Introduction
Greening of London’s streets, buildings and other public spaces does more than change the look of these places. Roofs and walls covered in plants, street trees and small pocket parks in between buildings make the city a better place to live, work and invest.
Script
Narrator: It’s one of the greatest cities on Earth, cosmopolitan and vibrant and visited by millions of people from all four corners of the globe every year. It is, of course, London.
Now London is a big city and if you only have a limited amount of time to get around, one of the greenest ways of travelling around the capital is to hire a bike. One of the Boris bikes, named after our mayor. All you have to do is put your credit card into a machine here and pick up a code like I’ve got here, put it in your number and away you go. Once you’ve got your wheels you’re ready to start exploring the capital’s landmarks, but do be careful. Make sure you use the cycle lanes and be wary of other road users and pedestrians.
Flower Market is London’s oldest fruit market. It’s really popular particularly at the weekends with both Londoners and tourists alike. You come here looking for fresh seasonal organic food. There’s so much to see and do in London it can be hard to know where to start. My advice is to head down to the mighty River Thames where you can get your bearings then you can start to really explore.
I’m here in Trafalgar Square which is really in the heart of central London. From here almost everywhere is reachable by foot. Just to the north we’ve got the West End and all the theatres. To the south there’s Buckingham Palace and number 10 Downing Street and really if you haven’t been to Trafalgar Square, you haven’t been to London.
Covent Garden has always been in the heart of London’s tourist route and it’s a wonderful slice of city life with markets shops and restaurants galore. Just off the beaten track in Covent Garden is Niels yard, a treasure trove of green goodies and just a great place to hang out. One of the great things about being a green traveler is that you come across hidden gems like this – The Grand Union Canal, a system of waterways, you know, very quiet areas where you can cycle and walk. There are no buses or cars here and the great thing about them is that they link up some of the best areas of London.
And here we are. Just cycle along the canal into the heart of Camden. It’s a brilliant atmosphere here that has fantastic markets and shops and restaurants, great nightlife, great food and great people. The Duke of Cambridge opened in 1998 and it was the first, and still is, organic pub in the world. We have a huge range of customers. A lot of locals come here but we’re also a destination restaurant. Everything’s strictly seasonal and field grown so there’s no heated greenhouses ever.
So there we have it, a snapshot of green London and when you come to London spend as long as you can and don’t be surprised if you find it hard to leave.
Quiz
1. If you only have a limited amount of time to ________, one of the greenest ways of travelling around London is to hire a bike. Discussion
- Have you ever been to London? What are some of your most vivid memories about your trip?
- Do you think of London as being a particularly “green” city with lots of parks, trees and open space? What are some other cities that you might describe as being quite green or eco-friendly?
- What about the city you live in or nearest to? What environmental improvements have you noticed in recent years and what might you like to see in future?