A short walk along Wellington Street and I arrive at Strand, turn right and head towards Trafalgar Square. Not a huge amount of interest to be honest, pre pandemic its a busy road that takes you from  Westminster east to the city of London, which is the historic and the central business district of London. However I am heading west. The only thing that really catches my eye is a blue clock above the entrance to a now closed down watch shop. From 1877 the Civil Service Supply Association were based here, although I am not sure how the long the clock has been there. In 1927 the build ..read more

The Strand, Fleet Street and Trafalgar Square make up the red properties, the next set on the monopoly board. Logistically it's a fairly easy set to complete as it's just one road with Trafalgar Square at one end. But to make things easier and to be at the right end of the road for the journey to the next property, Fenchurch Street Station, I will head along The Strand to Trafalgar Square first, then head back along The Strand on the opposite side of the road to Fleet Street. No doubt I will find myself crossing the road back and forth as there is a lot to see on this busy thoroughfare. Unlike ..read more

Another set complete and this sees me complete half of the monopoly board. No real highlights in this set to be honest, Vine Street the exact opposite in fact. (Great) Marlborough Street probably comes out on top simply because of Liberty which is definitely worth a look and once you are done there Carnaby Street is very close. Take those two out of the equation and none of the three 'properties' are really worth going to ..read more

 I arrive at Bow Street, the final 'property' in the orange set, and like the previous two 'properties' its a fairly short street just 0.1 miles (0.16 km) in length, and continues as Wellington Street towards The Strand, which is part of the next set of 'properties', the red. The nearest tube station is Covent Garden. The connection to the Police and the law continues, in 1740 the magistrates court opened and the forerunner to the modern police force, the Bow Street Runners were formed in 1750 by novelist and dramatist Henry Fielding. In 1832 the Metropolitan Police built a new police st ..read more

After a couple of photos in Vine Street I headed back down to Piccadilly and headed towards Bow street, the final property in the orange set, after which I will have done half of the Monopoly board. Almost immediately I pass St Jame's Church which I thought was an interesting looking building, surprisingly modern looking with a clock face. It was designed and built by Christopher Wren and opened in 1684.  I continue along Piccadilly to Piccadilly Circus which is one of London's most recognizable locations, often seen in film and television, due to the large video screens and neon signs ..read more

Tens minutes walk, crossing Regents Street, through some back streets and a little way along Piccadilly I arrive at Vine Street and to say it was a disappointment was an understatement. The street itself is 21 meters in length and is basically just the back of the shops with a few goods entrances and fire escapes. The street is thought to have been named after The Vine public house, which in turn may have been named after a Vineyard that was there during Roman times, which seems hard to believe now. Vine Street was famous for its police station during the 19th century and at one point was one ..read more

I left Liberty through the back entrance/exit and almost immediately I found myself in Carnaby Street. If one street in London summed up the swinging 60's it was Carnaby Street. From the late 50's it became home to boutiques, John Stephen, Mary Quant opened boutiques here as did clothing Brand Merc who originally focused on the fashions of the Mods and the skinheads. Bands such as The Rolling Stones, The Who and the Small Faces shopped and socialised here and often played at bars and clubs nearby. https://artandhue.com/carnaby/ https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/fashion/shows-trends/a308731 ..read more

Marlborough Street doesn't actually exist and was mis-named on the board after Marlborough Street magistrates court, it is actually Great Marlborough Street. The street itself is not very long but does have very good shopping, most notably Liberty. With its size and mock Tudor design it is impossible to miss. The store was constructed from the timber of two ships, HMS Impregnable and HMS Hindustan, and the front of the shop is the same length as HMS Hindustan and is a grade II listed building. Liberty opened in 1875 and is famous for fabrics, especially scarves. It sells high end and emerging ..read more

Park Crescent, as the name suggests, is a semicircle consisting of elegant stuccoed terraced houses that were completed in 1821. The crescent is divided in half by Portland Place and a private garden sits in the middle. Inside is a statue of Queen Victoria's father Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn which was installed in 1824. The houses and the Garden are Grade I listed buildings. On the day I was there, there were renovations going on, lots of builders and noise so I hurried through and turned right into Portland Place.  Portland Place was named for the Third Duke of Portland ..read more

 I begin my journey to the next set of 'properties' from where I finished last time, Marylebone Station. I head onto Marylebone Road, turn left and head in the general direction of (Great) Marlborugh Street, another of the 'properties' that I had never visited before. Its a long busy road that takes you into central London with a couple of tube stations and not many shops. I soon pass Old Marylebone Town House, which is also known as Westminster Council House,  which was the local seat of Government until 1965 when then enlarged City of Westminster was formed. Built in 1920, a grade ..read more