access london in 2024 and earlier

I visited this station yesterday, and took a rather stupid exit at the end of the train which landed me in the Northern line, which is notoriously inaccessible in many places.

Today, the 15th June 2022, I had another go at this, and stayed more central in the train, and took the very obvious exits, heading for either Moorgate, or the Liverpool street main line station and other lines. It is a bit stupid calling this station the same name, really! They are not that close to each other. and should have called it Boatie McLiverpool street, hey ho.

Anyway, the exit for Moorgate involves a short walk, and a rather whopper of an elevator, followed by another short walk, and another whopper of an elevator; that’s two very long elevators, and I have no idea how deep this tunnel must be, butb it is some way down below London town.

And we exit at Moorgate station, the new one, not the old Northern line Moorgate station. Again, two stations with the same name, although they are both quite close to each other.

From here you are very close to the Barbican, and the current Museum of London before it moves to West Smithfield meat market, and Moorgate crosses the London wall, called the London Wall. If you want to read about the London wall and how to trace it or walk the imaginary path, then read on.

I popped into London on the 14th June to visit Canary wharf and the Elizabeth line. I travel in via the c2c to Limehouse, and 20 steps gets me onto the DLR towards Lewisham, and hey presto, we are in Canary wharf. I am documenting this network hub on another post. I then wandered down to Woolwich (Arsenal) on the Elizabeth line. This station is fantastic, like many others, and very accessible.

I then thought I would visit Liverpool street. I was at the front of the Elizabeth line train, and not being very agile, I chose the exit closest to me. It appeared to be the Northern line link, and I was guessing this was a n easy route to access the Moorgate end.

[Please note this exit is far from ideal, and I revisited the station the next day to find a much better route!]

It started with a tunnel, a quite long tunnel for me, then round the bend into another bit of tunnel.

The stairs at the end of the tunnel in exiting Liverpool street station at the Moorgate end

Ok, so far, so good. I can get out out of this station, finally. I bet a lot of people choose the lift considering the number of stairs.

Now, it all gets a bit blank from here. I think I got up to the station concourse, and started looking for a lift up to the street level. There were lots more stairs. I eventually asked a member of staff how I exited the station by a lift, and after some time they suggested I re-entered a different part of the station which did have a lift. There was no signage in that part of the station, and staff had to think about it!

I entered the station through the ticket barriers again, used the lift to street level, and then my ticket stopped working to exit the station! An barrier attendant let me through, BUT I have to say I am not currently impressed with the brand new Liverpool street station and its signage.

More to come, as I visit the other entrances when my legs work again. I would not recommend Liverpool street Elizabeth line station to others, it is a maze of tunnels, like the old Bank station.

I know that Canary wharf has been an important centre of banking for some years. But more importantly, it is now a major travel junction. It is home to the DLR station, the Jubilee station and now the Elizabeth line station. It also has a link to the Thames clipper wharf aka the Uber Thames boats.

The interesting point is that Canary wharf is actually better described as a network hub rather than a station. It is now a major attraction to everyone. I recommend that all foreign travellers should visit Canary wharf to enjoy its sights, and attractions.

Canary wharf initially opened in 1991, and is a mass of tall and brand new buildings. There are also docks, open spaces and is mainly highly accessible. It is also very well sign posted and maps abound; but as it is vast it is also very easy to get lost.

Always check TFL status for any issues on the trains

The Elizabeth line is brand new, and runs from Abbey Wood, south of the Thames, via Woolwich (Arsenal), Custom House, Canary Wharf, Whitechapel, Liverpool street (Moorgate and Barbican), Farringdon, Tottenham court road, (Bond street is closed) and Paddington. Note that Liverpool street is an entirely separate station to the main line station. All have lifts and stairs, being at the station end only at Whitechapel and Abbey Wood; and TFL recommends visitors with accessible issues travel in the middle of the train, sometimes this makes sense.

The Jubilee line runs from Stratford, via West Ham, Canning Town, Canary Wharf, and stops at London bridge, Victoria and Westminster. All stations are accessible, and the trains are getting quite old, but a good service.

The DLR is quite confusing as there are a number of spur lines. Canary Wharf is on the Lewisham line. All spurs can be reached by changing at Canning Town, or Poplar. The DLR trains and stations are very accessible. It also connects to the c2c line at Limehouse (20 steps from platform to platform), or West Ham, but the former involves only a few steps to cross lines, in one direction only.

Canary wharf is very close to the Museum of London (Docklands) which is a brilliant, and free day out. The exhibitions are superb, mainly about London and a fantastic slavery exhibition which should be seen.

I rediscovered the Roof garden in Crossrail place today. It is the top floor of the building, which is well served with lifts, and also a very nice toilets on level 3A, but only open between 8am and 8pm. I recommend a visit to this roof garden, which is situated right next to the new Elizabeth line station.

It is the 1st of June 2022, and the Elizabeth line opened less than a couple of weeks ago. I am still testing the best way to use the new train line and offer advice on accessible routes. I have a hidden disability where I can only walk or climb to my limit. Lets test that limit.

Today, I took my wife on a tour of London, via the brand new Elizabeth line. It started as usual at Upminster, on the c2c. Upminster has lifts to the platforms, and a side entrance, and being a main line rail station, it has toilets, and also on the train.

We travelled to Barking, where it is very easy to cross a platform to alight the district line towards Whitechapel, and London. The district line is very slow. At Whitechapel, a lift, or stairs, brings you to street level. A reasonable walk into the brand new Elizabeth line station arrives at the Elizabeth line.

I think it is about 18 minutes from Whitechapel to Paddington. So fast!

At Paddington are toilets, a rare thing to find in London, except at main line rail stations. The Elizabeth line has zero of these, either on the trains or the new stations. It was clearly too much to ask for a few toilets, or maybe they were cut as the budget ran out of control.

After a quick stop, we headed back towards Tottenham court road station. Here, this is a large station, lots of escalators and lifts up to street level. You can also catch the Central and Northern lines at this station. In New Oxford street, we headed for the famous Umbrella shop, turned left up Bloomsbury street, and then right into Great Russell street for the British museum. I had booked tickets, but no checking now appears to take place, just a bag search. The museum was very busy, and absolutely brilliant, and a good cafeteria area exists at the rear of the ground floor. There is also a shop, and toilets, including an disabled toilet and wash room.

Near to the front exit are two small lifts which reach the various floors. These became busy during the stop here, often with lazy tourists avoiding the stairs tp the detriment of those who needed these lifts.

Each one of the amazing displays show priceless objects, my favourites being in Roman Britain, and a number of hoards found in the last century.

We left the museum after about 90 minutes. I can visit it anytime, as I often do, and headed off for Lancaster Gate, and the Albert Gardens. We took two buses two get there, to avoid stairs on the TFL station., via the 98 bus to Oxford street / John Lewis; and then the 94 bus to Lancaster Gate. I recommend the TFLGO app on your phone if you are not using this.

By Lancaster Gate station is an amazing fountain which was originally built by Prince Albert for Queen Victoria in about 1860. The entirety was rebuilt in 2011, and is one of the most beautiful spots in London, particularly in the sunshine. It sits at the northern end of Hyde Park.

I am not actually known for stamina, but after a short stop here, we walked southwards along the Serpentine, and down through Hyde Park. I had previously walked this in the opposite direction. There are a good number of park benches along the route, and we also passed the Princess of Wales Fountain and the Peter Pan statue.

The southern end of the park finds Park lane.