I deem that it is time for a dose of omphaloskepsis, and to find out which of my miserable scrawlings captured your attention the most during 2011.

After much efforts calculating a myriad of variables (OK, I just asked Google Analytics), here in order of popularity are the Top-15 articles I wrote during 2011:

I get the feeling there is a bit of a transport theme building up here.

    1. Photos of an Empty London on Christmas Morning

      For the third — and judging by my track record of being ill at Xmas — the last time, I got up early and walked into central London to hire a bike and cycle around taking photos of the city minus its human population.

    2. The Northern Line tunnel – bombed and flooded in 1940 – and still sealed shut (my personal favourite)

      Just before midnight on the 9th September 1940, sailors up on deck of the cargo sailing ship, Seven Seas were watching an air raid by German bombers over the Charing Cross railway bridge when an explosion hit the river and a large wave struck the ship. A few moments later, a large fountain erupted out of the River Thames that lasted for about half a minute before dying away.

    3. Your chance to visit an abandoned tube station

      Prepare to squeal in delight as the Transport Museum delivers an early Christmas present. The closed down Aldwych tube station by The Strand is opening to the public again for a rare chance to go down and see this famous tube station.

    4. Photos – inside the disused tube station at Brompton Road

      Half way between South Kensington and Knightsbridge tube stations lies an abandoned remnant of the early Piccadilly Line that was closed down in 1934 and shortly afterwards taken over by the War Office to be used as a command centre for the defence of London.

    5. South London’s Abandoned Tube Tunnel

      Thanks to how the tube network was built by the early private entrepreneurs, there are dotted around the place a fair number of disused shafts and tunnels which attract the curious minds – and occasional physical visits.

    6. Taking a Private Trip in London’s Parliamentary Train Service

      A mysterious train runs between North and South London during the week, direct between two stations that shouldn’t be possible to travel between. Once in the morning, and once in the afternoon – and never at weekends.

    7. Twitpic changes its terms of service

      People who use Twitpic to display photos they have taken and uploaded to the Twitter website might want to rethink their use of the website, especially if you are the sort of person who tends to be at newsworthy locations.

    8. Today marks the 40th Anniversary of London Bridge

      Today marks the 40th anniversary of the rededication of John Rennie’s 1831 London Bridge – in Arizona.

    9. Photos inside the disused tube station at Aldwych

      Announced a couple of weeks ago – and sold out within a few days – today marked the first of two open weekends at the disused tube station at Aldwych.

    10. List of London’s Bonfire Night Fireworks for 2011

      Time to start planning the annual celebration of the persecution of a Papist plot to kill our Protestant Monarch. Sadly, the burning of effigies seems to be frowned upon now, although a few venues will have bonfires this year.

    11. A mysterious structure in the Vaults under London Bridge train station

      Regular users of London Bridge station will doubtless be aware that the mainline platforms are raised a couple of stories above the surrounding road, supported on massive brick arches.

    12. World’s largest Steampunk exhibition visits London

      What is said to be the largest exhibition of Steampunk art, craft and engineering in the world has come to London for the next few months and goes on display surrounded by real Victorian steam engineering at the Kew Bridge Steam Museum.

    13. A Grand Day Out – Taking the Boris Bikes to Paris

      Last year I won a couple of tickets to Paris on the Eurostar, and while a trip to Paris to see the tourist sights is very appealing, simply visiting the obvious and doing the obvious is hardly the sort of thing you would this particular writer to content himself with.

    14. Pre-Booking Details Released for London Open House Weekend

      Of the 757 venues that will be opening their doors for next month’s Open House Weekend, a small number need to be booked in advance – a policy that usually leads to panic stricken trawling through their website on Monday morning when the booking system opens.

    15. Military Flypasts over London in 2011

      Collating details as they are published of the various military aircraft flypasts over London and local area, as I do – and it is about as ready as it is likely to get.

In fact, mixed up in the most popular blog posts during 2011, were some written a year or more ago that still manage to attract attention thanks to the whims of Google and similar.

  1. London Underground’s “secret” tube station
  2. South London’s Abandoned Tube Tunnel
  3. London’s real Diagon Alley
  4. How to get your own fake passport
  5. Huge Panorama of London in 1845

Here’s to more blog posts in 2012.

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3 comments
  1. Scott K says:

    I get the feeling there is a bit of a transport theme building up here.

    Amongst the readers or the author? 🙂

    Thanks for a great year of interesting posts, Ian – here’s to another!

  2. Chris M says:

    Unless you’ve written two blog posts with the title “South London’s Abandoned Tube Tunnel” you appear to be counting this 3rd April 2011 entry in both 2011 and pre-2011 lists.

  3. Annie Mole says:

    Strangely enough all 10 of mine had a transport theme. Sadly although perhaps rather obviously three of the top 10 had a strike theme

    Going Underground’s Most visited posts in 2011

    Thanks for always being interesting & in particular for the Steam Museum post – even though I only live 20 minutes walk away from the Steam Museum, I found out about it through your blog

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