On Saturday 1st May 2010, I completed the very first of my adventurous (and possibly ambitious!) trek though the capital’s streets, which I have named as the London Postcode Walks. It all came about through my seemingly ingenious idea of having an alternative take of having something worthwhile to write about, and finally get my attempts of being a travel writer firmly off the ground.
First of all, I think it’s best to link to the Wikipedia entry on London Postcodes to give you an idea of some of the areas I’ll be walking through: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_postal_district
Now, the way I’ll be taking on the London Postcode Walks is as follows: Start at the postcodes in North London, working my way around each of the London Postcode areas in a clockwise order (N, E, SE, SW, W and NW) and finish by taking a grand finale postcode walk through the Central London area containing the EC and WC postcodes. Whilst undertaking the postcode walks, take some nice little photographs along the way then write up about each walk afterwards.
Sounds pretty easy, don’t you think? Well of course, there’s a difference between preparing for the walks and actually undertaking them, as I have found out for myself....
The first walks I did on Saturday were Angel Islington (N1) to East Finchley (N2) and East Finchley (N2) to Finchley Central (N3). Two walks of different length, and a clear indicator of what to expect in future walks to come. Angel Islington and East Finchley are quite some distance apart from each other, and along the way I encountered some challenges such as walking uphill, taking wrong turns (even though I had photocopied maps and highlighted a planned route on them to avoid this happening!) and working out what was going wrong with my camera when all I had to do is turn a switch! Through all of that, only stopping to double check maps and waiting for the red men at traffic lights to turn green, this walk lasted just over two hours. Arriving at East Finchley, I sensibly paused briefly for a short break to quickly refuel, and then proceeded to walk from East Finchley to Finchley Central. This was a far more quiet and relaxed affair, less traffic and more alleyways. And the postcode areas were located next to each other too! However, I felt the muscles in my legs starting to discomfort towards the end as a result of all this walking, however I kept on going and finally reached my ultimate destination of Finchley Central station. This walk lasted exactly forty minutes, and at the end I was only too happy to hit the pub for a drink and well earned rest.
And here I gained a clear understanding of what to expect in my future London Postcode Walks. Longer walks such as Angel Islington to East Finchley may have to be allocated a whole day to itself, but shorter walks such as East Finchley to Finchley Central could possibly be joined up together (provided they’re in order, of course) and here I could definitely do three or four postcode walks in a day. It’s interesting to hear what people will put themselves through in order to find something to write about, but this is my own little project and I’m happy to keep on doing it – especially as I felt very satisfied and fulfilled once yesterday’s walks had been completed.
I’ll continue to write notes like these as a measure of my progress. Although I’ll try not to give too much away, as my goal is for all that I have written about these walks to be collated into a book once they have all been completed. Yet already I am looking forward to the next postcode walks which I hope to undertake next weekend....
Monday, 3 May 2010
Sunday, 4 April 2010
LEJOG Rides and London Walks
As some of you may know, for the past year or so I’ve been trying to kick-start a writing career. Having spent considerable amounts of thinking attempt to find out where the path of speciality lies, I decided that it should focus around the area of travel writing and the delights of the great outdoors. After all, travelling and outdoors has been essentially what I’ve been doing as a job for the past six and a half years.
I decided that the first major foray into my writing would be to undergo a bus journey all the way from Land’s End to John O’Groats. That took place in the summer of last year. Again, buses because they’ve been another core element of the job I’ve done. The mission to travel between the two famous landmarks stretching on entirely opposite parts of British mainland was successfully accomplished. Of course, one of the first thoughts that came into my head upon completion was that “now I’ve done it, now I can write about it”.
So, you might ask, what progress has been made about this write-up that has the potential to be turned into a book? Well, eight months have passed since that bus voyage from Land’s End to John O’Groats and there has been some writing going on. However, whilst that journey was indeed a colossal challenge, actually writing about it is even more demanding, especially when it’s done in whatever spare time is available as a result of attempting to earn a crust in order to survive the perils that life may present to you elsewhere. Of course, having to make sudden personal changes before the end of last year meant that not much could be done in terms of writing, and as a result of this, things just lied dormant for quite some time.
Whilst I attempted to adjust to my new surroundings, I also spent time monitoring the bus scene in parts of the United Kingdom, mainly along the route I had travelled as part of the Land’s End to John O’Groats adventure. It occurred to me that it is frequently forever changing, and not just in London, which is of course the area to which I am accustomed to. Having mentioned London, I did of course travel through the capital city as part of that journey. The idea behind this was to compare travelling and fares with other parts of the country, in order to gain a clearer picture as a whole. Needless to say, it soon dawned on me that it would have been much simpler and convenient not to travel through London, and if I had done this would have got to a point much further north for that day.
I of course have decided that I would like to attempt the Land’s End to John O’Groats again someday, though not at this very instant. What I have done then is decide not to continue with the write up of last year’s journey for now, but instead take a selection of the photos that I took throughout that journey and include short captions with them to describe various events surrounding that photo. All the photos I have selected have been uploaded on to my Facebook page so that people can have a look at them and comment, should they deem necessary. The collection of photos will also help me in good stead so that when I do attempt such a feat again, I can be more prepared to what to expect and make the whole experience for myself a lot much better wherever possible. And maybe then I will have collected more than enough information to get working on a proper book about the expedition.
This now brings me on to my next planned writing venture – a series of walks throughout all of London’s postcodes. How the idea came about was as a result of hearing of other people’s various walks through the capital. Some people I know of go along routes that parallel the Tube and Underground network wherever possible. Another person who I’ve spoken to uses an A to Z in order to work their way around. In an attempt to find my own unique way in doing something similar, I chose the great and wonderful feature that is the postcode in order to not enjoy the pleasures of both walking and writing, but to potentially come across areas of London I may never have seen before.
How this would be done is as follows: Take this example, which is my first planned walk. I would start in the North London postcode area, so this means I would start in the postcode area N1, which happens to be Angel Islington. I would then walk to the postcode area N2, which is East Finchley. The next postcode walk would be from N2 to N3, and so on until I have completed the last postcode walk for this area, which would be N21 (Winchmore Hill) to N22 (Wood Green). Once this walk is completed, I would then move on the East London postcode area, and so on in a clockwise direction until all of the postcodes in the London area have been visited. I feel that there is a lot of potential to be fulfilled in writing about walking in these areas, and I hope this is something I can accomplish over time.
I have been planning this idea for a few months now, and there is still some work to do before I finally get going, hopefully within the next few weeks. For now though, I hope you all enjoy the Land’s End to John O’Groats photographs, and that what has been written in this entry is an outstanding example of my future writing to come....
I decided that the first major foray into my writing would be to undergo a bus journey all the way from Land’s End to John O’Groats. That took place in the summer of last year. Again, buses because they’ve been another core element of the job I’ve done. The mission to travel between the two famous landmarks stretching on entirely opposite parts of British mainland was successfully accomplished. Of course, one of the first thoughts that came into my head upon completion was that “now I’ve done it, now I can write about it”.
So, you might ask, what progress has been made about this write-up that has the potential to be turned into a book? Well, eight months have passed since that bus voyage from Land’s End to John O’Groats and there has been some writing going on. However, whilst that journey was indeed a colossal challenge, actually writing about it is even more demanding, especially when it’s done in whatever spare time is available as a result of attempting to earn a crust in order to survive the perils that life may present to you elsewhere. Of course, having to make sudden personal changes before the end of last year meant that not much could be done in terms of writing, and as a result of this, things just lied dormant for quite some time.
Whilst I attempted to adjust to my new surroundings, I also spent time monitoring the bus scene in parts of the United Kingdom, mainly along the route I had travelled as part of the Land’s End to John O’Groats adventure. It occurred to me that it is frequently forever changing, and not just in London, which is of course the area to which I am accustomed to. Having mentioned London, I did of course travel through the capital city as part of that journey. The idea behind this was to compare travelling and fares with other parts of the country, in order to gain a clearer picture as a whole. Needless to say, it soon dawned on me that it would have been much simpler and convenient not to travel through London, and if I had done this would have got to a point much further north for that day.
I of course have decided that I would like to attempt the Land’s End to John O’Groats again someday, though not at this very instant. What I have done then is decide not to continue with the write up of last year’s journey for now, but instead take a selection of the photos that I took throughout that journey and include short captions with them to describe various events surrounding that photo. All the photos I have selected have been uploaded on to my Facebook page so that people can have a look at them and comment, should they deem necessary. The collection of photos will also help me in good stead so that when I do attempt such a feat again, I can be more prepared to what to expect and make the whole experience for myself a lot much better wherever possible. And maybe then I will have collected more than enough information to get working on a proper book about the expedition.
This now brings me on to my next planned writing venture – a series of walks throughout all of London’s postcodes. How the idea came about was as a result of hearing of other people’s various walks through the capital. Some people I know of go along routes that parallel the Tube and Underground network wherever possible. Another person who I’ve spoken to uses an A to Z in order to work their way around. In an attempt to find my own unique way in doing something similar, I chose the great and wonderful feature that is the postcode in order to not enjoy the pleasures of both walking and writing, but to potentially come across areas of London I may never have seen before.
How this would be done is as follows: Take this example, which is my first planned walk. I would start in the North London postcode area, so this means I would start in the postcode area N1, which happens to be Angel Islington. I would then walk to the postcode area N2, which is East Finchley. The next postcode walk would be from N2 to N3, and so on until I have completed the last postcode walk for this area, which would be N21 (Winchmore Hill) to N22 (Wood Green). Once this walk is completed, I would then move on the East London postcode area, and so on in a clockwise direction until all of the postcodes in the London area have been visited. I feel that there is a lot of potential to be fulfilled in writing about walking in these areas, and I hope this is something I can accomplish over time.
I have been planning this idea for a few months now, and there is still some work to do before I finally get going, hopefully within the next few weeks. For now though, I hope you all enjoy the Land’s End to John O’Groats photographs, and that what has been written in this entry is an outstanding example of my future writing to come....
Monday, 28 September 2009
LEJOG - Starting to write it up (finally)!!!!
It's happened, at long last. A couple of months have nearly passed up since I completed the legendary Land's End to John o'Groats bus excursion and now I'm all ready to write the whole thing into some readable format.
I think it just required myself to wind down a bit afterwards. Having now sifted through all the photos and scanned in all the bus tickets that were collected, I have finally got myself into the mindset of collating everything together and writing up as-detailed-as-I-can-remember accounts of what happened during the entire trip.
It does require however, an enormous amount of dedication and self-discipline. Which is why I'm limiting myself on my Facebook usage whilst I attempt to get everything written. In truth, FB is the only site I frequent on a regular basis via the internet nowadays (mainly due to its incredible diversity) and by cutting down on this I can hopefully focus and concentrate more on writing up the Land's End to John o'Groats adventure.
I have in the past made no secret of my lifelong ambition to be an aspiring writer and book author, and at long last I am feeling confident on finally getting ahead with commencing on this step. At the beginning of this year I said that I would at long last make an attempt into writing, and nearly 9 months since the year began, I have laid down all the foundations in order to proceed.
Writing a status update can take only a matter of seconds, writing a blog post generally takes about an hour (depending on the length and quality of the post in question), but writing a book takes a consider larger amount of time and effort, as I have already found out today.
The way I'm writng and putting things together, I reckon that I'm at present writing out one A4 page of text per hour, which given that the proposed book in question looks set to be nearly 100 pages in total, gives a clear indication of the task ahead of me. I don't seem to writing or recalling events in logical order either, seeing as I remember some bus journeys more vividly than others.
But perservere I will. I didn't give up travelling all the way from Land's End to John o'Groats, and I don't intend on giving up when it comes to writing up this account of my experience either.
And there you have it for now. As I have said, I am hopefully reducing my Facebook usage to once a week until further notice, but if you need to get hold of me somewhat urgently, then my e-mail address and phone number can be found on my profile.
I'll be letting you know of my writing progress with each and every passing week. Until then, be strong and don't let anything stand in the way of your own ambitions....
I think it just required myself to wind down a bit afterwards. Having now sifted through all the photos and scanned in all the bus tickets that were collected, I have finally got myself into the mindset of collating everything together and writing up as-detailed-as-I-can-remember accounts of what happened during the entire trip.
It does require however, an enormous amount of dedication and self-discipline. Which is why I'm limiting myself on my Facebook usage whilst I attempt to get everything written. In truth, FB is the only site I frequent on a regular basis via the internet nowadays (mainly due to its incredible diversity) and by cutting down on this I can hopefully focus and concentrate more on writing up the Land's End to John o'Groats adventure.
I have in the past made no secret of my lifelong ambition to be an aspiring writer and book author, and at long last I am feeling confident on finally getting ahead with commencing on this step. At the beginning of this year I said that I would at long last make an attempt into writing, and nearly 9 months since the year began, I have laid down all the foundations in order to proceed.
Writing a status update can take only a matter of seconds, writing a blog post generally takes about an hour (depending on the length and quality of the post in question), but writing a book takes a consider larger amount of time and effort, as I have already found out today.
The way I'm writng and putting things together, I reckon that I'm at present writing out one A4 page of text per hour, which given that the proposed book in question looks set to be nearly 100 pages in total, gives a clear indication of the task ahead of me. I don't seem to writing or recalling events in logical order either, seeing as I remember some bus journeys more vividly than others.
But perservere I will. I didn't give up travelling all the way from Land's End to John o'Groats, and I don't intend on giving up when it comes to writing up this account of my experience either.
And there you have it for now. As I have said, I am hopefully reducing my Facebook usage to once a week until further notice, but if you need to get hold of me somewhat urgently, then my e-mail address and phone number can be found on my profile.
I'll be letting you know of my writing progress with each and every passing week. Until then, be strong and don't let anything stand in the way of your own ambitions....
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