Good Omens Central London location list & tour itinerary
Some time in March, a friend and I decided to do a tour of the various Central London locations mentioned in the book. I stress Central London, because while mentions are made of Crowley speeding past London-ish places such as the Heathrow as well as of some highways (most notably the M25, sign of "odegra" in the language of the Black Priesthood of Ancient Mu), these are located on the edges of London and thus not exactly convenient. Incidentally, Tadfield is located in Oxfordshire.
Unfortunately, we had done this tour about a week before quantum_witch posted her very useful entry, so our attempts at Aziraphale-shop-hunting and Crowley-Mayfair-apartment-representation can most certainly be improved on.
The various Central London locations are as follows:
Have put in bold those I think one should definitely go for, and did an underline for those optional ones one might wish to consider too. Those discounted have, quite obviously, nothing. Just off Tottenham's a very "warren of streets" (to quote Sherlock Holmes), Portland Place is nowhere near anywhere but the cultural attache's Regent Park residence (but take a look at the Regent Park area if you can - the houses are very stately!), and for that and Crowley's Mayfair apartment, it'd be ridiculous combing street after street with no outside indication or hint as to which it might be (as opposed to Aizraphale's which has been narrowed down to one long street and about 5 to 7 extremely short side-streets).
Our itinerary looked as such:
1) Go to St James in the morning to feed the ducks
2) Trot over to the Ritz (Green Park area) to admire
3) Berkeley Square to hunt for nightingales (we found none, but got a Bentley showroom)
4) Make a pit stop at the famed Japan Centre (Picadilly Circus) for sushi*
5) Wander around Wardour Street of Soho (between Tottenham Court Rd and Leicester Square) for the bookshop
6) Wrap it up with tea at the British Museum.
* mention being made of how sushi restaurants are one of the things Aziraphale won't have in Heaven in that Very Drunken Conversation and the lovely quote of "and ten billion sushi dinners cry out for vengence"
We started from St James Park underground station at about 10, and walked a very sinuous diagonal path up North to reach the Museum at about 1.30. Do note that much time was given for picnicking at the park.
Should one wish to do Oxford Street and (walk against the traffic at) the Marble Arch roundabout, I suggest doing it in between hunting for Aziraphale's shop and the Museum, as Wardour Street opens onto Oxford Street. Portland Place for the gentleman's club and Regent's Park can be done after the Museum, as these are located even further north.
Click here for a photographic report of our tour.
In the meanwhile, I leave you with this -
The bread-eating ducks of St James Park.
Unfortunately, we had done this tour about a week before quantum_witch posted her very useful entry, so our attempts at Aziraphale-shop-hunting and Crowley-Mayfair-apartment-representation can most certainly be improved on.
The various Central London locations are as follows:
- St James Park
- the Ritz
- Aizraphale's second-hand book shop located in the Soho, probably in one of the roads just of Wardour Street (Crowley "reversed from A's shop back into the road, and swung round a fire truck into Wardour Street" on p. 256 of the UK paperback version); it is on a "narrow road" and has double yellow no-parking lines outside it (unless Crowley's Bentley just happens to be there, to which the lines are most obliging)
- Crowley's apartment is located in Mayfair (as stated in the telephone operator scene)
- The USA cultural attache's (ie. Warlock's dad's) London residence is located at Regent's Park
- And his old-school butler's old school is just off Tottenham Court Road (p. 67)
- Mention is made of them having tea? at the British Museum cafeteria in one of their "Warlock is too normal" discussions. Aziraphale is mentioned here as eating devilled eggs and drinking coffee and a Beaujoblais which turned into a surprised Chateau Lafitte 1875 on pp. 69-71.
- Crowley is mentioned to be speeding down Oxford Street twice, 90mph and 120mph respetively
- And on the latter occasion, swings round the Marble Arch roundabout the wong way
- Aziraphale learnt the gavotte in a discreet gentleman's club (a strip club?! oh my.) at Portland Place in the 1880s
- And in the closing scene, a nightingale is mentioned singing at Berkeley Square (which is actually a pun on a song/film) - also reccomended for the Bentley showroom, and the Mayfair Street (vague links with Crowley's apartment here) one will have to pass
Have put in bold those I think one should definitely go for, and did an underline for those optional ones one might wish to consider too. Those discounted have, quite obviously, nothing. Just off Tottenham's a very "warren of streets" (to quote Sherlock Holmes), Portland Place is nowhere near anywhere but the cultural attache's Regent Park residence (but take a look at the Regent Park area if you can - the houses are very stately!), and for that and Crowley's Mayfair apartment, it'd be ridiculous combing street after street with no outside indication or hint as to which it might be (as opposed to Aizraphale's which has been narrowed down to one long street and about 5 to 7 extremely short side-streets).
Our itinerary looked as such:
1) Go to St James in the morning to feed the ducks
2) Trot over to the Ritz (Green Park area) to admire
3) Berkeley Square to hunt for nightingales (we found none, but got a Bentley showroom)
4) Make a pit stop at the famed Japan Centre (Picadilly Circus) for sushi*
5) Wander around Wardour Street of Soho (between Tottenham Court Rd and Leicester Square) for the bookshop
6) Wrap it up with tea at the British Museum.
* mention being made of how sushi restaurants are one of the things Aziraphale won't have in Heaven in that Very Drunken Conversation and the lovely quote of "and ten billion sushi dinners cry out for vengence"
We started from St James Park underground station at about 10, and walked a very sinuous diagonal path up North to reach the Museum at about 1.30. Do note that much time was given for picnicking at the park.
Should one wish to do Oxford Street and (walk against the traffic at) the Marble Arch roundabout, I suggest doing it in between hunting for Aziraphale's shop and the Museum, as Wardour Street opens onto Oxford Street. Portland Place for the gentleman's club and Regent's Park can be done after the Museum, as these are located even further north.
Click here for a photographic report of our tour.
In the meanwhile, I leave you with this -
The bread-eating ducks of St James Park.