The layers of London

It feels bittersweet to be back in London. In some ways it’s like a different Britain these days, post-Brexit, post-Elizabeth and post-Covid. But some things still stay the same, as I discovered that my bench in Jubilee Gardens is still there.

I still like the fast pace on the streets. Keeping right in the escalators. In order to survive rush hour on the tube, efficiency is essential. In his 2004 book “In search of the pleasure palace”, Marc Almond described London as “a place clouded in blue smoke and bright lights”, which may certainly still ring true on several locations.

Sometimes the underworld is more colorful than the surface.

Unfortunately it feels like many visitors are satisfied with looking up at an old clock tower, queuing to see dusty vax dolls or squeezing through a million people in the sleazy streets of Soho. Whatever floats their boat, but that is only scratching the surface (literally) of this giant metropolis.

In fact, a lot of London is mirrored under the surface. The tube stretches all across the city, with a vast network of tunnels, stairs and access shafts. London used to have several small rivers and creeks, but today they are all stashed away under the streets.

“Underneath the bridge, tarp has sprung a leak”, as Cobain put it.

There are also forgotten tunnels and abandoned stations. Ever been to the British Museum station? It exists in reality, not just in the Neil Gaiman novel “Neverwhere”.

Some people are eager to get under the ground.

While I enjoy the fast translocation offered by the dirty tube trains, I certainly don’t like the deafening screech as the metal cages grind their way through the tunnels. In his seminal book “London: The Biography”, Peter Ackroyd writes about “the sound from the monster”, as if London is one large organism. In the darkness below, there could be a cousin of Cthulhu snoring loudly.

It takes a bit of wiring to power the beast.

If you look closely, there are silent places to be found even in London. As I’m walking alone on the peaceful Lower Mall in Hammersmith, I’m carefully making sure to stay away from the mayhem in Chinatown and not setting my feet anywhere near Leicester Square.

Egyptian Avenue in Highgate Cemetery.

While London is making a lot of noise 24-7, there are some areas that may seem tranquil on the surface, but still are highly dependent of forces below the ground. Highgate Cemetery is a splendid treasure of Victorian beauty, but the steady stream of visitors are likely attracted also because of its famous graves, such as Karl Marx, Michael Faraday, Douglas Adams and George Michael. A veritable garden of death where about 170 000 people are buried.

There are so many layers of London and I enjoy exploring them one by one.