4 ms·

Having moved in London two years ago, I struggle to find a moment of intense quiet. The reason is mainly the planes that are authorized to fly above the city (a

Having moved in London two years ago, I struggle to find a moment of intense quiet. The reason is mainly the planes that are authorized to fly above the city (a stupidity in my opinion) and even in the middle of a park, you can still hear them, flying just above your head. At night, cars, ambulances, you name it, will take the relay.. Frustrating.

breckenedge 14y ago
Yep, same experience. Horses on cobblestones at 4am.
- dredmorbius 14y ago
  #19thcenturyworldproblems
niccl 14y ago
About 10 years ago I was living in the UK a few miles from Heathrow and near a motorway. I was working late shifts so I'd be walking home anywhere between 3 and 5 am. Once or twice in that couple of years I noticed it was totally quiet for up to a minute at a time. That was it: maybe two times in a a year! (I also often got stopped by the police, who wanted to know what I was doing _walking_ at that time of the morning. But that's a different story...) Coming back to NZ was a joy.
dredmorbius 14y ago
That's still something I recall from the days immediately following 9/11. No airplanes overhead. Occasional fighter overflights excepted. But where normally every 60 seconds or so a commercial transport (or two) would be heard ... nothing. This actually impacted weather patterns too -- cloud cover notably diminished as was reported at the time (subsequent studies dispute some of the findings): http://www.nature.com/news/2002/020808/full/news020805-7.html http://www.nature.com/news/2002/020808/full/news020805-7.htm...
elemeno 14y ago
It really depends where in London you are as well. Where I am (N London, 25 mins on the Tube from Moorgate or the west end, so not exactly far from town) it's quiet enough that I can hear owls at night and only the occasional car or plane.
keithpeter 14y ago
I'm about a mile from the centre of Birmingham. Quiet, except for the sound of the wind. In central London, I find the river side reasonably quiet, and there is always the crypt of St Brides' of Fleet St - very quiet!

breckenedge 14y ago

Yep, same experience. Horses on cobblestones at 4am.

dredmorbius 14y ago
#19thcenturyworldproblems

niccl 14y ago

About 10 years ago I was living in the UK a few miles from Heathrow and near a motorway. I was working late shifts so I'd be walking home anywhere between 3 and 5 am. Once or twice in that couple of years I noticed it was totally quiet for up to a minute at a time. That was it: maybe two times in a a year! (I also often got stopped by the police, who wanted to know what I was doing _walking_ at that time of the morning. But that's a different story...) Coming back to NZ was a joy.

dredmorbius 14y ago

That's still something I recall from the days immediately following 9/11. No airplanes overhead. Occasional fighter overflights excepted. But where normally every 60 seconds or so a commercial transport (or two) would be heard ... nothing. This actually impacted weather patterns too -- cloud cover notably diminished as was reported at the time (subsequent studies dispute some of the findings): http://www.nature.com/news/2002/020808/full/news020805-7.html http://www.nature.com/news/2002/020808/full/news020805-7.htm...

elemeno 14y ago

It really depends where in London you are as well. Where I am (N London, 25 mins on the Tube from Moorgate or the west end, so not exactly far from town) it's quiet enough that I can hear owls at night and only the occasional car or plane.

keithpeter 14y ago

I'm about a mile from the centre of Birmingham. Quiet, except for the sound of the wind. In central London, I find the river side reasonably quiet, and there is always the crypt of St Brides' of Fleet St - very quiet!