Mark Mason
Tube-line walker
“
I wanted to do a book about London and the only way to discover any great city
–
except possibly Los Angeles – is by walking. I was looking for a route, and then
I looked at the Tube map and decided to walk the whole network, all 403 miles.
When I started, I thought each line would have its own character, but that’s not
how London works. Even within each neighbourhood there are great differences
and most of these lines go from one side of London to another. Walking the lines
taught me how little about London I already knew.
“
The stations were a constant reminder that I was staying on the line; they
provided a discipline, a logic, and also a nice sense of achievement. They are
beautiful buildings, as well. At Southgate, they still have to use period lettering
above the shops near Charles Holden’s 1933 station so one has the words ‘Fried
Chicken Outlet’ spelt out in art-deco lettering.
“
The longest walk I did in one day was the Piccadilly line, all 39.5miles (63.5km)
of it. It was hard work, but now when I take people on guided walks along sections
of some of the lines, a few of them tell me they are going to carry on until the end.”
Walk the Lines: The London Underground, Overground
(2011)
is published by
RandomHouse
Norwegian flies to London frommore than 20 destinations. Book a rental car at
norwegian.com
Andi James
Tube Challenge champion
“
The Tube Challenge is visiting all 270 stations by Tube. If
you are on a train, you don’t have to physically step onto the
platform just pass through the station, and you can use buses
or run between stations if you wish. The first official record
was set in 1959. I heard about it in 2007 and have been doing
it ever since. I’ve done it about 46 times now. My winning
time (held with Steve Wilson) is 16 hours 29 minutes and 13
seconds, and that’s stood since 2011.
“
If you are going to do it, it needs to be when all the lines
are running – that’s Monday to Friday – you need to have
a good route and no delays. There are some places that are
difficult like Kensington Olympia, where there are only nine
trains a day. You have to be fit as some of the runs are very
long, so prepare for a lot of pain. Research your door positions
because you don’t want to get off at the wrong end and waste
five minutes fighting through hundreds of people. I know
door positions for every platform in London.
“
The first time I did the challenge, I spent three weeks
calculating all the exchanges and another week physically
researching the different runs. I can improve on my winning
route, but so can a lot of other people. About 100 people try
each year. Whenever I see people running from Finchley
Central to Mill Hill East, I know they are either on the Tube
Challenge or they are really desperate to go to Mill Hill East.”
“
Kensington Olympia is
difficult, as there are only
nine trains a day”
Know your Tube
London’s first underground
line opened on 9 January 1863,
running from Paddington Station
to Farringdon Street.
In the 1930s, the spirit of an
Egyptian mummy was said to
haunt the disused British Museum
stop, near today’s Tottenham
Court Road.
0 9 0 \
n
