Walk the Lines: The London Underground, Overground

by Mark Mason

Librarian's Note: this is an alternate cover edition - ISBN 10: 0099557932

The only way to truly discover a city, they say, is on foot. Taking this to extremes, Mark Mason sets out to walk the entire length of the London Underground - overground - passing every station on the way.

In a story packed with historical trivia, personal musings and eavesdropped conversations, Mark learns how to get the best gossip in the City, where to find a pint at 7am, and why the Bank of England won't let you join the M11 northbound at Junction 5. He has an East End cup of tea with the Krays' official biographer, discovers what cabbies mean by 'on the cotton', and meets the Archers star who was the voice of 'Mind the Gap'.

Over the course of several hundred miles, Mark contemplates London's contradictions as well as its charms. He gains insights into our fascination with maps and sees how walking changes our view of the world. Above all, in this love letter to a complicated friend, he celebrates the sights, sounds and soul of the greatest city on earth.

Genres: Nonfiction, London, Travel, History, Walking, Transport, British Literature

382 pages, Paperback

First published July 14, 2011

About the author

Mark Mason's previous non-fiction includes The Importance of Being Trivial, Walk the Lines, The Bluffer's Guide To Football and The Bluffer's Guide To Bond. He is also the author of three novels, and has written for most British national newspapers (though never about anything too heavy), and magazines from The Spectator to Four Four Two. He lives in Sussex with his partner and son.

Reviews

[Tripfiction · Rating 3 out of 5]

Travelogue set in London (finding London’s soul?)

There isn’t exactly a dearth of books about London. You don’t have to spend hours scouring bookshops or sitting in front of the computer if you want to find out about its history, its people, its rivers or its architecture – indeed I guess you could stock a small British town library (remember them?) solely with books about, or set in, England’s capital city.

So what inspired Mark Mason to add another one to the pile? Well, he tells us in the Introduction that he wanted to find London’s soul. Now, I’m all for having aims in life but this one struck me as a little ambitious – especially as the way he was going about it was by walking all of London’s Underground lines from end to end. Disappointingly, he didn’t actually patrol the tunnels like a down-market phantom of the opera, but walked overground to every station on each Tube line in order – and he didn’t cheat once. (His wife suggested it, which made me warm to her.)

Well, could such a pedestrian approach really reveal the essence of one of the world’s greatest cities? Of course not. However, what he did do was take a series of recognizable snapshots of many different parts of London and its suburbs – so many streets and stations that even the most dyed-in-the-wool Londoner would have problems finding all of them.

The names of some of these stations are well-know like King’s Cross, Marble Arch and Piccadilly Circus, and anyone who’s ever visited London will be familiar with them. The problem is that the glamorous, interesting parts of London which they serve are only a small part of the city as a whole, and most of his route it is made up of the same sorts of streets and parks, offices and shops that form part of every city in Britain.

I respect his wish not to cherry-pick. He wanted to experience the whole of London rather than just the bits we see in the background of action movies or news programmes. The trouble is that many areas of the metropolis are simply rather boring – at least to people who don’t live there. I’m happy to learn that, “Woodside Park is pleasant enough” and “notable” (is that really the right word?) “for being the Tube network’s last station alphabetically” but these facts do not enrich my life. On the other hand there were bits and pieces which appealed to my nerdish side. Did you know, for example, that the Maida Vale Tube station, opened during the First World War, was the first to be entirely staffed by women? Or that Arnos Grove station on the Piccadilly line was modelled on Stockholm City Library? Don’t say you did, as I won’t believe you.

If you’re a lover of trivia you’ll enjoy this book. If you’re looking for an insight into London’s soul you may be disappointed. It’s a book to dip into, but if you attempt to read it from cover to cover, as I did, it’s a bit of a challenge as it’s so bitty. However, the further you get into it the more rewarding it becomes. Many parts are interesting, you learn a lot about a part of England that’s unfamiliar to most of us, and you experience a real sense of satisfaction in finishing – and all without developing a single blister.

[Lizzy Baldwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the blurb suggests the book follows Mason who has lived in around London and like many Londoner’s (I assume) has become interested in the ever changing map of the Underground. Wandering around where he lives, he travels up a side-street he hasn’t before and realizes if he continues he’ll create a triangle back to his house – a realization he hasn’t made before. He decides to walk the entirety of each length of the line in a type of homage to the city. Line by line he beings to walk these tube lines and tells us a lot about the city I bloody adore.

I just want to put in a little aside here. Mason only walks 11 of the London Underground Lines refusing to walk the Overground Line and the DLR. (I find this a little unfair – definitely still part of London.) Mason wanders the line giving snippets of local history that might one day help on a pub quiz. He is a really entertaining narrator (especially in the beginning of the book) and I found myself desperate to undertake the walks myself especially the Circle Line Pub Crawl.

I haven’t finished this book and it’s why I’m also yet to finish a Bill Bryson book. The beginning of the book is really interesting. It’s new ground, it’s a non-fiction book written in a fiction style. As you can imagine we do end up walking through endless housing estates. As the lines cross we do get quite a bit of repetition.

The first couple of stations take up a couple of chapters. But as we go further stations take up a quarter of this. I think a big selling point to this (unless on the DLR) is you get to pick out your station. Many don’t get the coverage unless they’re big names (ie Wimbledon or Morden.) The pub crawl is fun but it does feel as though Mason realized that he needed to make it fun. Following this certain walks are done at night (which does stop the author seeing the highlights.)

I think a main problem is that it doesn’t really reference people. It mainly references buildings and so it lacks a little passion.

So, what did I think. I really enjoyed dipping in and out of this book. Read one tube line, put the book down for a bit, read another tube line. It’s not a book I think I could physically read in one go because it’s too heavy. It’s a perfect gift for a new Londoner or a walker who might be tempted to walk the 11 lines. For me a great dip in and out but not quite there.

[Rachel Stevenson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Almost as difficult a slog as the actual 20 mile+ walks, and this is due to the writer, despite having many facts to hand (I like a good hard fact), not being as funny as Bill Bryson or puppyishly amiable as Stuart Maconie, or a bit eccentric like Tim Moore (all men, these, when will there be a female light-hearted traveloguer?) He's not a great companion, moaning about town planners, the “nanny state”, street signs, art deco architecture, the art supplies shop called Let’s Fill This Town With Artists, and cyclists, whilst referencing women by their hair colour (“a tired blonde”*). He writes more like a CAMRA member wanting to get something off their chest, rather than someone trying to engage the reader. It's not that interesting to know what you had for your mid-walk Starbucks snack, dear writer.

*He even uses the pages to name and berate his female friends who ask him why he’s doing such a strange thing. Oh these silly women with their fashions and their fripperies, they don’t understand that a man must have a challenge, a raison d'etre, and no, sorry, he can’t do the washing up, he doesn’t have time for your nonsense.
 

[James Sarek · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has inspired me to walk the lines myself (currently 5 lines done as of writing), and there are some interesting facts in this book, but Mason comes off as a bit snobby and backward at times ; it's an averagely written book about a riveting subject. Furthermore Mason's unwillingness to explore the DLR and Overground seems silly as it misses out swathes of the capital, simply because he classes himself a puritan and doesn't think they should even be on the map!

A decent enough book if you, like me, are fascinated by the Underground network but not a great piece of writing in general.

[Shahrun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the way the authors brain is wired up, we must be related some how. This book is genius, informative, entertaining and inspiring. I’ve always thought in Personal Tube Map terms, but never had the correct phrase to explain it to myself. Only thing left now is to have a go at this myself! Although I don’t know that I would re-walk all the bits I’ve covered where lines either share track or a route if there was nothing new to see. I also don’t understand why the author insisted walking to different branches. Why not walk one way, train back to the fork then walk the next bit?

[Scout X · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you know the street in London with the most vowels in a row? After reading this book you will.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspired! That's a challenge for next year.

[my.bookshelf.87 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

This is the account of Mark Mason's experience of walking the entire length of the London Underground, overground, passing every station on the way. 403.2 miles walked over 174 hours and 50 minutes.

I enjoyed the first half of this book more than the second half. It seemed to drag on a bit towards the end. I think that meeting up with various friends along the way actually was a distraction.

[finn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book just makes you fall more in love with London. It’s witty, full of trivia, anecdotes and random snippets of conversations from strangers. It’s really insightful and just an excellent project to pursue. I really enjoyed reading it. :)

[Iain Hamill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A light but enjoyable read. Plenty of interesting trivia and observations. As someone who loves to embark on long walks, urban and otherwise, and with a real love of London there was plenty of thought-provoking material here.

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really trying to be Bryson or maybe David Sedaris at times and misses the mark. Also his (only 10 years ago) diction walks a fine line if problematic and intuitive.
4 stars for easy to read, new material, and mostly insightful and fun.

[Zeinab Azar · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea of the book, walking London along the underground lines, is a fascinating way one to explore the city. However, Mason's lens and concerns were frustrating. He is obsessed with noting the wealth of areas he walks through by the size and condition of the houses and cars people have (very English of him!). He thinks walking long distances or being obsessed with maps and the Tube are very male things (pg. 244). That made me feel this book was not written for me, that the audience is essentially other men. This is clear in the literature on London that he engages with as well, all written by men past and present. The best parts of the book are when he's interviewing people or walking along the lines with them. Even then, he only talks to men except one woman who's learning the Knowledge to become a cabbie.

[Owen McArdle · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's travel writing and it involves train infrastructure and the author isn't insufferable and so it was up my street

[Daniel Villines · Rating 2 out of 5]

London is not a very big place, at least the parts of London that I want to see. Beyond Kensington Palace to the west and Greenwich to the east, the rest of London resembles the satellite sprawl of any big city. And that is how this book reads.

For virtually every Tube line, Mason begins his walk in some remote, end-of-the-line suburb, describes the sprawl as he approaches the heart of London, and then continues past the city into the suburbs again towards the opposite end-of-the-line. This book reads more like a commentary on satellite neighborhoods than it does on the modern and ancient city known as London. While there is the occasional fact or location of interest, most of the time I struggled to keep my eyes opened.

The other issue with Walk the Lines is the tone of the writing. While Mason describes his enthusiasm for his project, he does a poor job in communicating that enthusiasm to his readers. The writing is monologue and monotone, and presents a constant feeling of cynicism regarding most of his observations. The best writing in this book occurs when Mason conveys the conversations he has had with others that are invited along for his walks. It's disappointing to find out that appearances by his guests are so infrequent.

Walk the Lines is a book that proves that one person's adventure is not necessarily everyone's adventure. And if anyone out there doubts this to be true, I have an awesome coin collection to show you.

[Anthony Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another vehicle for Mark Mason’s fascination with trivia, and, given the fortitude and perseverance with which he pursues his objective, a testament to his dedication to his cause.

In this instance his determination is to walk overground from one end to the other of every underground line in London, starting in the summer and finishing with a three-day jaunt along the Metropolitan line just before Christmas in weather that cannot be called clement. He passes every station on every line. Inevitably this means, in central London, that he passes some stations more often, and this can be when the narrative flags a bit. Overall, however, he didn’t lose this reader though I found the times when he reflected on his responses to what sort of entity London is difficult to follow.

There’s lots of odd stuff, as you’ld expect, and Mason does his research well. As in ‘Mail Obsession’ where he gets to know the history of the Post Office and the Postal Museum, for his Underground adventure he uses the services of Piotr of ‘the Mecca of maps, Cartography Central’, Stanfords of Covent Garden, and compares notes with Rachel, who is getting The Knowledge to qualify as a black cab driver.

This practice of meeting people who can shed light on his interests/obsessions is an enlivening technique that helps Mason avoid becoming nothing more than a factsheet. Another such character that was a standout to me was Bill Drummond who walks a stretch of the Metropolitan Line with Mason. Bill is the creator of ‘Drummond’s Cake Circle’. This is a circle drawn on an Ordnance Survey map of London, and Drummond ‘periodically bakes a cake, travels to a house somewhere on the circle, and gives them the cake.’ He has done this with a Soup Line as well, writing in advance to householders on the line saying they are on his Soup Line and would they like him to come and cook them some soup? If they say yes, he does.

And I enjoyed the visit to Tim Bentinck, aka David Archer of The Archers. A little known fact is that for many years Tim was one of the London Underground voices for ‘Mind The Gap’.

So, if you want a good bedside book, I can recommend you to consider ‘Walk the Lines’.

Readers keen to further explore the vicarious experience of quirky walking in London might try Sean Borodale’s ‘Notes for an Atlas’, a sensory record of several walks through London in an idiosyncratic verse form. The Central Line pub crawl challenge is also always available…

[Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to be honest. Having gone to Limestone Books in Settle today, and added a few more books to the pile to be read I had to be disciplined and finish this off.
This book was given to me by a good friend who loved it, so.. .. clearly it needed to be read. The thing about books from other people is that there is that need to read, finish and make some wise comment on the thing to show that the thoughtfulness has been appreciated. Getting the first half read was a real trial: I found the pace slow and the author somewhat plodding - almost like walking uphill. Perhaps that was psychologically what was happening: a long arduous ascent into the unknown armed only with an A to Z and a magic marker. But then, about halfway through a lightness descended on the book. It became more human, more interacting, more social. The author opened up more, and was less "lookitmedoingathing" so much as that deep joy of celebrating the place in which he lived and loved. The final section, the final walk with Bill (cake circle, whey-oh calling and so on) was delightful, and one wishes that this celebratory humanity had infused the first half as well. Why didn't that happen? No idea. I'm not the author. but it struck me that he warmed to his subject the more he did.
There is the occasional silliness - the pub crawl around the Circle Line stands out - and some of the observations might raise an eyebrow here or there. What is guaranteed is that you will learn more about London than a mortal human might wish, and appreciate the ever enlarging and changing nature of the capital alongside the haphazard way the Tube has been built as one of the ways to transport its lifeblood: people.

[Emma Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read about one man and his desire to walk the London Underground Lines, and see how it all connects. I loved it, and disliked it for three equal reasons.
LOVED
1. I really enjoyed the determination and endurance of one man's quest to see it all - I mean, I could not walk the distance of a marathon in one day, or over one evening in fact! The all-nighter one was both fascinating and just crazy in my opinion.
2. I laughed so much while reading the Circle Line walk - that was thoroughly entertaining as they slowly drank their way around central London.
3. I love a good trivia knowledge nugget, and there were definitely a few there that were great to know that just make you love London.

NOT SO LOVED
1. He didn't consider the DLR or the London Overground as cannon, and therefore, didn't walk them. I thought this discredited a lot of the culture or growth of East and South London, and as a result, there was a lot of talk of North London and Metroland, without the balance of other parts of London.
2. While it was nice to have friends join him on some of the walks, I felt like it distracted him from a few fun facts along the way. There was a lot of talk and then 'we passed X station...' and that's it.
3. While I know he loves to tick off a list, I thought he tortured himself there by trying to walk a lot of lines in a day or walking 'offline' between lines (e.g. High Barnet to Edgeware) - I wouldn't have judged him for catching a bus/train/taxi to help speed things along on the 'offline' moments.

[Tony Lawrence]

Well, I guess someone had to do it! Mark Mason engaged in this nerd-fest, to walk (see ps) all (see ps) the London (see ps) tube lines above ground, not just to visit each station, but all the branches and repeated bits; just over 400 miles over 6 months on a series of 1, 2 or 3 day visits from his home in Suffolk (circa 2010/11?) Other than the initial idea, that it just 'had to be done', Mason wanted to understand and own the city that he’d lived and travelled in. But of course that it is impossible as there are an infinite number of ‘Londons’ changing every day (any big world city, but especially London). The odyssey involved lots of facts about the history and geography of the network and stuff on the surface. It cemented home to me (and him) how Metroland, where I was born, is a construct of the tube network and the important role of the containing green belt. When it wasn’t nerdy enough he bought in other blokes to help, including a well-established pub crawl around the Circle Line, strangely muted. I have a new respect and awe for the tube, but don’t feel like I ‘know’ London any better … you ultimately need to live in it to be part of your own personal city.

Addenda: (1) there was a bit of the network that he couldn’t walk, a road tunnel between Heathrow terminals, (2) Chesham and other Metropolitan stations in Herts/Bucks are outside London, (3) he didn’t do the DLR for no obvious reason, and the new Cross Rail/Elizabeth line, because it wasn’t there(!) opened in 2022 … but I’m sure someone will rise to this new challenge.

[Terry Clague · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable birthday gift from a best mate, in which the author conspires to walk the route of each of the London Underground lines, which nevertheless brought to mind a Caitlin Moran quip about George Galloway which I’ll paraphrase - “the kind of activity most commonly considered in the midlife crisis years by men who’ve hitherto got away with trying it on and, without exception, think ‘I sound dashing. Like Iain Sinclair circumnavigating the M25 for psychogeographic adventure.’ Sadly the phrase that onlookers most commonly think is ‘why is that podgy man trying to cross the Hangar Lane gyratory on foot?’”

An absence of power/politics is perhaps not surprising from a Spectator writer, who betrays some odd/irritating perspectives (Jean Charles de Menezes death, covered up by the Metropolitan Police, is tossed off as “controversial”, sex workers are “tarts”, for example while there’s an ongoing obsession with suicide). Still, the self-depreciation saves the day - at one point quoting Jeffrey Bernard that “the trouble is, I bore myself. When even a self-obsessed man is made to yawn by his own daydreams then there’s no where to go.” Bill Drummond’s cameo appearance toward the end provides a suitable ending to the book, which I’d recommend alongside “Rebel Footprints” as essential supplementary reading.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having an (inexplicable) fondness for the Tube (despite living over 200 miles away), I really enjoyed Mason’s epic overground slog around the London Underground. The book is crammed with fascinating trivia about the lines, stations, and locations that Mason visits and peppered with observations of everyday human life in the capital.

The selection of people that Mason interviews along the way make for interesting diversions but there’s a slight sense that he begins to run out of things to talk about, with the night walk, the snow walk, and the circle line pub crawl feeling a bit forced. Towards the end, we also start to hear a lot more about the greasy spoons and cafes in which Mason chooses to stop for lunch! However, considering the interconnectivity and repetition of the Tube network, I guess there’s only so much commentary to be made on post-war suburbia or the art deco origins of various stations.

Overall, a fascinating and entertaining read for anyone with an interest in London – either above or below ground.

[Emilia Tezel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this in a charity shop. I enjoyed this book but there were times where I felt the author's tiredness of walking all that way, and I became tired of the lists too. It's now 10 years old and before the 2012 Olympics and the Shard so it's interesting to see how things have changed. It's definitely a personal account but some fun London facts for the Londonphile. Think a sequel would be good to show how places have become gentrified etc (Tooting deserved more love I feel!)

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favourite city to visit is London. The author decided to walk to all the stations of the underground, following each tube line. He has some great information on various places in London. I was pleased to be able to relate to some of the things he spoke about, thanks to London Walks and all the walking I've done on my own. However, I learned so much more from his book.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a transport geek, I was keen to read this book and the first two walks delivered some interesting facts about the tube's history and quirks; however later on, I found the random trivia to be thrown in somewhat haphazardly only to take away from the otherwise boring endeavour of walking 400 miles across the capital.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book of a man who chose to walk all the Tube lines....it was especially interesting since I have ridden so many of the lines, myself, and it was still fresh in my mind. If you've been to London, or just are curious about what IS London to Londoners, I'd definitely recommend.

[Colin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Subtitled 'The London Underground, Overground', Mark Mason's book does just that, tracing the actual routes that the lines made famous by Harry Beck's iconic map actually take. Walking all the lines from station to station, the author puts a completely new perspective on London and its transport systems. Packed with information and a real sense of the the multiple personalities of the great city, 'its postal districts packed like squares of wheat' in Larkin's words, Walk the Lines shows how there are always new and rewarding ways to look at London.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A different view to the London Underground. But he seems to be a bit confused as to what air traffic controllers do, confusing them with the air marshalls.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good concept. Interesting facts. Dull to read at times and it’s really a bit same-y.

[Heywood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable but repetitive.

[Josh Marks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read it in Argentina and it evoked place and space very nicely.

[Adele C Leech · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining, packed full of facts and endearing.