After writing my Surviving in London post, I was contacted by Andrew from Quickmaps. I have been graciously provided with some maps to try out, and that is precisely what I am intending to do now!
I was sent a number of their products, including my main focus the London All-on-One map. On the back cover of the map is a guide to 24 hour buses via central London. It shows all of the 24 hour bus routes which you might need, including 4 of their main stops through Central London. A very handy thing to have with you if you’re out late one night and need to get home. For a tourist this might be a little cryptic, but for someone who knows London it’s invaluable, and saves you a lot of time trying to find the right bus to catch.
On the inside cover there is an interesting description of where various locations in terms of compass headings from the Piccadilly Circus (at the center of London). For example, Putney has an arrow pointing South West, and Hampstead has an arrow pointing North West. If you happened to have a compass this would be pretty useful, but it would also give you a good idea of your orientation.
The main map has been described as “throwing a tube of smarties onto a map of London and joining them up with tube lines and bus routes”. I’m glad that’s a simily or I would have eaten it by now! It allows you to plot a journey between any two central London “nodes”, which are represented by blobs on the map. Linking the nodes are Tube lines and bus routes, so you can plan a journey using either mode of transport with ease.
So, what good is this thing anyway?
It’s a damn slight smaller than an A-Z, which is a good plus point. It folds out to approximately A4 size – but you can of course only fold out the part you actually need. It’s much more discrete than you might imagine, you can get away with flipping it out on a bus without anyone turning a head. It’s also pretty hardy (any map that lasts longer than a week in my rucksack is pretty well built), and not to mention very good value (just £2.50! That’s less than a days worth of travel!).
The interconnection of bus routes is the element that has been the most useful to me. For instance not too long ago I was going to meet up with a few friends in Piccadilly Circus area one evening, and whilst I was on the Metropolitan Line down I was informed the Bakerloo Line was heavily delayed.
Instead of the usual fluster associated with rerouting your journey whilst in transit, I simply broke out the All-on-One and found a number of bus routes which would take me to where I needed to go. Taking into account the time of day I was able to find the most appropriate bus to hop onto. None of this nonsense wandering around trying to find the right bus stop at Baker Street, then finding none of the busses at that stop go where you need, then trying to work out which stop it was you were supposed to be at and how to get to it.
Then there is the tourist test, which was conducted at a cafe in the area of Great Portland Street. “How do I get to Kings Cross from here?”, was the question. My friend flustered somewhat trying to explain how to get to the tube station, and what tube lines he needed to get from there. Before he was half way through I had plotted a full journey from almost where we were standing on a high frequency bus route which went straight to his destination, with no problems at all.
The Walking map is actually quite a nice little addition which, although I’ve not used an awful lot, is something that gives me a bit of inspiration on dull days.
The one shortcoming that I would have liked to have seen is connections for destinations outside Zone 1 and 2. For instance, I’m currently living in Harrow – if, for whatever reason, I wanted to see what bus routes went in that direction I’d still need to have a hunt for bus timetables. There is, incidentally, the 18 which goes from Great Portland Street Station to Sudbury, and from there I can get a local bus service to get me where I want to go. I’m sure there are a few bus routes which go from Central London outwards – it’d be nice to see where they all go. Where this information might be presented I don’t know, but it’d be a welcome addition.
In comparison with one of those awful Tourist maps you see on Tube platforms everywhere – well, there is no comparison. You can actually get somewhere with the All-on-One, rather than the Tourist maps which are not only grossly inaccurate but useless too.
If you combine this map with the usual London A-Z (by the way get the paperback version – my flexibound one has fallen to pieces), you have in one hand the ultimate guide to getting anywhere in London, via any means of transport.
Overall I have found many uses for this map, and is now one of my treasured items of London Kit. I wouldn’t go anywhere without it!
Well done Quickmap! Go buy one now!