"Robin May" wrote in message
. 4...
The dangerous parts of London are quiet and suffer from poor
transport links. The immediate vicinites of tube stations do not
qualify. The only real exception to this is Brixton, which I have
always found to have a mildly menacing atmosphere, but so long as
you leave the station and walk briskly like you know where you are
going, and do not allow yourself to be seen using a map either on
the train after Stockwell or after leaving the train, you will be
fine there in daytime or even up to about midnight.

Oddly, I prefer Brixton to Clapham North, which I do dislike,
especially walking down that horrid spiral staircase. I'll use it
if I must, but I'd rather go to Brixton (but life is too short to
bother changing at Stockwell unless I really have to go into
Brixton first!) At least Brixton has plenty of staff about, and
rather obvious CCTVs.

Highbury and Islington (silverlink platforms) is a rather unpleasant
place to wait for a train, although entertainment is provided in the
form of occasional violent spectacles. I also find the experience of
catching the North London Line quite unpleasant. I had a rather scary
journey once where a man seemed to spend the entire journey eyeing up
my bike for stealability. That made me decide that taking my bike on
the North London line at 11:00 at night was probably a bad idea,
although if I'd been sensible I'd have realised that a lot sooner.


IMHO, the most threatening part of the tube network is the Northern end of
the Bakerloo Line. Wembley Central is a nasty ghetto, Harlesden isn't much
better, and the walk from the platforms to the street at Willesden Junction
is also unpleasant.

But there are little-used mainline stations in London which are worse.
Loughborough junction is utterly derilect, and Streatham is now pretty
menacing.

BTN

Ben Nunn wrote:

But there are little-used mainline stations in London which are worse.
Loughborough junction is utterly derilect, and Streatham is now pretty
menacing.

bites

What's wrong with Streatham? It's pretty unclean, but I never feel
unsafe there (although that may be because I live there and go through
it twice a day ).

Like Brixton it opens onto a busy street, and so with the old safety in
numbers principle, which may or may not be illfounded in this case, I
feel ok.

Been quite interesting reading this thread and see some people
innocently lurching from one generalisation to the other without
seemingly really meaning it or wishing to insult any social group.

"Dan Gravell" wrote in message
...
Ben Nunn wrote:

But there are little-used mainline stations in London which are worse.
Loughborough junction is utterly derilect, and Streatham is now pretty
menacing.

bites

What's wrong with Streatham? It's pretty unclean, but I never feel
unsafe there (although that may be because I live there and go through
it twice a day ).

Like Brixton it opens onto a busy street, and so with the old safety in
numbers principle, which may or may not be illfounded in this case, I
feel ok.


Safety in numbers would only apply if you either lived or worked there, and
were using the station in during peak times though.

Go there at night - or indeed during the middle of the day - and it's almost
empty apart from the occasional gang hanging around at platform level, and
loitering crack-dealer in the ticket hall.


Been quite interesting reading this thread and see some people
innocently lurching from one generalisation to the other without
seemingly really meaning it or wishing to insult any social group.


It's not a generalisation to talk about how places make you feel
individually. Right now, Streatham makes *me* feel somewhat threatened, so
I'll normally take a bus if I'm going there.

BTN

Ben Nunn wrote:

Go there at night - or indeed during the middle of the day - and it's almost
empty apart from the occasional gang hanging around at platform level, and
loitering crack-dealer in the ticket hall.

Not experienced that myself. I think the same sort of "gangs" you're
discussing hang about on my road, but they're hardly threatening, just kids.

I don't know what distinguishing features all crack dealers have so I
wouldn't know one if I saw one.

Dan

Dan Gravell wrote the following
in:

I don't know what distinguishing features all crack dealers have
so I wouldn't know one if I saw one.

They all sell crack.

--
message by Robin May, enforcer of sod's law.
"Dust Hill guy likes the Gordon clock"

"You MUST NOT drive dangerously" - the Highway Code
Spelling lesson: then and than are different words.

On Wed, 21 Apr 2004 at 14:46:22, Ben Nunn wrote:

But there are little-used mainline stations in London which are worse.
Loughborough junction is utterly derilect, and Streatham is now pretty
menacing.

LJ is a lot better than it was 3-4 years ago, they seem to have
refurbished it. Streatham is, I agree, vile. I get a train from there
2 mornings/week, and there is nowhere decent to wait - lots of people
wait upstairs until the train is actually approaching. But you can
scarcely call it little-used, though - there are always loads of people
waiting for the 10.04, and in the evenings, you have to queue to get
out!

But, oh, THAMESLINK!!!! Why is it that the 10.04, which is the train I
try to catch, is almost invariably late? The one day it wasn't, I
missed it (sods' law!).....
--
Annabel Smyth
http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/index.html
Website updated 8 March 2004