Travel. Travel Memories. Travel Writing Prompt.

London Off the Tourist Trail

My favourite London memories you won’t find in travel guides

My favourite travel memories from the country I was born in are from the city I lived in — London.

It might seem odd that someone would travel around their home city and find it the best memory. Maybe it’s nostalgia now my wife, Alejandra, and I live in Spain? I don’t think so.

London covers 600 square miles so there’s a lot of London to travel to. Here are a few of my favourite London travel memories — off the tourist trails.

The Lost Villages and Towns

London expanded rapidly in the 20th century, eating up villages and towns in its path like a hungry tidal wave. In many areas, vestiges of the past remain: ancient village greens, churches, cottages and historic buildings. These are the places I travelled to.

The Forests and Parklands

Epping Forest

Epping Forest is a 6,000 acre ancient royal forest in East London stretching out into the county of Essex. Our fellow explorers were the deer.

Walthamstow Wetlands

The Wetlands is a nature reserve in North East London. Perfect for a stroll and a quiet coffee in the café — a converted Victorian pumping station. We all know coffee is the fuel of life. As is the tranquility of city life.

Victoria Park

‘Vicky Park’ is a 180-year-old park five miles from central London. It’s also the location for many open-air music concerts in summer. Pre-Covid. Sigh.

The Alternative Historical Sites

Everyone knows about the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, The Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and so on. A million tourists and a zillion photos.

I used to choose London’s lesser-known history to visit.

Queen Elizabeth I Hunting Lodge

The Lodge is a free Tudor museum on the edge of Epping Forest. It was actually built for Liz’s dad, Henry VIII, in 1543 as a base for deer hunting. The two most well-known rulers in English history and there are no tourists. Except for me, Alejandra and a few dog walkers.

Alexandra Palace

‘Ally Pally’’ was built on one of London’s highest points on what had previously been a farm. It became famous as the studios for the UK’s first national TV broadcasts in the 30s.

These days it’s an entertainment centre for live music and exhibitions and is surrounded by a nature reserve and parkland. All the reasons we went. Often.

William Morris Gallery

William Morris was a famous Victorian textile designer and also a poet, novelist, translator and socialist activist. A busy man. His childhood home is now a gallery of his work.

The building used to sit in the countryside surrounded by fields but is now in North-East London surrounded by buildings and traffic on three sides. Luckily, Lloyds Park sits behind and there are a couple of cafés on the site. I could never get fed up with this place. The coffee’s good too.

Roman London

London’s Roman past is well known. Less well known are the preserved sections of the Roman wall and other buildings hidden away in central London courtyards and small parks between modern office buildings.

You’ll find only a couple of locals there, one could have been me, and the occasional office worker having a break between Zoom calls.

Loughton Camp

This 10-acre iron-age fort is technically a mile or two outside London’s boundaries. It was a stopping-off point for Julius Caesar on his invasion of Britain over 2,000 years ago. Dick Turpin, the highwayman, is also said to have used it as a hideaway.

These days, you’ll find only foxes, birds and maybe a couple of locals like me and Alejandra with visiting family.

The New Districts

Stratford, East London

Stratford was a former industrial wasteland that now contains London’s newest postcode. The area was regenerated for the 2012 London Olympics and has Europe’s largest undercover shopping centre, Queen Elizabeth Park, the River Lea and the London Stadium, formally the Olympic Stadium.

The stadium is home to my football team, West Ham, so I travelled to Stratford all the time. Great memories. If we won.

London Docklands

The London Docklands was regenerated in the 80s after the docks closed. The area was converted to London’s financial centre and the location for thousands of new homes and many restaurants and entertainment centres including the O2, the world’s busiest music and entertainment venue.

Fed up with the hordes of tourists and coachloads of school children at London’s museums? Then head to the Museum of London at the Docklands. You might meet Alejandra and me on a trip back from Spain. Not many others though and never mind the exhibits, the café is excellent.

The Barbican

The Barbican is a traffic-free 40-acre estate built on a former WWII bomb site in central London. We loved the Arts Centre with its cinemas, theatres and exhibitions. And the bars and restaurants. Very important.

Travel Memories of London

I love to live and travel in cities, they have everything. London is an extreme mix of the noise and bustle of a massive metropolis combined with forests, villages and tranquility. And it holds my favourite memories of a London off the tourist trail.

#travelmemories

All photos ©Alex Markham 2021. Photos were taken on my Nikon D3200 DSLR and iPhone 6plus.

If you enjoyed this article about my travel memories in my old home city, you can read about my new home city here — Valencia Spain.

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