Construction Open Doors 2017 is almost here – various building sites and other construction projects are opening up to the public next week. Many sites are still bookable. I’ve booked five sites to look around next week – King’s Cross Central, Waterloo International, Alexandra Palace, Battersea Power Station and Crossrail Whitechapel. I’ve visited two of… Continue reading Construction Open Doors
The Final Munros
I climbed my 224th Munro at the beginning of the year, on the final day of the annual JOK winter trip to the Highlands. Poor weather conditions and a lack of unclimbed Munros for me in the area (Lochaber) meant that there was only one new one climbed during the trip. The map shows I… Continue reading The Final Munros
London City Race Mega-Map
Below is a low-resolution view of the London City Race orienteering maps that have been used since the race was first held in 2008, arranged geographically to show their relative position. The maps were drawn by myself (initially) and Remo Madella (subsequently) who joined them together and assembled this image. Dark grey represents buildings, with… Continue reading London City Race Mega-Map
Open House London 2016: City of London (East)
A couple of weekends ago it was Open House London, two days where hundreds of London’s more interesting buildings open up, for free, for curious passersby (and organised pre-bookers). The capital fills up with interested parties carrying the distinctive green books. This year, on both days, we were only free from around 3pm onwards (due… Continue reading Open House London 2016: City of London (East)
Crossrail: Tottenham Court Road Station
Thanks to spotting a notification for a tour of several Crossrail stations as part of a get-parents-and-kids-into-construction day, I was able to visit a space deep beneath Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road, back in July, to look around the huge Crossrail station there which is rapidly taking shape, with Crossrail (aka the Elizabeth line)… Continue reading Crossrail: Tottenham Court Road Station
Open Doors: Bermondsey Dive-Under
The third tour I managed during the Construction Open Doors week of events back in June was to the site of the Bermondsey Diveunder. After visiting the (re)beginnings of a skyscraper, and a huge building development – this was something very different – a project building downwards, reusing old Victorian arches and the space between… Continue reading Open Doors: Bermondsey Dive-Under
Open Doors: Battersea Power Station
I’ve been slow to write about all my Open Doors week construction-site visits back in June, but as well as seeing a soon-to-be-skyscraper, I also made it to two other sites, the largest of which far-and-away was Battersea Power Station – more specifically, the “Phase 1” work beside it, which is the construction of two… Continue reading Open Doors: Battersea Power Station
Open Doors: 22 Bishopsgate
It’s Open Doors week this week, where the public get a glimpse into many construction sites, and this morning I visited the site of 22 Bishopsgate, in the City of London. The site itself has an interesting recent history – it was going to be the Pinnacle, an elaborate, spiraling skyscraper. But construction stopped as… Continue reading Open Doors: 22 Bishopsgate
A Glimpse into Walthamstow Wetlands
I was on a guided tour of the Walthamstow Wetlands today, a huge area of 10 historic reservoirs that has long been the preserve of fishermen, birdwatchers and water company workers, that is about to be turned into a large, publicly accessible nature reserve. The area is near to the Woodbury Wetlands, which similarly was… Continue reading A Glimpse into Walthamstow Wetlands
TubeHacker: 10 Ways to Optimise Travel in London
1. Tube trains do run to a strict timetable, rather than just “saturating” the tunnels with trains, as can appear to be the case on many lines during the rush hour. This is not normally useful because the gap between trains is so small, so TfL doesn’t publish the timetables, except for first/last trains and,… Continue reading TubeHacker: 10 Ways to Optimise Travel in London