Not Saying Anything To Paul McCartney

Es-Say #36 I Got Lost On Abbey Road And Broad Street (Part One- "Broad Street")

Panic On The Streets Of London-Broad Street Station replaced by Broadgate development(left) across from Liverpool St. Station.

A couple of nights ago, I was poking around the internet trying to learn more about the real Broad Street train station(as in the McCartney film "Give My Regards To Broad Street"). Lots of things in England that I want to visit are usually huge commutes that take hours to get to. It turned out that Broad Street Station was under my nose for years as I have been to the site many times without knowing, and is only 20 mins by rail! The reason I didn't know it was located right next to Liverpool Street Station in London, is because it was demolished in 1987. R.I.P Broad Street Station.

Yesterday, with it being Sunday, I knew that the area would be pretty dead as Bishopsgate, is usually mobbed with people trying to get to work during the week, but on the weekend, most of the office buildings and some businesses are closed. Liverpool Street Station is less crowded and especially in the morning, so it seemed like a good opportunity to go on a wacky pilgrimage. Also, I had another excuse to practice my new interest in bike riding, around parts of the city with less traffic.

I was sure before I raced over to the Broad Street Station area that it would be underwhelming. I had read that the Broadgate development(office buildings and restaurants) was built over the whole site of the old station that had been open for 120 years with nine rails, finally couldn't stay afloat in modern times with improvements in transportation in the area. Even Paul's film from 1984, filming in the station and name checking "Broad Street" in the film's title, did little to stop the station becoming defunct two years later and gone for good in 1987.    

The first thing I did when I arrived at the area was to walk around the neighbouring streets of  the Broadgate site. I found Old Broad Street, New Broad Street, and Broad Street Avenue. None of these streets are actually found on the Broadgate(ex. Broad Street Station entrance) but basically across the road from the start of Broadgate, bunched together and consisting of a few roads(as mentioned) with what looked like some homes or businesses. I should have paid more attention to its details to tell you what is located there, but I seemed to be interested in taking photos of all the street signs. I did notice down one of these roads that the new Cross Rail project being built seemed to be going right through the area leading into Broadgate.

The next place I wandered around was the Broadgate development. It felt erie and grey but featured a circle with a layer below street level of closed restaurants with an area used as an ice rink in the winter. The best part was a bronze statue called "Rush Hour" of several commuters heading towards what can be implied as Broad Street but could be mistaken as Liverpool Station as the title plaque says nothing to remind people the area was once for the Broad Street Station. I wanted to say "what gives?" over at the Broadgate Welcome Centre, but it was closed. After wandering around this plaza in the center of where Broad Street Station entrance used to be, it's difficult to miss the 55ft steel Fulcrum art, said to be taken from part of the Kings Viaduct South which the Broad Street trains crossed to connect directly into the North London Railway.

Try not to slam into this when leaving the part of Liverpool Street Station which was extended over the Broad Street Station site. 

After I left the main Broadgate development, I was on Sun Street and rented a Santander bike to try and find the next point located further north of Liverpool Street Station called "Broadgate Tower". It took a few minutes to find but I had to get off my bike as no cycling was allowed. Weekend maintenance workers and strangers hanging out there freaked me out and I had to get out of the square-mile area as walking straight through led to stairs heading down. But, I still got a photo and moved on to riding the main roads.

Pay no attention to the blogger's fashion sense for travel, focus on the sign...you are getting sleepy...

Basically, I then rode parallel north of Broadgate Plaza, in some attempt to follow the Broad Street train line that didn't seem to show up anywhere, but then I turned left found this along the presumed path of the North London Railway.

I understand that these train cars were used on the Kings Viaduct leading to Broad Street
and/or were used on the Jubilee underground tube line, but it whatever their history they now sit as art on top of a studio building. Seeing these cars were good enough for me as I turned back South and found a bike docking station to return the bike and continue on foot. In this area I found the University Of Liverpool In London and Broadgate Quarter, a section of buildings divided by a long strip of well maintained lawn and shrubs- Oh,happy day!(not really).

At this part of the adventure, I decided to get back on the tube at Mooregate Station because I figured out that by now I  had walked east of Broad Street Station(I'm sick of calling it Broadgate development). Stay tuned to Part 2, Abbey Road in the next ES-Say.

Ed Note- Yesterday, somehow, I got several web hits from Portugal, but I do not know Portuguese, but Muito Obrigado, Portugal! Of course, I say "thank you" to anyone reading "Not Saying Anything To Paul McCartney" as I appreciate your readership(?)

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