London

Box Hill circuit

A circuitous ramble over and around Box Hill in the Surrey downs.

Four weeks after arriving in London for a year-long sabbatical, I was itching to get outdoors – out in the hills, forests, and meadows, after weeks of city life. Don’t get me wrong – I am truly enjoying the chance to explore London, and to adapt to city living. But I am a country mouse, at heart, and needed to be out where I could climb hills, take in broad vistas, and listen to the wind in the trees. After some online snooping, I settled on this eight-mile circular walk around Box Hill, just an hour’s train journey south of London. Read on!

Box Hill and Westhumble train station is tiny, unstaffed, but cute.

London, first impressions

The beginning of my year-long sabbatical in London.

One of the joys of academic life is the opportunity to take the occasional sabbatical – a semester or a year away from the home university, focused on research without the day-to-day obligations of teaching or committee service. I have been extraordinarily fortunate to spend my past sabbaticals abroad: as a Fulbright Fellow to the Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore) in 2008-09, and as a Visiting Professor at ETH (Zürich, Switzerland) in 2019-20, leading to some fabulous scientific collaborations and personal/family adventures, which I’ve documented in this blog. Well, here we go again! this time, in London.

Imperial College. A glittering glass building In one of its central quads, with a big sign "Imperial College". — In one of its central quads, Imperial College welcomes new students in the first week of fall term.

David in London. I’m just wrapping up a quick trip to London, where I attended the annual UbiComp conference. Such a treat that several of the major conferences are located in Europe this year, while I am as well.

Astonishingly, I have not been to London for more than 40 years! Hard to believe it, but my one and only prior visit was during a family trip the last time I lived in Europe. London has changed a bit since then… but I see they still have the iconic phone booths.

As I strolled by some of the major London landmarks – snapping photos of Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and Imperial College London – I was sad that I did not have more time to stop and explore. The conference schedule is packed with interesting talks and networking opportunities, so I’ll just have to return some other time and do the tourist thing. Fortunately, I’ll be back in two weeks for a Dartmouth event and hopefully will have more time to explore during that visit.