Soho to Trafalgar Square

January 10th, 2011

Maddy:

This was the first of the four walks I completed. I was a little apprehensive in the beginning, I had heard the walks were fairly long and especially brutal if it was cold out. However, shortly after starting out I realized how interesting it was to learn about the history of the area while in the middle of it.

Soho was an especially interesting area. I read in one of my guide books that it was the "young and hip" part of town. After walking through, I believe it! We saw 20th Century Fox studios, along with some other film studios and publishing houses. We saw plenty of bars, clubs and pubs, which seem perfect for those twenty-something year olds ready to mingle.

My favorite part of the walk was the "Votes for Kisses" plaque we passed for the Duchess of Devonshire. I saw a film about the Duchess and seeing somewhere that she spent time was exciting and really brought history to life for me. I also loved when we passed the water pump responsible for the cholera outbreak in 1854. It was neat to learn the history behind the cholera outbreak, as I had never really learned the details.

One part of the walk I was a little less impressed with was Chinatown. I was pretty excited to explore this part of town and I was disappointed when it seemed to be predominately tourist shops.

Overall, I enjoyed walking through Soho and I especially loved ending in Trafalgar Square, which is one of my favorite places in London so far.

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Laura: This is the first walk that I went on. I really liked going out into London and being able to learn about little bits of history that I wouldn’t have learned otherwise. It was fun walking through China town and seeing all of the restaurants and shops in there. I think that my favorite part of the walk was the water pump that caused the outbreak of Cholera. It is amazing to think that such a small thing can spread such a terrible disease and kill so many people. I also liked seeing all of the pubs that are in the Soho area. Pubs just seem so British to me. It is once you get back into areas like that and off of the main streets that you can really see England as the English see it and I really like that.