Useful things to know before your visit
Address: Abbey Road, St. John’s Wood NW8
How much time do you need?
A typical visit to Abbey Road takes 15 minutes.
Which buses go to Abbey Road?
Bus routes 139 and 189 both stop close by.
Which is the closest train station?
The nearest station is St. John’s Wood on the Jubilee line. You can walk the ¼ mile to Abbey Road in about 5 minutes.
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Abbey Road is a great place to watch some tourists getting shouted at by the London cabbies, which is always fun. You’ll witness more beeping horns and furious hand gestures around here than anywhere else in London. The Beatles famously sang that “all you need is love” but come rush hour in Abbey Road all of that is forgotten because they’ve inadvertently turned it into a battleground of buses, bikes and Beatles fans.
The Beatles’ zebra crossing
Photo: londondrum.comIt’s amazing how many people are hanging around this little zebra crossing. There are a couple of benches on the corner of Grove End Road and tourists are sitting on the arms chatting happily and wondering where everybody’s from. How far have you come? Who’s your favourite Beatle? (Paul, Paul, Paul and a few Ringos.) Beatles fans are generally quite a friendly bunch. You wouldn’t get this camaraderie with The Stones or The Who.
Okay, here we go… here come the first lot… four giggling girls have patiently waited for a lull in the traffic and are now goose-stepping across the road with arms and legs at forty-five degrees. When they get to the middle they pause in a frozen pose while their buddy on the pavement (who seems to have a mild panic on) fiddles with his camera trying to get it to work. He can’t do it. It’s too much pressure. This is when the road rage starts. The cars start bucking and agitating like angry broncos, impatient to get away, and the drivers’ hands start hovering around their horns ready to deliver a quick blast of trumpet if they don’t start moving quick. Take the photo! Take the damn photo! Hurry up buddy because your friends are holding up the traffic and they’re going to get run over in a minute. Oh for chrissakes this guy is totally useless and now they’re going to have to start all over again.
Next contestants… it’s an elderly American couple this time. They’re too old for selfies and just want to say they’ve done it. It’s like a pilgrimage to them, like seeing the Jungle Room at Graceland.
Next lot… this group really means business and it’s obvious that they’ve been practicing beforehand. Their entire holiday has been building up to this moment. They have their walking line-up pre-arranged and their photographer friend is standing on the concrete obelisk in the centre of the road, giving them the thumbs up (that’s where everybody stands to take a photo). Deep breaths. Off they go… step step step, like a military march. One of them is acting like a cox and shouting out the strides so they can keep in time… left-right-left-right-left-right. This is more like it! I hope all the other tourists are watching this because this is the level of expertise we’re expecting from now on.
Photo: londondrum.comAbbey Road recording studios
Once you’ve taken a photo of the zebra crossing you can walk a few doors down to Abbey Road Studios. It’s impossible to miss because the white wall out the front is covered in Beatles graffiti. Unfortunately they whitewash it every three months or so, so if you scrawl your name on top then you’ll have to come back next year and replace it.
Photo: londondrum.com
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What do you think? (8)
Average rating ★★★★★★★★★★Ask a question, or share your experience of Abbey Road
Susie P As a life long Beatles fan I felt that I knew the Abbey Road cover but when I arrived I walked straight past it, not realising that it was the actual crossing! It is on a very busy corner of a main road, whilst the cover makes it seem as if it is a leafy residential street. But once I had recovered my senses I did what I came to do – walking across! There were two other people waiting to march and we all helped each other to take photographs of each other which was lovely. Beatles fans are wonderful! (reply)
Fiona How do I get from Paddington station to Abbey road. Many thanks. (reply)
↳Craig Hi Fiona. St. John’s Wood is the closest stop, but it’s probably easier to go two stops on the Bakerloo line from Paddington to Maida Vale, and then walk up Abercorn Place. If you’re feeling really energetic (it’s quite a long walk from Paddington) then you could head north towards the flyover, walk up Warwick Avenue and Maida Avenue (maybe have a look around Little Venice) and then up Maida Vale, turning right into Hall Road. (reply)
PJ What is so special about the Beatles crossing at Abbey Road? Isn’t it just a normal road crossing? (reply)
↳Craig Hi PJ. There’s nothing special about the zebra crossing itself, but if you’re a Beatles fan then it’s just nice to walk in their footsteps and recreate the album cover. (reply)
Peter When I visited the crossing in the 1990s one of the people there told me that the road crossing has moved so it’s no longer in the same position it was when John, Paul, George and Ringo walked over it in 1969. (reply)
↳Craig Hi Peter. I’ve heard the same thing but I’m pretty sure it’s not true. People claim they moved it 100 metres closer to Grove End Road, and whilst the look of the stripes and zig-zag lines have definitely changed (they must have repainted it loads of times) the crossing itself still seems to be in the same position if you compare it with the album cover – you can see the white wall of Abbey Road Studios on the left. (reply)
HP I can’t believe my husband dragged us here just to walk over a road. I was so embarrassed. (reply)
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