3 Reasons the Coronavirus Changed My Trip to London

With the current pandemic spreading around the world, many of the main cities of the world have slowly come to a halt for tourists. Around the world attractions have closed, public transport has been dwindled to the bare minimum and events have been cancelled.

Here in England we've pretty much kept our cool, ignoring the people bulk buying toilet roll and pasta. However, the government has recommended people avoid heavily crowded areas and to remain vigilant in keeping their hand clean. With this information in place, my friends and I thought it was only appropriate to travel to London, the busiest city in England. Now, this wasn't spontaneous, it had been planned for months and we weren't really bothered enough to cancel.

I will say now, once the day arrived we were slightly concerned as to how the trip would pan out. However, we were pleasantly surprised. Heres why...

1. Peaceful Train Journey

As we arrived at the train station 7am on Saturday morning we were ready to face a long journey crammed into a hot train with too many loud people. Coming from Nottingham this was a fairly reasonable expectation. However, once we'd got ourselves settled in and the time for the train to leave ticked closer it became very apparent that us and the five other people on the carriage were the only ones travelling that way.

Having been up since 6am I was ok to not be surrounded by too many people chirrping away. Our fortune continued throughout the journey, even after we passed through Leicester with barely anymore additions to the carriage.

The journey home was just as lucky, there were noticeably more people, but no where near as many as there usually is trying to push their way on the train to get home. I guess people opted to stay home for the weekend than brave the big city.

2. No More Crowds

Picture London, what do you normally see? If the answer was crowds of people, that would be very true. Every time I've been to London there has been a moment where I must fight my way through crowds of tourists and commuters. Sometimes I hate it, other times I just accept that that is how London just functions as a city. So, like the train journey, to our surprise we were greeted with a much less busy London.

For a Saturday in London, the crowds were much thinner than expected. We could easily make our way round all the big tourist attraction with ease. Most places we walked to, just to take in the sites, and we could actually see the sites. The grounds of Buckingham Palace, well the gates, were only crowded by about two rows of people. Taking a picture has never been so easy. Of course, there were still the odd slow walker, theres clearly no escaping them, but it was quite apparent that tourism has indeed taken a hit through fear of the virus.

3. Remember to Hold Onto The Railings

Now, when it comes to travelling around London its rather difficult to get around quickly without going on the tube at least once. There is always the bus, but if you only have a day in the city the tube is normally the best bet. Yet in a time when we must all be more aware of cross-contamination, the tube is going to be a hive to flu viruses, clinging to every surface. A massive exageration, but I could feel the dirt clinging to my hand whenever I held onto a bar or escalator rail.

At the end of the day, I wasn't going to avoid holding the bars, the tube is fast and I don't want to fall on my bum (as funny as that would be). Instead whenever we departed the tube we would instantly anti-bac our hands, probably a tad excessively, but better to be safe than sorry. Needless to say I definitely needed to moisturise my hands by lunchtime.

* Remember anti-bac is your friend, but moisture will stop your skin from cracking *

At the end of the day, we had a wonderful trip to London. Yes, there was the underlying fear that we could contract the coronavirus, however it shouldn't be a fear that stops you living your life as normal. We managed to show our friend around a city she hasn't been to in years and had an overall fun time.

Remember, when travelling its all about taking the correct precautions and simply keeping to the usual hygiene rules (please wash your hands regularly).