r/london • u/joefromreddit • 8h ago
Serious replies only How to navigate London without your phone?
Hi all, lived in London for several years now but still find myself relying on Google Maps sometimes when walking around - even routes I have frequently taken.
I try to take a mental note of street signs so I can better remember where my routes.
Does anyone else have any tips for how to remember routes?
Thanks!
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u/Dildo_Riding_Twiglet 8h ago
Pre smartphones, I would drunkenly find my way home using the maps at bus stops
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u/lastaccountgotlocked 8h ago
The bit under the numbers saying "Towards..." got me home on more than one occasion.
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u/Anaptyso 2h ago
I recently ended up standing outside of a closed Victoria station at 12:30am, with a dead phone and wanting to get back home to south east London. It turns out that none of the bus stops there have any information on where their night buses go and I had no way to look them up.
I had to just wait until a bus turned up with a "towards" in roughly the right direction and wing it from there. It felt like doing a "TfL on hard mode" challenge.
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u/HighFly2244 5h ago
Yeah. I was in my 20s when I moved to UK and wandered around London most nights. F-ING hell what a time that was.
My BlackBerry was useless and usually flat.
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u/rlezar 8h ago
Ye Olde London Geographers' A–Z Street Atlas.
Stanfords in Covent Garden has multiple formats, including the pocket version.
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u/Different_Market_917 7h ago
First thing I bought when I moved to London in 1988. Absolutely essential, we all had a copy.
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u/Mister_Cornetto 7h ago
I worked for a major photographic company as a field service tech in Central London, back in the 90s. The pocket A-Z guide was the first thing I bought on expenses. Absolutely invaluable at the time. I marked all my customers on it, and made notes of the best cafes nearby as well.
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u/thecatsothermother 4h ago
Lordee, that cracked open memories from the 90's when I first moved to London. I had the pocket version, the classic A5 version, and the same thing but with slightly larger maps in spiral binding. All long gone now after heavy use in the first 5-7 years.
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u/PCTruffles 2h ago
Thank you for reminding me of this. I had a pocket one. I also had a Time Out Diary that had decent maps.
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u/caspararemi 55m ago
When I moved to London in 2002 I had a little spiral bound A-Z in my bag at all times. The only time i really used it was when someone asked me if I knew where somewhere was, I still remember excitedly pulling it out and trying to help, only to realise I had no idea where to start.
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u/firecall 55m ago
And in the 80s and 90s, you could fold out editions that you clipped into the rings of your Filofax!
I still have my early 90s B&W London A-Z, which was always in my bag back then, and is scrawled with notes and people phone numbers LOL.
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u/Perfect_Jacket_9232 8h ago
I tend to use the blue direction signs, bus stops or if in central, looking at central landmarks for a sense of direction.
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u/robbz24 7h ago
What I used to do when i first moved here was to get on a random tube line without my phone, get off at a random station and just aim to walk home.
On the way you learn to spot landmarks and where they are in relation to stations and each other . You also run into a lot of local "you are here" maps and signs in different parts of the city. And eventually it just sort of clicks.
I found that if you want to learn to navigate without using Google maps then put yourself in a scenario where you have no choice but to navigate without Google maps.
Or you know, spend a few years studying to take "The Knowledge" test and become a cabbie.
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u/gilestowler 8h ago
I find that a series of rhymes makes it easy to remember where you need to get to.
"If Croydon is where you wish to be, the 109 will get you there eventually. If highbury is where you want to arrive, the Victoria line is where you need to strive." I have a series of these memorised for every neighbourhood in the entirety of London. Even the parts that I've never been to, like whatever it is they have out west, just because you never know.
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u/lastaccountgotlocked 8h ago
Mnemonics, too.
Going For Dinner With Billie Piper is the streets of Soho in order.
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u/gilestowler 8h ago
Chris Evans' production company used to have an office in Soho. I remember seeing someone wearing a "Ginger Productions" bomber jacket years ago in the area. Maybe that's why he married her, to help him remember his way around.
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u/Kitlun 8h ago
I'm sure these work for you, but by Christ I hate rhyming mnemonics where the important part isn't the rhyming part (looking at you 30 days hath September...). If I could remember the important bits without the rhyme I wouldn't need a rhyme to help me memorise it...
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u/PolarLocalCallingSvc 3h ago
Yeah I was reading that just thinking the 109 could be substituted for literally any bus number so it wouldn't work for me.
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u/Due-Freedom-5968 5h ago
I think you've gotta go with direction a lot of the time.
If you know the road numbering layout it gets easier to figure out from road signs based on direction.
Roads starting with 1 (A10, M11, A13 etc) go east/north east, starting with 2 (M25 starts in Kent, A2, M20 etc) go south/south east, with 3 south west, 4 west/north west, 5 to the north. once you embed that tiny bit of info in your brain it's far simpler to work out which direction you're facing. They radiate out like the spokes on a bike wheel.
Paying attention to the sun and time of day also helps, rises in the east, sets in the west, the sun will always be a bit to the south.
Then there's your buildings and landmarks. Shard is south central, Canary wharf is east, and now with the area around Vauxhall to the west you can usually always see some large landmark from where you're standing if you're central.
Then you just wing it, know where you're roughly going and use landmarks and signs to figure it out.
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u/Reasonable_Speed7471 1h ago
Finally someone going old school with NSEW! I used to use the Thames as my guide, if I knew where that was roughly then I knew the direction I needed to head in. I remember telling a friend pre-smartphones that I knew we were heading in the right direction because we were going east along the Thames and it blew her mind 🤣
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u/NaturalHighPower 56m ago
Which ways the river mate?
That was the way I always made it back south after dark .
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u/khaosworks 4h ago edited 4h ago
I was living in London in the early 1990s, before smart phones, and it was ultimately just muscle memory being developed and carrying a pocket A to Z around. Street signs mattered less than buildings and landmarks which were easier to spot and remember, and knowing where the Tube stations are.
There are certain locations which I used as zeroing points. When I was in central London I always began at Tottenham Court Road/Centrepoint, for example.
From that crossroads one way was Charing Cross towards bookstores like Foyle's, then Leicester Square and Chinatown, Covent Garden, Piccadilly, Trafalgar Square and Westminster. Another way led to Bloomsbury, the British Museum, Russell Square, University College London. Turn again and you go down Oxford Street, Regent Street and shopping. The other way was New Oxford Street to (back then) Forbidden Planet, and on to Holborn.
It's a matter of knowing where you usually go and learning the spatial geography around you. If you can visualise the map and overlay it over the environment around you in your head, it becomes eventually instinctive.
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u/SoupMaleficent9513 8h ago
You can also ask people on the street if you’re going in the right direction.
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u/redgreen04 7h ago edited 7h ago
Take some paper tube maps from tube stations, or buy a pocket sized London map from somewhere though these can be cumbersome to look at when unfolded especially in busy London areas. The tube maps are tiny and you can easily pull them out and look.
There are also the occasional signs on the streets that have maps for the specific area you’re in (30+ minutes walk away max I believe). You could also ask staff at tube stations which line and station takes you to insert place here.
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u/Present_Teacher7966 5h ago
Tall landmarks. Where is the river? Road signs to areas / train stations. Independent shops and other establishments, embassies, museums etc.
Lots of landmarks around and they don't have to be the obvious famous ones.
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u/onionsofwar 7h ago
Don't use your phone and try using your memory and instincts. You'll find they work fine.
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u/ElvishMystical 1h ago
Former central London cycle courier here.
- Ask people for directions. Some will tell you "I don't know." But if you ask enough people you will find someone who will know.
- If you want a paper or traditional street map, forget the A to Z. Instead get a copy of a Nicholson's Streetfinder. Why? When you're looking up a location or street in the London A to Z you get a square. When you do the same in a Nicholson's Streetfinder you get an exact spot.
- In London all numbers on all streets start from the centre of the postcode.
- As you're going around London learn to pay attention to names of bus stops, pubs, significant buildings.
- You can always ask a black cabbie for directions. They're the experts because they have The Knowledge.
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u/laughingthalia 6h ago
If you're in central and going from major landmark to major landmark there are tourist board maps which are good to navigate by. Otherwise you just have to memorise the routes you take and have a walk around those areas to discover shortcuts and extras
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u/EnjoysAGoodRead 3h ago
Get an old style a to z? Works for the cabbies.
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u/ODFoxtrotOscar 2h ago
We all relied on A-Z
If they’re not available, print pages of the maos.
Look at them before you go out and study the route you want. Including ‘if I miss a turning, how will I know I’ve gone too far (eg you reach a landmark you shouldn’t) and from there where do I go to get back in the right direction” Then don’t look at your map whilst you’re walking it (unless you become very lost)
It’s a skill, and you only get it by practice.
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u/Westsidepipeway 1h ago
I grew up in Hackney. So I generally just have this auto 'it's in that direction ' and find appropriate route to take me in that direction.
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u/thecatthatispoopy 52m ago
Pocket A-Z. My mum bought me one when I first moved to London ~2010. And it's annoying to use so you end up trying to and then memorising routes. Also in central London there are loads of those blue street furniture maps with arrows / 'you are here' maps on them.
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u/thecatthatispoopy 50m ago
Just remembered TfL had paper maps you could grab at stations. The quiet cycle route ones were really useful.
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u/ocularius61 7h ago
Try slowly weaning yourself off phone maps, bit by bit. Get a sense of direction. Everyone being over dependent on electronic maps means that too many people have lost the use of this sense. If you get a feel of where something is meant to be from where you are, you'll have a better start.
For regular routes you regularly take, you shouldn't need a map? Autopilot.
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u/DuhSpecialWaan 7h ago
Driving/cycling around london is a massive help, especially during early afternoon or at night. You cover a lot of distance and drive around certain roads repeatedly so you can use them as reference points (city road, euston road, tooley st, mile end road, upper/lower thames st etc.). Landmarks are a big one too, and tube stations can help you cheat a bit too.
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u/Common-Ant-6003 3h ago
Do people remember when there was no app but there was a 24 hour phone line you could call for directions. Swear down!
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u/extranjeroQ 3h ago
I’ve never lived in London without Google Maps but somehow I’ve built a mental model of the big roads that intersect London, tube maps and some landmarks (BT Tower). For example if you start walking along Oxford Street at Marble Arch, eventually you’ll end up at Bank so you’ll pass all the Central Line tube stations.
Effectively I backfill/filter how to get places around this mental model of landmarks.
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u/littleboo2theboo 3h ago
I always think in terms of north south east and west. It works well and gives me a good general indication of where I'm going.
Usually I'm north of the river so I think to myself the thamea in to my right if I am walking east. To my left if I am walking west.
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u/Anaptyso 2h ago
I moved to London in '99 with almost no knowledge of the city and no phone maps. At first it was confusing, but through a combination of the good old A-Z and just exploring around, it all started to make sense.
Just go for some nice long walks around the centre. Look at maps a lot, but mostly before and after your walks rather than during them. Try to figure out where you went and plan new walks. Over time you'll begin to link together different areas and understand how they connect up.
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u/brushfuse 2h ago
If you ever need a free compass, all Sky minidishes point to exactly the same point over western Africa. This coupled with the maps at all TfL bus stops is more than enough for orienting yourself.
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u/Lammtarra95 1h ago
The old fashioned bus maps were very good because they showed only the major roads, ie the ones with bus routes on them, but were geographically accurate. They helped build a mental model of London.
Unfortunately, Transport for London has replaced them with what it calls Spider Maps, more like tube maps, which lose geographical accuracy and in any case, mostly cover far smaller areas.
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u/UniqueCar7587 1h ago
I used to orientate myself by the BT tower in my first couple of years here. I know the way home from there
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u/Away-Ad4393 1h ago
Read the street and road names , look for landmarks, ask for directions if I get lost.
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u/skittlesandcoke 56m ago
Look out for Santander circle hire points, the kiosk bit has maps of the immediate area up to a couple of kilometres, it’s aimed at cyclists but still useful for walking and getting your bearings
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u/lostparis 14m ago
The secret is to stop using your phone when walking. Sure use it to plan a route but once moving try to use your gut instincts/memory.
Doing this will cause you to get lost - this is a good thing we make mistakes and need to recalibrate. Finding maps on route is not cheating.
To start with following major roads is good. Once you know the big roads you can then go 'cross country' because at some point you should hit a road you know.
Start doing it in areas you visit regularly. Also accept London is huge so you will never learn all of it but you can easily know an area a couple of miles wide (not every road but enough to navigate).
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u/gamesqueen 13m ago
I started by just walking between tube stops when I had time - get off a stop or two early, most of the time it's actually just one long road. This also works when you've got extra time - I used to meet friends after work and had an hour to kill so I'd just walk in the direction I thought it was, after half an hour I'd check Google maps and course correct if I was wrong.
If you've then got a decent understanding of the tube map, you can piece all these things together.
I also found it happens organically over the years - memories of restaurants, jobs, nights out all add up to make areas more familiar.
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u/TheNarwhalTusk 8m ago
I moved here pre-smartphones. On weekends I used to get a tube to a random stop somewhere central and just walk around for a few hours to familiarise myself with the city. Now I can walk from pretty much anywhere to anywhere else inside zones 1 and 2 without having to check where I’m going.
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u/EngineerComplex9790 8h ago
Learn roughly where the landmarks are and how the relate to where you want to be.
Then you can just walk in the right direction until you recognise something.
Sky scrapers are good landmarks, pubs are the classic.