Friday, April 29, 2005
London's High Line?
The High Line is the name for an old elevated railway in Manhattan that used to take meat from the docks into the meatpacking district. Parts of it still snake from the Hudson into Chelsea. It's always been closed to the public, but with a little illicit climbing you can visit it. Kottke and others have taken great photos of the "natural park" that it has become. When I last visited NYC it was Fleet Week. Crowds of police and navy boys were swarming the west side, so I didn't get a chance to visit. On my next trip the fun will have gone, because there are plans afoot to convert it into a public space.
Luckily there is another abandoned elevated railway less than a mile from my house in London. Sadly Google's hi-res satellite maps haven't reached the UK yet. If you squint you can see it as a green path across this aerial photo of the Shoreditch Triangle. It runs out of Liverpool St Station, up the west side of Shoreditch High St. There's a gap where a bridge over Great Eastern Street and Chariot's Roman Spa used to be. Then it continues north and (I think) finishes at the Regent's Canal in Haggerston. There must be a way up, because for the last three years Banksy has made the bridge over Old Street his regular canvas.
I wondered if any of the many hipsters who read this blog had any advice for climbing up, or whether anyone had actually tried it. infiltration.org has no advice, and I'm not sure where to begin. I never had a particular zeal for urban exploration before, but I'm sure it must be incredible up there.
Update 1/5/4
I had the opportunity to check out this "high line" at a party in Hoxton last night. Sadly the line is being co-opted as part of the East London Line Extension. All the vegetation has been cut, so it's not as thrilling as it might be. There are lots of places to climb up, but obviously as active Railtrack land that's significantly illegal. Luckily there's another elevated railway in North London that's already been converted to a public park. It's called Parkland Walk and it runs for four miles from Finsbury Park to Alexandra Palace.
The High Line is the name for an old elevated railway in Manhattan that used to take meat from the docks into the meatpacking district. Parts of it still snake from the Hudson into Chelsea. It's always been closed to the public, but with a little illicit climbing you can visit it. Kottke and others have taken great photos of the "natural park" that it has become. When I last visited NYC it was Fleet Week. Crowds of police and navy boys were swarming the west side, so I didn't get a chance to visit. On my next trip the fun will have gone, because there are plans afoot to convert it into a public space.
Luckily there is another abandoned elevated railway less than a mile from my house in London. Sadly Google's hi-res satellite maps haven't reached the UK yet. If you squint you can see it as a green path across this aerial photo of the Shoreditch Triangle. It runs out of Liverpool St Station, up the west side of Shoreditch High St. There's a gap where a bridge over Great Eastern Street and Chariot's Roman Spa used to be. Then it continues north and (I think) finishes at the Regent's Canal in Haggerston. There must be a way up, because for the last three years Banksy has made the bridge over Old Street his regular canvas.I wondered if any of the many hipsters who read this blog had any advice for climbing up, or whether anyone had actually tried it. infiltration.org has no advice, and I'm not sure where to begin. I never had a particular zeal for urban exploration before, but I'm sure it must be incredible up there.
Update 1/5/4
I had the opportunity to check out this "high line" at a party in Hoxton last night. Sadly the line is being co-opted as part of the East London Line Extension. All the vegetation has been cut, so it's not as thrilling as it might be. There are lots of places to climb up, but obviously as active Railtrack land that's significantly illegal. Luckily there's another elevated railway in North London that's already been converted to a public park. It's called Parkland Walk and it runs for four miles from Finsbury Park to Alexandra Palace.
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