103. Notting Hill Gate

Saturday 7th November 10.30am

This is an entirely underground station with no surface buildings, just stairs to the ticket level and platforms, and other than that it's quite an unremarkable station.

Wikipedia entry here.

That is also the last station in Zone 1 ticked off my list. It's good to final complete a sub-set of the whole Tube thing, instead of just percentages. I thought I'd probably get a line finished first, probably the Victoria line as it's the shortest, but my travels haven't been that organised. But while it's good to achieve a goal it also makes me realise that it's taken me almost three years to do what was basically the easiest bit of the challenge. Goodness knows how long it'll take me to get to Chesham!

102.High Street Kensington

Saturday 7th November 10.10am

I'm not sure I really like the big fat strip of blue across the middle to accommodate the name of the station - it messes with the proportions. 

This is one of those stations where the train randomly stops and you have to switch to another service on the opposite platform which then doesn't seem to go anywhere very quickly. That's the charm of the District and Circle lines for you!

I liked this old labelling over a noticeboard:

Above ground you exit the station through a shopping arcade, which has a fancy domed roof over a cross-shaped layout, which is all as fancy as you'd expect from Kensington.

Wikipedia entry here.

101. Archway

Saturday 31st October 6.25pm

I nearly couldn't find this station as the building it's part of was covered in scaffolding and also next to a big junction on a busy road that turns out to be the start of the A1. Any interesting surface buildings have long since been replaced so it's a fairly unremarkable station withjust an escalator down to platforms serving a single line. Even the nice tiling (like Highgate) has been taken away.

Wikipedia entry here.

100. Highgate

Saturday 31st October 6.05pm

I liked this as soon as I got off the train as it's got interesting tiling:

The station itself seems to be built into the side of a hill with several exits, and inevitably I picked the least interesting but most confusing one, which led out into a car park and immediately disoriented me. You can tell I'm getting further away from zone 1 and moving into suburbia as the station actually has a car park. It's a pity I hadn't visited in the daylight as the station seems to have been an interesting part of an abandoned line, some of which is still visible and which sounds really interesting. I think I'll have to visit again.

Wikipedia entry here.

99. Clapham South

Thursday 15th October 5.45pm

Another one of those roundels with the wooden edging the looks like my Dad might have made it! At some point I'm going to have to buy some wood and prove my point. I wish someone could explain who this is came about.

This has got quite an impressive entrance that fronts onto a busy street but which leaves you in no doubt as to what it is, with the great big roundel on the building itself. I wish there were more like that.

Wikipedia entry here.

98. Clapham Common

Thursday 15th October 3.50pm

This is another of those station with a very narrow island platform between the tracks (Clapham North is the same), which explains the wonky angle of the picture - anything else would involve getting dangerously close to the track and I'm not that stupid. Above ground the station has a nice dome over the small entrance, which makes it look grander than it actually is.

Wikipedia entry here.

97. Balham

Thursday 15th October 3.40pm

Shamefully I didn't pay much attention to the station as I was with a friend and we were chattering away as we headed down to the platform level - possibly down just a short escalator with those big metal up-lighters that some stations have, which I really like - and the train was already on the platform so I snapped the picture and got on the train just as the door-closing beeps started, much to the relief of my friend.

Wikipedia entry here.