Lowri Griffiths on blisters, buses she didn’t take, and a city that looks different on foot
I decided, somewhat impulsively, to walk everywhere for a week instead of relying on my usual bus and tube combination. Partly this was about fitness. Mostly it was because I’d left my Oyster card in a coat I’d since donated to charity, and pride prevented me from admitting this to anyone until day four.
Day One Through Three: Optimism
The first few days felt genuinely lovely. I noticed things I’d never seen from a bus window, a tiny bakery, a mural I’d walked past a hundred times without registering, an entire pocket park that apparently has existed for years directly behind my usual route. Walking slows the city down in a way that feels almost illicit, like you’re seeing a version of London that everyone else is too busy rushing through to actually notice.
By day three my optimism had a blister on it, quite literally, and I’d started doing the maths on how much time I was actually losing compared to just getting the bus like a normal person.
Day Four Through Seven: Reality
The novelty wore off precisely at the point where it started raining and I had a meeting across town with no realistic walking timeline that didn’t involve arriving looking like I’d been swimming. I caved, borrowed a friend’s spare Oyster card, and felt an enormous, slightly embarrassing wave of relief the second the bus doors opened.
Coverage from Time Out London has written about the city’s walkability compared to other major capitals, and honestly, London does reward walking far more than most cities, provided you’ve got proper shoes and zero actual deadlines.
What I’d Actually Recommend
Walk when you can. Don’t walk out of stubbornness when you genuinely need to be somewhere in twenty minutes and it’s raining sideways. The city is beautiful at a walking pace and mildly hostile at a sprinting-for-the-bus pace, and knowing the difference is, I think, a genuinely useful piece of London wisdom nobody tells you until you’ve learned it the blistered way yourself.
More from Lowri Griffiths at her author page on The London Prat.
Related coverage can be found at Time Out London.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/
