#05: Edgware Road – 09/05/2018

A natural follow up to Edgware, down the A5 (or Watling Street) to its source at Marble Arch leading into Edgware Road. With one of two stations with this name (the other serving the Bakerloo Line about 250 metres away) and serving as a terminal destination for the District Line and since December 2009, the Circle Line: so this will be the first of two visits to this station.

The station is overlooked by an intriguing design which catches my eye (see my picture of the day), and an interesting bronze statue called ‘The Window Cleaner’, sculpted by Allan Sly, looking up at an adjacent building

Edgware Road itself is a main arterial link road out of London and traffic is constant, but so is the people traffic going about their business. An eclectic mix of banks, high street shops, beauty shops, food shops, eateries and any other type of shop you can mention. The shops though clearly cater for the transient and local population, and here’s a good example of how the traditional corner shop is alive and kicking. You name it and you can get it here.

A stroll now across the road to Paddington Basin which is a matter of minutes away, and my how this has been transformed over recent years with the Paddington Branch of the Grand Union canal being totally regenerated. A growing complex of office space, luxury apartments, relaxing space, and safe and modern canal and pedestrian facilities allowing you to walk uninterrupted to Little Venice (that’s for another day). The Basin is awash with colourful barges (long boats) advertising boat trips, food and some business operating from them – very chic. Building work continues but it all seems well managed with decorative hoarding promoting the regeneration and describing some of the features.

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To the edge of the Basin, and no surprise I stumble across Paddington Bear donning his hat in salute to all passers by. He’s one of several supporting The Pawprint Trail, an activity based exploration of the area. Paddington Bear leads me to the westerly edge of my journey and as I turn to retrace my steps, I spot today’s celebrity whose chatting on the quay side: Tony Singh, a well known and colourful character. I also stop beside a canal side Candocoffee vendor and chat with Giovanni, the barista, who tells me the new development has canalside apartments being marketed at £1M plus! A snip at half the price…

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Across the road from Paddington and under the A40 Westway, Marylebone Road stretches easterly to Euston Road and a short stroll finds me exploring Marylebone Station and the surrounding streets. One notable building at the crossroads is the Paddington Green Police Station, a pretty unimpressive building to look at, but a cornerstone in the Police’s efforts to contain suspected terrorists.

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So many other buildings to see, and here’s a short selection of my stopping points: St Marylebone Grammar School, 242 Marylebone Road, The Landmark Hotel – wish I could have gone inside but didn’t think I was dressed appropriately and The Old Marylebone Town Hall. See Instagram (here#01, here#02 and here#03) for all the pics. Signs of London’s constant battle with road works were evident too: see if you can work out which colour represents which utility…

For more info, look up Edgware Road on Wikipedia

Picture of the Day

This is a view from inside the station looking in a southerly direction at the adjoining building: Griffith House which is one of Tfl’s training centres which was originally built as an electricity substation for the tube network.

The side of the building is covered in this elaborate and colourful “Wrapper” of vitreous enamel cladding created by Jacqueline Poncelet and the variegated station roof edging creates an interesting shadowed feature set against the brighter colours in the background. This is one of those images that as a commuter you may not normally see as you are busy rushing to/from the train…just look up!

Settings: Camera – Canon EOS 200D; Aperture – ƒ7.1; Shutter Speed – 1/250; Focal Length – 30mm; Film Speed – ISO100; Google Photo Filter – Alpaca

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