Exhibition Road
Exhibition Road, where the Science and Natural History Museums are is now a shared space between all users.
It seems to work, although I suspect some will object. Here‘s the view of the Daily Mail.
Off to Liverpool Today
I’m going to watch the Olympic Torch Relay in Liverpool today. It’s going straight through the University, where C and I met. I will just walk up the hill to the Victoria Building.
The weather looks to be reasonably good.
If you are watching the relay on the Internet, today promises to be one of the most architecturally spectacular days so far. The flame is going past the two cathedrals, through the City Centre, past St. George’s Hall, under and over the Mersey and then the evening celebration will be in front of The Three Graces at the Pier Head. Remember that a lot of the centre of Liverpool is a World Heritage Site called the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City.
The Olympic Torch will feel at home as it passes St. George’s Hall, which has been described by Nicholas Pevsner as one of the finest neo-Grecian buildings in the world. In 1967 or 1968, during Panto Week, the students organised a hog roast in front of the hall. I doubt anybody would be allowed to do that now!
The New Leicester Square Emerges
Leicester Square is an iconic place and I took some pictures as it completed its transformation on Thursday.
Note that two pictures, show the old Royal Dental Hospital, which is now a hotel and the sandwich bar, where my mother used to take me as a treat after a visit.
I Finally Get to Loughborough Junction Station
Today all of the trains were running and I was able to get to Loughborough Junction station.
The pictures don’t really do, one of the worst stations I’ve visited in recent years, justice. It had the usual long difficult staircases to the trains, narrow platforms, difficult access for the elderly, the disabled and buggy pushers and no visible staff. It did though have what looked to be a reasonable cafe, but as I was running late, I didn’t have have time for a coffee.
But as it is on a major cross-London route, you’d hope it would be a station on the list of stations to be improved. I’ve searched the Internet and Lounghborough Junction station is not slated for any improvement in the next few years. I did find this blog post, moaning about lack of improvements in the area.
In the pictures, you’ll see the line, that will take the London Overground on its way to Clapham Junction station. This is to the right in the pictures, with the line to the left leading to Denmark Hill station. Putting platforms on the London Overground on this line here, has been dismissed on the grounds of cost, just as they have been at Brixton.
This may be right, but it just shows what a mess has been left by Victorian railway engineers in this area.
However, linking the London Overground to an improved Thameslink at this point, may offer a very much better financial case, than to link with the Underground at Brixton, which is linked because of the Victoria line to larege numbers of important places in the capital anyway, but of course to nothing towards the south, like Gatwick Airport and Brighton.
It is one of these problems that needs imagination. A good architect might be able to produce an elegant connection between the two lines and then link it to the ground on the other side of Coldharbour Lane to the current station entrance. Looking at the local bus map, shows that the area is well served by bus routes, so perhaps we could make Loughborough Junction a true interchange in the east of Brixton.
I just think that London can be improved by providing proper bus/rail interchanges and Loughborough Junction could be another, to join Stratford, Canning Town and West Hampstead, that have been created in recent years.
Whether Loughborough Junction could be one is debatable though, especially as I was told at London Bridge by a ticket inspector, that First Capital Connect, don’t want the connection built. That surprised me, as the link would not be built, if it wasn’t going to be used. And users would mean money for the company.
The New Deptford Station
To me Deptford is summed up by a picture of Peter the Great working in the Royal Dockyard at Deptford, that was in one of the school history texts I read.
I’d never knowingly been until today, when I went to look at the new Deptford station, which is just a few months away from being finished.
To my untrained eye, they have done a good job in creating a station with full step-free access, using ideas and components that could also be used in other places, where new or rebuilt stations are desperately needed.
I particularly liked the treatment of the brickwork in the tunnel under the tracks.
The Grahame-White Aircraft Factory
This historic building is now part of the RAF Museum at Hendon and has been fully restored and added too, by moving the Watchtower to join it. The latter operation was shown on BBC TV.last night. The building contains aircraft from the First World War and earlier and they are listed here on the Museum’s website.
In some ways, it is one of the best parts of the museum. The BBC programme was very much worth seeing as it gave a deep insight into Claude Grahame-White, who in many ways has become a forgotten aviation pioneer.
More Views of the Gibson Square Temple
I put a view up of the temple-like air extract from the Victoria line earlier, when it was still being finished.
It now is and good it looks too.
Why can’t we disguise functional buildings in this excellent manner more often.
The New Kings Cross Opens A Day Early
I hadn’t intended to go into the new part of Kings Cross station until it opened on the 19th. But I found it was open on Sunday the 18th.
It is impressive and even has a restaurant that does gluten-free fast-food; Leon
I have added some more pictures taken on the Monday. I’ll probably add a few more as time goes on.
There is a very good article on the design here in the Evening Standard.
Down the Hill to the Royal Pavilion
I walked down the hill from the New England Quarter to the Royal Pavilion, which is not that far from the sea-front.
The Royal Pavilion is really one of the most amazing buildings in the UK, if not Europe. I went in and despite the cold and it being a Monday in March it was surprisingly busy. They do charge, but you do get a free audio guide.
After visiting the Royal Pavilion, I went and had lunch in Carluccio’s, which is just a few metres outside the Pavilion Gardens.
It was then a walk back-up the hill, although I could have got a 7 or 27 bus back to the station.
A Trip to Brighton
I went to Brighton today, as I thought a trip to the seaside might help my breathing.
I also wanted to take a look at OneBrighton, as it was built, by the same company developing the Hanging Gardens of Dalston.
The web site for the development doesn’t show any pictures of the buildings, So I wasn’t sure if I was photographing it or not.
Housing in Brighton's New England Quarter
This is some of the housing in what is now called the New England Quarter. These flats would not be for everyone, as they are built on a hill and you wouldn’t want to struggle back up with your shopping. It’s also a mainly car-free development. Surely, though, if you are building on the side of a hill, then the paths should follow the contours of the land between roads with bus routes on them. I don’t think the paths between the blocks do.
It’s not an area that I like.
But I did like Brighton station nearby. And especially the roof!
Brighton Station Roof
But then Victorian railway engineers did roofs well.
Incidentally, my trip cost me just £11.70 from Victoria, which was effectively the cost from the area of my Freedom Pass with the discount for a Senior Railcard.
So that was good value in my book.
The Anonymous Widower 