BACKGROUND
There is growing interest in and enthusiasm for my Project Monopoly Series. Friends and family I speak to each have their own memories of playing the game and are intrigued there are so many fun facts about the streets named on the board. A few have invited themselves along for future walks. So far I have covered:
| No 0 – Introduction | No 2 – Whitechapel Road | No 5 – The Angel Islington |
| No 1 – Old Kent Road | No3 – King’s Cross Station |
Each post will follow the same format.
MONOPOLY BOARD PROPERTY NUMBER 4: EUSTON ROAD
(Details of books and maps at the end of the post)
Technically speaking, the order of the light blue properties if following a map east to west should run like this: The Angel Islington, Pentonville Road, Euston Road. King’s Cross Station sits where Pentonville and Euston Roads meet.
I am following the order of the streets as laid down on the Monopoly board so will continue with Euston Road. After exploring the area around Angel tube station, I took a bus south from Upper Street, turning right along Pentonville Road and then going further on to Euston Road. I will write about this in a future post for anyone who wishes to cover the three light blue Monopoly properties on the same day.
HOW TO GET HERE
For transport options, Citymapper is invaluable as a tool to get from A to B. Several tube stations serve the Euston Road: Great Portland Street, Warren Street, Euston Square and King’s Cross St Pancras. There are several bus routes that go along the road as well.
Driving along Euston Road has its own hazards, as it is on the edge of the London Congestion Charge zone. Whilst drivers are not charged for travelling on the road, if they inadvertantly turn south and breach the zone during its long hours of operation a heavy charge of £18 ensues.
ASPECTS OF MY VISIT
As the Euston Road is a major road (part of the London Inner Ring Road) it is not a road to wander along for shopping or dining. However there are several grand buildings along this road worth looking out for including King’s Cross train station, St Pancras train station, St Pancras London Hotel, the British Library, Friends House (national HQ of the Quakers), the former Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital, the Royal College of General Practitioners and the Wellcome Collection.
St Pancras International, home to the Eurostar
Statue of the poet John Betjeman, whose support for the station saved it from being demolished in the 1960s
Behold the grandeur of St Pancras London Hotel, originally the Midland Grand Hotel designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott
The British Library looks so stark and severe by comparison to the St Pancras London Hotel
The former Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital
The Royal College of General Practitioners
The Wellcome Collection
This was my first visit to the Wellcome Collection and I thoroughly recommend it. My favourite item in the permanent display is an anatomical model of a woman whose organs light up when you press a panel of buttons. It never ceases to amaze me how many body parts need to fit onto the cavity of our (bodily) trunk.
I noticed these gas canisters with a map of the world cut out, because we still use bottled gas canisters in our family home in Kuala Lumpur. (Un Monde Sous Pression/ The World Under Pressure by Batoul S’Himi).
The Reading Room
Some artwork providing timely reminders of the importance of water in this current heatwave and hosepipe ban
SOMETHING FOR ANOTHER DAY
I would like to re-visit The British Library, have lunch at the St Pancras Hotel and take a day trip on the Eurostar to re-visit Lille in Northern France.
MAPS AND BOOKS
London city map 1:10,000 by Freytag & Berndt, ISBN 978-3707924268
No Free Parking: The Curious History of London’s Monopoly Streets by Nicholas Boys Smith, published by John Blake Publishing, ISBN 978-1789465389. See chapter 21 (Euston Road).
Do Not Pass Go: From the Old Kent Road to Mayfair by Tim Moore, published by Vintage, ISBN 978-0099433866. See chapter 13 (The Light Blues).