Buy books at Watermark

It will not be a surprise to hear that your author has a strong interest in London bookshops, but whilst our city has many great retailers of literature, unfortunately those found at stations are often quite lacklustre affairs. That is why occasional treats like the new Watermark Books at Kings Cross are so welcome.


Opened in the new concourse as part of the Kings Cross refurbishment, whilst the shop is the first Watermark in Europe, the company is known for it's travel-focused shops at airports in Australia and North America and they hope the shop at Kings Cross will be the first of a number in the UK. Their selection of books and the passion of the staff certainly didn't disappoint and your author will be making further trips in future.

For more, click here or follow the shop on twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/Watermark_Books

Find the Robert Stephenson statue

In Victorian times father and son engineering teams seemed fashionable, and though many have heard about great train man George Stephenson, creator of the world's first public steam railway, it is his celebrated son Robert Stephenson who is commemorated by a statue outside Euston Station.


Stephenson junior was a renowned civil engineer and locomotive designer, working on the designs of the Rocket and bridges including the Conwy railway bridge and Britannia Bridge across the Menai Straits in North Wales and the Royal Border Bridge across the Tweed in Berwick-upon-Tweed.

It is presumably as Chief Engineer for the London and Birmingham Railway - the first main line to enter London - that Stephenson is commemorated at Euston, however, being one of many posts he held, including MP for Whitby.

For more, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Stephenson

_{^Picture © ell brown used under Creative Commons^}

See the Great Eastern Railway War Memorial

A huge marble war memorial stands in Liverpool Street Station, commemorating those members of the Great Eastern Railway who lost their lives in the First World War.


We are told that the memorial was rebuilt following relocation from the former Booking Hall, hence perhaps its corner position which makes it rather too easily overlooked.

The memorial also incorporates two smaller memorials, one to MP Field Marshall Sir Henry Wilson, who unveiled the memorial, and was then assassinated by two members of the Irish Republican Army on his return home from the ceremony. Another commemorates Captain Fryatt, a Great Eastern Railway marine officer who was executed by the Germans in 1916.

For more, see http://www.networkrail.co.uk/documents/3052_LiverpoolStreetArchitecturalMiniGuide.pdf

See the lego tree at St Pancras

It's hard to talk about the season without getting as unnecessarily festive as the Christmas songs CD on constant loop in gaudy shopping arcades, but there is something your author quite likes about the 33ft tall Christmas tree made entirely from lego currently standing at St Pancras station.


Of course it's a shameless seasonal publicity stunt, but for those of us who enjoyed playing with lego on Christmas morning, there is something that nicely hits the spot about it, especially if we never actually got to legoland.

For more, see http://londonist.com/2011/11/in-pictures-the-st-pancras-lego-christmas-tree.php

_{^Picture © Bex.Walton used under Creative Commons^}

Drink at the Euston Tap

The Euston Tap is an interesting little bar, housed in the Grade II listed West Lodge of Euston Station. The Lodge is a very grand structure, bearing the names of destinations served by the London & North Western Railways, including some which haven't seen a train in many years.


Now run by the same people who run Bloomsbury Bowling, the Euston Tap has a central square bar downstairs, offering an impressive range of beers, and a small seating area upstairs, which is accessed by a long spiral staircase.

It also offers coffee for commuters in the mornings, and even does food. Whilst it was fairly empty on a Bank Holiday Monday, it does seem like it probably gets very busy. For more information, see http://www.eustontap.com/

Park your bike at the London Bridge Cycle Park

Your author's bike is basically of no monetary value whatsoever, and that's why he likes it. However, for those with more expensive tastes, the lack of secure cycle storage in London can be a big problem. Yesterday, by chance, he discovered a brilliant solution, and a great example of what can be achieved, for beneath London Bridge Station is a secure cycle park with space for up to 400 bicycles.


Open daily, with secure card entry and changing facilities, the centre, on Weston Street, does make a charge for the peace of mind of having your bike protected. It costs £1.50 per day, £5 per week or £200 per year, with monthly and quarterly plans also available, but if like one of your authors friends you have had a number of bikes - some which cost a ridiculous amount of money - stolen in a relatively short space of time, it can be worth the investment.

The cycle park is presumably aimed at users of the station - in either direction - who want to be able to cycle for part of their journey, and as long as it is financially viable your author is a big fan of the idea.

For more information, see the bottom of this page on the TFL website, or click here.

Relax in Paddington's Royal Waiting Rooms

Now operating as a lounge for first class passengers, the Royal Waiting Rooms, beside platform one at Paddington Station, were included in the original station in order to try to encourage the royal family to use the station. This was a key PR aim for the GWR developers and was thought especially likely as Paddington is positioned well for the commute between Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.


The rooms are still known as the Royal Waiting Rooms, but this purpose became largely redundant after the death of Queen Victoria. However, we are told that they were used by the Royal Family until World War Two when they were comandeered for war service.

In 1985 they were restored for the 150th anniversary of the Great Western Railway, and they reopened to passengers in 1995. Nowadays, they are divided between the older waiting rooms, which retain the original quieter listed-building-with-leather-sofa style, and the newer waiting rooms with rolling Sky News and ample complimentary snacks, juices, teas and coffees.

You do have to have a first class ticket to gain entry, but if you can get a cheap advance one it is well worth paying a few extra pounds to have a poke round, and take advantage of the hospitality.

For more information, see a fascinating leaflet on Paddington's architecture at http://www.networkrail.co.uk/documents/3053_PaddingtonArchitecturalMiniGuide.pdf