Visit London Blog » the knowledge http://blog.visitlondon.com Enjoy the very best of London Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:47:20 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Visit London Asks: What’s Your Favourite Way to Get Around London? http://blog.visitlondon.com/2011/03/visit-london-asks-whats-your-favourite-way-to-get-around-london/ http://blog.visitlondon.com/2011/03/visit-london-asks-whats-your-favourite-way-to-get-around-london/#comments Wed, 02 Mar 2011 12:30:39 +0000 Claire Doble http://blog.visitlondon.com/?p=19926

This week we asked our Facebook fans how you like to get around London and got a huge response – more than 110 comments and counting!

Lots of you love the Tube, double decker buses are really popular, and the DLR and Thames Clippers also get the nod. Black cabs are some people’s favourite form of transport, not least due to the drivers, who you find entertaining and full of local knowledge (as well as “The Knowledge” of course).

But the most popular way to get around London is walking and since we reckon London’s a great city for exploring on foot, we’re really pleased you do too!

Do you agree? Join the chorus by telling us your favourite way to get around London in the comments below.

]]> http://blog.visitlondon.com/2011/03/visit-london-asks-whats-your-favourite-way-to-get-around-london/feed/ 3 Science Museum: London Cab Drivers and The Knowledge http://blog.visitlondon.com/2010/06/science-museum-london-cab-drivers-and-the-knowledge/ http://blog.visitlondon.com/2010/06/science-museum-london-cab-drivers-and-the-knowledge/#comments Fri, 25 Jun 2010 09:00:52 +0000 Science Museum http://blog.visitlondon.com/?p=9817

On the eve of the new Who Am I? galleries opening at the Science Museum, Jenny Wong, Content Developer of the gallery, explores how London cab drivers learn The Knowledge.

“Everyone recognises the black cab as a London icon, but have you ever wondered what makes London cabbies different from the rest of us?

Science Museum staff caught up with seasoned cab driver Al Fresco and a novice taxi driver in action for the Who Am I? gallery to bring the story of London taxi drivers’ brains to life.

In order to become a cabbie, you have to remember “the Knowledge” – 320 routes and all notable landmarks in the six-mile radius around Charing Cross Station. After achieving this feat of memory and surviving a gruelling face-to-exam at the Public Carriage Office, wannabe cab drivers gain their licence to start taking fares.

So what does this process do to you? Scientist Eleanor Maguire scanned London taxi drivers brains to find out. Using a technique known as MRI scanning, she investigated an area of the brain called the hippocampus which supports spatial navigation and memory. The back of this small, seahorse shaped area of the brain was bigger as a result of the learning each taxi driver had been through.

Something to think about next time you’re in the back of a black cab…”

The new Who Am I? gallery is open from 26 June 2010. Visit www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/whoami for more information

]]> http://blog.visitlondon.com/2010/06/science-museum-london-cab-drivers-and-the-knowledge/feed/ 0