Five hours in, three to go, we travelled ever eastwards, this time four stops to Boston Manor another Charles Holden / Stanley Heaps designed Grade II listed building. Of note here is the tower with clear Dutch and German influences, at a time when architectural styles were flexing towards modernism. I think we were particularly fortunate with the lighting, as it showed the glass bricks so well. Functionally, the idea is that the station is visible from a good distance around. As a bonus, we could just make out some new Piccadilly line trains in Northfields Depot, undergoing testing, prior to introduction to service.

Returning to the platform, our group took a quick look at the old signal cabin at the west end of the eastbound platform, prior to our final Piccadilly line train to Acton Town, changing to the District line. It being 15.00 and with just two hours left before our 17.00 end-goal, the station indicator boards at Acton had entered a seemingly infinite loop of reboot, wrong information, reboot, leaving us with no clue as to when an eastbound District line train was due. Anxious westward looks along the line finally revealed an Upminster bound train. Of course, we were not going that far; Chiswick Park was the next destination. As a sidenote, on this journey, a charming young lady offered one of our number a seat - this may be the future as we mature in years!

The station itself is another Grade II Holden structure and, of note here is the enormous size of the ticket hall, even with a later ticket office structure protruding into the original space. Small shops still operate around the perimeter, with the Barber's showing the ubiquitous trend for amusing names; in this case it was 'Pure Barberism' - clearly a cut above the rest.



Adam always stays calm but we had to press on to Hammersmith and so back to the District line. This time, we noted flying in, our first A380, SQ308 running 20 minutes late, after 13 hours in the air from Singapore. For us, just another four stops and a matter of minutes. Choosing first to head outside for the 100m walk to the Hammersmith & City station, we paused only to take advantage of the facilities at a local pub, before catching the 15.51 towards Barking (we would be back). For now, it was just three stops to Wood Lane where Adam had uncovered another gem. Wood Lane is an unusual example of a new station on an existing Underground line‡, opened in 2008 for the Westfield shopping complex buildout*. Prior to that, there was a former Wood Lane station, not on this site, which closed in 1959.

‡Other examples: The Victoria line to Brixton opened 23 Jul 1971 but Pimlico station did not open until 14 Sep 1972. The present Hillingdon station opened 28 Jun 1992, replacing the original to the east.

Within the new station is a roundel mosaic, from that original Wood Lane station. It seems to be a moot point as to whether it was reconstructed from the original tiles or stayed 'intact' throughout but either way it is a lovely item. [*Buildout is an American term referring to the development, construction, or expansion of something. It can also mean the process of implementing these plans, such as a commercial tenant taking a leased space, or the state of something being fully developed.]



Having bid farewell to one of our number at this point, heading for an awards evening at Lords County Cricket Club, those not 'Out' set off back to Hammersmith. Curiously, we were directed by Adam to the rear carriage of the train, which will leave us as far from the exit as possible - a man of mystery indeed. On arrival, we climbed the footbridge over the tracks at the end of the platform, where things become clear. Using an old map of the area, Adam pointed out that we are now standing almost next to where the old Hammersmith (Grove Road) station was. Trains ran from here to Waterloo and Richmond.

As we first entered Hammersmith on the District line earlier, Adam pointed out the viaduct (between the District line tracks west of Hammersmith station). Still in situ, trains once ran from Grove Road, round and down on to the tracks to Richmond, although descending between the current Eastbound District and Eastbound Piccadilly (the direction of travel on the latter had previously been westbound).

Next was another quick look at the outside of the H&C station glowing in the late afternoon sunshine. Then, it was back to Hammersmith (District and Piccadilly lines) pausing to note some of the original station features that were preserved when the original buildings were demolished in the early 1990s.









We set off for Victoria on a District line train to Tower Hill. The 10,000 step target had been soundly exceeded at this stage! As always, when you think you know a station well, Adam is only too happy to point out something you may have missed. In the case of Victoria, two lovely, restored ceramic line maps, originally made in 1899 for the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway. One shows the whole network and the other the suburban lines. Together with a brief stop to see the relatively recent memorial plaque to the Unknown Warrior between P8 & 9, this completed our Victoria visit and left us with one more stop. We said goodbye to our second departee at this point. With 17.00 approaching rapidly, we headed for the District line once more, for our final change at Embankment and indeed final tube line, the Northern, one stop northbound to Leicester Square. One participant highlighted that one platform at Embankment has a unique 'Mind the Gap' recording here is the link to explain the reason. Arrival at Leicester Square was unbelievably spot on 17.00 - Adam Turner is indeed a man of genius!



Leicester Square is a classic Leslie Green station but with our final two interesting features, a wonderful cricket themed image (missed by our recent departee off to Lords), at the location where Wisden's had their premises (the floor above the station once serving as the offices of the company producing the famous cricketing almanac), and an original tiled dado rail, where the letters 'L' and 'T' are interwoven.






Once again, Adam produced a truly memorable day out. As we dispersed into the evening for our various activities (Lords as mentioned, a talk on the Kempton Pumping Station, and a comic evening with James Ancaster and Nish Kumar to name but three), we took with us some great memories.

The final step count north of 12,500, weary feet, but very energised by the trip. We also raised £225 for the Brent Irish Advisory Service. I fully encourage anyone reading this article to look out for future tours by Adam, wherever they may be. You will not be disappointed and you will most certainly sleep well that night!