Hurried Visitors

LONDON AT A GLANCE
It will greatly assist the stranger to keep his bearings in the crowded streets of Central London if he forms at the outset a mental picture of the direction and intersections of the principal thoroughfares. Bear in mind that the river runs from west to east, with a siphon-like northward bend from Vauxhall Bridge to Waterloo; and that the two chief thoroughfares, Oxford Street with its continuations, and the Strand with its continuations, follow approximately the same course from west to east, eventually meeting at the Bank of England. Connection north and south between these two great thoroughfares is provided by Park Lane, Bond Street and Regent Street in the west; by Charring Cross Road and Kingsway and Aldwych, between Holborn and the Strand; and by Chancery Lane at the City boundary. Westminster and Victoria lie to the south of Charring Cross, off these main routes, and connected with the City by the Victoria Embankment and Queen Victoria Street, which converges to meet the two other through routes near the Bank. In making any necessary modifications or adaptations of the following itineraries, one of the principal objects should be to avoid going over the same ground twice.

 LONDON IN ONE DAY
Assuming that the reader is a "bird of passage," merely breaking his journey from or to the Continent or the provinces, how shall he employ the time at his disposal to the best advantage? We will assume that he has breakfasted and enjoyed a matutinal " wash and brush-up," either on the train or at the terminus, and has made his way to Charring Cross which for sight-seeing purposes may be regarded as the "hub" of London.

The following are a few alternative modes of spending what must perforce be a very hurried day, the proportion of time given to each place depending, of course, upon whether the pilgrim’s "bent" is in the direction of art, architecture, historical association, or " shops" and the life of the streets.

LONDON IN TWO DAYS
The two-day visitor has a bewildering choice of possibilities. He might take the two one-day programmers already sketched, the fact that they overlap to some extent allowing him more ample time for each. Or should he desire to extend the range of sight-seeing, he might proceed somewhat as follows:

LONDON IN A WEEK

All the foregoing programmes have the advantage of elasticity and the corresponding disadvantage of vagueness. With a whole week at disposal it might be possible to draw up a more rigid programme, 
including practically everything of general interest. For such a programme the seven West End routes and the City and South London chapters into which this book is divided could be followed fairly closely. Any superfluous shoe-leather might well be devoted, if the weather be fine, to making closer acquaintance with London’s parks and open spaces, of which, in our opinion, neither Londoners nor their visitors see half enough. One or two afternoons will probably be devoted to entertainments, but the sightseer will, of course, economize time by reserving these for the evenings or for days when the weather is unfavourable for distant journeys.