A cabbie’s guide to London

Albert Turner, Crystal Palace

27 years on the meter

Favourite neighbourhood to work in? Camden, purely for the vibe. I don’t think it’s evolved too much. It’s always kind of stayed the same compared to somewhere like Carnaby Street, which is just totally unrecognisable now from how it used to be.

If you could show someone one landmark, what would it be? I’ve done plenty of trips to Big Ben and Nelson’s Column, but if I could take someone to one place to show off London, I’d go over Waterloo Bridge – that’s my favourite landmark. Whichever direction you’re driving on it, you get views across the whole of the city.

Is there anything in London you’ve always been meaning to do, but never quite got round to? Swimming in the Serpentine, Hyde Park, on a good day has always sounded nice.

Ben Harris, Bermondsey

20 years on the meter

Are there any roads you particularly love? There are so many streets in London that are beautiful. If you go up to Primrose Hill, there’s a road called Chalcot Crescent – it’s a lovely horseshoe road and all the houses are painted different colours. One of them is the house in the Paddington movie.

Best place for a drink that you won’t find in the guidebooks? People will often say to me, “Can you take us to a traditional English pub” and I’ll take them straight to The Lord Clyde in Borough. When you walk in there it really is like an old traditional place, a proper pub. 

Have you had any memorable fares? One night I picked up this very smart looking gentleman in St James’s and he said, “I’m going to ask you to take me to Hampstead, but can we pick someone up on the way? Then I want you to stop in a very specific place on Finchley Road and when we get there, I’m going to open the door, ask her to get out, and I'm going to ask her to marry me.” So I said, “OK, any reason you want to stop in this one particular place?” And he replied, “I wanted to get a black cab because we met a few years ago both trying to hail a taxi in the pouring rain. We ended up sharing one and got chatting – three years down the line I want to propose to her on the spot that we met.” She was blown away. There were tears. Even I was getting emotional! It was great. 

Steve Pool, Enfield

12 years on the meter

If somebody wants to have the best possible time in London, what advice would you give them? Chat to cabbies! Also: go and take in the view from Alexandra Palace – it’s spectacular up there.

Anything that you feel you should’ve done as a Londoner but haven’t? I get to see the London Eye from all different perspectives (I think Horse Guards Parade has the best view) but I’ve still never been on it! 

What’s your secret London activity? I love walking down to the shore of the river. On the South Bank, for instance, once the tide’s gone you can literally walk on the pebbles. There’s another spot for that by Orchard Place near Canning Town. Down there, it’s just you and the river, which has always been the most attractive part of the city for me.

Tina Yeo, Bexley

Six years on the meter

Do you have a favourite route? When I’m out, I always try and go through the parks if I can (Hyde, Victoria, etc.). I like to get away from the streets and see a bit of greenery.

What’s your stop-off of choice? There’s a café on Horseferry Road called Sapori where I like to go – you get a lot of cab drivers in there. It’s an Italian place. They do breakfast and lunch and a lovely seafood pasta in the evening.

What can you tell us about The Knowledge? The Knowledge is ingrained in you because you study for so long. The map stays in your head, but some of the etiquette goes back years and I sometimes think, “What on earth are they going on about?” The best one is that you should give way to other taxis on the road. Not so great when they call you up thinking that you’re nicking a job off them!

Bob Duffy, Southgate

27 years on the meter

Do you have a favourite building in the city? I’ve never been in it, but I really like Unilever House as you come over Blackfriars Bridge. It’s a white stone building, not particularly historic – it must only be from the 1930s or something – but it’s very beautiful.

If you’ve only got a spare 15 minutes in town, where's the best place to go? The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square. It’s free but it still feels like you get more bang for your buck in there than you do in most other places, plus there’s not always big queues like you get at the British Museum.

Go on then, any good celebrity anecdotes? I picked up Kiefer Sutherland once just after he’d done that 24 show and he couldn’t work out how to use his card. I had to get in the back with him. Pretty amusing that Jack Bauer couldn’t work a credit card machine.

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