Getting round London

London is a big place and has a wonderful transport system, but it's the victim of its own success. It can be crowded, and there are parts which have suffered from underinvestment over the years, but most of it is good and generally very safe.

As a visitor, I will assume you will not be using a car. Parking is expensive (around $4 US per hour in the central area) and the congestion charge is $14 US per day which must be paid when you drive in the inner part of central London.

So the choice comes down to taxi, bus, Underground (known as the Tube by Londoners), train, and of course foot. When Londoners talk about trains, they generally mean suburban routes, or the 'Overground.' There are many different train companies, but the differences need not concern you if you only want to travel in the Greater London area.

National Rail is the name of the long-distance trains. They leave from the same termini such as Paddington, King's Cross, Euston and so on, but I won't be covering them in this podcast.

London is divided into zones. You can see the concentric zones by consulting the London Connections map. Heathrow airport is in zone 6, which is the outermost zone in the London area. Gatwick airport is outside the London zoned area. If you want to travel within zone 1, life is easy. If you want to travel within zones 1 - 6, life is also easy because you can use almost all forms of public transport on the same ticket, but you do need to know which zone your destination is in, if you are to pay the correct price.

The London Journey Planner comes in handy here. Just type in your departure and arrival points, and it will calculate the best route for you.

How then do you decide which form of transport is best?

For short journeys, you should walk. London is a great place for wandering about. You see more that way. The ancient road pattern and lack of any logical grid means you should buy a map, and most Londoners use the A-Z (pronounced A-to-Zed). You can buy a small book in any bookshop or stationer, or pretty much anywhere else too.

For slightly longer trips, the choice is between taxi, bus and Tube.

Taxis are expensive but reliable and clean. You may prefer to use them at night, or in bad weather. Drivers know every street in London - they take a test called 'The Knowledge' which generally involves more than 2 years practical study. You can see trainee drivers on small motorcycles with clipboards mounted on the handlebars, as they learn the routes by heart. Generally the more people travelling together, the more affordable the taxi will be. Cab drivers are closely regulated by the Metropolitan Police Carriage Office. Fares are clearly displayed along with the licence, and the meter shows the price. It is customary to add a 10% tip. Sometimes cab drivers will offer to take you to Heathrow airport for a fixed price, but bartering is not otherwise expected, and you just pay when is on the meter. All taxis are capable of transporting a wheelchair, and you should find drivers friendly and helpful. Some places in London are not well served by the Tube - Chelsea is one example - and here a taxi might be a better alternative than any other form of public transport. To 'hail' a taxi, wait on a busy street and put your arm out when you see a cab with its yellow light illuminated.

The choice between bus and Tube generally comes down to the route, and perhaps the time of year. Tube is easier for most visitors. Work out your route, change where necessary, and you should arrive at your chosen destination. Buses are frequent and better in hot weather as the Tube lacks air conditioning, but finding the stop and working out your route can be daunting. If you know the bus number and do not need to change buses to reach your destination, I recommend using the bus for shorter journeys of 20 minutes or so. Buses are much cheaper for single journeys than Tubes, and you can buy an all-day pass from ticket machines at central area bus stops for a very low price.

You should normally ensure you have a ticket before boarding a bus, but drivers will accept fares in coinage if there is no machine by the stop. Most people use Oyster cards in London, but visitors will find Travelcards more convenient for stays of a week or less. You buy your Travelcard at Underground stations. The fares leaflet looks daunting and is, but all you need concern yourself with is the zone and the time. For example, a one-day Travelcard for zone 1 costs £6.20 but if you buy it after 9.30 am the price is only £4.90. This covers travel on buses and Tubes in the whole of zone 1. At the other end of the scale, a card for zones 1 - 6 costs £12.40 peak and £6.30 off-peak. be careful not to buy a zones 2-6 card, because you are likely to pass through zone 1 on your travels, and so a card including zone 1 is essential. When your Travelcard includes the outer zones 2-6, all trains are included in the price. This means you can take a suburban train to the outer limits of the zone of your card's validity.

For example, if you arrive at Heathrow, purchase a zones 1-6 Travelcard at the airport and you have the freedom of London for the duration of your card. Note: the Underground station serving Terminal 4 is closed whilst Terminal 5 is under construction - if you travel into London (Paddington) on the Heathrow Express, this is not included in the Travelcard system and your ticket must be bought separately.

Your Travelcard should be placed face up (magnetic strip downwards) on the right side of a Tube gate which shows a green entry arrow. Exit gates have a large red cross on the right. Don't forget to remove your ticket from the slot in the top of the gate - the gate will not open until you do so. This goes for the expensive single-journey tickets too - but these are now so pricey that you are unlikely to want to pay £3 for one journey unless you have to.

Once through the gates, just follow signs to the line you want - the different directions will be market westbound, eastbound, northbound and southbound. Some of these are not entirely clear, especially on the Circle Line, so memorising the name of the station at the end of the lines will help. On the platform, look for the large maps on the other side of the track. This shows the Tube stops. The next 3 trains are shown on a dot matrix sign, with the intervals in minutes before the train is due.

Buses are easier, and now many stops have ticket machines and dot matrix displays. The times are not as accurate as the Tube because of the heavy traffic in central London. If you have a Travelcard, just show it to the driver as you enter the front door of the bus and alight from the centre doors at your destination. White bus stops are 'compulsory' and red bus stops 'on request.' That is the theory, but in practice it is best to put your arm out when your bus appears to indicate to the driver to pick you up. When you want to alight, push the bell located on most upright bars. The illuminated sign by the driver will say 'Stopping' to indicate to the hard of hearing that a request to stop has been given.

You enter a bus through the front doors and exit through the rear doors. All public transport is non-smoking. The upper deck of buses offers a panoramic view of the streets as you travel to your destination.

Finally a few tips from experience. Follow 'Tube etiquette'. You must stand on the right of the escalators to allow people to pass on the left. Stand back behind the yellow line on Tube platforms - they can be crowded. Stand aside to allow passengers to alight from the trains before you enter. The seats nearest the doors are marked with orange signs to indicate they are for use by less-abled passengers.

Most bus routes are high frequency, but you can check the timetable and destinations by consulting the notices on bus stops. There are a few of the old Routemaster buses left on the streets of London, but only on 'heritage' routes: the Routemaster was withdrawn from regular service at the end of 2005.

Enjoy your visit! Look out for my next walks - they are my absolute favourites.

This walk starts at Holland Park station on the Central Line (Zone 2) or Notting Hill Gate on the Central, Circle and District lines (Zones 1 and 2). We visit many different parts of elegant Notting Hill.

It was not always so: we see London's squalid past - the Piggeries with it's slums occupied by animals and people, and vast areas of stinking slurry - also the clay pits knowns as the Potteries. We even find an old bottle kiln remaining hidden near Pottery Lane.

The church of St James Norlands is on the route, whose architect lived locally. The architect's son was watch and clockmaker to His Majesty. Next we climb to the top of Ladbroke Grove and the church of St John the Evangelist, built in 1845 on the site of the grandstand of the Hippodrome race course. You can still see the size and shape of the horse track from the modern day road pattern.

At Clarendon Cross we see more lovely shops, including the Temple Gallery selling beautiful old icons.

After St Peter's Church the famous Portobello Road market. We walk the length of Portobello Road, with its antique shops and affordable bric a brac in the south, to the local market from fruit and vegetables, meat, fish and household goods in the north, and see the location of the movie Notting Hill starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant.

At the historic Electric Cinema you can watch eclectic films from the comfort of an armchair.

The walk finishes at Westbourne Park Underground station, or a 328 or 31 bus back to Notting Hill Gate.

This is a wonderfully varied walk, lasting just over an hour. The MP3 file runs for 53 minutes with pauses - but you will want to stop it and look around at all there is to see in this wonderful part of London. Some of the places are rarely visited by tourists, so download to your iPod and I'll accompany you around an area I know well.

Take a short walk with me to see the hidden gem which is Holland Park. This park is mainly frequented by the locals, and for good reason. Other London parks are wide open spaces. Holland Park is different. It is wooded, with paths and a variety of different types of space.

See the Kyoto Japanese Garden. Exhibition spaces in the Orangery and the Ice House. A top-class restaurant called the Belvedere. Holland House and the Youth Hostel. Open air opera.

We also visit Melbury Road - an artists colony in Victorian times and home to the Leighton House museum.

This walk should take less than one hour. There are no lengthy pauses on the sound file, when you switch off your MP3 player and explore on your own. The only part is where there is an option to enter a museum. Other than that, you can comfortably complete the walk in the time stated.

It's also an easy walk, mostly away from roads and traffic, with interesting things to admire all along the way.