Five things I noticed about London

I’ve visited London a few times tagging along with Steve on business travel. We have stayed in different areas each time to experience the city’s diverse neighbourhoods. On this latest trip, we rented an Airbnb in Soho, and I spent a good deal of time on foot exploring. Here are five things I noticed about London this time around.

Soho isn’t an acronym in London

As I explored my temporary neighbourhood I wondered about its name. Turns out, unlike New York’s SoHo, which stands for South of Houston Street, London’s Soho is not an acronym. According to a few online sources, this area in central London was once open fields often used as hunting grounds. The call “soho” is thought to be similar to “tally-ho” and was used to either call off or encourage the accompanying dogs. There is some debate about whether this is actually how the area got its name. Never the less, it’s a super fun area. Soho is sometimes compared to New York’s Times Square, but I found it less over-the-top touristy. It’s definitely a party zone, with a pub situated in every second doorway it seems.

It’s hard to get the rhythm of walking to avoid bumping into people

We had a back-and-forth about this observation over on the TagAlongTravel Facebook page. Soho is a busy place and there are loads of opportunities to bump into people coming at you from the opposite direction, which I did multiple times. I couldn’t figure out why it kept happening. I zigged and zagged to move out of the way, but invariably, the other party would move the same way resulting in that awkward unintended street dance.  Then it dawned on me: Could it be that because Brits drive on the other side of the road they are oriented to veer left to avoid a pedestrian collision whereas those who drive on the right do the opposite? I thought this must be it, but others argue Londoners are just disorganized walkers. I did find support for my theory from research undertaken on Australian and Swiss walkers. Either way, one needs to keep her wits about her when walking the busy streets to avoid collisions.

Brits say sorry about as much as Canadians do!

Somewhat related to the above, I heard a lot of apologizing in London. Of course, Canadians are known apologizers as well. When I invariably bumped into someone on London streets there was an audible chorus of “sorrys.” Same went for reaching for a door handle at the same time and even when in a momentary lapse, Steve and I blocked the escalator stairs by standing two abreast. A gentleman apologized before explaining to us that we must move to the right to allow those in a rush to pass.

Although there is some debate about whether some cultures do, indeed, apologize more than others, the practice does appear to have a function. It fosters trust. In a Harvard Business School study, a man approached 65 individuals at a train station on a rainy day to ask if he could use their mobile phone. When the man prefaced his request with, “Sorry about the rain,” he was successful 47% of the time as compared with making the request without the apology. The study’s authors contend it is the empathy “I’m sorry” conveys that increases trust. That’s a useful bit of knowledge as a tourist if you ever need help on the road!

If there are loads of people drinking outside of a pub, it doesn’t mean it’s full inside

In Canada, when you see people spilling out of a restaurant or bar it means the place is at capacity. Not so in London. Invariably, it seems there are just as many, if not more, people enjoying their pint of beer outside than inside. Even with taking into account restrictions on smoking indoors, a lot of people seem to prefer to be outside. The weather in London during our stay hovered around a cool 11-14 degrees Celcius. Still, everyone wanted to imbibe on the street.

Cool, hidden spots are right under your nose

We went on an excellent Airbnb Experience called A Secret Tour: Explore Hidden London. The guide of this six-hour tour was an urban planning graduate who had a passion for finding spots in London that not many people know about. I highly recommend it!

We learned about the mews on the backside of opulent streets that housed (and still house) London’s elite. These were once quarters for the horses and their caretakers. Today, these reclaimed heritage buildings are highly desirable residences with sky-high prices.

The residences on these historic mews must adhere to regulations. They must maintain the look of the original facades.

We visited the once struggling and crime-ridden Brixton neighbourhood, which is turning itself around with a mix of traditional markets and stylish restaurants. It was lovely and we never would have thought of visiting.

The Vaults graffiti alley is almost hidden in plain sight under the Waterloo Underground station. A Banksy initiative, anyone can create graffiti art in this former train tunnel, and consequently, the images are always changing. What a terrific hidden spot!

The end of the tour found us on the banks of the Thames tucked away behind the spot the Mayflower stopped for provisions before setting sail to the New World.

The tour got me to look at London differently as I walked about. Small entrances to back streets I once overlooked now caught my eye and intrigued me. What’s down there? What’s around that corner?

Getting off the beaten track often comes with rewards.

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