Sherlock Shooting Locations, part 1/2
Oookay, let’s see if we can do this. I posted this over at mycrofting before, in the sequence of the appearance in the series and without the descriptions of how to get there etc, but since this is more of a walking tour thing, I’m now taking Speedy’s as the starting point. So this is for
chiiyo and everyone else who is coming to London and wants to see some Sherlock shooting locations :)
So, first of all, here is a general orientation. Since I only had paint to work with, this all looks highly professional *snorts*
In any case, I cut up the map in four parts and put the descriptions on the screenshots of the satellite photos. You can always go and check google maps for reference.
Sorry about the gaps, but I wanted you to have a rough understanding of where each part is:
Let’s start in the north. You can get to Euston Station via the Victoria Line or the Northern line. If you stay for longer, get an Oyster Card, which you can either top up and pay as you go (it automatically locks at 8 pounds a day, which is also how much a day ticket costs, so if you top it up by 8 pounds it’ll only charge you, no matter how many times you use the tube or bus. I usually stay for a week or longer, so I top it up with a 28 pounds for a 7 day travel pass. You can use the ticket machines or ask for help and buy it from the friendly tube ticket person :)
So, out of Euston Station (where about 20 different bus lines also stop) you find yourself on Euston Road and turn right (Train/Tube station in your back), walk one block and turn right and there you are in Baker street…erm, I mean North Gower Street. You can’t miss Speedy’s on the left side of the street. The people who were there are incredibly sweet and the tea is amazing :) Just right. If it’s sunny, you can sit outside and keep glancing at the door, pretending that it’s all real!
Then you have two options: option a)
When you are done fangirling and want to see Russell Square you just walk back to Euston Road and you’ll have to walk back a block either to the right or left, cause you can’t cross the street there because it’s leading down into a sort of short tunnel, so you either walk back to Euston Station on your left or to the big crossing on your right, once you’ve crossed the road, walk back to Gower Street (so basically across the street with a detour) and make your way south. You are entering Bloomsbury, the area in which Virgina Woolf and her buddies hung out and you’ll find all kinds of blue plaques telling you what people lived and worked in the houses there.
Eventually Montague Street will cross Gower Street and you have the British Museum to your left, you take the left into Montague Street and Russell Square is right in front of you. I marked the location of the bench in the small red circle within the circle…I just realized that I took pictures of the wrong bench (my favorite bench, but not the John/Stamford one :p)
Anyhow, have a pic:
(There is a little blue police box (like Dr Who’s :p) at the corner outside of Russell Square called cappuccino-police where you can get cheap coffee, in case you wanna re-enact the scene ;)
Now you could take the tube from Russell Square (a little off from the square, but just ask people. There’s a 24 hour Tesco across from it, and a Waitrose a few minutes away, in case you need a sandwich. You could take the Piccadilly Line South for one Station and then hop on the Central Line towards Bank station (East) and get out at Bank Station and get a bus to Great Winchester Street (should be 2 or three stops) and it literally stops right in front of Tower 42/The Bank in The Blind Banker. The street is incredibly narrow, so watch out for it and don’t miss the bus stop :p)
We are now in this part of London: City of London/Cheapside (where Jack the Ripper was hanging out, murdering women).
Then, when you’ve taken pics and all, get on the bus back and enjoy the ride to St. Paul’s. (Don’t be afraid to use London busses, they are awesome. You can always ask the drivers, and the plans at the stops are very clear…and most busses come to Trafalgar Square at one point, so in case you get lost, you’ll always end up somewhere central :p). Or just take the Tube for one station from Bank to St. Paul’s. So if you are ending up at St. Paul’s Tube Station, you can either walk North and enjoy the Museum of London, which is awesome, but sadly Sherlock Holmes free :p or walk West on Newgate Street until Giltspur Street crosses Newgate and you turn right and there it is: St. Bart’s :)
If you ended up South of St. Pauls or in front of it by the Queen Victoria statue in front of it, just walk West on Ludgate Hill (which is actually a hill, so you’ll be walking down a bit and then take the right at Old Bayley Street, which will then become Giltspur Street.
Okay, Option b) would be to leave out Russell Square, Tower 42 and St. Bart’s (or do them later by taking the tube to Bank, St. Paul’s and Russell Square. (the Oyster card is your friend ;) ) So, you would take the Northern Line (or a bus) South from Euston Station and get out on Leicester Square. The Tube spits you out on either side of Charing Cross Road, but I’m sure you’ll find Leicester Square, which is being rebuild for the Olympics or something :p Anyhow, walk North until you come to China/Korea Town. Sadly there aren’t any real shooting locations except for the main street, which is also in the promo shot (Which I’ll add here when I find it)
We are now in this part of London: SoHo
Gerrard Street is the one with the Chinese gates and little shops and restaurants.
Then you walk West until you hit Shaftsbury Avenue, which is one of the streets with big theatres on it :) it ends on Piccadilly Circus and right on the Northern corner of Piccadilly you’ll find the bus stop in front of the Italian Café where John and Sherlock run into each other in The Blind Banker after they had been looking for data on Van Coon and the journalist guy.
Now you can either hop on a bus for two stations to get to Trafalgar Square (You’ll not find the place where the boy sprayed the graffiti against the door, it’s not there :( ) or walk South-East to Trafalgar Square. But you can walk across Trafalgar Square and up the steps towards the National Gallery .
Then you practice crossing London streets by red light and walk South-east from Trafalgar Square into Northumberland Avenue, which the street leading towards Embankment Station. Northumberland Avenue is the street to the left of the one where you can see the Bell Tower (Big Ben), namely Whitehall. So don’t take that one, but the one to the left of it. When a Street (Northumberland Streetruns into Northumberland Avenue, you’ll find the Sherlock Holmes Pub to your left.
And this is where I am leaving you to have dinner and a pint and I’m off to bed.
Part 2 with the rest will follow soon :)
I hope all of this makes sense and is not too confusing :D