In five weeks time, the 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.
It's already possible to use TfL's Journey Planner to check the timetables for mid-December and discover (with a bit of digging) which trains are travelling where when. So here's my map of new Overground frequencies once the new line opens, including the typical number of trains per hour during the day.
The greatest boost will be on the line through Whitechapel, which rises from 12 trains an hour in each direction to an impressive 16. That's 4 trains an hour to each of the southbound destinations, running at 15 minute intervals. Trains from New Cross and West Croydon will terminate at Dalston Junction, while trains from Crystal Palace and Clapham Junction will run on to Highbury and Islington.
This creates the tantalising prospect of being able to ride the entire orbital route from Highbury and Islington to Highbury and Islington via Clapham Junction in only two trains. All the most hardcore London train geeks will be doing it, although the rest of you might give it a miss because it is essentially pointless.
The first train via Overground South is currently scheduled to leave Highbury and Islington at 07:11 on Sunday morning, arriving at Clapham Junction just after eight o'clock. Swap trains and you can continue your clockwise Overground journey around the capital, if engineering works play ball, returning to Highbury and Islington by 09:13.
Or you can do the whole thing anti-clockwise. The first train from Clapham Junction via Peckham Rye leaves at 07:20, arriving at Highbury and Islington at 08:13. Here you can catch a train on the existing route via Willesden Junction back to Clapham Junction (although again there are mixed messages about engineering work at Kensington Olympia which might delay you by an hour or two).
Watch out for Next Train Indicator confusion. If you're at Highbury and Islington there are going to be trains to Clapham Junction leaving two minutes apart from different platforms travelling in different directions. Meanwhile at Clapham Junction there'll be two trains labelled Highbury and Islington, one clockwise, one anti-clockwise, leaving at virtually the same time. Let's hope there's some simple way of being absolutely certain which train's which, because it would be awful to end up in Peckham when you meant to go to Hampstead (and vice versa).
Coming soon, then, the new London Orbital. A shame it has to dip into Zone 1 at Shoreditch for revenue-raising reasons, and a shame its birth erases the old South London Line. But the Overground is about to reach its full potential, and I'll race you round in two.
Remember the Games? They're not even 'last month' any more, they're a thing of the past. You can at least now dash out and buy the official BBC DVD of the Olympics, which promises fifteen hours of highlights spread across five coloured discs. It's telling that the Opening Ceremony features on as many as three of the discs but the Closing Ceremony on just one. The sporting highlights also appear to focus rather too much on "Brit wins gold" and very little on "Rest of the world does better", but that's the media summer for you, and that's how most of us will remember it.
But what of London 2012's more long term inheritance? City Hall is keen we don't forget, so has been running a promotional campaign called Gifts of the Games to showcase the legacy highlights. See what you think.
1) New Heights - The ArcelorMittal Orbit: "The Orbit has already become a London icon and is a huge hit with visitors. It was sold out throughout the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and as a permanent attraction will continue to attract future visitors to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, which is predicted to see nine million visitors a year by 2016." Sneakily that nine million figure is for the Park, not the Orbit. And there's no mention that the Orbit won't be reopening soon, indeed you'll probably not get up it again until 2014, and then at what cost? Verdict: legacy postponed
2) First Class - The Arabfly Dangleway: "Thanks to the Games, you can now fly across the Thames by cable car on the Emirates Air Line. The UK’s first urban cable car provides a much-needed new river crossing in east London, and links two world class visitor destinations, the O2 Arena and Excel" Bollocks. Right up until the end of June TfL were making absolutely no claims whatsoever that the cablecar would be completed before the Olympics. Admittedly only the Games could give this aerial link true purpose, but to say it's been built "thanks to the Games" is disingenuous to say the least. Verdict: someone's telling porkies
3) Urban Renewal - The Barking Bathhouse: "Thanks to the Games, CREATE Festival is bringing fresh new experiences to east London like the Barking Bathhouse. This pop-up health spa and architectural installation revives the spirit of Barking’s former bathhouse, which was a popular local facility until its closure in 1986, after 87 years." Erm, a pop-up bathhouse? That doesn't sound very permanent. And sorry, if you live in Barking and fancy a steamy rubdown you're too late, because the pop-up closed for good last weekend. It's true that the CREATE Festival has a much longer shelflife, but that's been running for several summers now, not just 2012. Verdict: there's no legacy here
4) Quality Street - Exhibition Road: "Thanks to the Games, public spaces across town have been brought back to life, like Exhibition Road in Kensington. Exhibition Road is part of the city's legacy from the Great Exhibition of 1851, and hosts famous visitor attractions such as the Victoria & Albert, Science and Natural History Museums." Hang on, wasn't Exhibition Road a Kensington & Chelsea project? It was completed independently in 2011, with 2012's events a mere temporary sideshow. Verdict: not a gift of the Games
5) Park Life - Queen Elizabeth Park: "Thanks to the Games, London now has the world’s largest urban meadow. This once neglected area provided a spectacular stage for the greatest show on earth this summer. The future Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will become a leading London attraction, inviting visitors to linger in its green open spaces, landscaped gardens and tranquil waterways." Yes, absolutely, one of the finest legacies of all. Opens in eight months time. Verdict: gold medal performance
6) Bright Lights - Tower Bridge: "Thanks to the Games, Tower Bridge is now lit up to impress Londoners and visitors alike. The new lighting system was installed before the Games, and means that people will benefit from seeing the bridge looking even more beautiful for the next 25 years." A lot of money got spent displaying rings on the Thames, so it's not surprising someone wanted them well lit. Other bridges have also benefited. Verdict: another Games-related bright spot
7) Gold Standard - Lee Valley Velopark: "Thanks to the Games, London has world class cycling facilities at the Lee Valley VeloPark. The 6000 seat Velodrome is among the main attractions of the new park, which caters for every type of cyclist, from recreational to training and competition, and where Londoners will be able to train alongside future Olympic and Paralympic gold medal winners." They may have destroyed the Eastway bike circuit to build it, but these new facilities are a definite improvement. Opening next summer. Verdict: wheelie good
8) Opportunity Shops - Westfield Stratford: "Thanks to the Games, there are over 8,000 new jobs for Londoners at Westfield Stratford City. The new retail destination opened in September 2011 giving a massive boost to the local area." Bollocks. Westfield Stratford was firmly on the drawing board before London won its Olympic bid. What the Games did was speed things up a bit, not kick things off. Verdict: this one's all spin
9) Midas Touch - Whitechapel Gallery Makeover: "Thanks to the Games, the Whitechapel Gallery’s had a golden makeover. The gallery commissioned leading British artist and Turner Prize winner Rachel Whiteread to produce a frieze to enliven the façade." A few golden leaves may not sound much, but this project is representing High Street2012, a linear improvement project that's done sterling long-term work. Verdict: as a resident of the A11 corridor, a big thanks from me
10) House Party - New Homes for Londoners: "Thanks to the Games, there will be over 2,500 new homes for families in east London. Five new neighbourhoods will be developed in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, each with its own distinct character and up to 8,000 new homes built by 2030." This is the true transformation of the Games. From post-industrial backwater to fresh residential sprawl, East London really will never be the same again. Verdict: from coldspot to hotspot
11) In The Pink - Friendly Volunteers: "Thanks to the Games, London’s friendly volunteers have left a fantastic impression on visitors to the city. Who can forget the Mayor’s 8000 Team London Ambassadors who offered a warm and enthusiastic welcome to visitors from around the world?" The summer of 2012 was made great by its volunteers, not least because there were far too many of them. City Hall are very keen to hang onto their fully-trained unpaid workforce and are piloting projects (starting this half-term) to make them useful again. Viable legacy or cheap labour? Verdict: yet to be proven
TfL are currently considering building two new river crossings in East London. What they'd like is a new tunnel at Silvertown (roughly underneath the cablecar) and a new ferry at Gallions Reach. To this end they've been running a public consultation to see what the public thinks, and what do you know, the public appears to be in favour.
Hang on, where have the statistics gone? There were proper percentages to back up the previous conclusions, whereas this is empty babble. It might be that only 2 people out of 4000 suggested introducing tolling on river crossings, but someone's subtly nudging this consultation towards tolling being an acceptable idea. Here's why.
This is the future of public transport development in Austerity London. No money for new projects is available from the public purse unless someone other than TfL coughs up and contributes. We've already got a cablecar part-funded by a Middle Eastern airline. The proposed Northern line extension is only being built to keep developers at Battersea happy. Crossrail will have a station in Woolwich solely because a housing company wants to pay for it. What next?
In particular, what additional toll-funded river crossings could we introduce to keep the Arabfly Dangleway company? Here are ten suggestions. You may have more...
1) The McSilvertown Drive Thru: Ride through Ronald McDonald's magic tunnel, placing your order on one bank and exiting with a bag of burgers on the other. 2) The Wonga Gallions Reach Ferry: No need to pay for your £5 ticket straight away. Instead interest on your loan accrues at 4214% APR, allowing you to pay £50 on the way back. 3) The O2 Priority Foot Tunnel: A new pedestrian walkway will be created between Docklands and North Greenwich. Free to O2 customers, otherwise £29.95 a time. 4) The Rotherhithe Skycycle: Let's build an aerial superhighway suspended from balloons. Entirely impractical, but it'll look pretty, and that's what's important. 5) The Erith Catapult: The perfect tool for Bexley to rid itself of undesirables and NEETS, by firing them across the Thames to a new workfare camp on Rainham Marshes. 6) The Elizabeth Embankment: A six lane express motorway floated on the Thames between Richmond and Chelsea to smooth the traffic flow. 7) The Utterly Butterly Westminster Punt: This essential transport link will allow Cambridge graduates to ferry small groups of tourists across to the South Bank for £25 per trip. Discounts available for regular users. 8) The Carlsberg Frost Fair: Refrigeration technology allows the Pool of London to be artificially frozen over, with visitors charged for access to the fairground, lager concessions and skating rink. 9) Old London Bridge: An exclusive cross-river housing development of luxury apartments for Russian multimillionaires, built parallel to the existing London Bridge on the site of its medieval predecessor. 10) Boris Airport: A series of floating runways off the coast of Kent, linked to London and Southend via toll motorways and a bloody expensive rail service. Probably the least likely project on this list to get built.
I have no proof. Indeed I rather hope I'm wrong. But I have a sneaking suspicion she might have stumbled upon it by mistake, and put two and two together, and be popping back for regular updates on my life.
I don't go round at work advertising that I have a blog. What I write has bugger all to do with work, and I don't think it's an especially wise move to mix the two. I never fire up diamond geezer on my monitor, not even a sneaky peek when I think nobody's looking. Indeed I've never ever written my blog in the office, nor logged in to Blogger on a corporate computer, not once in the last ten years. I like to keep work for work, and publishing stuff on the internet for home, with a strict dividing line inbetween.
Nevertheless I suspect my boss is reading my blog. It's my own fault. Normally I write about disparate stuff, nerdy stuff, you know the sort of thing. But a while back I made the mistake of writing about something local the boss is really interested in, without stopping to think that she might be really interested in it. I thought I was writing about something obscure and niche, but it turned out to be a niche with rather broader appeal. Anyone as enthusiastic as my boss would undoubtedly have noticed it, and clicked through and read it, and maybe assumed I wrote about that sort of stuff all the time. And from there it would have been only one small step to noticing everything else.
A few months later we were chatting at work, my boss and I, and she suddenly brought up a topic I've championed on the blog. Hmm, I thought, that's an unlikely conversational topic, about which my boss appears to know rather too much. This was immediately followed up by another off-the-wall London nugget, again something I've blogged about frequently but which isn't especially widely known. Whoa, I thought, two direct hits in two minutes! Can that be a coincidence? Or is she deliberately prodding, probing, testing to see if I'll react and confess. I didn't react, obviously, let alone confess. Neither was any other pertinent conversation forthcoming, so the entire encounter soon faded away. But it did leave me with a nagging doubt, wondering, repeatedly, is she now keeping tabs on everything I do?
I'd rather colleagues at work didn't know how nerdy my outside life gets. I'd rather they didn't know I'd spent the weekend on a bus, or visiting some geeky spot in the suburbs, or walking ten miles to an obscure museum. I'd rather they didn't look at me in the morning and go "seriously, you so need to get a life". I'd undoubtedly stop blogging the more personal stuff the minute I thought my words were circulating widely in the office. I'd more than likely start censoring the majority of other topics too, rather than risk face-to-face scrutiny and humiliation in a professional context. So if my boss is indeed reading my blog, as I suspect, that's not good. But if I ever found out that she was reading my blog, well, that would be worse.
If you are my boss and you're reading this, hello. Please don't hold my online exploits against me, or look at me in a funny way in the morning after I've posted something extreme. I'm not always like that. But, most importantly, please never ever mention that you've read today's post. You may know all about my blog, but I don't want to know that you know, because that would irrevocably change what I write about. Say nothing, drop no hints, don't even look up from your monitor right now and give me a sly bemused look. Pretend we've never had this conversation, and carry on as normal. Let's maintain this charade where you know, and I know you know, and now you know I know you know, but without ever reaching the stage where I know you know I know you know. It's better that way, for everyone's sake.
(for the avoidance of doubt, I flipped a coin before writing this to decide whether my boss would appear as male or female) (if my boss is reading my blog, there's a 50% chance he flipped out long before reading this far down today's post) (sorry, but ssssh anyway, say nothing, thanks)
It's surprisingly easy to get to Devil's Dyke, which is somewhat surprising given it's two miles beyond the edge of Brighton in the middle of nowhere. But there is a regular bus service up to the top of the South Downs, at this time of year weekends only. The number 77 runs eight times a day, from the heart of the city and from just outside the station. If you wave your rail ticket at the driver he's supposed to offer you money off, although that's difficult if the barrier at Brighton has just eaten your ticket. But 20 minutes later you could be stepping off at the bus stop on the ridge, and blimey look at those views, and whoa isn't it windy?
Devil's Dyke is the largest dry valley in the UK. Some say it was dug by the devil himself, with a very big spade, but in truth it was carved out naturally by permafrost meltwater. Today it curves for just under a mile down to the village of Poynings, a narrow grassy chasm in places 100 metres deep. And it's very pretty. An Iron Age hillfort was built on the adjacent plateau, defended on three sides by a sheer drop, though mere traces of its ramparts are all that remain. The Victorians were so taken with Devil's Dyke that an entire entertainment industry grew up around it, including a fairground and a funicular railway. There was even a cablecar across the chasm, linking nowhere to nowhere except for the sheer hell of it, which sounds familiar. No such extravagances today, just a mobile phone mast and a pub (which is much nicer on the inside than the outside).
The lofty elevation attracts glider pilots, soaring silently across the grassland, as well as enthusiasts with model aircraft to fly. For larger craft look carefully to the north and you can just make out proper commercial traffic coming into land at Gatwick. That's miles away, but the view from the escarpment across the Lower Weald is amazing. A patchwork of towns and fields and villages stretches off into the distance, seemingly flat as a pancake, until the North Downs rise up like a low blur on the horizon. The lack of shelter means it can be utterly windswept up here, as it was on Saturday, which made the presence of an ice cream van almost inexplicable. "Chill out" said the sign above the door, which it was impossible not to do, and so the crowds of 99-buyers stayed away.
The South Downs Way departs by following Summer Down, a ridge on the Brighton side of the dry valley. Again there are fine views to the north, this time through a gap between hilltops. It was at this point that I spotted my first rainbow of the afternoon, a faint arc grounded somewhere in the vicinity of Hassocks. How pretty, I thought, unaware that I'd see ten separate rainbows by the end of the afternoon and that this was merely the precursor to a heavy shower. It was drizzling by Saddlescombe, so the detour through a muddy farmyard to see the Donkey Wheel didn't appeal. If you have better weather, turn off to the right just after the organic refreshment room with the yummy cakes.
Up to this point there had been plenty of walkers but beyond it there were none. The path rose inexorably up the lengthy slopes of West Hill, which it appears are ideal for cycling down very very fast. I was bemused to see a line of gentlemen with white flags walking slowly four abreast through the field on the right. I assumed they were scaring pheasants or preparing the way for the local hunt, but was forced to reconsider when two deer ran by and were summarily ignored. A further gentleman with an orange flag stood on the edge of the escarpment staring out across the suburbs of Brighton, beyond which the English Channel glinted in the sunlight. Alas the track downhill was a bit of a mudbath, churned up by hooves from the adjacent riding school, and made less comfortable still by a sudden hailstorm.
The path has to descend to cross the A23, the main road into Brighton, which nips through a gap in the Downs in a not entirely beautiful way. Thankfully the road beyond has been safely blocked off, a winding lane up into the heart of Pyecombe village and its 12th century Grade I listed church. The next half mile passes up the middle of a golf course, which must have one of the best views in the South East, and then past some inquisitive friendly sheep. On the edge of the ridge overlooking the village of Clayton are two famous windmills, named Jack and Jill. As I approached they were briefly silhouetted against an ever-darkening sky, which soon gushed forth in another heavy shower. The path around the front of the mills was the muddiest yet, and alas Jill is only open to the public on summer Sundays.
The last two miles of this walk are an almost straight run along the top of the ridge. Brighton's still visible across the fields to the south, but the main attraction is still the view to the north across miles of the Lower Weald. The drop's fairly precipitous, as grassy slopes go, so only a couple of footpaths break off to descend to Underhill Road below. The track is churned up at present, and a bit of a trial to plod along. But the lane opens out halfway into broad undulating uplands lined by the occasional windblown tree and dew pond. Here's where I spotted rainbows six to ten, but thankfully the journey to the summit of DitchlingBeacon stayed dry. Close to the car park the path got busy again with short-distance ramblers, but few stepped off the main track to the triangulation point. The Beacon here is four metres higher than The View From The Shard, and what it lacks in city rooftops it makes up for with wow.
The road over Ditchling Beacon is a key part of most London to Brighton bike rides. Cyclists face a masochisticmile-long ascent up a steep winding chicane before emerging by the car park and frequently collapsing. I wouldn't. He did. A footpath descends alongside, a surprisingly slippery chalk furrow through a nature reserve, leading eventually to Ditchling village (and very eventually to Hassocks station). Alternatively you can continue walking along the South Downs Way to Lewes, but that's miles, or you can wait for the bus. The number 79 runs on Sundays throughout the year, but on Saturdays only during the summer. Best come when it's dry.
The London Underground celebrates its150thbirthday in January. That's still a way off, but you might like to start planning your part in the celebrations now.
In particular you might want to take your seat on the extra-special steam train that'll be running along the originalMetropolitanrailway on two Sundays in January. Puffing from the front will be Met Locomotive No. 1, an E-class steam loco built in 1892 that was rescued and restored by the good folk up at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre. It was one of seven engines designed for use on the Baker Street to Verney Junction service, and in 1904 headed the very first passenger train between Harrow-on-the-Hill and Uxbridge. Also part of the 150th anniversary train will be an 1892 Metropolitan Railway carriage, the "Chesham set" of carriages (which usually run on the Bluebell Railway) and early electric locomotive Sarah Siddons. Imagine that lot puffingunderground through Baker Street station, and it's clear these are going to be very sought after tickets.
» Met Loco No 1: facts, photoset, history
They're also going to be very expensive tickets. How does £180 first class and £150 standard class grab you? That's just slightly less expensive than the peak time Virgin fare from London to Glasgow. Even if you won't pay that much, TfL have calculated that sufficient train buffs will be so keen to recreate the age of steam they'll pay almost anything for a place on board. If that's you, the online ballot for places begins tomorrow. There'll be eight trains in total, with approximately 300 passengers carried on each. Some are pulled by steam, some aren't. Some are round trips, some are one way only. Some last an hour, some barely thirty minutes. Some cost £150, others 'only' £50. But you can't pick a trip for yourself. You'll be only able to specify your chosen date, chosen locomotive and whether you want first or third class. And then a computer ballot will allocate you a specific service, if you're lucky. That sounds terribly (terribly) random to me. If you're not lucky, or if your finances can only stretch to an Oyster card, you'll have to be content with waving from the platform as history steams by.
Moorgate 22:40 → Earl's Court 23:06 (pulled by Sarah Siddons)*
Sunday 20th January
Kensington (Olympia) 18:23 → Moorgate 18:56 (pulled by Met Loco No 1 for the first 6 mins, then Sarah Siddons)*
Moorgate 21:30 → Baker Street → Moorgate 22:17 (pulled by both)†
Moorgate 22:40 → Earl's Court 23:05 (pulled by Met Loco No 1)†
That's not the end of London Underground's Sesquicentennial. Other very special events involving the same train set are planned, and we're told they'll include the following:
» Rickmansworth Festival on 19 May
» Steam back on the Met on 25-27 May
» London Transport Museum at Buckinghamshire Railway Centre on 3-4, & 7 August
» Neasden Depot Open Day on 31 August
» Amersham on 8 September
Channel 4 is 30 years old today.
TfL are currently considering building two new river crossings in East London. What they'd like is a new tunnel at Silvertown (roughly underneath the cablecar) and a new ferry at Gallions Reach. To this end they've been running a public consultation to see what the public thinks, and what do you know, the public appears to be in favour.
Devil's Dyke is the largest dry valley in the UK. Some say it was dug by the devil himself, with a very big spade, but in truth it was carved out naturally by permafrost meltwater. Today it curves for just under a mile down to the village of Poynings, a narrow grassy chasm in places 100 metres deep. And it's very pretty. An Iron Age hillfort was built on the adjacent plateau, defended on three sides by a sheer drop, though mere traces of its ramparts are all that remain. The Victorians were so taken with Devil's Dyke that an entire entertainment industry grew up around it, including a fairground and a funicular railway. There was even a cablecar across the chasm, linking nowhere to nowhere except for the sheer hell of it, which sounds familiar. No such extravagances today, just a mobile phone mast and a pub (which is much nicer on the inside than the outside).
The last two miles of this walk are an almost straight run along the top of the ridge. Brighton's still visible across the fields to the south, but the main attraction is still the view to the north across miles of the Lower Weald. The drop's fairly precipitous, as grassy slopes go, so only a couple of footpaths break off to descend to Underhill Road below. The track is churned up at present, and a bit of a trial to plod along. But the lane opens out halfway into broad undulating uplands lined by the occasional windblown tree and dew pond. Here's where I spotted rainbows six to ten, but thankfully the journey to the summit of Ditchling Beacon stayed dry. Close to the car park the path got busy again with short-distance ramblers, but few stepped off the main track to the triangulation point. The Beacon here is four metres higher than The View From The Shard, and what it lacks in city rooftops it makes up for with wow.
