THE MAKING OF THE MODERN WORLD

Stephenson’s rocket to the future

Celebrating its 15^th anniversary in July, this permanent exhibition on the ground floor of the Science Museum offers a uniquely immersive journey through history. Presented as an unfolding story, it charts the rise of the modern industrial world from 1750 to the present day – a story made all the more palpable owing to the inclusion of many of the museum’s most iconic artifacts.

Looming large as you enter is Stephenson’s 1829 passenger train, the humbly named Rocket, which we’re told reached speeds of up to 29 mph. With the inclusion of the 140 mph HS3 rail route in this year’s Queen’s Speech, one wonders what these early industrial giants would have made of the pace of the modern world. And it is this sense of scale, this sense of how far we’ve come in just over 250 years that this exhibit so concisely captures.

From steam trains, to an original Ford Model T car, to the Apollo 10 command module, the artifacts are blended seamlessly into the vast interior of the hall. Stone floor, glass cases and simple white plinths give a sense of space and reverence. This is history explained through sculpture and craft.

As you walk through, very much choosing your own pace, you will find yourself inadvertently stopping – to explore, examine or simply admire. A valuable piece of advice however: look up. This is also space that has been used creatively as demonstrated by the 1935 Lockheed 10A Electra coming into land above you.

Equally intriguing though are all the smaller objects that make up much of the exhibit. Early telephones, irons and toasters are guaranteed to raise a smile or expression of complete bafflement from any children in tow.

The Science Museum may ostensibly be for kids, but this is one exhibit that will possibly appeal more to the ‘big kid’ in any adult; history is after all the preserve of the slightly more mature. I challenge you however to resist the temptation to touch Stephenson’s Rocket – I know I did.

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The Science Museum

Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London SW7 2DD

Open everyday 10.00 – 18.00

Free admission

SECRET LONDON: PARKLANDS WALK

A walk back through time: The tube that never was

This is not a walk that starts promisingly, but perhaps that’s the perfect metaphor for London – a city often accused of being ugly and inhospitable, yet also a city of hidden treasures and ghosts of a forgotten past.

Parklands Walk follows the long-abandoned railway line from leafy Muswell Hill to the urban transport hub of Finsbury Park in North London. You won’t find it on a list of popular tourist attractions but at almost five miles, it is London’s longest nature reserve.

Turning off the busy Muswell Hill Road I stepped onto a dirt path enclosed by tall trees. Litter unceremoniously decorated the ground. But as the trees opened up, a panoramic view of London, seen from one of the city’s highest vantage points, was the first of many highlights.

On a clear day, you can see not only the monolithic Shard piercing the sky, but past the steel and glass heart of the metropolis right up to London’s eastern boundaries.

But it’s not until you leave the woodland and traverse a short section of the traffic-laden Archway Road that you slip through a narrow gate and your journey really begins.

It’s here, that if you look down, the first evidence of the forgotten railway appears – iron sleeper rails now overgrown by scrub. Started in 1867 and intended as part of the Northern Line, it was eventually abandoned after WWII and left to decay. Now just intermittent fossils mark the passing of time.

As I continued, the noise of the city disappeared. The sound of traffic; replaced by birdsong; the fumes by the heady smell of earth and scrubland.

For the most part, the path is just that, but then echoes of the past emerge: the skeleton of metal foundations underfoot, occasional brickwork being devoured by the roots of trees and as you reach Crouch End the path momentarily becomes a platform – Edwardian gentlemen now replaced by the odd jogger.

Nearing the end you reach the hulking remnants of a Victorian viaduct, left to ruin. The council has wisely decided to leave the more artistic graffiti in situ. This is where urban expression meets fading grand architecture and wild woodland.

When I came to the main road it was with disappointment; but if you ever fancy a walk with your loved-one or simply a shortcut to Finsbury Park station, I can highly recommend you take the tube that never was.