Well, nearly. I have seen, and been let to believe, that the streets of London will be deserted on 25th of Dec. But they were not. Well, I suppose they were pretty empty compared to a normal Sunday morning.
But the sun was out and we had a nice 28+ miles pootle around town. We didn’t have to worry about anything other than tourists walking around photographing the empty streets. Plenty of pubs, restaurants and cafes were open in the centre of town. And of course every corner shop worth its weight in gold, e.g. cashing in on the “feed the little one some candy while out on a walk” and the “oh feck I forgot x, y, z, quick down to the shop” shoppers.
Oxford Street was total naked of its normal red snake of buses stretching from end to end (well, as far as the crowd and buses will let you see). We had a little stop on Oxford Circus, where we and other cyclists and tourists were busy taking pictures of the car-free zone. All the cyclists we saw were clearly out enjoying the sun and the empty streets: a cycling utopia.
Even Old Compton Street in Soho was dead as a Dodo, but China Town and the Maccy D on Leicester Square was full to the brim, how very Chirstmassy, insert “a rolling your eyes smiley” here.
The further we got away from the tourist traps the emptier the roads became. 🙂
At the half way point we stopped chez a very good friend, who offered us warm tea and me a bit of rum, which warmed us up nicely. As the dark set in, we headed back through London. The streets were fairly empty and the journey took just over an hour where normally the ride back would take an hour and 20+min.
And we arrived home in time for Doctor Who, and chunk of the chocolate and peanut cake we had left over from yesterday. Nomnom.
LINK : click here to see more photos of our little ride.
Lovely empty London! Excellent piece.