Fancy a stroll along the Central Line this Sunday afternoon? Well not actually walking along the Tube Line itself. Following part of the route the line takes. Writer, Mark Mason, set himself the challenge of walking the entire length of the London Underground – overground – passing every Tube station on the way. His efforts were the subject of a new book "
Walk the Lines" published last summer. All together the 11 Tube lines total 291 miles (although 403 miles were actually walked), which if you added all of his walking time together took 174 hours, 50 minutes or 1 week 6 hours and 50 minutes. He's now running the first of a series of guided walks
He
says "
The stretch I've chosen - Bank to Chancery Lane - was very near the start of my second day on the Central Line. By that evening I'd done 27 miles out to West Ruislip (having completed 35 miles in from Epping the day before) - but don't worry, we won't be that ambitious. Just a pleasant 90-minute meander, taking in trivia and oddities from 2000 years of London history. Obviously there'll be plenty of Tube stuff in there (such as why Chancery Lane has the shortest escalators on the network) - but we'll also learn how far the sound of the Bow Bells travelled ... see a pub where a WWI soldier's bayonet left an unusual mark ... and discover a secret oasis of calm right in the middle of the Square Mile."
Future walks will include "
the District Line where we’ll learn how long it's going to take Big Ben to fall over ... the Piccadilly Line will reveal why Paul McCartney is the only person allowed to whistle in the Burlington Arcade ... while walking the Bakerloo Line we’ll discover how all-American Marlboro Man actually owes his name to Soho."
Each walk takes approximately 90 minutes and costs £8. Mark says that's "
Unless you’re older than Churchill was when he became Prime Minister (65), or younger than the number of stations on the Victoria Line (16), in which case you’re welcome along for £6."
For this Sunday (8th April 2012)'s walk which starts at 2.30pm, meet outside exit 3 of Bank Tube station (by the statue of Wellington) or
contact Mark for more details.
Also if you're in the Mill Hill area and free this Thursday morning 5th April 2012 - Ben Pedroche who wrote the book "
Do Not Alight Here"
Related PostsWalking the London Underground, OvergroundReading Walk The Lines on The TubeWalking London's Lost Underground & Railway Stations: Do Not Alight Here Photos of Ghost Tube Station Brompton Road Tour Old Tube stations could be Re-Opened
