THE BEATLES IN LONDON WALK

Spring and summer of 2001 presented a serious challenge to London based walkers; with foot and mouth disease sending the farming industry into mass panic, rigid controls on movement in the countryside were decreed. While this is a bit of an exaggeration – in reality there was little restriction on motor traffic – walkers were badly hit and the opportunities for walking in the countryside were severely restricted. In many places a total ban was in operation. This emergency threw many into a challenging position where they had to seek alternatives to their beloved leisure activities. For many, especially in London, urban walking had to be seriously considered as it felt as though they were forbidden from escaping the confines of the metropolis. City routes and heritage trails, frequently ignored in the past, where now snapped up with abandon.

Many urban walks have some of the characteristics of rural trails and the objectives are similar, fresh air, green spaces and a bit of a challenge thrown in even if it is only a modest climb up an insignificant incline to reach an exceptional viewing spot. Some are, however, little than tourist fodder and this little title really fits into this category. Louis’ London Walks appear to be a series of tours based around key themes; in this case where the Beatles and their friends "lived, loved, worked and played" in London. Sadly this walk neither does justice to the area it covers and neither does it give any sense of the flavour of the London in which the Beatles and other Sixties luminaries found themselves.

The route starts with a perambulation around the St John’s Wood area, a natural focus as this is close by the Abbey Road Studios where the Beatles along with many other famous names worked and recorded their hit albums. It is on Abbey Road where the band is photographed crossing the road in single file which features on the cover of the album of the same name. The information given is sparse and covers none of the interesting mythologies which exist. For example, it was claimed this album cover contains signs providing evidence of the weird story that Paul MacCartney was in fact dead and had been replaced by a double.

Lord’s Cricket Ground gets a mention, probably because you could hardly ignore it, although there appears to be absolutely no links with the Beatles. The friends mentioned above, of course, include the Rolling Stones but there is no mention here that Mick Jagger is a cricket fan and frequenter of Lords.

After casing this patch the guide then insists on packing the walker onto the tube to catch the train to Baker Street. This would be perfectly understandable if the area between St John’s Wood and Baker Street was some kind of urban wasteland but it’s not because Regent’s Park lies directly between these two points and there is absolutely no reason why the walker cannot be advised to stroll across this green and pleasant place. Maybe it has no connection with the Beatles but a walk through Regent’s Park would be infinitely preferable to a trip on the Jubilee Line. Aficionados of park refreshments will be please to hear that the cafes in Regent’s Park are well worth visiting.

The second stretch starts at Baker Street and rambles due south to Piccadilly Circus and tries to link locations with the Beatles and others. Sadly this is all very superficial and selective, For example Savile Row gets a mention as the location of the HQ of the Apple Corporation and as a world famous centre for tayloring. What it doesn’t mention are the various characters around at the time who linked the rather staid Savile Row with the pop music industry. Neither does it mention that there is a police station in Savile Row which has had many celebrities passing through its doors.

The total feel of this route description is that it is a kind of aide memiore for a tour guide showing around groups of tourists. It lacks detail and fails completley to give any sense or flavour of the places being passed by. All this, of course, might exist in the mind of the guide and past time and place evoked through his or her skills as a communicator. It should also be added that this is not the totality of the Beatles in London. For example, there is no mention of the mansion in Highgate nor John Lennon’s visit to the 24-Hour Technicolour Dream [or was it a 14-Hour Technicolour Dream?] which took place at the Alexandra Palace in 1967.

The best way to make this journey is to explore this territory through literature, music and film; these methods will allow you a much bigger landscape which will take travellers much further afield to San Francisco, India and beyond; indeed your journey will take you completely around the world. Don’t bother with Louis’s route; save your walking for more satisfying opportunities. But if you’re a Beatles/sixties buff who couldn’t live without this in their collection you can pick up copies in most tourist orientated outlets.

CLERKENWELL HISTORIC TRAIL

The number of places in London with their own heritage trail is now enormous and the Clerkenwell Historic Trail is a fine example and good quality product. The Trail is about two miles long and as you would expect takes you to all the sites of historic interest in this locality. My copy was published in 1998 although purchased recently and is slightly out of date but that doesn’t detract from its overall effectiveness as a guide. Readers of the Time Out Book of London Walks might recognise that the route is almost identical to that described by local resident Janet Street –Porter in her contribution to this rather eclectic collection of strolls devised by an assortment of celebrities. On balance the Historic Trail offers a slightly better route and is without Ms Street-Porters strident declaration that you are not welcome to call into to her place for coffee.

Janet recommends doing the walk at the weekend when there is not so much traffic which is a sensible suggestion. However, another option is to try this an evening ramble; you won’t find any shops or historic venues open but you will be able to sample the multitude of pubs, cafes and other watering holes along the way. Copies of Trail can be obtained from the Clerkenwell Visitor Centre in Clerkenwell Close.

WALK THIS WAY – architecture + history at your feet

Two small, glossy and attractive guides have been produced under this title, one covering the South Bank while the other looks at Riverside London. The aim, it is claimed, is to encourage Londoners and visitors to explore architecture and history mainly around the South Bank but with small incursions north of the river.

The South Bank route starts at Westminster Bridge and follows the river upto Waterloo Bridge at which point it twists and turns through the streets between Blackfriars Bridge and Waterloo Station and eventually finishes at the Imperial War Museum in Lambeth Road. The Riverside London walk starts at Vauxhall Bridge where, strangely, it omits to comment on the architecture of the new MI6 building. It then progresses along Millbank until it crosses back to the South Bank over Lambeth Bridge. The route then stays on the Thames Path except for a brief foray north of the river between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge. At London Bridge it returns to the north bank to continue past the Tower of London to Tower Bridge where it again crosses the river to finish at the Design Museum.

Essentially these routes give a guided tour highlighting the buildings, history and interesting sites along the way. The guides are part of a bigger project linking the South Bank Employers’ Group, Cross River Partnership and the London Development Agency. Much of the ground covered will be familiar to users of the Thames Path in London and regular attenders at events on the South Bank. They are, however, extremely well produced and as an added bonus can be obtained free by ringing 020 7928 2442.

John Pestle

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