In Search Of The Best Free View In London
I had heard that the best free view in all of London could be found at Alexandra Palace, which is located in the Wood Green district in the North of London. I had been meaning to check things out for myself for quite some time but I never got around too it.
On Saturday afternoon I was at a bit of loose end, so I thought why not head over to Alexandra Palace and Park and check out the views for myself. All I had to do was find out how the hell to get there.
Thanks to the TFL web site it wasn’t too complicated to figure out the easiest route to get there. Kilburn Park to Piccadilly and then to Wood Green Underground Station. A piece of cake and it was only going to take me around 45 minutes to get there.
Upon arrival at Wood Green Station all I had to do was find Station Road and I would be on my merry little way to my final destination, Alexandra Palace and Park.
It took me about 30 seconds to find Station Road, which was a minor miracle for me. It was about a 30 minute hike to Alexandra. I was nearly tempted to go for a swift pint at an interesting looking pub I walked past, it was only £1.99 for a pint of Carling. However daylight was starting to fade and my digital camera doesn’t like taking pictures in the dark.
I wandered around Alexandra Palace taking in the many different Vantage points as I searched for the best views of London. The views of London from Alexandra Palace are quite spectacular and well worth the journey I made to get there. And best of all there wasn’t crowds of people there taking in the views with me.
Alexandra Palace is an amazing looking Victorian building, which is absolutely huge and has quite clearly seen better days. Never the less it is an impressive looking place. They sure don’t construct buildings like that nowadays. I will be returning in the near future with my African Princess for a wee bit of ice skating, that should be good fun.
Alexandra Park or Ally Pally as it is more affectionately know as, is a vast green space, which covers over 200 acres, with some great walks from which to escape the craziness of the city. Alexandra Park also has a nature reserve with woodland, dense scrub, meadow and a pond. The ‘Parkland Walk’, runs from Alexander Park to both Highgate and Queen’s Woods. This shady walk follows the route of a disused railway line.
So how do the views from Alexandra Palace and Park compare in comparison to, Primrose Hill, Greenwich Park and Parliament Hill, well I would say it compares favourable. I don’t personally think it is the best free view in London, but It is all down to personal opinion and some people think it is and some people have other opinions. But what I do know is that it is worth making the trip to Alexandra Palace and Park to take enjoy those wonderful views for yourself.
I have said it before, that I personally think that it is more fun and more of an adventure to head off and take in one of the spectacular free views of London, rather than stand in a big queue and pay a ridiculous amount of money to get on the London Eye. And before I forget being stuck in a capsule with 20 other people in close proximity, that aint fun or romantic.
The heavens opened and the rains started to come down, which was a good enough excuse for me to go and find that pub with the £1.99 pints of lager. All I had to do was remember where it was. Which was easier said that done, but where there is a will, there is a way!
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You may not know this, but Alexandra Palace, N22, was where the BBC had its first television studios when they introduced a regular schedule of television programmes in April 1935, the first anywhere in the world.
The site being chosen because of its being the highest point in London and surrounds, of necessity for installing a decent antenna.
Programmes were initially presented from Alexandra Palace six nights a week for two hours a day; concurrent with the TV service launch, a Radio-TV Licence was introduced @ one guinea (£1.1.0)/annum (as opposed to the radio licence, which was 5/- per annum).
Even with the enforced lapse between 1939 and 1946, Alexandra Palace served the BBC well until Television Centre in Shepherd’s Bush essentially consolidated all BBC Television activity, which would branch out to Lime Grove Studios around 1950.
I used to walk there every Saturday morning as we were living close by. The park in front of the building is also very nice.I missed it a lot.
I wonder how the view from the Gherkin would be like. I mean, it can’t be that bad if that structure can be seen miles away from all directions, can it?
Have not been to Alexandra Palace but prefer Primrose Hill to Parliament Hill, which tend to be a bit crowded especially during summer.
C K
As far as I’m aware there is a restaurant on the top floor of the Gherkin, but I have a feeling it is way out of my price range at the moment. I can imagine the views would be spectacular.