I combined my visit to explore possible routes around Soho with a visit to Hoxton to see Olive’s images in a gallery there.
Hoxton Arches
A first for me was catching the #26 London bus from Bank station to Hoxton Station. The bus passed Liverpool Street staion and was the passing streets around Shoreditch. This shot is from the bus as it passed Plough Yard.
Further up we passed Rivington Street – more about this street later. From the Hoxton Station bus stop and I turned down Creswell Street until I came to the arches. I was early for the gallery in the first arch to open. Olive‘s images were part of the London Photo Show that was running from the 16th to the 19th October.
Her images were a colourful collection of street images – she is much braver than I am putting her work on display so publicly.
I explored around the surrounding streets and found this art on Nazrul Street.
Back on Hackney Road I walked back down looking for the bus stop for the #26 going back towards Liverpool Street. This is a very regular service and a bus came in less than 10 minutes.
Rivington Street
I left the bus at the next stop! A few minutes walk and I was at Rivington Street. I remembered that this the street that had the Cargo Nightclub on where I had first seen a Banksy back in 2016.
The club was undergoing an extensive refit and the entrance was blocked by a white van. Squeezing past I took this distorted of the first Banksy.
Next was this …
The second Banksy is at the end of the wall. The guys having lunch and a cigarette were sitting at the tables by the mural.
As I left there were seven or eight Italian ladies looking at blogs/maps on their phones and clearly unhappy that the Banksy was blocked by the van. I showed them the second one and cheered everyone up!
I was now between stops and I walked further along until I came to the #26 stop. This bus was definitely tourist central. At the stops along Bishopsgate and then around St Paul’s the bus was soon full. I left on the Strand by Southampton Street and headed up into Covent Garden.
Covent Garden
My starting point was the Fujifilm store on Long Acre.
Chinatown
Soho
I headed for the Berwick Street market.
Lunch was a quarter pizza at teh Breadstall.
Seven Dials
Back towards Covent Garden I sat and watched passers by at Seven Dials.
That is not a shopping trolley but a sound system that when switched played very loud soul music.
Leake Street arches
On the Strand while I was waiting for the lights so I could cross I noticed a #139 bus heading for Waterloo. I made it to the bus stop and I wa another bus using my bus pass. I was dropped on Waterloo Road just past Sandell Street.. Rather than catch the next train I walked to York Street and headed for Leake Street.
Friday afternoon at 2:30 pm meant that the arches were very busy. Not only with pedestrians but guided bicycle tours too!
Don’t forget that I have a dedicated Street Art feed on Instagram here.
Sadly the puddle at the entrance to the arches was dry. My next train was a fast one (for me) to Portsmouth. Now I have to document the route for the upcoming workshop next week.