London By Foot. Walk on the wilder side of London to discover hidden treasures revealing its past and present. Unplugged: Travel / London

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1 Unplugged: Travel / London Words Amy McPherson Photography William McPherson goingplacesmagazine.com / 44 / March 2017 London By Foot Walk on the wilder side of London to discover hidden treasures revealing its past and present.

2 goingplacesmagazine.com / 45 / March 2017

3 Unplugged: Travel / London 1 Fast facts Great Britain LONDON PHOTO JOSE FARHINA goingplacesmagazine.com / 46 / March 2017 London is formed by two ancient cities - City of London and City of Westminster. The Shard London Bridge is the tallest building in London at 310 meters tall. The London Underground (the Tube) is the oldest underground railway network in the world. Despite its name, 55 percent of London Underground is not underground. 2 London has the largest concentration of higher education in Europe. More than 300 languages are spoken within London. PHOTO BRIT MOVIE TOURS 1. Rachel Erickson leading participants in one of her loo tours 2. The 9¾ platform from the Harry Potter movies 3. The Leadenhall Market was the location for Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter franchise 4. The Mi6 headquarters at Vauxhall Cross has been featured in some of the James Bond films MEET ME OUTSIDE the toilets at Waterloo station, she said. I will be the only lady holding a plumber s plunger in her hand. And that s how I met Rachel Erickson, or the Loo Lady, who is a self-professed public-loo enthusiast, and who has been leading tour groups around London on her very curiously named Loo Tours. Most of the time, there isn t much to say about public toilets. However, in London, a giant metropolis famous for many of its public services such as the red double-decker buses, red phone boxes, black cabs, and police wearing their signature black domed hats, the history of how we have been relieving ourselves is so intertwined with British culture that you simply can t pass on a walking tour that uncovers these dirty little secrets. Rachel is a walking vault of knowledge on everything toilet in London. As we walked, she pointed out many unexpected locations where historical loos have been stationed. Many were underground, and have been turned into cafés and bars. Coffee in a urinal? Yes, please! The loo tour taught me to crawl under London s skin to find its many curious places, and whetted my appetite for more. On the surface, London is a modern financial hub that s blessed with iconic sights. A walk through less-visited areas and streets so narrow that they must be negotiated by foot reveals the city s dark past and quirky characters. Besides a bit of toilet humour, London is also one of the world s most filmed cities, and there s plenty to discover about scenes from my favourite movies with a moviethemed walking tour. Following our Brit Movie Tours guide, we visited Platform 9¾ at Kings Cross station and crossed the Millennium Bridge that was destroyed by Death Eaters in

4 3 The Half-Blood Prince, but as we start to dive into the crowd, we begin to uncover some less-known film locations. At the foot of famous skyscrapers, the bustling Leadenhall Market was used as the location for Diagon Alley, the cobblestoned shopping area for Harry Potter s wizarding world. Many sandwich stores and restaurants were wand shops and magical pubs, and a hidden blue door on the obscure corner, now the site of an optometrist, was the entrance into the Leaky Cauldron in Goblet of Fire. And to my astonishment, Australia House, which I recently visited to renew my passport, was the setting for Gringotts bank! From Waterloo Station to magical alleyways to the other side of London, another tour guide introduced me to the colourful neighbourhood Londoners refer to as the East End. 4 PHOTO BRIT MOVIE TOURS goingplacesmagazine.com / 47 / March 2017 Street names in historical London reflected the situation of those who resided there, such as Cheapside, Milk Street and Bread Street. It s hard to imagine London s Square Mile and its surroundings used to be some of the poorer areas of the city. East End was known as the dodgy side of town, explained our guide, Edward Evans, who has been leading East End tours with Undiscovered London for two years. However, it now has a large artist community which (is) attributed to London s biggest street art scene. It all started with Angelina Jolie, and now, celebrities and A-listers are paying up for a piece of beautiful graffiti. As we weaved in and out of streets and driveways, we found ourselves surrounded by artwork expressing social

5 Unplugged: Travel / London 5 5 goingplacesmagazine.com / 48 / March 2017 PHOTO EATING LONDON TOURS 6 7 commentary, beautiful portraits of stunning individuals, and artistic interpretations of modern icons. The colours and styles from different artists are so extraordinary that the works these street artists paint on your door or wall could increase the value of your property! Wandering the streets can make you extremely hungry, so to top off a walking day, I tagged along a Soho food tour with Eating London Tours. When I first visited London 15 years ago, it was hard to find decent food. I had a choice of fish and chips, or basic pub grub, which would consist of stew, pie and meat with three vegetable items on the menu. Over time, when more people start to settle in London, the different cultures have reshaped what we consider British cuisine, said our guide, explaining animatedly why London is no longer lagging behind other world cities in terms of good food. I am happy to say that today, it is actually exciting to be eating out in London! Soho, being the creative heart of London, became the place for chefs to experiment and create new menus infused with modern ideas. 5. A pit stop at the Gin Club 6. Tiles depicting Sherlock Holmes and the Tube logo at the Baker Street underground train station 7. Try the best Spanish jamón ibérico at Enrique Tomas on the food tour 8. Street art at Shoreditch 9. A courtyard in the colourful Covent Garden 10. The exterior of The Diogenes Club of the BBC Sherlock series 11. Museum dedicated to Sherlock Holmes Weaving through Soho s streets traditionally known for music and theatre, we tried Mexican tacos made with a modern twist at La Bodega Negra, traditionally cured Spanish ham from Enrique Tomas, and delicate dumplings at the discreetly located Oriental bar Opium.

6 8 A walk through less-visited areas and streets so narrow that they must be negotiated by foot reveals the city s dark past and quirky characters. 9 goingplacesmagazine.com / 49 / March 2017 Eating through Soho meant I got to learn of many juicy tales of seedy characters and socialites that frequented this part of town. Venetian womaniser Casanova was well-known in the Soho circle. His association with Teresa Cornelys, opera singer, businesswoman and socialite in the 18th century was the talk of the day. What went on behind the curtains of Carlisle House in Soho Square is anyone s guess! Their love affair is immortalised at the Spirit of Soho mural, a humorous take on Soho history, where Cornelys is seen to be winking at Casanova. Other notable individuals celebrated by the mural are J.S. Bach and Mozart, both of whom spent time in Soho, as well as Karl Marx, seen drinking a can of Coca-Cola PHOTO BRIT MOVIE TOURS My legs wobbled from all the foot work done in a day, but all in all, I saw parts of London that I wouldn t have if I sat on the top deck of a bus. London has been full of surprises for me, and only through walking could I have ever uncovered them. Malaysia Airlines operates twice daily flights from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to Heathrow (LHR), London