Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Locked-Down London


Ever since our coronavirus lockdown began in late March, I've been staying mostly in West Hampstead, wondering what the rest of the city looks like.

I decided to take a longer walk yesterday so I could see for myself. I started at home and without taking public transportation of any kind, walked down through Camden and Westminster to the Thames and back again. According to my phone, I walked about 12 miles. There were smatterings of people here and there, but shops were closed and the typically crowded tourist areas were empty.


These first two photos are from Camden Town, where the sidewalks are usually thronged with shoppers. I did see long lines at the grocery stores and post office, but most other places were closed.


The top of the BT Tower had a circling message that said in part: "Stay home -- protect the NHS."


This is Leicester Square, which is usually quite crowded, surrounded by restaurants and ticket booths for theaters. Of course, both restaurants and theaters are closed now.


The pigeons had Trafalgar Square almost entirely to themselves.


The Horse Guards on Whitehall were still on duty, without anyone to crowd around their horses for selfies.


Westminster Bridge was empty of all but a few pedestrians, some of them taking pictures like me.


This is South Bank, an area that is usually so thronged with people that it's hard to walk through, much less run or bicycle. As you can see, a few people were out getting their exercise. The runners must love all these open streets and sidewalks. The London Eye is now closed.


A couple of women paused in Covent Garden for a socially distant chat.


Here's Piccadilly Circus. I don't think I've ever seen the statue of Eros without hordes of people sitting on the steps around it.


And here's Carnaby Street, a famous shopping district. You can see tumbleweeds. (Oh, never mind, those are garbage bags.)


And finally, this is Oxford Street at Oxford Circus. Again, this is normally such a congested area that just walking the sidewalks is hard. Do you see the Transport For London employee at right, splashing disinfectant on the sidewalk outside the tube station? I'm not sure what good that does, really, but I suppose it can't hurt.

I felt like I stayed pretty safe the whole time. Twice, I did unthinkingly press buttons at crosswalks to cross the streets -- but I was very careful to not touch my face until I could get home and wash my hands. (Of course, I touched my camera, which then touched my face, so who knows.) And once a street-sweeping machine passed me, which freaked me out as I imagined all sorts of little virions being kicked up by its brushes. But I didn't stop anywhere to eat or drink or interact with anyone. So, fingers crossed, my extra-long day of exercise shouldn't affect me or anyone else negatively -- and I really did need a long walk.

23 comments:

David said...

Loved all the pictures of London! Brought back memories of when I lived there in the 1960s and early 70s - oh so different now in lots of ways. Leicester Square used to be full of cars and buses, now it is all pedestrianised. Other things haven't changed much though. My last visit to London was in 2008. Always good to catch a glimpse through your camera lens.

Yorkshire Pudding said...

Fascinating. Thanks for taking us on your walk Steve. Kind of spooky. That horse guard's uniform is so cool. If you and Dave ever get invited to a fancy dress party in the future, perhaps you can go as horse guards - minus the horses of course.

Moving with Mitchell said...

Thanks for sharing your excellent photos. I feel like I've been on the walk with you. I've never in my life seen London streets and squares so empty. Even at 3 in the morning. I would so love a long-distance walk. Doing loops within 1 kilometre of home is very limiting. But our lockdown is much more severe than yours. I look forward to the day when it's safe for us to once again roam as we like.

Alphie Soup said...

Who would have ever thought central London would look so empty? I love the hugging billboard, but best of all is the Horse Guard and his horse with the white fleck on its knee, to go with the white hind leg socks and the star on its forehead.
Alphie

Mary said...

Glad you were able to stretch your legs. Thanks for the photo-tour of London. Besides growing up in London, was just there in January and passed by most of the places you captured. Very bizarre to see places so empty now. Bet even the Horse Guard misses the (truly annoying) tourists. Sort of. Maybe not.

The Padre said...

What A Wonderful Journey - Thanx For All The Photos - Must Have Felt Lovely Walking Through A Newer Location

Cheers

Ms. Moon said...

Twelve miles! I couldn't have done it.
I hope you had some water with you.
London in Lockdown. Yes. Eerie. Truly demonstrates how busy its streets and parks usually are. I'm so glad you got out and about. Has Olga forgiven you?

crafty cat corner said...

I really enjoyed that wander around London. thanks Steve.
Briony
x

Red said...

Your streets are empty. we still have lots of traffic...only down a bit from normal times.

Anonymous said...

That looks like a great 12 mile walk. It is so interesting to see those empty streets. It's hard not to think about everything we touch or breathe in these days when we're outside of our homes.

Edna B said...

Wow, what a beautiful walk, and I've enjoyed every bit of it! I've always wanted to go to London. A lot of my ancestors started out there, then on to Scotland, then to Holland before boarding the Mayflower and coming here. Your city is very beautiful. I keep a small bottle of hand sanitizer hooked on the outside of my purse so that I can use it when I'm out. It helps because I have a hard time remembering to keep my hands off my face. You stay safe and enjoy your day, hugs, Edna B.

Dee said...

Woah! Thanks for the great peek at Lockdown London. Amazing that all those places are so empty. It's nice that you'll have some photos to document this time, worth the long walk, I'd say.

Sharon said...

I am stunned! All of these places are familiar to me and I have never seen them like this. I can't even imagine them like this. Leicester Square without people....never. Oxford Street and Piccadilly Circus....amazing. It's actually quite eerie to see it like this. It seems the lock down has hit London much harder than here. We still have plenty of traffic on the streets and this morning I went for a walk around my neighborhood again at 6:30 AM and I passed more people than are in all of your photos combined.
If it weren't for the fear of a deadly virus, I'd say it's a perfect time to walk the streets of London.

Catalyst said...

I too enjoyed your tour although the city does look post apocalyptic without the crowds of people and the traffic. I love the photo of the horse guard.

The Bug said...

Wow - that was really spooky! Thanks for taking us along! (a. I probably will not make it back to London in my lifetime, and b. I certainly wouldn't be walking 12 miles if I did!)

ellen abbott said...

amazing to see these bustling areas so empty. I doubt that would happen over here cause we Americans seem to be thumbing our noses at safety precautions. I doubt you need worry about the street sweeper or pushing the buttons. with no out out, no one is shedding virus and it does die after a few hours or days.

John Going Gently said...

Howwonderful london is leading the lockdown way
The traffic is building up here again

jenny_o said...

It's funny, I never picture London as being as busy as what you describe; I picture it more like it is in these photos. It's clear I've never been there!

In answer to your question yesterday, there was no typo - a full dandelion seed head is called a "clock". Strange, huh?

Frances said...

Very weird seeing London so " abandoned". Hope you had a long sit down after that trip?
Have you come across a website called ' londonist.com" ? I seem to get it popping up on FB and thought it would interest you if you haven't already discovered it.

Fresca said...

Reminds me of the movie "28 Days Later"--
Cillian Murphy wakes up in an almost-empty London. Almost...

37paddington said...

How fascinating to see London so empty. Thank you for the tour. I am sure you are fine, even with touching those buttons. The virus droplets degrade very quickly outside we're told. Amazing photographs.

My life so far said...

Those photos will be quite the keepsakes in the future, empty streets. If wonder what the historians will write about this time in our history. Glad you had a good long walk.

Sabine said...

I just showed these pictures to my man who has lived in London as a student and all he could say was, oh my god that's what it really looks like?
Great pictures Steve.