Running City London 2017

Stage 1

08 19 Compton Terrace  

51.544932, -0.102736 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Stained glass windows

Number of windows in the windmill

2

Historical background

Union Chapel in Compton Terrace
Union Chapel is without doubt an excellent example of Victorian-era Gothic architecture. The congregation started collecting donations in 1799 so in 1877 the construction of the Chapel was almost completed. The final touch was the erection of a 170-foot tower in 1889.
Designed by James Cubitt, the church is a reflection of his progressive ideas and technical achievements. The thoroughly developed octagonal shape of the main building and gallery on the ground floor create perfect acoustics. This is why the Father Willis organ was installed here and has been giving magnificent performances ever since.
Union Chapel was originally designed as a multifunctional building. Today, this unusual church combines a concert hall, a charity walk-in centre for the homeless and a working church. It is often used a venue for live music concerts and comedy shows. Union Chapel was rated as the best concert hall of the year in 2012 by the Time Out magazine. In another area of the church is a support service Center for homeless people. People with difficult living situations can find here food and shelter, health services and help with employment.
// by Danny Nicholson (Own work) [CC BY-ND 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/)], via Flickr

67 45A Almorah Road

51.540769, -0.086687 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Almorah Community Centre building across the road. Graffiti on the wall

Brand of the drink in a tin can

Dr Pepper

74 107 Bridgeman Road, Public Library

51.540809, -0.116146 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Signs on the building façade

Word on the small sign between two address signs

Detailed answer

Answer: FORMERLY

FORMERLY

112 Lupton Street

51.554768, -0.138633 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Eleanor Palmer Primary School.
Bench near the entrance

Mosaic inscription on the side facing the school

HOME ZONE

906 Riddle

51.532188, -0.124068 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

You don’t have to go to the school but please find that railway terminal and that platform

Name of the room 5 metres to the south

Detailed answer

Harry Potter used to depart to Hogwarts from the King's Cross station, specifically from the platform 9¾, which can now be seen by muggles.

Answer: Elphick Room

Elphick Room

925 Riddle

51.54476, -0.072527 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

See the old map. Find the place marked with a cross. The wall east of the house. The sign under the “Do not climb” sign

Word in green

Detailed answer

The wall east of the house 1­­-6 Carlisle Walk.

Answer: Passionfruit

Passionfruit

926 Riddle

51.555995, -0.121837 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

We struggled to understand why this place is called that way. Either a dyslexic person wanted to commemorate a literary villain, or fans of another professor had their finger in a ring, or just some ignoramus made a spelling mistake while encouraging a girl to make an attempt. Whether or not we came close to the truth is not, in fact, very important. Just find the place on a map. Gate in that place

Year on the gate posts

Detailed answer

Professor Moriarty, Tolkien's Moria, and “Maria, try!”
Moriatry Close.

Answer: 1991

1991

60 Lincoln’s Inn Fields Park  

51.51592, -0.117234 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Fields Bar & Kitchen café
Attention! The park is open until 7:30 pm. After it is closed the game officials will be waiting for you at the north-west corner entrance

Signature of an official

Signature

Historical background

Lincoln's Inn Fields
The oldest building on Lincoln's Inn Fields dates back to the beginning of the 16th century. The square is named after the lawyers’ society Lincoln's Inn whose office was situated in this square. The poet John Donne, who also was a Dean of a local church, left his remarks about an existing tradition: when one of the judges died, the bell tolled and somebody sent a clerk to find out the judge's name. It is assumed that this tradition has connection with Donne’s famous phrase “...and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee".
Lincoln's Inn Fields looks like a small area in the city centre but in reality it is the largest square in London. Many believe that Lincoln's Inn Fields was a model for Central Park in New York. There are a lot of homeless people and beggars sunbathing on the grass of Lincoln's Inn Fields. Just round the corner you can find The Old Curiosity Shop, a 16th-century building holding a title of possibly the oldest shop in London. It is thought that the shop was the inspiration behind Dickens’ novel of the same name. One of the best London’s museums is also situated in the Lincoln's Inn Fields — the Museum of Sir John Soane, a great architect and a true English eccentric fellow.
// by Fondo Antiguo de la Biblioteca de la Universidad de Sevilla (The adventures of Oliver Twist/ by Charles Dickens with fifty-nine illustrations) [PD-Old-100], [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)], via Flickr

Bonus checkpoints

50 33 Linton Street  

51.536119, -0.093395 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

The Hanbury Arms pub

Signature of an official

Bonus time 25 minutes

Detailed answer

Answer: Signature

Signature

Historical background

Regent’s Canal
Hidden behind the local houses this 14-kilometre canal is a real gem of central London. It links London City Docks and Birmingham in the Blomfield Road area and was called Little Venice by poet Robert Browning who used to live here. Arched bridges, slow floating narrow boats lavishly painted and decorated with colourful potted flowers and watering cans on their roofs reminds of Venice. Some of the narrow boats are inhabitable and some used as a displays for paintings and art objects.
For over 150 years, since fully opened in 1820, the canal was used for the transporting of goods mainly timber, coal and other materials. But around the 1960’s almost all cargo was shipped by rail and other land transport. The canal faced an uncertain and grim future. However it survived and in 1979 the government found a new purpose for the canal, its water being used for cooling down the underground high-voltage cables of The Central Electricity Generating Board. The quiet and picturesque embankment is Londoners’ favourite place for walking, jogging and cycling.

54 Junction of Saunders Ness Road and Douglas Path

51.487035, -0.009719 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Speed limit sign

Vehicle depicted on the sign underneath

Bonus time 50 minutes

A turtle

914 Riddle

51.535472, -0.071712 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Barnaul news trends alert mummies
//
Do not look for the meaning in this sentence, simply extract the street and lane together with their names. Vertical stone slab with carving

Symbol in the right bottom corner

Bonus time 30 minutes

Detailed answer

This phrase is an anagram for “Laburnum Street and Swimmers Lane”.

Answer: Drawing

Drawing

915 Riddle

51.526655, -0.077816 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

This capital city is located on a gulf shore on the east coast, separated by a channel from another continent. The climate is warm. Its inhabitants lead a luxurious lifestyle (those who can afford it, that is), but there are also slums. The city is overpopulated with estimated 500,000 inhabitants. Walking outside may be dangerous. When you have guessed the city, take out the last three letters from the name and find a small gable-roofed house 50 metres south of the beginning of that road. Façade of the house

House number according to the address plaque

Bonus time 25 minutes

Detailed answer

The riddle is about King's Landing, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. It is required to find the beginning of Kingsland Road.

Answer: 118 ¹⁄₂

118 ¹⁄₂

922 Riddle

51.503721, -0.093749 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

This symbol contains three elements. Two of them can be called the same way as the toponym you have to find. The first word in the symbol’s name will define the junction. The fence decorated with ribbons north of the junction. Round plaque

Last line

Bonus time 30 minutes

Detailed answer

The national symbol of the United Kingdom is Union Jack, its official flag. It consists of two red crosses (flags of England and Northern Ireland) and a white saltire in blue (flag of Scotland). Junction of Redcross Way and Union Street.

Answer: R.I.P

R.I.P

Stage 2

42 90 Three Colt Street

51.508808, -0.029365 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Graffiti on the wall across the road. Carriage with text attached to the steam locomotive

Words beginning with letter F

FAIR FUN FRIENDLY FOR FAMILIES

95 52 Batavia Road

51.4762, -0.0373696 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Art object across the road. Information plaque. Text forming a circle

Shortest word

Detailed answer

Answer: Lex

Lex

109 1 Siemens Brothers Way  

51.507313, 0.016887 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

The Crystal Building. Sculptural composition to the west of the building. Inscription

Second line

SR.09

Historical background

Emirates Air Line Cable Car
The Emirates Air Line cable car is the only cable car in London, it runs above the Thames and joins together the north and south bank from the Royal Docks to the Greenwich Peninsula. The main investor for this project was Emirates Airlines, total investment was 60 million pounds making it the most expensive cable car in the world. Now the Emirates Air Line cable car is the part of Transport for London. They built this expensive funicular in a short period of time, from August 2011 to May 2012, and managed to finish it just before the opening of the Olympic Games 2012.
The route is 1.1 kilometre long. The cable line has the capacity to carry up to 2,500 people per hour in each direction, the equivalent of 30 buses. The cable car trip takes approximately 5-10 minutes depending on traffic (in busy hours the line goes faster). Apart from being a quick route from one river bank to another it is an enjoyable trip with a great bird eye views of London.
// by fsse8info (Own work) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)], via Flickr

110 Junction of Mudlarks Boulevard and John Harrison Way

51.495866, 0.015696 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Sundial 50 metres south-east from the junction

Word under the Arabic digit 5

POLAR

907 Riddle

51.477873, -0.0000794 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

If we were to provide coordinates, for this checkpoint only one would be sufficient.
Monument on the top of the hill east of the building complex

Number of letters N

Detailed answer

The riddle is about the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, which was used as a reference point to define the meridians of the world coordinate system. There is a general Wolfe monument East of the building complex.

Answer: 9

9

921 Riddle

51.515032, -0.107653 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

This person is being commemorated every autumn, although the details of the plot he was involved in are not generally remembered remembered that well. To find the square, at least recall the name of the plot. Walk through the arch in the south-west end of the square and find a sculptural composition. Memorial plaque with a heart-shaped vignette

Second line from the top

Detailed answer

Remember, remember the fifth of November. Guy Fawkes was a part of the Gunpowder Plot. Gunpowder Square.

Answer: a very fine cat indeed

a very fine cat indeed

40 Silk Street, Barbican Centre  

51.519799, -0.092922 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Barbican Kitchen restaurant on the ground floor of the Centre

Signature of an official

Signature

Historical background

Barbican Centre
Barbican has an ancient history. It began in the 1st century AD when Romans built their forts (Barbecana), some of which still remain today. These forts gave the name to the area. Centuries later, in the Elizabethan era, London’s bohemians settled this area and turned Barbican into a cultural centre. During World War II this part of London was severely bombed and largely destructed so all storage facilities and workshops were in ruins and the full area was in need of total reconstruction. The Barbican Centre, designed by Chamberlin, Powell and Bon in the Brutalist style, was officially opened to the public by Queen Elizabeth II in 1982. The Barbican Centre's design — a concrete ziggurat — has always been controversial. It was voted “London's ugliest building” in a Grey London poll in 2003. Despite this the Barbican Centre became a national cultural legacy as a Grade II listed building. This place has a big architectural value not only for its grand scale but for its unity and atmosphere.
Nevertheless since opening till now the Barbican is one of the biggest European centres of classical and modern arts: a lot of exhibitions, performances, film screenings, concerts, plays, shows and other events are held at this venue. The Barbican Centre is a complicated multi-level complex with a great number of entrances, walkways, and passages. Many of the premises here look the same so it is easy for visitors to get lost, to avoid this all walkways and paths have information pointers.

Stage 3

12 48 Grand Union Crescent

51.539348, -0.063161 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

East side of the building. Signs and boards

Achtung. Number of wild boars

3

46 28 Redchurch Street  

51.524393, -0.0759102 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Pole with a bicycle hoop nearby

Copy the shape of the hoop

Drawing

Historical background

Redchurch Street and Shoreditch
The East End of London nowadays is one of the most popular place among hipsters. However, this area has a long and amazing history. It started with a narrow strip of road which ran from Shoreditch to Bethnal Green but around the 17th century it gradually became a built up area. A lot of silk and textile industry workers were in desperate need of homes so the building boom of cheap houses hit the place in 1730’s. The sense of bygone poverty is still present in this area, in the churchyard and above the upraised round square called Arnold Circus. The main square, still unnamed, is pinpointed with romantic spire of the Palladian style church of St Leonard. The main character of “1984” keeps singing a nursery rhyme in which the bells of St Leonard toll, “When I grow rich...”
Redchurch Street has had a lot of ups and downs but recent restoration has brought it to the high standard as a culture centre of East London and attracts the attention of the visitors and local bohemians. During last decade undergoing rapid gentrification completely changed Shoreditch — lots of “creative class” people settled here. Old factories and plants have been refurbished into offices, IT-startups and studios; a lot of bars, pubs, art-galleries and modern coffe-shops were opened. Shoreditch is very famous for its art-street culture so look out for some masterpieces.
// by Garry Knight (Own work) [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)], via Flickr

71 East end of the Garret Street

51.524165, -0.093792 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Graffiti on the concrete wall

Jessica’s last name

ENNIS

910 Riddle  

51.513829, -0.089426 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

Oftentimes, everything begins with it starting in Bethnal Green to and going to Chingford neighbourhoods. Unfortunately, there is no street in London named after it. However, the one that stands behind it has plenty of streets. Of those, find the street that merges into the street of the latter’s neighbour to the left. 200 metres to the east from the merging point, find house No. 1 in the street of the relatives of the latter two.
Commemorative plaque on the east façade of the building

Longest word on the blue background

Detailed answer

It is a pawn. Bethnal Green postcodes normally start with E2, while Chingford ones start with E4 (see the historical reference note). A game of chess may begin with a white pawn following this “route”. The king stands behind that pawn, with the queen beside it. King Street merges into Queen Street; there is the address 1 Princes Street east of the merge point.

Answer: Postmarks

Postmarks

Historical background

London Addresses and Postcodes
London addresses are a code of their own. A street sign will bear the name of the street, square or lane; then the official name of the area or district underneath it (for example, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea). In the left bottom corner there will be the first part of the post code. In Victorian times London was divided into East Centre (EC), West Centre (WC), East (E), West (W), South-West (SW), South-East (SE), North (N) and North-West (NW). In each sector number “1” marked the area nearest to the centre (after numbers they go by letters) so SE2 will be miles away from SE1. The second part of the postcode includes a number and two letters to describe the precise location of an addressee.
There is another distinctive feature — many houses in London have their own names instead of numbers so the traditional number and name can mean a house number, name of the street, flat number, or the name of a block of flats. Numeration is not always continuous, house number 337 may be followed by house number 468. You can also find old street names on the fronts of old houses, so look out for them. Enjoy your city orienteering event!

913 Riddle

51.533657, -0.066098 (OpenStreetMap, Google Maps, Yandex Maps)

This dialect has been traditionally attributed to working class dwellers of London’s East End. You will, perhaps, have a chance to hear it soon after the start. One of its speakers was portrayed as a protagonist in a famous musical. The first name of the actress who starred in a film adaptation will give out the street. Find the building with a graffiti in that street

How many kids are wearing glasses?

Detailed answer

The protagonist in My Fair Lady spoke cockney. The film adaptation features Audrey Hepburn. Audrey Street.

Answer: 4

4