London

London is the capital of the United Kingdom.

Hitching Out

• Hitchbase has some information about hitchhiking out of London

Hitchhiking out of London is pretty tricky, but not impossible - the big problem is getting onto a motorway is a bit of a challenge, once you're on the motorway, stick to the petrol stations, hitching entrance ramp to entrance ramp is quite difficult, especially in the big cities.

How to get onto the M4 Motorway

• Where to: The West, The South West, Bristol, Devon, Cornwall
• Cost of public transport: One ticket to Zone 3 - approximately 3 UKP from Zone 1.
• Last verified: March 2006

• Directions:

Get the Underground to the station Chiswick Park - from there you can find the entrance to the motorways M4 - its about 5 miles to the actual entrance to the M4, but you can walk along the main road for a mile and theres an Esso petrol station that is on the corner next to a bridge with the main london traffic running above you, and you can stand in a layby nearby with a sign saying M4 west, and someone will pick you up.

Heading for Cornwall, its much easier hitching the M4 and changing to the M5 than trying to hitch the M3.

How to get onto the M20 Motorway

• Where to: Dover, The Channel Tunnel, France
• Cost of public transport: One ticket to Zone 1 (approximately 2 UKP from Zone 1), one train ticket (approximately 3 UKP)
• Last verified: March 2006

• Directions

Get the Underground to London Bridge Station and get the commuter train to a station called Mottingham - this is very close to the entrance to the M20 to Dover, head for Great Sidcup road and around 800 yards farther down the road is a set of traffic lights (theres some car showrooms just to the left), and you can hold a sign saying Dover here and try to get the cars stopped at the lights to let you jump in.

Sleep

There's several options when it comes to finding a place to sleep. If the worst prevails and you're without a place, you're still not too bad off. Central London is relatively safe and you probably wont be bothered sleeping outside.

Squatting

London has such an abundance of squats that you shouldn't ever have to pay for accomodation. Don't worry about the connotation associated with squats. They generally aren't crackhouses or scabie infested punk hangouts. People of all types squat in London and their homes are usually very nice. They are especially helpful if you're planning to stick around for a while, but can also be great if you're just passing through. Zac^talk ended up with a squat to sleep in on his first night, and in Mayfair of all places!

rampART is a squatted social center in Whitechapel. This place isn't a residential squat, but they have a "crash room" for visitors. They make it clear that it is not a tourist hostel so you needn't bother them unless you are interested in getting involved with their project for some time while you're there. To stay, you need to contact them well ahead of time. If nothing else, it's a great place to meet squatters and find a place to stay. They also have free internet! The address is 15-17 Rampart Street, London, E1 2LA.

The Advisory Service for Squatters is more helpful for people that are planning to find a place to live, but may be able to help you find a place to crash. It's located at the Freedom Bookstore in Whitechapel and is another great place to meet squatters as well as get online for free. The address is Angel Alley, 84b Whitechapel High Street, Whitechapel, London, England, E1 7QX. (Tel. 020-32160099)

Eat

Cheap and free food abounds in London.

Free

Plenty of places throw out food at closing time. Always check the bags out front of Pret a Mangers and Benjy's at 5-7pm. If you feel up to it, you can even go inside when they are closing shop and explain that you're homeless and pick out all the food you want instead of getting it off the sidewalk. Feel no shame, you're helping to curb wastefulness!

Cheap

If you're going to self cater, stick to Sainsbury's and Tesco rather than the convenient Off-Licenses for better prices. If you get tired of peanut butter sandwiches or want to fill up for the weekend, try one of the MANY £5 all-you-can-eat Thai Buffets. Go early, they get more expensive in the evening.