I had never been to London and my favourite board game as a child was Monopoly, so I decided to visit every Street featured on the Monopoly board in the real life city of London.
I had this idea for a long time, but always things always got in the way.
It was not until I came across a youtuber named Charlotte Campbell that I decided to stop putting off this crazy idea.
The Plan
I didn't really have much of a plan, I added all the properties onto Google My Maps , followed by any "chance" locations I may pass (I also added community chest cards for places that I may visit if I had time).
Bank Holiday weekend seemed like the perfect time. A friend loaned by their Oyster card, and on the morning of 27/05/2016 I began my challenge.
The Cat
I have not left Mr Slinky (instagram) alone in over 3 yrs. It was very important that I found someone I could trust to ensure he was ok for a couple of days. A friend offered to help, and I gave Slinky way too many treats to keep him happy until I returned.
The Journey
I got the train from Newcastle, it was a comfortable trip as I watched various TV shows on my mobile. The trip took less than 3 hours.
The Hotel
I stayed in the Imperial Hotel on Russel Square ... Great location!
The Properties
The Properties (Described By Larry)
Old Kent Road was ironically the last square I visited (I am now almost sure that isn't actually the correct use of any of the irony meanings but .. back off Bob!) . It was quite a generic street and becomes New Kent Road at some point along the way. Near the iconic (to monopoly fans at least) street was a T34 Tank... in the middle of a council estate?!
Whitechappel Road looked pretty rough to be honest. It was late, and I was tired but it really was the only street I visited that had a dirty pavement. It turns out if I had walked a little bit further down the road I would have noticed the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, which is very proud to be able to say created Big Ben.. even though it broke within a couple month #JustSaying
Kings Cross Station is where I started my Journey. Seemed nice enough. Interesting bit of history for you however; approx 2000 years ago some lady type woman named Boudica existed. She was wife to some manly type man who made a deal with Rome and life was good. However, when he died his will was ignored, and the kingdom was annexed. Boudica was flogged, her daughters raped and her life was over. Boudica led an army to revolt against the Romans and many tens of thousands of people died. Nero (who was not making pirated music albums) was like woah this chick is scary lets retreat! but before that happened Boudica was killed and that was that. Urban legend is that she is buried between platform 9 and 10 at Kings Cross Station. but instead of remembering the life of a badass woman who fought for the rights of women and freedom 2000 yrs ago ... we have half of a trolley screwed into a wall that many tourists take photos of while holding sticks and wearing a scarf and glasses. I am not a fan of the Harry Potter section of Kings Cross Station.
The Angel Islington was a hotel, however this is currently used as offices and a branch of the Co-operative Bank, and is a grade II listed building. Multiple buildings near by are named after that hotel (a Wetherspoons called The Angel is actually next door), the closest underground is also called Angel. I saw nothing of any real value at this location. I was going to have food at The Angel but it was late and I was on a schedule.
Euston Road was the first street sign I noticed as I left Kings Cross Station to begin my challenge. It is also home to the largest library in the world - The British Library.
Pentoville Road was one of the last few streets I visited. I did not realise until the journey home, that I had already been walking along that street as on the first day. It was once again quite a generic street with nothing magical about it
Pall Mall was the reason I got lost. I got lost a lot in London. To just get off topic for one moment - London isnt as big as it appears on TV. I often see wide angle shots of many famous landmarks / streets.. In real life these appear to be relatively normal sized streets ... with the exception of The Mall (which I was at when thinking I was at Pall Mall). The Mall is just stupidly wide. It is like a giant red carpet to Buckingham Palace ... and I do think it is a little over kill. A police man almost knocked me down on this road. When I eventually found Pall Mall I was happy to be back on a normal sized street.
Whitehall links onto Downing Street. I found Whitehall after Trafalgar square and if you follow the road from Trafalgar square you end up at Big Ben in only a few minutes.
(updates to follow)