingham Palace and the gateway to Mayfair. I am a little surprised to see that Oxford Circus and Victoria are almost the same price as you couldn’t pay me enough to live in the former. Also, I’m surprised Stockwell is more expensive than Brixton as I’d much rather live in the latter. At the far end of the line, Walthamstow (£193 per week) is by far the cheapest.

You can of course learn more about the Victoria line from my facts, trivia and impression page. Plus, stay tuned for more my post about my Victoria line walk coming soon.

Special thanks to Rentonomy for the use of their map.

25 Great London Blog Posts From The Past 25 Days

Passive Aggressive Directions
Photo from outside South Ken last year

When I’m not working, walking the tube or out at the pub, I spend a fair bit of time reading about London. There are so many good blogs about London out there that don’t get the attention they deserve. So I’ve decided to start an irregular feature where I highlight some of the better posts I’ve read recently.

News

  1. The Cally Market – new street market opening on Caledonian Road November 17th, 2012 (near Caledonian & Barnsbury Station).
  2. Food Standard Agency Apps – Find out if a restaurant, takeaway or food shop you want to eat at or buy food from has good food hygiene standards. Warning do not look use the morning after.
  3. Parliament Tours Could Raise £3m Per Year – Won’t happen, but it should.
  4. Homeless families to be expelled from London by councils – Seems councils are looking for ways to move their poorest people out.
  5. 4.2% Fare Rise – Diamond Geezer looks back on transit fares in historical perspective. No surprise, transit’s got a lot more expensive.
  6. London Overground Goes Orbital – The South London link from Surrey Quays to Clapham Junction opens on Sunday 9th December, and suddenly it’ll be possible to ride round the capital via only orange trains.

Continue reading 25 Great London Blog Posts From The Past 25 Days

TUBE TUBE Back2Work (4 of 7) – London Underground Short Film Series

Part 4 of TUBE TUBE’s Back2Work series. Seems the investigation is starting to unravel the truth. Very enjoyable acting, but I have to admit the plot isn’t really doing it for me. You can follow them on tiwtter @tubetubelondon, Like them on facebook and of course subscribe to their YouTube channel.