Since April 2011 I’ve had a maximum of 20 minutes on the tube to work, all of it overground. Door to door I’ve never been more than 30 minutes away. Now I’m getting used to longer journeys as well as being squeezed in like a sardine down in the tunnels.
Working at the BBC in White City I used to cycle a lot. That meant my journey was 25 mins door to door. Sometimes I took the tube which resulted in a 20 minutes walk through the parks here in Ealing and then a 10 minutes tube journey. It was easy, peaceful and I’m pretty sure made me feel more relaxed.
When I worked over in West Kensington it was similar. Sometimes I cycled which took 30 minutes or if I took the tube it took just under 20 minutes. Going to or from White City I hardly ever had a packed tube. Going to West Kensington was a little bit busier but at least the trip was short.
Right now I’m splitting my time between Battersea and Central London and though the former journey isn’t that long on the tube (20-25 minutes) it includes a 20 minute walk or bus journey as well which brings the total commute time up to around 50 minutes door to door. Going into central London is more straightforward but includes the packed tube for 30 – 35 minutes and the packed station, particularly when I’m going home.
I know I’m very fortunate for having had such an easy commute for so long and that I’m still not that bad off considering. But having a proper commute again and being back in Picadilly Circus with the packed escalators and hords of tourists who, no offence, often are quite oblivious and thinks that stopping right in front of the entrance to the platform is a great idea, it takes a bit of getting used to. I love being back in Central London around Oxford street. It’s where I worked for nearly 4 years and I’ve missed it. But the longer and more packed commute and the stress and frustrations that sometimes brings. I haven’t missed that (and if I ever said that I did – I take it back).
Tomorrow – Day 259 | Flat packs and visual instructions
Image source: www.flickr.com/photos/yabing/68794910
