LADBROKE GROVE

Ladbroke Grove is the poor end of Notting Hill, the bit that experiences the Westway.

SURREY QUAYS

Surrey Quays is the station that you journey to with view to taking The Football Factory route to The New Den to see Millwall. It has a large shopping centre including a big fuck off Tesco where everyone there seems to shop. On a Sunday morning when heading from Catford to Liverpool Street I once saw a big argument on a bus there between its driver and a passenger.

CANADA WATER

Canada Water is a station on the Jubilee Line situated in Rotherhithe. Canada Water is the name of the actual lake created by a dock formerly situated there. Personally it is most notable to me for linking to the East London Line.

WHITE CITY

White City is a place in West London a stone’s throw from Shepherd’s Bush and is best known for being close to both Queens Park Rangers and the BBC.

NORTH ACTON

Even though North Acton is on the Central Line it is actually a very Western part of London. Whereas the East of the Central Line launches unsuspecting people into Essex, anywhere on the West end of the Central Line that is past the BBC is dank territory.

SOUTHWARK

Southwark is situated very close to the Tate Modern and sits between Waterloo and London Bridge on the Jubilee Line. I had a date there too once.

BOROUGH

Borough is situated right next to London Bridge station and is best known for its food market where all kinds of exotic, special and expensive food can be found/purchased. I was once recommended that this was a good place to take a date but with hindsight that was the advice of a mad person.

COVENT GARDEN

Covent Garden is a cosy part of Central London next to the West End and theatreland. It has a vibrant nightlife and more than once I have arranged to meet dates there.

WATERLOO

This is the busiest station in London. It is within a stones throw of the Southbank and as you exit one of the first things you spot is the IMAX.

RUSSELL SQUARE

This station is smack in the middle of Euston, Kings Cross and Bloomsbury. It is just around the corner from the square itself which is within walking distance of Holborn.

PICCADILLY CIRCUS

This is a very recognizable place in London from the movies not least for being where An American Werewolf In London climaxes.

Piccadilly Circus is situated at the bottom of Regents Street with Piccadilly leading in from the West and Shaftsbury Avenue from the East. Both Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square are within a stones throw as this is one of the busiest tourist locations of the West End.

KILBURN

The first time I went to Kilburn I was jokingly warned about the local toughs. These were only supposed to be jokes. As I waited in a queue to see Joe Lally play at the Luminare said local toughs decided to throw vegetables at us indie rock fans including an onion that hit me direct in the Crotch. That’s the problem with first impressions; you only get to make them once.

FINSBURY PARK

Finsbury Park is a highly charged area in Islington, North London. I once wound up falling in bed a couple of times with somebody that lived opposite the park.

MORNINGTON CRESCENT

Mornington Cresent is situated at the South part of Camden. As a result it is nicer and preferable to the rest of the area.

GOODGE STREET

Goodge Street is a part of Central London North of Oxford Street rubbing up against Charlotte Street around Fitzrovia and the media centre. The tube station is actually situated on Tottenham Court Road and is a stones throw away from the Scientology offices in London. What a sweet position to be in.

EUSTON

Euston is a station situated between Euston Square and Kings Cross that sits just opposite Bloomsbury. This is the station where trains leave London for Manchester (and vice versa).

KENNINGTON

Kennington is South of the river but isn’t dogged/bogged by the reputation that comes with. Over the years I have known a couple of people who have lived there and they have always come away speaking highly of the place.

Perhaps the best thing in the surrounding area is the Imperial War Museum.

CLAPHAM COMMON

Clapham Common is South and green.

WEST BROMPTON

Situated very close to Earls Court and South Kensington, West Brompton is an area of South West London best known for being close to both Brompton Cemetery and Brompton Oratory, which I am slightly ashamed to admit is only known to me because of the Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds song of the same name.

EUSTON SQUARE

Euston Square is a tube station just down the road from the main Euston train station, around the corner from University College Hospital and within a stones throw of Bloomsbury.

CHALK FARM

Positioned just north of Camden, Chalk Farm is chock next to Primrose Hill and that whole set. It is best known for having the Roundhouse venue.

GREEN PARK

Dragged along Piccadilly Green Park is a lush park almost rubbing up along The Mall. Within walking distance of Piccadilly Circus my friend used to work in an office in the vicinity and it is a truly majestic part of town.

BRIXTON

Situated in deep, dark South London at the end of the Victoria Line for the longest time Brixton could be described as considered the hardest place in London. Indeed as you exit the thankfully refurbished station you find yourself immediately hit by noise and confronted by an increase of pace and furious activity.

LEYTONSTONE

Leytonstone these days is perhaps best known for being the birthplace of David Beckham. I used to have a Filipino friend who was a nurse at Whipps Cross hospital and I used to ask if there was a plaque or shrine there in his honour.

Over the years I have had many friends live (and still live) in Leytonstone. As a result I have become familiar and fond with the place as it sits comfortably and conveniently on the Central Line. Indeed I have almost moved to there a couple of times.

Until 1965 it was part of Essex.

HIGHBURY & ISLINGTON

At the top of Upper Street tucked away is the Highbury & Islington tube station. This used to be a station very close to the Arsenal ground Highbury and as a result on matchdays would house scores of pubs full of Gooners.

Highbury & Islington is also well known for music venues with the Buffalo Bar directly to the right of the station upon exit. Also within view is The Garage which is the only venue that ever caused me to miss my last train home. A little way down Upper Street is also the Hope & Anchor which is a pub with a punk music legacy but not much of note going on currently. Also very close by is the Union Chapel which is an almost unique venue housed in an old church.

A little way down the road are various KFC rip offs but I have to say the chicken at Dixie Fried Chicken is some of the best chow I have ever sampled from a greasy fast food gaff.

ANGEL

At one end of Upper Street is the Highbury & Islington station and at the other end (South) is Angel.

NORTH GREENWICH

This is where the O2 Centre (“The Dome”) is housed. Before that there was fuck all here and now as a result this station and line (Jubilee) is now often rammed even though the line is rarely/seldom fully working at the weekends.

SWISS COTTAGE

North of Maida Vale and St Johns Wood comes Swiss Cottage. There is an actual Swiss Cottage but it is really an inn.

To me its best known for being a place where Stephen Merchant lived and his many anecdotes that came with on his XFM radio show with Ricky Gervais and Karl Pilkington.

CHANCERY LANE

A little way down from Holborn is Chancery Lane. It’s a very legal centric area of the city. I once did a kickboxing lesson at the Fitness First there. I did not return for a second.

ST PAULS

An outstanding fixture on the London landscape St Paul’s Cathedral is one of the most recognisable buildings along the Thames skyline.

OXFORD CIRCUS

Stuck on the corner of Oxford Street and Regents Street this station is perhaps the busiest on the whole underground system as it serves as the hub to two of the most recognised streets on the tourist map.

Away from the congestion this is actually a very exciting and vibrant part of London to surface at even despite the increasing sense of Chav that is attaching itself to Oxford Street.

Head South through Argyl Street and you will Great Marlborough Street and soon be in Carnaby Street on your way to deepest darkest Soho as you zone in on Leicester Square.

FINCHLEY ROAD

Finchley Road is a long vertical road that links Golders Green to St Johns Wood. The tube station is just North of Swiss Cottage.

WEMBLEY PARK

This is the station just opposite Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena. As a result it can get really busy for a station situated in such a grubby part of London.

The station houses a set of steps that Rocky Balboa would have been proud to run up.

NEWBURY PARK

Newbury Park is on the Central Line and is in Essex.

CHARING CROSS

Situated on The Strand Charing Cross station is a tourists’ favourite being the closest station to Trafalgar Square.

GREENWICH

Greenwich is one of the more genuinely beautiful parts of London.

HOLBORN

Holborn is an area next to the tourist hole/trap of Oxford Street that rubs up against Bloomsbury.
I used to study there.

SHEPHERD’S BUSH

Shepherd’s Bush is in East London is close to the BBC, has a green and now houses the Westfield shopping centre. I used to study there and it was fun as when I glimpsed out of the toilet window I could see the floodlights of Loftus Road (the home of Queens Park Rangers) and if we were situated in the right classroom we would be able to spot the BBC from our classroom window.

KENTISH TOWN

Kentish Town is like the nice part of Camden situated just slightly North of the armpit.

LONDON BRIDGE

Just a stone’s throw away from the Southbank and smack right next to Borough Market, London Bridge is a very exciting and vibrant part of London and a place where I have a lot of emotional investment being the sight of a number of meetings and dates over the year.

The first time I met my American Friend was at London Bridge.

BANK

The next stop up from Liverpool Street on the Central Line, Bank is in the heart of the city. Despite this it is not a very exciting part of London.

LEICESTER SQUARE

Scene of where all the movie premieres happen, Leicester Square is a real tourist trap that is always thick with hustle and bustle.

EARLS COURT

Earls Court is best known to me as the place where I popped my cherry.

BOND STREET

Bond Street is situated on Oxford Street and is synonymous with wealth.

HARLESDEN

Harlesden is a scary and run down part of North West London near Wembley. It is home to a McVities factory and as a result has a constant whiff of biscuits in the air.

Originally this was where the Mean Fiddler was situated and for years the offices were situated at the building long after the venue portion had closed.

Briefly I lived there in my first experience of staying in London. Initially intimidating the place soon calmed down to me even though there felt like there was a constant/consistent degree of threat in the air.

PADDINGTON

Paddington is situated in North London and is famous for its green and the police station. Many of the shops along the main road have Islamic names on their hoardings and it is only a stones throw away from more affluent areas such as Warwick Avenue and Maida Vale. It is hectic but not vibrant.

MAIDA VALE

Maida Vale is a gorgeous area of North London that is the location of many beautiful large houses and is most famous for its near street long BBC recording studios.

CAMDEN TOWN

Danny Baker once referred to Camden as London’s armpit and if you spend any amount of time there you will soon see/tell why.

TOTTENHAM COURT ROAD

With its station situated rubbing shoulders with both Oxford Street and Charing Cross Road, Tottenham Court Road is almost as central as you can get in London. As you emerge from the station you look up to see the huge deserted building that is Centre Point.

Situated nowhere near Tottenham if you head South you hit Soho or if you head North eventually you will find yourself in Camden.

The best thing about Tottenham Court Road was the enormous Fopp store that it once housed. This truly was an epic store better than anything HMV, Virgin or Zavvi ever mustered up. Of course it was too good to last or exist but I was still able to spend many special moments there such as the last day of work before Christmas in 2005 and include it as part of my 30th birthday celebrations.

Tottenham Court Road is also home to the London Church Of Scientology base.

Ricky Gervais has his offices along Tottenham Court Road, where he records his podcasts with Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington.

GREAT PORTLAND STREET

Great Portland Street is a street just off Oxford Street that is most famous for housing Broadcasting House and BBC Radio One.

STRATFORD

Stratford is where the Olympics will be held in 2012. It is also one of the prime transport hubs in East London with the station being adjoined to the Central Line, the Jubilee Line and the Docklands Light Railway. If travelling from East Anglia to work at the Docklands this is where people alight.

BETHNAL GREEN

Situated in East London one stop away from Liverpool Street, Bethnal Green is the domain of boxing gyms and public baths. This is an old school part of London steeped in retro notoriety that now does not really hold too much of interest to the casual observer or tourist.

KINGS CROSS

KINGS CROSS

Kings Cross is an area of London that holds the kind of heavy notoriety which will cause a person to shy away from visiting. However once the mask drops and you can tune out of being approached by homeless types and occasional prostitutes it is possible to find gold in the area.

This is yet another part of London where I have studied where my college was situated next to an acting school called The Poor School which has given birth to amongst other people Kat Slater from Eastenders (Jesse Wallace).

Kings Cross has two main music venues in The Scala and The Water Rats where over the years I have seen bands like Deerhoof, Les Savy Fav, Blonde Redhead and No Age perform.

LIVERPOOL STREET

For anyone in East Anglia Liverpool Street is the essential hub to entry into the nation’s capital.

ST JOHNS WOOD

I had never been to or even thought about St Johns Wood until I got a job there. Just outside of Zone 1 St Johns Wood is best known for two things: Lords cricket ground and Abbey Road studios.

This is fairly affluent part of London and with comes large houses with huge gates protecting the celebrities living therein.

BAKER STREET

Over the past couple of years Baker Street has become a prominent place in my life as most days I step through the station on my way to work. Indeed briefly for seven months I worked for a company situated on Baker Street.

One of the most famous streets in London this is the home of Sherlock Holmes.

MOORGATE

Moorgate is a funny little station within walking distance of Liverpool Street but can be tough to find in the streets of The City as everywhere within begins to resemble Gotham City and only a corner away from a darkened alley where a person could get mugged. It is also very close to Barbican where I accidentally wound up when trying to walk from Moorgate to Liverpool Street.

Moorgate will forever be the station known as where I smashed my iPhone. The floors appear made of granite.

If returning to Liverpool Street via the Northern Line is well advised to change at Moorgate as opposed to transferring to Bank as the walking distance between lines/platforms in the station is shorter.

NOTTING HILL GATE

Notting Hill is far too trendy for its own good these days off the back of that movie a few years ago but after walking down Portobello Road for nearly two and half years every day on the way to work I cannot help but hold a real affection for the area.

It is a strange area of London, one that has great wealth rubbing its shoulders with near destitution.

FARRINGDON

Farringdon is a station that I travel through daily on my way to my line change at Baker Street. Briefly I studied at a college there while studying for my accountancy exams. It is a pretty intimidating place upon first view, very much the city and the kind of street that hits you with a barrage of noise and energy as you emerge from the tube station. This is the home of The Guardian.

Beyond the business part of the area though there is a soft area with many fine looking houses and apartments and some cosy and exciting pubs to facilitate and compliment them. In early 2008 a friend held her party at one such pub and here we spotted Spider from Coronation Street.

WARREN STREET

Warren Street is situated at the top of Tottenham Court Road with the BT Tower looking down on it.

HOLLAND PARK

Rich people live in Holland Park.

VICTORIA

This part of London never really registered on the map with me until the day I arranged me first internet date there. Or rather the lady in question Yasmine did.

BARBICAN

Barbican is a potentially very exciting place situated in the heart of the city that is best known for being the home of the Barbican Centre, a huge multi purpose arts facility that houses/hosts a huge variety of events.

The first time I visited Barbican and found it on the map was to……

To be continued…..