Victoria Line
"Victoria Line". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Victoria_Line.svg#/media/File:Victoria_Line.svg
Date started: 19th January 2014
Date finished: 19th January 2014
Days walked: 1
Distance walked: 15.2 miles (24.3 km)
Line Length: 13.3 miles (21.2 km)
Route efficiency: 87.2%
Stations: 16
"Victoria Line". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Victoria_Line.svg#/media/File:Victoria_Line.svg
The beginning. We're still trying to come to terms with having got a tube from Walthamstow to Brixton in order to walk back...
Once the southern terminus of the City & South London Railway, the first of London's deep level tube lines.
After a well deserved tapas stop on the High Street, we finish still in Zone 3. Except for the Circle and Waterloo & City lines, no others are completely within this boundary.
The beginning. We're still trying to come to terms with having got a tube from Walthamstow to Brixton in order to walk back...
Day 1 - 19th January 2014. Brixton to Walthamstow (15.2m / 24.3km). Drinks and dinner in the (now sadly closed down) Windmill.
Victoria Line Tiles
 BrixtonDesigned by Hans Unger, this is a ton of bricks. Or Brix, if you prefer. |
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 StockwellThere's a swan in here, a reference to the nearby landmark pub. Design by Abram Games. |
 VauxhallGeorge Smith designed this representation of Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, closed in 1859 but the present day park occupies some of the original site. |
 PimlicoRepresenting art at Tate Britain nearby. Design by Peter Sedgely. |
 VictoriaNo explanation needed - design by Edward Bawden from an original work by Benjamin Pearce. |
 Green ParkAnother Hans Unger design, this is an impression of an overhead view of the park. |
 Oxford CircusHans Unger again, this shows the Victoria, Central and Bakerloo lines intersecting. |
 Warren StreetDesigned by Alan Fletcher, this maze (or warren) will take the average person four minutes to solve. Average time between trains is three minutes. Evil. |
 EustonThe original Doric arch which used to stand outside the station, tile design by Tom Eckersley. |
 King's Cross St. PancrasA cross of crowns by Tom Eckersley. |
 Highbury and IslingtonThe original manor house (or high bury), destroyed by Jack Straw's Peasants' Revolt in 1381. Design by Edward Bawden. |
 Finsbury ParkAnother Tom Eckersley, these crossed pistols are a reference to duels that are commonly thought to have taken place in the park. This is probably a confusion of locations, a much more likely venue would have been Finsbury Fields, nearer town. |
 Seven SistersThe seven elm trees that gave the area its name. Design by Hans Unger. |
 Blackhorse RoadAnother literal Hans Unger design of a black horse. |
 Tottenham HaleThere used to be a ferry here across the River Lea. The station itself can be accessed from Ferry Lane. Design by Edward Bawden. |
 WalthamstowJulia Black's adaptation of a design by William Morris, who was born (and worked for a time) in Walthamstow. |
Each station on the Victoria Line has its own tile motif in the recessed seating areas with a design representing the station, based on either the name, a nearby landmark or some local history.
A couple of them (Green Park and Oxford Circus) were changed in the 1970s and 80s, but by 2009 all of the original designs had been restored.
I tend to use these to identify where I am when glancing up from a book instead of trying to read the station names.
