Where did I visit during these two weeks by bus and tram only in London?
In the previous article, I talked about my experience of going all-in bus and tram only in London, with less than £25 per week visiting various places. Here are my list of places I went to in the recent two weeks.
A visit to Caterham — a day trip outside London by London bus only
Bus services in London not only cover the city but also cross the border to other towns surrounding it. Caterham is one of the examples you can escape Greater London with only £1.75!
An experiment of going all-in bus and tram in London
As a person who live in zone 4, I challenged myself to go all-in bus and tram. How was the experience and can I live without railway (aka Underground, Overground and National Rail) in London? I will discuss it in terms of fare, challenges and benefits.
A visit to Croydon Airport
Croydon has had a very reputation for many people: a dangerous place in London when they heard the news. But in fact Croydon is more than that, especially when there was once an airport: Croydon Airport.
Some sketches in Croydon
Within a few years, I have accumulated more and more sketches in this borough. In this article I am going to tell some stories starting from some of my sketches.
Trees as natural air conditioners
Nothing is better than planting more trees as dense as possible to not only block almost all the sunlight to reduce heat and the risk of skin cancer, but also provide a cool pathway which encourages walking and even running.
A visit to Wanstead Park
The maximum temperature reached 26-27c in London as of writing so I had an idea to go to somewhere cool down. Visiting parks is always a great idea because of groups of trees, or woods/forests — the natural air conditioner which won't damage the environment by greenhouse effect. Thus I gave Wanstead Park — where I only passed by through running not seriously visiting — a chance.
Travelling in London by tram — Beckenham Place Park and New Addington
Do you know London has trams nowadays? It's not the double decker running in the city centre, but another network which was completed in 2000, serving Bromley and Addington through Croydon to Morden and Wimbledon.
My Serpentine Pavilion sketches from 2021
Since coming to the UK for my new life, I have been following Serpentine Pavilion every year. If you don’t know what it is, it is a meanwhile public space designed by the architects invited by Serpentine Gallery. Available usually between June and October.
Crystal Palace Park revisited
I have visited Crystal Palace Park many times. This time, I needed to show my new friend around. Although I am already familiar with the park and its history, there were still new discoveries during the revisit.
Bethlem Museum of Mind, Psycho Killer, and speaking of seeking professional help
Bethlem Museum of Mind is located in Bethlem Royal Hospital, which is believed to be the world's first psychiatric hospital. The hospital is still running, while the museum shows the change in the treatment of patients over 800 years, including the therapy through art creation since the 19th century.
Apps for exploring London
There are some apps when you travel and even stay in London. Here is my list.
Urban Sketchers London — St Pancras (and other sketches done before)
In May this year, Urban Sketchers London event was held in St Pancras where I have been to many times and have had a lot of sketches so far, but there are still lots to sketch due to wide ranges of places which are worth visiting, from King’s Cross and St Pancras International, to Coal Drops Yard and Regent’s Canal.
The Secret app — the most meaningful and authentic travel guide created by doers and creators
I am pleased to become one of the doers/creators of The Secret App, which is composed of amazing people curating nice places in cities where they are based in.
Drawing the sky view of London in Horizon 22 again
There are a lot of viewing platforms in London, and some of them are free. Of them my favourite is Horizon 22 which is now the highest in the city. I made the second visit and sketched the same view again.
My sketches of Crystal Palace Subway
I have two related sketches now. One is the imaginative cross-section showing the whole picture of the subway. Another one was done during my second visit as the session was purposed for photography and sketching.
Visiting and sketching in Wellcome Collection
Among museums in London, Wellcome Collection provides unique insights for visitors. It’s science. It’s public health. It’s understanding about us. It’s society. It’s history. It’s human centred. It’s also art. Uniqueness comes from these integration.
Southbank Portrait Session — a great event to enjoy portrait sketches in London
In London, there are many sketching events, from urban sketching to still life to portrait sketching. Usually a portrait sketching event lasts for a certain period of time (like 2 hours) even with a fee (especially when a model is needed during life drawing), but there is one that you can feel free to sketch a lot of portraits as you like for free.
Urban Sketchers London, Jan 2025 — The National Archives
Urban Sketchers London is one of the sketching groups in London. Every month an event is being held in different parts of the city, so that people who take part in can sketch places on location. This month (Jan 2025) we were in The National Archives, which is close to Kew Garden station.