Life in Empty London During Corona Times

City Mill River, Newham, London, England

Last Tuesday I went to a strolling about. I started from Bow. Went northwards direction towards the Olympic Park and London Stadium.

It was partially next to the canal. At some points, the water was not really clean. So, some insects, flies were around. I definitely think the London Municipality should clean the canal. Otherwise some other bacteria or virus may infect people around. I’m just saying.

London Stadium, Newham, London, England

During the coronavirus pandemic, the media and radios were telling that the people should not go out. If they need, they could go for a walk but it shouldn’t be for gathering with other people. An alone walk to the closest park would be even good for individuals. This was all before the government lockdown apart from especially urgent and important situations.

So, I went out for this walk. During my approximately 10km long walk, I always tried to stay away other people. At times, when I come across with some people and would have to come in close contact, I standed on one side and waited them to continue with their walk pass me. They usually thanked me and we went on our ways.

Tower Hamlets, London, England

At times like now, what we need to do is not to go on what we always do. When the government and more importantly the scientists tell us that we should stay at home and/or stay away from people, we should do it. Otherwise what we have in hand is basically chaos. I don’t mean total obedience in general, but only in certain situations like this. And what I have in mind is that I’m saving lives by staying away from people and and not going out unless absolutely necessary.

City Mill River, Newham, London, England

Let’s return to my walk. It was a beautiful walk. Since I’m new in town, I’m trying to discover the city. London is a big city. Best part is that it’s quite walkable, since it’s quite straight. There is almost no change in elevation.

Tower Hamlets, London, England

My aim was to walk for some time. Then my host told me to check the Olympic Park. So, I started my journey by walking northwards direction.  About 15 minutes later, I arrived to the canal side. I had Google Maps with my mobile but I didn’t want to follow the instructions on it. Mainly because I wanted to walk and enjoy it.

Tower Hamlets, London, England

In daily life, we are almost always in a hurry and don’t care about the things around us. We are surrounded with lots of beauties but we’re not aware of them as much as we do. That’s the reason I didn’t want to use the map all the time. I arrived to the park after crossing over a bridge. The London Stadium was just in front of me. A magnificent stadium surrounded by canals and rivers.

London Stadium, New Ham, London, England

I decided to go close to the canal at first. It was more beuatiful route. Then I headed to the main entrance side of the stadium. I realised that this was also the stadium of West Ham football team. The park was called Queen Elisabeth Olympic Park. The 2012 London Olympics took place in this area. There is also a gigantic construction project going on on the other side of the canal. I’m just curious of its last shape.

London Aquatics Centre, New Ham, London, England

Just next to the stadium was London Aquatics Centre was situated. The architecture of this centre was amazing. As an engineer and especially an engineer in construction sector, I wished I had worked for that project. It was a magnificent piece of architecture and I think because of my profession, I just thought how difficult it must have been to build that building.

Westfield Stratford City, New Ham, London, England

And next to it was the Europe’s largest shopping mall, Westfield. the architecture of the mall was really amazing. So, I went inside the mall. It was 3 or 4 floors in height but quite large on each floor. Most of the shops were closed due to the lockdown and corona virus, but some were open. Some even limited the incoming customers in order to avoid congestion in the shops.

Tower Hamlets, London, England

It was quite an interesting walk for me. You can check the photos for proof. On my way back home, I saw some youngsters working on their graffiti near the canal. Then I saw some interesting posts on walls, about the days we were currently living. Do you think they are right in some sense?

Tower Hamlets, London, England

This last one is more interesting one. Mainly because London has the biggest housing problem in UK, maybe even one of the biggest  in the world. So, I’m just sharing. It’s your opinions that matter.

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, New Ham, London, England. I didn’t want to take no selfies after a long walking day 🙂

In the end, it was quite a day. And I enjoyed every moment of it. Seeing people walking by, running by, even two women playing football with each other.

It’s very special city, London. One needs to cherish every moment of it. As a traveller, I just recently started enjoying it. More will come.

Unlike my other posts, this is more about photography than the words telling about the city. Sometimes the images may be a lot stronger than the words. This is one of those posts. Enjoy with me.