The Underground, London Tube system is a great way to travel thru London. it's very crowded and during rush hours, people are moving quite fast and everyone seems trained to stand to the right to allow faster pedestrians the right of way to walk up the escalators on the left. These tunnels are over 200 feet deep, therefore, the escalators are quite steep. You feel as if it's a voyage into the center of the earth.
About 7 million people live in and around London, making it one of the largest European cities. It's similiar to our BART system, but even more crowded. You can get a tube pass for several days and use it like our BART ticket. Musicians will play or sing underground at some of the stations and you can hear the music echo thru the tube. Watch out for pickpockets, they can spot a tourist quickly. You know, the ones with their maps, cameras, doe eyes looking lost or up at the signs, oblivious to the hands going into their purses and pant/coat pockets.
In 2007, riding the Tube cost 4 pounds ($8 USD) but you can purchase tickets from newspaper stands which sell tickets for $1.00 and booklets of 6 one-way tickets. Sometimes, it's better to take the Underground to get around London. The cars here do not believe pedestrians have the right of way, they will run you over if you pause, or even if you have the green light! In other words, you pass their car on a green light and they still have a red light and the drivers start moving before you've finished crossing the pedestrian cross-walk. It's no wonder I saw very few disabled or elderly people around town. They probably all got mowed down!
Inside the tube or tunnels, the areas are usually dirty and street persons often sleep inside them. And signs are everywhere, warning you of pick-pockets. PBS (Channel 9) recently did a special on the ghosts which haunt different stations of the Underground. Most of it anecdotal, from retired employees who used to work the lines, especially night shift staff. All would report the room temperature dropping to freezing and the hair on their arms, backs and neck standing up when a spirit would be close by. Brrrrrrrrrhhhhh. read more