#1 Mastering Geography
Mastering GeographyThese walks are intended to instruct you regarding the geographical lay of the land—how everything fits together, as it were, so that you can make your way around with maximum ease and eventually feel as if London were your own city.When I first arrived in London decades ago, I felt very much as Henry James, who wrote that he had been "crushed under a sense of the mere magnitude of London—its inconceivable immensity. . . . In fine, it is anything but a cheerful or a charming city" (Richard Tames, 1996, A Traveller's History of London, New York, Interlink Publishing Group, 6).You may initially have something of the same response. The purpose of these exercises is to help you conquer this feeling. Robert Gray noted: "Nothing fosters a love of London so effectively as familiarity and knowledge. Without them, the visitor . . . may well find entertainments to enjoy but he [or she] is hardly likely to form any strong attachment to the capital. Such places as museums, art galleries, theatres, concert halls and night clubs do not convey any distinct impression of London; no more do international hotels [or the BYU Centre]. But let anyone turn from the town's amusements to the town itself and his [or her] understanding and appreciation immediately become dependent on a sure sense of context" (Robert Gray, 1979, A History of London, New York, Taplinger Publishing, 9).The best way to come to know London is to go out into the city itself, to find those little nooks and crannies that make the city special to you—to boldly go (Star Trek's split infinitive, not mine) where other study-abroad students have failed to go. This means getting out of the underground and onto the streets, looking around at the things London has to offer on the surface, so that when you go home, you truly feel that you have mastered a good portion of London.I invite you to test the observation of Freya Stark, who maintained ". . . a walk on the city pavements is one of the most romantic things in the world; the austere and unpretentious doors—the River Plate Company, or Burma Oil, or affairs in Argentina or Ecuador or Hudson's Bay—they jostle each other and lead away to strange places, and create a feeling of being all over the world at once" (Tames, 1) Nowhere can this be felt more than in London.These walks are designed to carve up the city into smaller segments so that you can conquer it piecemeal. But remember, "Whether a traveller arrives in London for the first or the hundredth time there will always be more to see, more to know. London can never be exhausted, never used up. . . . Arrive knowing that, even if you have never been here before, this is your city" (Freya Stark, Tames, 9).
#2 Experiencing History
If successful, these walks will release you from the bondage of time and allow you to live in several centuries simultaneously (or at least in quick succession). Every street in London is a pregnant composite of different ages unlike anything you have ever experienced before: layer upon layer of backdrops and costumes and happenings that are essentially different. If you had H.G. Wells' time machine, you could stand on the same parcel of ground in London and have a lifetime of different experiences without moving from that single spot. The challenge you have is to make this city yield up a maximum number of these historical times for your experiential enhancement.I have been intrigued by watching Simon Schama's television production, A History of Britain (which I highly recommend—along with Peter Ackroyd's book, London the Biography). While speaking at BYU in 2003, Schama was emphatic about the fact that history must become present if it is to be of benefit or interest. This requires one's ability to transport oneself in imagination to other times and places. President Brigham Young taught this regarding scripture reading, i.e., that we must put ourselves fully in the place of those doing the writing. Ralph Waldo Emerson in his essay, "History," maintains that we must become Romans (or other nationalities) to understand the Romans and their writing, and St. Ignatius of Loyola in his treatise Spiritual Exercises encourages us to smell the odors and hear the sounds of the past while studying biblical experiences such as Christ in Gethsemane.I believe what all of these variant individuals have maintained. Therefore, in the walks I sometimes encourage you to test their advice and transport yourselves back in time through the miracle of imagination. Make the Past your Present while you are here.
#3 Exploring Social Customs
Although Great Britain is in some respects "the mother of us all," and remains one of America's closest allies, our customs and our vocabularies are often quite different. Part of what I have attempted to do in these walks is to point out some of these differences, such as the way we use yard and they use garden (and how we can offend by telling a Brit what a beautiful yard they have); we say garbage and they say rubbish; we spell it jail and they spell it gaol; to them a vest is a man's undershirt, etc. Having made some of these mistakes while serving as a missionary in the UK, I know something of this problem and have, in the walks, tried to point out a few of them. Other social customs are designed to keep the public peace, such as PSPO notices (see photo description) for humans, and park-trotting (notice the dog toilet signs in various park locations) and pub-trotting (see photo above) notices for dogs. Londoners love their animals; it appears to be the humans that sometimes cause a difficulty.
#4 Thames Walks (Central London)
As you will note, the walks have been divided into different segments: the Thames Walks (for use with IAS 201R), the Park walks, the Area Walks, and my favorite: the Farewell Walk across Zone One of the Tube map, from the Tower of London in the east to the BYU Centre in the west, and Excursions—one-day walks on the outskirts of central London.Thames WalksIn the beginning was the Thames, And the Thames begat London. And the Thames remains the soul of London.To know the essence of London is to know the Thames—which incidentally is owned by the monarchy—and the way the city is laid out along its banks. That is our first task, because these walks are designed to explore the banks of the Thames from east to west. Where possible, they follow the chronological development of the city along this pathway and acquaint us with its history. In fact, the Thames has appropriately been called liquid history. The first step in absorbing the vastness that is London is to divide into smaller segments according to the general functions of those areas, e.g., the Financial district, the Legal district, the Entertainment district, the Administrative district, and the South Bank. Other smaller sections will also be introduced in our explorations, but we will start with these five.Note on a map of London that the Thames is shaped like a lazy "S." The first two sections are positioned north of the Thames along the top of the S, the third is found at the first bend of the river, the fourth is along the north-south descent of the Thames on its left side, and the fifth segment lies south of the top part of the S, before it makes the first bend. By the time you have completed these walks, you should have a first rate grasp of the major sections of this amazing city, not only where they are, but also how they came into being, and how they relate to each other.We will walk that part of London as it developed historically—from the east to the west, with the exception of one walk: the Westminster walk (and we will explain the reason for that exception later). We start in the east because that is where the history of London begins. We will begin with the mile-square area referred to as "the City." (Throughout these walks when the word "City" is capitalized, it refers to the square mile of the old walled settlement in eastern London. The designation 'city' with a lowercase "c" refers to the larger London metropolis.) The first two walks are designed to introduce you to that portion of London which is at once the oldest—and yet, ironically, the most modern. In the first of the two walks, we will follow the path of the Roman (and Medieval) wall that determined the outer dimensions of the City. I strongly suggest that you go on the Londonium and City walks on a weekday, when the action takes place. In walk three, we will move across the river from the City to the south bank. Walk four will take us to Westminster—the other axis from which London evolved. Walk five explores the newly emerging western boundaries of the City and Westminster.
#5 Parks Walks (London City Parks)
Parks WalksEven a cursory glance at any map of London reveals the fact that much of greater London is greenery—the parks have been called "the lungs of London." Part of your enjoyment of London will be found in the parks. These walks are designed to acquaint you with some of the various aspects of Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, Holland Park, and Regent's Park that the average tourist may miss. Many of you jog in Kensington Gardens, for example, unaware of the other great experiences that await you there. And in the past, many of our students have been oblivious to the existence of Holland Park, which is in our neighborhood, just down the street. I think that is a tragedy. I'm trusting you to dedicate yourself to the mastery of each of these parks.
#6 Area Walks (London Major Areas)
Area WalksThere are five other major areas of London I find fascinating, each for its own reason and in its own way: Chelsea, Bloomsbury, Mayfair, the South Kensington Museums, and LIttle Venice. These are also optional walks, recommended, but not required for IAS 201R.
#7 Excursions (London Outer Excursions)
There is much more of London that I would like to share with you, especially on its outskirts. These involve day excursions out of central London. Assuming that you will go as a group to such perennial favorites as Hampton Court and Windsor Palace, I will pass over them, and list three of my personal favorites that you will have to ferret out on your own. Plan at least one day entire day for each: Greenwich, Hampstead and Hampstead Heath, and Highgate Cemetery.
#8 The End
Whatever portion of the city becomes yours is totally up to you. Do as many of the walks, or as few, as you desire. You alone will be the winner or loser. London will yield itself to you according to your effort. You can own as much or as little of it as you desire when you leave, but you have to pay the price of ownership. No one can give it to you in a classroom. And for those of you who are concerned about the energy you will expend in these walks, I offer the following observation: "Your body's a temple, with taste buds. It's up to you to take care of it. One way is to exercise regularly. You've known for years that walking burns calories. But did know that it can also reduce stress [as at exam time]? A brisk walk can reduce anxiety while it increases your energy level by releasing endorphins—naturally occurring chemicals that stimulate thoughts and boost spirits. So, next time you're confronted with stress, just walk it off" ( Modern Maturity, Nov–Dec 1995, 11).So best wishes! I just wish I were with you.
