Whilst the majority of people are contemplating how long
they can go without alcohol in Dry January, or how they are going to achieve
their New Year’s resolution of being healthy, I embark on a challenge to
visit all 270 London Underground Stations. I have been living in London for
over a year now, and when ticking off all the stations I have visited, it is
apparent that I have not visited as many of the stations as I had hoped. This
is quiet surprising, as those who know me well, know that I am a bit of a Tube Geek.
So in order to restore my ‘geekiness’ I need to visit all 270 stations.
I have always been fascinated with the London Underground,
and I have never really understood why. Even before I moved to London, going on
the Underground was a highlight of my visits to the capital. This is peculiar
as most of my friends and family from outside London view the Underground as a
manic free for all, crowded with strangers and a constant rat race. But I really
think it is more charming than that. More than 4 million people use the tube each working day, which is more than the rest of the railway in Britain combined.
Back in 1863 when the first branch of the Underground opened
from Paddington to Farringdon, this new form of transport modernised London,
getting people off the busy streets crammed with horse and carts and under the
ground to get to work or to the markets. In many respects, it revolutionised
city planning. Now with 270 stations on 11 lines, the Underground helps connect
you with 250 miles of London.
Some of you may have spotted that I have ticked off a few
DLR stations and White Hart Lane on the Overground, and yes, I am well aware
they are not on the London Underground, but I ticked them off to make it look
like I have been to more stations than I have. Once I have completed all 270
stations, I will begin visiting all stations on the DLR.
So over the next twelve months, I will write a blog about my
visits to all 270 stations. Starting off with Gants Hill. At each station I will unveil
secrets the average user of the world’s oldest metro system may not know. Did you
know that the River Westbourne that flows about the tracks at Sloane Square,
there is a secret loop at Kennington, or that Holloway Road is closer to
Arsenal FC than Arsenal? Have you noticed at Euston Square how the tiles match
the Circle and Metropolitan lines that serve the station, but neglect the Hammersmith
and city line?
In every blog entry I will be asking questions that you send
in. You can either comment them at the end of the post, or send them to me on
twitter @DanielGosbee. Also check out my Instagram account; tubespottingdan.
I will start off with answering perhaps the question I get
asked the most; what is your favourite station?
The exciting thing about this question is that it will likely change as I visit more of the stations. But of the stations I have visited, my favourite is Westminster. The reason being it is a classic example of where the traditional cut and cover style line meets a modern deep level tube line. Westminster features the District and Circle Lines which in 1868 was served by the District Railway. But in 1999, Westminster became part of the Jubilee Line, which gives the station its famous steel ‘spaceship’ look.
