In case you hadn’t noticed, most of the world has been or is still in some form of lockdown since Coronavirus came along, ruined our lives, and crammed 11 cookies in the VCR – well, London is no different.
Since I live in Southwest London, I hadn’t quite grasped how different the city is during lockdown. I go on my (not quite) daily walks along the Thames and find myself annoyed with how many people are out, so I decided one day before the retail shops reopened to take my walk further and see what Central London looks like.
I knew Central London would be a lot less crowded than usual, but I was not fully prepared for just how empty it was. It was nice to have space to myself, but so strange to see what is usually so lively and crowded looking so empty and quiet.
If you’ve been to London, you won’t need a before and after shot to know how crazy it is to see some of these spots looking so empty, but any spots I do have before photos of are included.
Now I give you, apocalyptic London.
Wellington Arch
Oxford Street/Oxford Circus
Regent Street Now (1-4) and before (5)
Piccadilly Circus
Chinatown Now (1-3) and before (4)
Carnaby now vs. Carnaby at Christmas
New Bond Street
New additions to Oxford and Regent Street
Covent Garden was by far the weirdest thing to see. So empty! (Last photo taken at Christmas).
The good news is Din Tai Fung was open for takeaway!
Trafalgar Square now (1-3) and one from the archives – Christmas 2006
Horseguards Parade now and before.
Buckingham Palace and surrounding now (1-5) and before (6-7).
I’ve never seen Peggy Porschen without tons of people outside.
Leicester Square
I went to all these places without the use of public transport (I do miss the Tube!) so it was a LOONNGGG (about 13.5 miles) walk. But at least I got dumplings and cupcakes along the way, so it was worth it.
The shops are reopening now and the pubs are soon to follow, so London is getting its liveliness back, which is sort of nice, but also sort of terrifying. I’ll keep a mask on hand just in case.
Stay safe out there everyone!
tothandcotravels.com 
wow I love seeing photos like this of London. I took some of London as well during the first lockdown, just to have as history I guess? Beautiful!
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It was so strange to see but I do love the photos, even as weird as it was. Thanks for reading!
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