An A to Z of London Landmarks

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As a result of enjoying the A to Z of Scottish places, I wanted to see what else I could do with the idea and over the winter had been formulating a plan to see if it was possible to “alphabet” in a single day. Coupled with a desire to have a few days break in London the A to Z of London Landmarks germinated from a passing idea to a full-on project.After some serious planning I churned out a first draft route of 35 miles (!) into something close to 30 and using google walking routes and some local knowledge of parks and walkways from previous trips, I managed to compile a route that was interesting and quieter than some parts of the metropolis. The end of February seemed to be a sensible time to plan this. I had leave to use up before the end of March and I wanted to complete the London A to Z before spring where I can devote more time to the hills. Winter of course finished with a vengeance and I was lucky to be running on the Tuesday and not the Wednesday. As per stereotype, London was preparing to fail in coping with the big freeze and the first flurries of snow were causing considerable panic. I of course had decided to run in shorts.

Admiralty Arch will be well known to runners and is usually a welcome sight during the London Marathon. It felt odd starting in a place I had reached after 25 miles on a couple of occasions. There were fewer people going about than expected, probably due to the weather, as I trundled down Whitehall towards Big Ben.

The clock tower is presently covered in scaffolding and the famous bong has been silenced. Amongst the crowds being under whelmed, I met Rick Pearson from Runners World who was joining me for a few letters.This helped make a speedy start to this challenge with a good chat and the letters being reasonably close together. We retraced our steps up Whitehall to the Cenotaph. It is poignant to remember the monument to those who lost their lives in the World Wars and to reflect on the ages of the men and women who perished. My mum (born in 1934) lost her Uncle James – her father’s eldest brother – at the age of 19 only four days before the armistice in 1918. Like many, James was robbed of adulthood with no knowledge of family, a civilian livelihood or the world he had died to keep free. I was wondering what he would have thought of life 100 years later where we could afford such luxuries as daft challenges as this whilst aged in our fifities.

We crossed the road to Downing Street. Gates and armed policemen barred the way although you could still hear the faint murmurings of civil service mandarins and exploitative politicians humming “we don’t know what we are doing.” A kilometre later we were standing under the Eros statue as it pointed to blue skies. Apparently the statue is not of Eros but is of his twin brother Anteros. It has become a figure of fun over the years and the recipient of the odd traffic cone but still popular with visitors.Piccadilly was still quiet – it was still quite early and we were thundering through the letters at a great pace. Another 600 yards took us to Esther’s favourite shop Fortnum & Mason. It was closed. Posh shoppers obviously like a lie in. Spoiler alert - there will be no

more shops on the A to Z list. Continuing west we reached Green Park where Rick headed back to do some proper work and avoid another few hours of my stories. I have always liked Green Park and it was a pleasure to have reached the park district where the running was very enjoyable.After Green Park, I ran through the Wellington Arch and onto Hyde Park.

I had previously run in Hyde Park on work visits which had felt a bit rushed. This run would feature two visits to the park – this time to the bandstand and I caught the feel for the peace and tranquillity that the park brings West London – the lungs of the busy city streets.

At this stage it was an about turn and head through Green Park and up The Mall to the Institute of Contemporary Arts ICA. It was also closed – too early for fashionable art lovers. I had previously seen a couple of Futures exhibitions there including a famous exhibit of carpet fluff. Not sure what they would think of runners. "I" was letter nine and I did feel a sense of the opening stage of the run being completed only a few yards from point A where I started. Now it was time to venture south of the river and the runs between letters would get a bit longer

So the first nine letters of the A to Z of London landmarks had been a very pleasant trundle around the West End. Like all long runs it couldn’t continue to be rainbows and lollipops the whole way and I started feeling a bit chilled heading from “I” down Northumberland Avenue towards Jubilee Gardens. Going across the Golden Jubilee bridge, I reached into my rucksack and discovered that in my excitement to start I had forgotten to lift my running snacks (chocolate, cereal bars – nothing fancy) and bottle of water. I had a quick look around Jubilee Gardens which are nothing special – a simple green space in the tourist packed South Bank. Ideal for summer picnics I guess. I would return soon enough

As luck would have it, the long leg between “J” and “K” took me within 600 metres of my hotel so I popped back to the room to pick up the previously forgotten supplies and also have a warming cup

of tea. This slight detour meant that I ran past the front entrance of Buckingham Palace and up Constitution Hill. If we changed the latter would we be able to do away with the former is a question best whispered in these parts. I was running to another royal residence – Kensington Palace which is situated at the west side of Hyde Park. I had a longer run in the park this time, passing the Serpentine – home of Serpentine Harriers who ran a club trip to the Cape Wrath Running Week the year I was there.

I also had a look round the Hyde Park Lido which was deserted in mid- winter but must have a buzz in high summer. I enjoyed the couple of miles of grass to get to Kensington Palace which is theofficial residence of a number of the young royals. Trivia also says that Queen Anne fell pregnant 17 times whilst living there although reports of poor TV reception may be exaggerated.From the Palace, there was another longer leg running northward to Little Venice. This is a superb basin on the Regent’s canal hosting a collection of house boats close to the North

Circular ring road. A film of ice had formed on the water reminding me of the chill in the air. I soon left this tranquillity however as the next leg took me back towards the city and involved a run along the busy Edgeware Road to Marble Arch.

The weather had turned inclement by this point and I endured the first of frequent snow showers that were to plague the afternoon. The tourists admiring the Arch had mostly retreated into cafes but the roads around the monument are very busy with traffic. Running through busy streets was to continue as I ran along Oxford and Regent Street to reach Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square. No wonder the French dislike the English given the monument and the naming convention that celebrates historic military successes. Although for my purpose, Napoleon’s column would have fitted equally well.This was the third visit close to Trafalgar Square on the run and I repeated the run south of the river to visit the OXO Tower. There were no hot, beefy drinks on offer as this is now a gallery, restaurant and art space and although the chill was starting to get to me again

I decided to press on for another few letters before stopping for lunch. I ran along the Thames Walkway to Westminster bridge and crossed (passing Big Ben again) to visit Parliament Square.



Feeling cold and no great love for some of the great statesman who overlook Parliament Square , I retraced my steps to Big Ben (again) and ran alongside the north bank of the Thames to cross Golden Jubilee bridge ( again) to reach Queen Elizabeth Hall. This is presently being renovated and is closed. The very keen can still skateboard underneath the building and its design looks very dated and the sort of thing that upsets people that care about architecture.

The good news is that Royal Festival Hall is next door. I had checked this out the previous day when I visited the excellent Abba exhibition and it was a great place for a break with easy to access and free loos. I also had an excellent lunch of vegetable hot pot with quinoa rice which warmed me up. I was happy to be through the middle phase however with worsening weather there was still a challenge ahead

I emerged from the Royal Festival Hall refreshed after my short lunch break. Eight letters left and approximately eight miles of running to cover them. The mood had changed from the early stages and I had that ultra-runners focus. Despite the tourists and the busy streets where Londoners were going about their daily business, this was MY route and it was MY day. The wind was blowing, the snow was falling, the route needed a significant element of navigation, but I would not be denied.

The next section took me along the well-trodden Thames walkway. This was busy with tourists and office working runners sticking in those important lunch time miles. It is a real traffic free asset for runners and walkers in the city. My next stop was at Shakespeare’s Globe. There were groups of schoolchildren about to be corralled in for some mediaeval theatre by diligent guides. I approached the one in the picture and commented on the weather:

Foul is fair

And foul is fair

I am unsure if she was stunned or impressed. I retraced my steps to the Tate Modern. I did have the idea of doing a short hill rep up the slope

in the Turbine Hall however decided against this as I didn’t want to get into trouble and more so, get any of the entrance staff into trouble for letting the dude in the running kit into the building. Instead we had a wee chat and I took a photo of the Superflex floor. Good work guys

I continued eastwards along the Thames Path to London Bridge, which was very busy, and cut onto Tooley Street to visit the Unicorn Theatre which specialises in shows for young people. I debated about popping into the café for a coffee however thought I’d wait a wee bit longer – especially as I didn’t want a minging runner scaring the kids.

The next section would be a challenge. It involved a longer run through the busy business district around Liverpool Street Station. The blizzard was also worsening, and I needed my map to navigate. There are many “V’s” in London mostly named after our longest serving monarch. I have forsaken visiting any of these to keep me on course to bag the illusive “X”. This meant I was aiming at Village Underground, a happening club on the outskirts of Shoreditch.

It was down a lane and difficult to find. After good directions from some hipsters, I was on the correct street and spoke to a chap who appeared to be coming out the back of a flat. “This is it” he confirmed. Very small and no signage. A lucky break. We had a wee photo and chat and it turned out he was the sound engineer.

To keep me in the area, I had chosen Weavers Fields as the next letter. I made a wee mistake and had to ask one of the kindly locals how to get back to Bethnal Green Road. A couple of people had stopped me asking why I was running in shorts in a blizzard and my answer caused great amusement. I found Weavers Fields was just off Buckfast Street – surely a must have address for any exiled jakies missing the sophistication of West Central Scotland. Weavers Fields was at the centre of the Huguenot silk weaving trade and was at one point an integral point of industry in Bethnal Green. Now it is a lovely local park although seldom covered in snow.

I was nearly there! There was only 6 km to

go and I had reached the point of knowing that I would complete. Always a great feeling on a long run. I retraced my steps to “V” and then turned north west to tick off the illusive “X” – a hip hop club called XOYO. Like many venues these days, it does early evening gigs followed by a a late night club. The former option is a godsend for music fans in their fifties who like their bed.

From the new, there was a two mile run to the very old and a welcome pint to celebrate near completion. From Old Street I ventured south and turned onto Fleet Street to find Ye Old Cheshire Cheese. This pub was rebuilt the year after the great fire of London in 1667 and must have many tales to tell. In modern times it must have been great in the halcyon days of journalism of the 60s and 70s. I had a nice pint of Samuel Smiths bitter for a very competitive £3.20. This gave me a few minutes to reflect on the day. It had been an excellent way to see London although some of the zig zagging about became a wee bit frustrating. Running different without the pressure of a watch or number made it a very pleasant experience and the miles flew by given the variety of scenery and surfaces to run on. Also my mind had this as a 25 stage run and I never felt overwhelmed or daunted. I ate and drank at the right times and always knew there was a café on almost every street corner if I needed a stop.

The end was only a kilometre away at Zimbabwe House and after a refreshing pint I strided nicely along The Strand to the finish. It was closed although I don’t think the consulate were expecting me. Instead I jogged another 600 metres onto Northumberland Avenue and had another beer in one of my favourite London pubs – The Sherlock Holmes.



An A to Z of London Landmarks – It was elementary!!!!

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