London

Lockdown Travel – the armchair version

May 5, 2020 by Penny Leave a Comment

There’s no doubt about it – travel is, for now, off the agenda. Everyone is staying at home. International borders are closed. Aircraft are grounded. The travel industry as a whole will probably never look quite the same again. Something no one was really expecting to happen quite so fast.

Having been somewhat grounded to the UK already by the reality of being a parent, the current lockdown is even harder because I can’t even go to my go to places here in the UK. My local National Trust site is closed. The London Underground is for essential journeys only. We can’t even jump in the car to escape to the coast for a day. I totally understand and respect why, but at the same time it is frustrating for a family who like to be moving around a lot.

Instead I’m trying to get my travel kicks remotely via a screen instead.

At the weekend I saw the end of the second series of what has to be the most exciting travel programme I’ve ever seen – Race Around the World. Last year I wrote about how much I enjoyed the first series, but the second one has been even better. Not only did the winning team win by only 20 seconds (honestly!) but I think it was a longer series, and one which shows off a part of the world that I know very little about – South America. If you haven’t seen it yet then please do, it really is wonderful television. South America, especially the Southern part, is now firmly on my bucket list. It looks absolutely gorgeous and the terrain there isn’t really what I was expecting. I think most of my South American knowledge was about the more northern countries. That needs rectifying now.

The rest of my travel viewing has been closer to home focussing on the London Underground. I accidentally stumbled across the Hidden London Hangouts that the London Transport Museum is putting out weekly on their YouTube channel. The experts from the museum’s Hidden London series of talks and tours sharing their knowledge about the London Underground. What isn’t to love? It’s certainly satisfying my current Tube withdrawal symptoms. It’s also making me keener than ever to finish our Tube Stop Baby challenge when we can.

Continuing the theme, someone on Twitter recommended the Heart of the Angel documentary on BBC iPlayer. Recorded back in 1989 before Angel station was redeveloped it is a fascinating look at 48 hours in the station and some of the people who work there. In a way it is hard to believe how much has changed in just 30 years.

One thing I miss loads under lockdown is being able to either travel by train, or see a train anywhere. We don’t live near a railway line and have no essential journey that requires one. I’ve managed to scratch that railway itch a bit though by watching the first episode of Tim Dunn’s new series on Yesterday – The Architecture the Railways Built. Not only does episode 1 let you have a nosey around the closed Down Street Underground Station, but he also visits the gorgeous Central Station in Rotterdam that Bonn and I were lucky enough to see for ourselves a couple of years ago.

Television Travel Rotterdam Central Station

Travel might change forever after all this, but we’re still determined to get out there as much as we can (rules permitting etc) and hope to still be able to share our adventures on here with you. Until then they might have to stay confined to our back garden!

RAF Museum, Hendon, London

January 15, 2020 by Penny Leave a Comment

London can seem awash with museums, but I’m not sure that all the ones away from the centre are as well known. That certainly seems to be the case with the RAF Museum in Hendon. It may be out in Zone 4, but it’s only a 30 minute tube ride, and not far from the M1 if you’re travelling by car.

For anyone with an interest in aviation, military or just technology in general you won’t be disappointed with the RAF Museum, and there’s so much to see and do there that it’s very easy to spend a full day at the museum.

For those that may have visited the museum before, it is worth pointing out that there has been quite a re-vamp over the last few years with the museum reopening in 2018 to celebrate the RAF’s 100th anniversary.

What is there to see at the RAF Museum?

Our visit to the RAF Museum took in the newest part of the museum’s offering – Hangar 1 – which focuses on the first 100 years of the RAF. With lots of real life accounts of what it is like to work and live as part of the RAF’s family it is a great way to start your visit to the museum.

There’s plenty to read and look at, but for kids (large and small) there are also several hands on games to help you get a feel for the skills needed by the RAF.

This hangar also features the RAF First to the Future gallery which uses simulators and other interactive exhibits to help visitors really get an understanding of what it is like to be a Hawk pilot or a drone operator. My older kids both had an absolute ball in this part of the museum.

With only half a day at the museum we didn’t have time to visit all the hangars, but did spend an enjoyable hour or more in hangars 3, 4 and 5 that no only house the indoor picnic space (brilliant if you’re trying to have a winter day out on a budget) but also everything that comes under the broad heading of War in the Air 1918 – 1980.

With separate sections on the Battle of Britain, Bomber Command, Helicopters and Wings over Water it really does cover a huge range in the same way that the RAF itself does. My kids’ favourite part of these hangars though is always the section that houses a reconstruction of an aircraft factory that was hit during a bombing raid. Not only does it open up an interesting conversation with the kids about where the enemy might target, but my kids are always super excited about the fact that there’s running water to depict a water pipe having been hit!

RAF Themed Kids Playground

With only half a day at the museum we simply didn’t have time to see everything, but it is worth mentioning the playground area. My kids always need somewhere to let off a bit of steam and there is a brilliant RAF themed outdoor play area – think planes and helicopters, as well as a model of one of the nearby buildings on the site. It’s nicely fenced off to keep it safe, lots to do for all ages, and for the parents the cafe with outdoor tables is right next door! You can tell a parent was involved in the planning of that.

Practicalities of visiting

One of the best bits about the RAF Museum is that it is free to visit. They do ask for donations and you do have to pay for car parking – but the charges for it are very reasonable, especially when you consider that you’re not being hit by a high entry fee.

If you’re planning a visit to the RAF Museum in Hendon there’s a brilliant page on their website about getting there. There’s also plenty of information on the site about the different hangars and what they contain, as well as details on exhibitions and special events.

If you’re not near London, did you know that they also have a separate RAF Museum in Cosford in Shropshire?

Want to read more?

If you’re looking for places to go on a family day out, or museums to visit then make sure you take a look at the other places we’re written about here on Penny Travels.

Disclaimer: We visited the RAF Museum in London in January 2020. We did so of our own free will and were not asked in any way to write about our visit.

Tube Stop Baby: Chesham

June 10, 2019 by Penny Leave a Comment

Chesham is the most far flung place you can get to on the London Underground. Located out in Zone 9, the station is actually in the County of Buckinghamshire and it is 25 miles fro Charing Cross. This makes it the furthest station from central London. Chesham is also 3.89 miles from the next station on the line, Chalfont and Latimer, which is the longest distance between adjacent stations on the whole of the Underground network.

The station building is Grade II listed building and it was originally opened in 1889 by the Metropolitan Railway as their temporary northern terminus. The plan had been to extend the line further across the Chilterns towards Tring, to join up with the mainline there. Before work started though an alternative route was chosen going via Aylesbury.

From Chesham you can get a direct Metropolitan Line train into central London every thirty minutes. Services weren’t always that regular though, and up until December 2010 in off-peak times Chesham was only served by a 4-car shuttle service from Chalfont and Latimer.

Today the station has one working platform, but you can see the remains of an old second platform that is now a pretty garden. This platform as closed in November 1970.

When you see the floral arrangements on it today it’s therefore no wonder that the waiting room at the station is full of certificates from the London Underground Station Gardens competition.

There’s also a plaque you can spot outside showing that in 1993 it was the Winning Garden in the Station Garden Competition.

Chesham is also one of the few stations where I’ve seen a Bicycle Store on the platform.

If you’re looking out for interesting details then make sure you spot the station’s 1993 First Class Heritage Award above the suggestions box in the ticket office.

The nearby signal box is also listed and a beautifully kept example of the period.

Tube Stop Baby Facts – Chesham

Date of visit: 16 March 2019

Underground Line(s): Metropolitan

Zone: 9

If you want to know more about our Tube Stop Baby Challenge then pop over here and have a read.

Tube Stop Baby: Uxbridge

April 30, 2019 by Penny Leave a Comment

I seem to be working my way through stations that being with the letter “U” at the moment. Hot on the heels of Upminster and Upminster Bridge was our visit to Uxbridge.

Right over the other side of London, Uxbridge is in zone 6, at the end of the Uxbridge branch of both the Piccadilly and Metropolitan Lines and I think it fair to say that it is one of the most splendid stations on the tube network.

Uxbridge station was designed by Charles Holden (who was responsible for designing many Underground stations in the 1920s and 30s, as well as the London Underground Headquarters at 55 Broadway in London) it really is an impressive building. Many people also compare it to the station he designed at Cockfosters, which is at the other end of the Piccadilly Line.

There are so many things to look out for when you visit Uxbridge and it is really worth a trip to the end of the line if you’re a fan of anything tube related. The ticket hall area has some lovely stained glass that catches the light on a sunny day.

You can also spot an old buffet sign in the ticket hall, which leads you to what is now a thoroughly decent cafe that serves a very good all day breakfast and mug of tea.

In addition to old fashioned light up train indicators you should also seek out the preserved old cigarette machines outside what is still a newsagent at the entrance to the ticket hall from the forecourt.

These really are something that you just wouldn’t see today and it’s beautiful to see that they are still there.

After passing through the ticket hall towards the trains, there is a large concrete canopy over the tracks and with the high up windows it gives it almost a cathedral type of feel. It’s no surprise therefore that the station buildings have Grade II listed status.

Tube Stop Baby Facts – Uxbridge

Date of visit: 15 February 2019

Underground Line(s): Metropolitan and Piccadilly

Zone: 6

If you want to know more about our Tube Stop Baby Challenge then pop over here and have a read.

Tube Stop Baby: Upminster

April 3, 2019 by Penny Leave a Comment

Remember our plan to take a photograph of Tube Stop Baby with the roundel at each station we visited? Well, our trip to Upminster revealed a bit of a flaw in that plan. It turns out Upminster doesn’t have a roundel. Nor do Barking, Richmond and Wimbledon.

The “problem” is that these stations are all not owned or managed by TfL despite being served by London Underground, hence none of them have the classic TfL roundel signage at them! Yet another example of why I should do my research before we head out with our Oyster cards.

Not realising the lack of London Underground branding until we got there made Upminster seem like a bit of an anticlimax in our day’s travels. After the Art Deco feel at Upminster Bridge, Upminster just felt a bit anonymous if you know what I mean.

If you look carefully, there is one roundel to be found at Upminster though. One the side of the District Line signal box that you can see at eastern end of platform 5.

It’s not really positioned so that we could get a photo of Tube Stop Baby with it, so instead we made do with the roundel at the bus stop outside the station instead.

As well as being at the Eastern end of the District Line, Upminster is served by the c2c trains out of London’s Fenchurch Street (a station that has to be visited purely because it’s on the Monopoly board!) and also is the terminus for the Romford to Upminster part of the London Overground.

If you head up towards the ticket hall, there’s a nice old Lightbox indicator telling you which platform to go to next for an Underground train. There are a total of six platforms at Upminster, with three of them (platforms 3, 4 and 5) used by the District Line.

Despite not being a TfL station there is still a labyrinth to find. Number 76.

Tube Stop Baby Facts – Upminster

Date of visit: 29 January 2019

Underground Line(s) – District

Zone: 6

If you want to know more about our Tube Stop Baby Challenge then pop over here and have a read.

Tube Stop Baby: Upminster Bridge

April 2, 2019 by Penny Leave a Comment

One more stop out on the District Line from Hornchurch we came to Upminster Bridge. Yet another station where we only got to see the platforms and having done my reading up on the station afterwards I’m really kicking myself that I didn’t do my research beforehand.

Upminster Bridge station it seems is famous for what everyone walks over on their way in and out – a swastika pattern formed in the cream and brown floor tiles in the booking hall. Dated (as you’d expect!) before the Second World War, this was actually a popular decorative design when the Art Deco ticket office was built before its opening in 1934.

Despite not seeing the street level part of the station, which is incidentally is below the platforms which are up on an embankment with stairs between the two, the platforms themselves are with further discussion.

Continuing the Art Deco theme from the ticket hall, the platforms themselves have more than a slight mod towards the design of that era too. Especially with the seating on the platforms.

What I can’t yet get to the bottom of is whether these are original or not. Searching online I keep finding photos of the platforms at Upminster Bridge with different, more modern style, traditional TfL seats on them, but I can’t work out if these were taken away and replaced with the Art Deco style ones, or if they’re just at different ends of the platform and both are there. This really is why I ought to do so much more research before these trips so I can check all the facts out for myself whilst there! If you know any more about this though then please, please leave me a comment down below.

What I am sure about at Upminster Bridge though is the fact that there is a central island platform serving both East and Westbound on the District line, and then the c2c fast tracks run next to the Westbound District line track.

Tube Stop Baby Facts – Upminster Bridge

Date of visit: 29 January 2019

Underground Line(s) – District

Zone: 6

If you want to know more about our Tube Stop Baby Challenge then pop over here and have a read.