To ask Londoners how much you explored London as a child?

[AdoptedBumpkin]

Was talking to an older man who grew up in South London yesterday, and he told me he only went to North London once before the age of 18.

I grew up in South London, mostly outer SW postcodes, and I travelled around London quite a lot as a child and more so as a teen, so I was a bit surprised by this.

If you lived in London as a youth, how often do you go to other parts of the city?

But never to South London, it just wasn't on our radar!

Grew up in east London and the south was always spoken about like a mythical land.

I'm nearly 32 and probably only started going south to places like Brixton and Vauxhall when I started clubbing at around 16.

I used to travel from quite far in Essex where I went to school to Westminster for hospital appointments on my own at 11, and would meet my dad at the appointments because he worked in London Bridge.

Hopping on the tube was normal, we saw all the sights as kids. My dad was a postie until the 90's and knew all the little back streets and my mum and dad would always take us to Open House events where we would see parts of London usually closed to the public.

If I'm honest, despite only being 10/15 minutes away from central London on the tube, I rarely go any more and barely take my own kids because I'm so jaded from commuting in Monday-Friday that I hate going in on the weekends. Also, my local tube isn't step free and is a pain so we've been waiting for DS to reliably be able to walk for long periods of time before venturing in, youngest is happy in a sling so that's easy enough.

We went all the time. Like, 2/3 times a week. Drove to central with my dad (he died when I was 12 and was ill before that so just have been about 8-10) at weekends, used to park up and have a walk about the touristy bits and have a walk along the south bank. Cleaned for my mum at various pubs around north/east/west again we’d drive the van, I did that between 12-18. They were everywhere from Liverpool Street to Bethnal Green to Notting Hill to Holborn. We had a pub by Bleeding Heart Yard which was my favourite. I used to sit on the step outside and feel so at home. Skating at Ali Pali all the time because it was near us. Tube up alone when I was about 14 to Camden or oxford street to look around, clubs when I got to 15 through to now. Soho etc.

I know London ridiculously well. I can drive most places in central without a sat nav although it’s hard to park these days. I need help for that.

Interestingly we never went south. We are north you see, it was seen as too far and too rural

Oh and I was born early 80’s if that makes a difference!

Actually we did go to Catford to visit an uncle every Christmas and I remember my grandad making a huge fuss every time about the journey FFS JOAN WE’VE GOT TO GO THROUGH THE FACKING TUNNEL, WE AINT STAYIN LONG, THEY NEVER COME HERE type arguments

'If I'm honest, despite only being 10/15 minutes away from central London on the tube, I rarely go any more and barely take my own kids because I'm so jaded from commuting in Monday-Friday that I hate going in on the weekends.' Same here. Although I did go to Covent Garden this Xmas, and it looked amazing, every shop and restaurant with lights etc. Oh and to the very odd exhibition. But generally I just can't be arsed with going more than a couple of times a year.

Sorry about your dad, Iampickle. You have very fond memories...

I was born late 80s and grew up in south London zone 6 (pretty much outskirts). Saw loads of central and south London, my parents took us to museums and art galleries etc. From about the age of 14/15 I was regularly going to gigs in central London - never further north than Camden. Shopping in Oxford Street etc. I loved growing up where I did, it was so easy to access central London but you got suburban life too.

Thanks Charley50 he wasn’t a native Londoner like my mums family, which I didn’t get at the time but being able to drive in central and not knowing where you are going must have been very intimidating. I have friends now who won’t drive to London. I’m actually really grateful that we did it so much because it removes that fear for me. My fear now is of driving in a bus lane

I regret not seeing south London. I want to see the dinosaurs at Crystal Palace wuite badly. What else have you guys got, sell it to me

I lived in London for a bit and it was so glorious. Zoo, museums, parks etc. Worked for a summer there when I was 16 and explored loads too. We live in London now and I am so excited for my little girl to grow up with all these wonderful things to do on our doorstep. However, my sister teaches in a North London suburb and a significant of her teenage student have never been into Central London/seen the Thames/etc, or only do so on school trips. Sadly it's an economic and social class/social capital thing.

Grew up in north London.
Day to day as kids we tended to stick to our local area, but we went in to central London loads to parks, museums, shops etc in the holidays. Only really went to south/east/west London to visit friends or family.

Once I was a teenager I explored the city a lot more. I knew the best nightclubs in every area .

I grew up in SE London. As a child we did lots of museums, art galleries, parks, theatre etc. As a teenager I'd still explore London a fair bit; Camden was a favourite by day and by night (anyone remember Toony Loons?), we'd sometimes go to trafalgar square just because, Greenwich, the south bank.

We lived in north London and travelled all over by bus or tube. I preferred the bus as you could look at the places you were passing through and it gave me a much better sense of orientation compared to the tube.

We had relatives in south London (traitors 😉) and our school had people from all over so you would travel to meet up with them.

That’s so sad about the socioeconomic thing mauvaisereputation. Although almost none of my London trips with my mum were pleasure trips. I was taken to do some work not have fun!

I know that half of London children will never have been inside a theatre, which I do find very sad.

And anecdotally, I was once at a bus stop and the bus had its final destination as Trafalgar Square instead of Wood Green. Two late teen boys started freaking out because they didn’t know what or where that was. We are zone 4.

I was born in London and grew up in Islington. I used to travel to central London (City and West End etc) and other north London locations a lot as a teenager to school and to see friends etc. South of the river was a foreign land to me though until I was much older.

Oh but I never did any of the tourist stuff. I have still never been in St Paul's cathedral or inside the Tower of London and am unlikely to as I don't live in London any more

All the tourist stuff I have done (London eye, aquarium ,South Bank) have been as an adult since I moved out. Growing up, we never did any of these things, except going to Trafalgar Square to see Father Christmas and the Christmas lights in the West End once a year.

No real Londoner has been inside the Tower of London have they? Isn’t that the litmus test It was built to keep Londoners out and it has with extortionate prices!

I haven’t been to Tower of London but often went to St Paul’s as a teenage as it was free.
I’ve since taken my DC to do all the tourist stuff and once a year I meet my school friend who has moved quite far away and we do things like watch a show, go to Buckingham Palace or Covent Garden.

I was a teen in the mid 80's. I spent most of the weekends with my mates and a 'red bus rover' travelling around North and Central London. As a family we went to West London and to South London for days out.. like Greenwich park / Cutty sark / hampstead heath.

I'm still in London and my DS's travel further a field (west and east) but mostly stay in North and central.

I’m Red Bus Rover girl too!

I grew up in zone 2 West London. We used to visit my grandmother in SW london once a month or so, but spent most of my time in West London, apart from the occasional trip into the West end for theatre. When i was about 15 I started regularly going to clubs (for shame, I was clearly much too young!) W1 and north London. I never had any reason to go to East London.

I went to the Tower of London last year (first time since a kid) as my birthday outing with my sister. Followed by a slap up feed in a posh restaurant of course. The Tower is brilliant to visit, we had a great time and so easy by boat

80s SW London child, we went into zone 1 a lot (lived near tube zone 2/3) but only specifically went to North London to visit the odd family friend & spent most of our time SW or SE. As I teenager I did the same apart from spending more time in central London & early 20s in East London.

My experience of life outside London & specifically any further then North London was virtually non existent. But I have immigrant parents with zero family in this country so all holidays were abroad.

I sometimes got the tube with my dad on the weekend if he needed to pop into his office so would get the Northern line into the city. I still remember how shit the carriages were & the grey dangling things to help you stand that I couldn't reach.

We did all the museums, zoo, Lord Mayors show, Christmas lights/windows/Santa, Peter Jones, attractions regularly.