The London Underground stations just a five-minute walk apart – but no line linking them.l
Sometimes, the London Underground map can make it seem like two stations are miles apart when they’re actually a short walk away from each other.
Aldgate East underground station is just a short walk from Aldgate station (Image: Getty Images)
Navigating London can be a confusing experience – especially if you’re trying to do so using its Underground map.
The iconic map is very cleverly designed, brilliantly simplifying the complex network of stations and lines. However, it’s not to scale – and nor does it always show the correct compass direction between two points.
Consequently, when it comes to finding the best way to navigate London, it’s about as much use as a chocolate teapot. Sometimes, it’s much quicker to walk between two ‘Tube’ stations than it is to catch the train – and the Underground Map simply doesn’t show this.
Aldgate and Aldgate East are not connected (Image: London Underground)
For instance, if you were to use the Tube map to find your way from Aldgate Tube station to Aldgate East Tube station via the London Underground,
Imagine starting at Aldgate station. You’d likely take either the Metropolitan or Circle line westbound for one stop to Liverpool Street station, where you’d need to alight.
After changing platforms to ensure you’re on an eastbound service, you’d then have to board a Hammersmith and City line train to Aldgate East. This entire journey could take up to 15 minutes.
Sometimes it’s quicker to walk between Tube stations (Image: Mike Kemp/Getty)
This includes a three-minute wait at Aldgate station for a one-minute journey to Liverpool Street station, reports MyLondon. Following this, you could wait up to 10 minutes at Liverpool Street for a train to Aldgate East station – assuming you don’t lose your way while changing platforms.
The final leg of the journey would also take roughly one minute. This means at least 15 minutes would have elapsed since you began your journey from Aldgate.
However, if you were to use your phone to take a look at a real map, you’d realise that the two stations are actually within a short walking distance of each other.
A leisurely stroll from Aldgate station to Aldgate East station, or the reverse, should take only three minutes. From Aldgate, it’s a simple matter of taking a few steps along Aldgate High Street, crossing over at Middlesex Street, and continuing a short distance towards Aldgate East on Whitechapel High Street.
Alternatively, you could hop on a 25 or 205 bus, which would whisk you to your destination in just two minutes, assuming there’s no traffic. So, navigating around London doesn’t have to be as daunting as the Tube map might suggest.
