h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: How to get to music venues in Camden, London, UK - A1080695
Author: Kate - U33022

This is the first timve I've put anything in for Peer Review, but I've had loads of support from Gosho over the last few days in the Writing Workshop (F57153?thread=287140) and I think it's pretty much finished now, although if anyone knows any other venues and would like to lend a hand, that'd be great.
Ta very much.

Well, you've go the three venues i know about in Camden - the Dublin Castle, Underworld and Electric Basllroom, so no help there.

Did spot one typo in the section about the Underworld, which has a reference to 'Canden' tube station.

Other than that, looks good to me, and very useful to boot.

Actually, though it's not strictly a venue in the sense the others are, maybe a mention for my personal favourite spot in Camden, The Purple Turtle, home to Club Seed every Sunday?

Very good entry. Nothing more irritating than looking for a venue when you're running late.

Small point - you spell restaurant wrong a few times.

Sprout

OK, thanks for the feedback.
I've had a go at correcting those spellings but I've probably missed a couple.

I did think about including a few clubs, but there is an entry on London Indie clubs which covers them quite nicely.

Don't forget disco night at the Electric ballroom on Saturday nights!

I don't know anything about that night.
What's it called?

As fra as i know it's Just Saturday at the Electric Ballroom - plays 70's, 80's, 90's and contemporary 'feelgood' music as well as techno lounge (I think). Good night out.

I'll look into it.
Thanks.

Hi Kate,

This is an excellent entry and a very useful guide - particularly for non-Londoners.

It is probably worth mentioning - in the title or elsewhere - that this is a guide for *alternative* music venues. There are other types of music venue in Camden, including Jazz Cafe, Oh Bar, Black Cap, Bartok, WKD and Dingwalls, which don't necessarily cater for the indie/metal crowd.

You are really good on tubes and on-foot directions, but you haven't included any information about buses, especially night buses. The tube is only useful for arriving at the gig, but how do you get home afterwards? It would be good to say which buses go in which directions.

Also, the northern line is only good if you are travelling north-south. If you are coming from the west or east you might be better off with a bus.

>>blatantly obvious

I'd say 'patently obvious'. 'Blatantly' implies that there is something offensive about it.

>>The Barfly - It's quite a way down, unfortunately

It is possible to get off at Chalk Farm then

>>'cemicircle of doom'

semi-circle

>>if Mornington Crescent is closed (as it often is)

I thought Mornington Crescent had normal opening hours...?

Camden Town station, however, is exit-only on Sunday afternoons for part of the year.

>>or alternatively

just 'alternatively'. You don't need the 'or'. Sorry, that's really pedantic, but it's true!

>>thems are the doors to the venue itself.

those

>>This one's on the way to the Monarch. Not even as far down as the market though. More or less right next to the station.

I know this is a 'chatty' entry, but you've been using complete sentences more or less all the way through, and then you switch to a half-sentence style here. I think it reads rather strangely.

Apart from that, very nicely-written!

Gubernatrix

Thanks very much, I'll get on to those bits as soon as I get back from my trek round Camden tonight.
I'm usually pretty pedantic myself, I can't believe I've missed some of those bits! I'm kicking myself!
I shall ask my friend Nikky, Queen Of Buses about stuff too - I tend to stick to tubes myself so I don't really know about much else.

Just want to add my to this one. I did say it would be hard work Kate, but it's worth it

If you've been to a gig, surely there's every chance you'll miss the last tube anyway? Particularly if the gig's at the Barfly and it turns into a club night... Mind you, trouble is that so many buses go through Camden that it could get a bit complex.

Anyway, here's my tip:
If you're taking the 29 or N29 going north, wait at the stop outside Somerfield, rather than the one outside Sainsbury's. This will more than double your chance of getting a seat, particularly if it's one of the 29's that go to Palmers Green - those start at Camden Town.

I'd also mention the North London Line calling at Camden Road station - it can be damn useful sometimes.

Cheers,
Number Six



(Harringay-resident and proud of it!)

ok, i've had a look around and discovered that there is enough information about buses, trains, tubes and so on for a whole new entry.
which i would write and link to, if i knew enough.
but i don't - i've only ever used the tube or occasionally walked to kentish town if i've missed the last tube.
www.londontransport.co.uk is really quite easy to use though - would a link to this be enough?
obviously, pointing out that these directions are from the tube station as this is a pretty central point and if you don't know camden at all, it's the easiest place to find and start from.

I reckon a link to the London Transport website would do fine - perhaps if you say something to the effect that if your gig goes on quite late, or the venue holds a club night after the gig (Casino Royale at the Monarch, for instance), you may end up missing the last tube and have to take a night bus. Camden is very well-served by the night bus network, so much so that there are too many routes to list here, but you will find full details on the (link) London Transport website. All night buses that go through Camden call at stops in the vicinity of Camden Town tube station.

You could also link to A48502 - The Ultimate Guide to the London Underground.

What do you think about including Camden Road station - it can be very useful, the North London Line goes from North Woolwich to Richmond via Stratford, Dalston, Highbury & Islington, Camden, Hampstead and Willesden, which can make it a lot quicker to get to Camden than taking a tube into the centre of London, changing lines and coming out again. Although it's less good for coming back from a gig as the last trains leave shortly after eleven o'clock - you could link to http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ for train times.

Your directions can still apply - just say that to get to Camden Town tube station from Camden Road station, turn right out of the station exit and keep going straight, over the crossroads, past Sainsbury's on your right and there it is. The time it takes to walk between Camden Road and Camden Town has been reliably measured at one cigarette, by the way.

I spotted one typo - "restraunts" - and one important factual error... the Monarch is opposite the Safeway petrol station, not Sainsbury's, which doesn't have one - if people know where Sainsbury's is and try and use it as a reference point to find the Monarch, they're going to end up in all sorts of trouble

Ah, this takes me back. I lived in London through the late Eighties and the Nineties, and visited all these places more times than I care to remember (and my consumption in those days means that many of the memories are pretty blurred anyway ).

In my day, the Falcon was one of the most important Camden venues. I'm surprised to see that it isn't included. Has it closed, or stopped putting on gigs?

I spotted one typo that I don't think has been mentioned yet: a reference to the 'Dubin' Castle. Other than that, great entry!

The Falcon has shut down - I never managed to get there myself, but I often cycle past it on Royal College and think about what might have been. It's boarded up and has got a lease for sale notice outside.

They've finally re-opened the Laurel Tree though - although I've yet to go in.

Omigod, The Laurel Tree! Or the Black Hole of Camden Town, as I used to think of it...

It used to have management that refused to open any of the windows in the upstairs music room for fear of annoying the neighbours with noise. This meant that it would get almost unbearably hot and airless in summer. You'd get a stamp on your hand at the door, and by the time you reached the bar (for a warm, bottled ) the ink would be running off your hand in sweaty rivulets.

Ah, happy days...

Original venue of the legendary Blow Up club!

Blow Up at the Laurel Tree was fantastic! I last set foot in that place about eleven years ago. Sure I can still find my tamborine and mini skirt somewhere....