Tour of London Traffic: Double-Decker Buses & Black Cabs (1970) | British Pathé

[@NorthDevon-d5y]

A very different London than it is today…. How lovely to see this and how sad to see how London is now…..

[@ncs8730]

The whole world is different now... I'd like to be back in the 1970s.

[@Crimejaildotcom]

As a Londoner born and bred I absolutely love this stuff.

[@oc2phish07]

Me too.

[@pepepinochetshelicoptertou2696]

CrimeJail This footage shows very clearly that EU immigration has been genuinely extreme. I think that a fair comment you know.

[@pepepinochetshelicoptertou2696]

chat wow The amount is wrong, very wrong. you don’t have to be native to see it

[@philbemji3337]

What about now? Are you a muslim yet?

[@nanabadu7079]

@@pepepinochetshelicoptertou2696, you are crazy, as the years move on, population increases along side, stop blaming EU for this, every country's population on this planet has increased by population size as at now compared to the 1970's

[@MHFyffe]

Sheer nostalgia bringing me back to summer jobs in London in the late sixties. Notice are the cars are virtually 100% British. Within the decade that would change. Streets looked so much neater then as did the well turned out red buses. Great stuff. Thank you for a drive down memory street - rather than lane!

[@lyndoncmp5751]

I love the old Routemaster buses but the buses today are far neater and cleaner, with no disgusting cigarette smoke. Things weren't all better back then.

[@AuxesisHyperbole666]

A lot of Anglias, Cortinas, Zephyrs and Escorts, Thames and Transit vans (Ford, American), Singers, Hillmans and Sunbeams (Chrysler Routes, American) VW Beetles and BMW 2002s (German), Alfas and Fiats (Italian) Citroens, Peugeots, Simcas, Renault 4s (French) and rose tinted filters (you).

[@brianmcintyre14]

I think it shows how we've become bombarded by advertising and warning signs, in my eyes this is where the neater look is.

[@Muckylittleme]

The streets were so much emptier than now as well.

[@schrodingerscat1863]

Yes no casually discarded fast food trash all over the place like now. Also very few street signs parking signs and all the other similar junk plastered all over the roads these days.

[@georgetjn]

This is pure gold. It takes me back to when I lived in London back in the 1970s, a fantastic time for me, when the city had a very strong identity and you felt you were part of something really special.

[@livesteam]

It was true for me too ... I found my lifetime love there in 1966 ... wonderful times and so relaxed, interesting ...

[@dommidavros2211]

But that would make you over 55 years old! That can’t be right!

[@gilesscanlon2586]

@@dommidavros2211 yeah he's probably really old now.

[@malukymoomalukymoo8246]

Not anymore it’s virtually a 3rd world dump

[@ningen7736]

Giles Scanlon Watch your tongue you’re talking to somebody that can remember what the belt felt like. The man is practically a war hero.

[@alangb2086]

Loved every second of this, so nostalgic, I was 18 back in '70 and knew my way all over London as a driver, thanks guys❤

[@icanicant1850]

Lovely to find this old video. I drove buses on most of them routes from September 1967. Route 9 and 11 were the main ones, Liverpool St to Shepherds Bush (11) and Liverpool St to Mortlake Garage (9) Retired now and live in Kent. Happy days long gone now

[@classicartfoundation639]

It's very sad

[@handsoffmycactus2958]

I hope you had better lane discipline than these plonks

[@gillchatfield3231]

2 of my regular routes at that time. Moved out of London in 1975!

[@richardl772]

Living in OZ now......my routes were 14. 11. 22 and 31. Good times.....

[@richardl772]

teledine. Sorry, can’t help you with that one.....

[@trevormunday3691]

London Back in the 1970s as per the video shown was clean. I was a toddler but I remember how clean the streets were. No Rubbish on the floor. Then the 80s came and people started to through rubbish on the floor, then the 90s came and London changed for ever. I miss the 70s/80s of the old London.

[@Khayyam-vg9fw]

It's mainly because street cleaning was privatised, with the competitive tenders going to the cheapest (usually foreign-owned) cowboy outfits.

[@TheEpicAB]

VK If Arabs are 3rd world, then why are they so rich and their countries are much developed than ours? Why do so many people go there for holidays?

[@MartianTom]

Well... parts of London may have been clean, but certainly not Putney or Battersea, where I lived at the time.

[@sofiad9775]

@@TheEpicAB rich is not similar with education and quality .Arabs get rich biscose of petroleum but education and civilization =0 Same with Indians ,no matter how much money they'll have dirtiness never disappear

[@keithrose6931]

As a kid you ran the risk of a smack if you dropped litter .

[@prp3231]

There's something magical about buses, especially red buses, especially double decker buses, especially the old RT types.

[@deurirodriguez9752]

I agree

[@lyndoncmp5751]

At least buses today don't have chewing gum all over them and the rancid stink of cigarette smoke.

[@johndean4765]

It was disgraceful getting rid of all the old Routemaster Buses.They were a genius design and much faster than the driver/conductor operation of today.

[@zivkovicable]

@@johndean4765 And incredibly dirty...Nearly all TFL busses are now zero emission. It's now possible for an asthmatic to walk down Oxford without suffocating. Also they were no good if you were a wheelchair user, or a parent with a baby buggy. Busses are much faster today with separated bus lanes and tap in payment.

[@barry5111]

I grew up in London and cycled everywhere as a kid. If I could turn the clock back I'd be back there in a flash.

[@zivkovicable]

@Sonnymonster Good old Sadiq Kahn introduced a couple of LTN/s to my area, and now the local school has reinstalled the bike sheds it tore down in the 80's. Also it's now possible to cycle all the way from my home to the centre of the city on a protected bike lane.

[@Spitalhatch]

No lane markings, but everyone got on together with a mixture of common sense and courtesy. How times have changed!

[@ds1868]

Indeed. Even in the 1980s it was still civilised. It's all gone downhill this century.

[@paulallenMacca]

I love seeing London in 1950’s and 1960’s Programes like The Saint and Gideon’s Way and Edgar Wallace I like the old buildings.

[@catherinehamer5653]

Yes remarkable levels of road courtesy. I think modern lane markings do create confusion and hence aggression.

[@patriciaoreilly8907]

@@ds1868 All changed from 2000 a different world 🌎

[@patriciaoreilly8907]

@@catherinehamer5653 You drive how you are as a person . Uncivilised behaviour by some but still most people are Cultured its just we have to put up with Idiots . How our standards have dropped to accommodate, just mix with my kind of nice people who love life & respect others 👏

[@1970sthrowback]

This is amazing, incredible footage from a time past. Born in Waterloo in 1965 then i grew up in Brixton. Dad drove the old buses out of Brixton Garage when i was a kid. It actually hurts me to see the London i grew up in, all gone now. I miss it all even the grime. There was still lots of the old London there - the streets were so much better, everything was. Im still stuck there to the annoyance of my best mate who is always telling me to move on. How can i when what replaced it doesnt compare ? My sons are in their 20s ( my ex wife passed away) and if i could i go back in time with them so they could experience the childhood i had it would be fantastic

[@markparsons5421]

It was so much better then. I remember the whole country was so much better. Great to see this film.

[@uksilverstacker413]

When greedy cnuts sold off are nationalised industry to peasants who bought shares

[@davidbillyard6629]

@@uksilverstacker413 They only have the nhs left to sell - which is well under way..

[@glynisroberts5029]

My late father was a black cab driver, makes me feel very nostalgic watching this, thanks for posting!

[@amithpai965]

May His Soul Rest In Peace In Heaven❤Love From India🇮🇳❤🇬🇧

[@glynisroberts5029]

@@Automedon2 That was called "The Knowledge" and it must have been quite a test to remember all that they had to learn!

[@highdownmartin]

My mums dad was a cabbie , I still have three of his Austin spanner’s in my toolbox. When we used to drive up to Camden from lewisham to visit him and Hetty, he always used to ask which route did you come, did you come down Marchmont St?

[@johnorchin8567]

I agree with these comments. It was in about 1970 my love affair with London seriously took off, but I always remember my mum saying at the time "London isn't like it used to be" so I guess every generation of Londoners looks at London and mourns the passing of how it was when they were young.

[@stevedickson5853]

But unfortunately it is getting worse make no mistake

[@JosephStealin]

@@stevedickson5853 but diversity is our strength? Multi cultural societies are better aren’t they?

[@leehazlewoodism]

@@JosephStealin It's worse because it's almost impossible to buy anywhere and rents are ridiculous. All the diversity that made it great is being forced to the margins and it's becoming a monoculture of the boring rich.

[@JosephStealin]

@@leehazlewoodism the diversity has destroyed London. The London of the 1940s 50s and even the 60s was ethnically homogeneous and relative to today a safe place to live. London today is horrendous and it isn’t the indigenous people that commit the vast majority of the crimes.

[@leehazlewoodism]

@@JosephStealin You understand that correlation does not imply causation, right? In the 40s, 50s and 60s far more people smoked and ate chips made with animal fat than nowadays, maybe that's the reason why you perceived London was a safer place to live. Or perhaps it's just blatant racism. Hard to know.

[@itcfan]

London's lifeblood, RT's and RM's. Beautiful.

[@fortybelow1973]

I lived in London as a teenager 1971. Had a bookshop job Charing Cross Road. Shared a West Hampstead tiny bedsit with my 17 yr old girlfriend who worked on Regent Street. Loved the parks on the weekends. Ah, to be young again!!

[@southlondon86]

Sir how old were you in 1971?

[@fortybelow1973]

@@southlondon86 19 yrs old.

[@lornaneillcowper6496]

@@fortybelow1973 Did you Marry your 17 year old girlfriend ? Where do you live now?

[@fortybelow1973]

@@lornaneillcowper6496 No, I married an island girl from Guam 1979. We met while she was a passenger in a car that gave me a ride and a place to stay. We fell in love working together in 'Cactus Pete's Casino' in Jackpot Nevada. Lived in Canada but moved to Guam 1986. Cancer took her 2009. I'm still on Guam but plan to move to the Philippines, as an unattached man. Lots of other stuff happened but I don't want to get boring.

[@af757]

1970 when London was a better place than it is now.....progress !

[@michaelhawkins2292]

Very rare glimpse of an NCB milk float at 5.40 ish on Oxford St delivering for the old London Co-op with either me or my workmate Georgie Turner at the wheel as we were the only two lucky ones to have the only two on the road at that time, happy days.

[@davidbarry7538]

Michael Hawkins well spotted..I was a milkman in Chiswick for almost teenty years.

[@SuperJUPP1]

Fabulous film full of classic cars, buses, and taxis, even still some 3-door Beardmore cabs. RT buses still running, but mostly Routemasters on the central London routes. The West End hasn't changed much in 45 years, unlike the City, and this is well worth watching right through. Thanks again to whoever put this up. Great !

[@vindicator2011]

...wow a whole half-century ago ...this was the London my parents were familiar with ...RIP Ma & Pa

[@karlosthejackel69]

Would you want them to see modern London?

[@vindicator2011]

@@karlosthejackel69 no. be a big disappointment for sure

[@canman5060]

This is the London I can remember !

[@paulacol2142]

I saw one of the buses heading to my home town where I was born , for a moment i wished it could have stopped outside my house so i could see my Beloved Dad again he collapsed and died before my very eyes aged 43 ,,i was just 6. In 1973 im chocked up 😭💔

[@taraelizabethdensley9475]

Bit before my time, but it certainly looks much nicer and quite peaceful

[@catmadwoman6317]

Britain sold itself out. Great video, made me emotional.

[@englishmonteria5117]

I´d almost forgotten how the London of my childhood was coated in soot!

[@pigknickers2975]

I remember thinking St Pancras was just pure black --- I had no idea it was stone under there.

[@chriswilde7246]

@@pigknickers2975 Also Big Ben, I thought that was their natural colours until they cleaned them up some years back lol..

[@davidbillyard6629]

Now,most of the inhabitants look like they’re coated in soot.

[@peterh1353]

Sandblasting made all the difference!

[@MickAngelhere]

Birmingham was the same

[@independentpuppy7520]

I liked 1970. People were more relaxed.. Plenty of jobs and good music.

[@DIETRICHCICCONE]

Far fewer people - must've been more bearable 🌳

[@freeman10000]

It would have been a golden age for music that's for sure.

[@QuadTubeChannel]

Looking at the films and media from that era. It often looks like a different country to me. I'm not saying it was all roses, but many things seem to have changed so much, and not always for the better..

[@jonsmum5552]

cosmosspring I was! It was a great era! Great music, people with manners, no mobile phones, great clubs, people were far more chilled, plenty jobs, I would go back in a heartbeat!

[@ianmooresguard1721]

@cosmosspring clown

[@fluffyfour]

I was 10 in1970 and often travelled on these buses. The 12 bus passed my school and then went to Notting Hill Gate. We did most of our shopping there and in Portobello Road, then on special occasions had tea in one of the department stores in Kensington High Street - also shown here. SO many memories. Thank you.

[@deborahburrows3282]

fluffyfour I was 10 also but moved to borehamwood Hertfordshire in 1969 grew up there now live in Australia I miss those old days

[@jonblazeinc]

I bet it doesn't feel like 50 years ago for you. Frightening how years are moving. ...im 42 so can't remember the 70s but 80s feel like yesterday

[@dalejenkins1558]

yes now one has to be a millionaire to reside in those areas

[@fluffyfour]

@@dalejenkins1558 True. My parents sold our London house in 1983 for £200k. It sold last year for £6.35 million!

[@Peace786.]

I must have been -18 🤭

[@white-dragon4424]

Extremely high quality footage for its age. Pity about it being silent though, but considering the tech being used we're lucky that the picture is so sharp.

[@Rushscored4]

Some fantastic cars on the streets of London. Lovely to see

[@_Rustodian]

I was born in the seventies... I'd love to go back to those days. London is an absolute cess pool in comparison.

[@waynereid9471]

I wish you could go back as well

[@_Rustodian]

@@waynereid9471 D@mn right. I haven't lived in London for a long time because it changed so much, but if you live there and enjoy it then good for you.

[@robclark4626]

I lived in London and started work there in 1969, so remember scenes like these. I loved riding on those buses to go to work each day.

[@nathanlewis42]

I moved to London a decade ago and find it amazing that I can still recognise the streets in this video taken 50 years ago.

[@Muckylittleme]

Just not the people walking them.

[@bridiesmith5110]

This part of London, with the historic buildings remain roughly the same, but the rest of London is unrecognisable. As kids, my mum would buy us a red rover ticket,an all day cheap ticket, which allowed us to travel around London to go to galleries and museums. No adults with us. Wouldn’t do that now.

[@philipmcdonagh1094]

The quality of real reel film cant be beaten with either video or digital

[@ahalin]

London looked less cluttered with street signage and there seemed to be alot less litter about,yeah all the great buildings had layers of soot on them must be from nearby battersea power station,they scrubbed up well and look great today,what?, no cyclists or rickshaw drivers?,just as well,they wouldn't last long in that smog,great clip,loved it,thanks for uploading.

[@gingercat555]

Great video or should i say 35mm footage ... WOW all those British made cars just shows how we have slipped away over the years ... I started work in Central London in 1974 as a repair engineer and drove around most of these places and I did that job for 25 years. The driving was still sharp and you had to have your wits about you ... never saw many bumps or scrapes during my years there. Nice to see the DER tv rental van and Moss Bros ... thanks for uploading this film ... great stuff.

[@jaywalker3087]

I was 11 then. This brought back so many lovely memories for me. Thankyou...

[@michaelkenny8540]

The film showing at The London Pavilion (7:16) is The Beatles in 'Yellow Submarine July 17th to Aug 6th 1968

[@volt7cooltangs701]

Well spotted MK. So this London film is July / August 1968, not 1970. Thought it looked a bit older than 1970.

[@stationofdreams8242]

I love watching movies like this of old London. I visited London on several occasions during this period and remember it with great nostalgia now.

[@FM-ks1cs]

Do not bother now, or get stabbed, culturally enriched of generally disgusted

[@simonfernandes6809]

My parents lived in Apsley House at this time working for the Duke of Wellington - the huge brown house with the columns on the corner of Hyde Park which you can see at 4:13 and 4:57. I lived there until '75 and have dim memories of those times. This was a personal trip back in time for me, my parents would likely have been in the house when this was being filmed.

[@haqnawazkhan813]

Apsley House. A very Beautiful Building. Majestic . Supreme. A Postman told me a very very long time ago, The Address ..... No. 1 , London.

[@visionist7]

Was the brown colour its natural (stone?) facing or did it just need a good powerwash lol

[@phina8392]

When did it all go wrong, loved these days.

[@peterstudley1804]

It started to go to pot around 79 when thatcher the snatcher became pm.

[@davidbillyard6629]

We’ve got organisations like the WEF running the show, United Nations, Trilateral Commission etc. Sleep walking into a technocratic dictatorship based on the Chinese social credit system…

[@Pendragon1122]

​@@peterstudley1804no. It went wrong when Blair opened the gates to all and sundry

[@marktiller1383]

​@@davidbillyard6629spot on.

[@geoffwright9570]

The London I used to live in has changed beyond all recognition and not for the better. Wild horses couldn't drag me back now.

[@tattyshoesshigure5731]

Some great shots of the old RT & RM buses... they had so much character compared to the current TFL fleet.

[@stuarthall6631]

Yes. I agree. I watch these videos for the buses! There are two clips of roof-box RT's which would have had only a few months of life left in 1970.

[@stevedickson5853]

No modern bus has any character what so ever

[@norwegianzound]

And the pollution was lovely too. Ya knew what ya was breathing 'n all.

[@lmusima3275]

I was born and raised in London during the late seventies. I often pass these areas shown in the video. It’s much different today. Fancy new buildings, crowded streets with tourists, extra road markings, extra traffic lights

[@saltistics]

Well the spirit is still there you know, it’s still very much beautiful, people have to eventually progress and move on one day change happens and it’s beautiful either way. 😊

[@jazzpianoman01]

Nice footage of my hometown back in the day.

[@JofromItaly]

And I really miss hopping on and off the old Routemasters. An absolute blessing when they got stuck in traffic in Trafalgar Square and you needed to get to Charing Cross station in a hurry!

[@Isleofskye]

100% right Joanne.:) I lived less than 2 miles from all The South London Bridges and we had 17 Bus Routes in our High Street and I lived over a market so I could, virtually, guarantee hopping on a bus at the traffic lights , serving the market, in The Main Road and completely 1/2 my journey or the whole route depending which Bus I jumped on. lol

[@doug5uk]

Great video, I started driving a Black Cab in London in 1975. It brings back memories of better times.

[@simonhadenough2267]

Im a cabbie now, have been for thirteen years , it must of been amazing in those days, this brought a tear to my eye, London is ruined now. Be lucky!!!

[@StarBoyyX]

@@simonhadenough2267 I bet mate , just said this and was called a racist 😂

[@edwardfield4856]

Many many thanks for this upload. This is the London that I loved and remember. The nostalgia is simply overwhelming.

[@mogznwaz]

It makes me want to cry

[@1970sthrowback]

@@mogznwaz you and me both, i miss it so much, tears in my eyes

[@frankwalker5040]

I've looked at many of these old films of London, and everything looks so clean.

[@Polemicist0]

Where were all the various emergency vehicles with their bright flashing lights and noisy high pitched sirens, that you both constantly see, and hear, tearing about the incredibly busy, and terribly congested, London streets nowadays?

[@swaneknoctic9555]

Far less cunts about my friend.

[@Khayyam-vg9fw]

Our Metropolitan Police, for all their faults even then, weren't slavishly imitating the Americans in those days.

[@bobthompson4918]

Modern drama ! 😉

[@jazzman1626]

Charles Wilson They’re running (down) the country.

[@DIETRICHCICCONE]

@@swaneknoctic9555 I was thinking exactly the same thing 😅😅

[@MF-dc8bi]

7:24 Amusing to see the sale at Lillywhites on Piccadilly Circus has been going strong since at least 1970

[@MrAlwaysBlue]

I first visited London as an 11 yr old in the hot summer of 1976. I seem to recall it still had this busy but unspoilt aspect

[@JakeclydeDtrucker]

I was born in 1988. This video was made before I even exist in this world 18 years later. Can’t believe the world has begun like this already like as if it’s already 2020. I really thanked my parents for having them met each other and have me born on this earth and see the beautiful world created by god. Do you guys feels the same way.?. I love this kind of video. If only I can travel in the past and be here.. it would be amazing

[@glynisroberts5029]

That is so lovely, God bless you

[@EtonieE25]

@ PinoyT. The UK is unfortunately a different place now to the one shown in the video ☹️ As so is the USA ☹️

[@terminatorkid1997]

18:45 Did anyone notice that Aston Martin DB5 too?

[@AtheistOrphan]

Oliver Leonce I think it's a DB6 (By the headlamp covers).

[@terminatorkid1997]

Oh lol my bad

[@canman5060]

Oli S I did not see Mr Goldfinger !

[@DeltaSniperZRR]

Oli S What a beauty. Best looking Aston Martin ever.

[@BibTheBoulderTheOriginalOne]

@@DeltaSniperZRR No, but I noticed the coal lorry at the beginning. Much more interesting.

[@SteviusII]

I was drawn to this as a result of having been born in 1970. However, much as I hate to be pedantic I'm adamant that the footage was actually shot in the summer of 1968. Ads for the Julie Andrews film 'Star' & the TV series 'the Tyrant King' certainly point to this as does the sight of 'Sweet Charity' being performed at the Prince of Wales Theatre. Apparently that run starring one Gretchen Wyler ceased in November of '68. Nonetheless this is terrific footage. I shall be looking up more of them.

[@Isleofskye]

THAT was the "Real" London where drivers were so courteous that there were few traffic lights and few Yellow Lines, Double Yellow Lines, Parking Meters, Bus Lanes, Congestion Charges, Severe speed restrictions etc. Iconic Double Decker "Routemaster" Buses where you could hop on and off in heavy traffic. Black simple Cabs. Clean streets and I could go on and on as I am a 68-year-old Londoner.Good Luck.

[@Blade1310]

So courteous in fact that nobody stopped to let the pedestrians onto the zebra crossing in the opening few seconds! 🤣

[@Isleofskye]

@@Blade1310 You are, obviously, Under 30 years ago, not lived in London, and don't drive. Possinly all 3. lol The approach to that Pedestrian Crossing (I took driving lessons around Trafalgar Square and Devils (Hyde Park) Corner) is at a point at a very busy where cars are accelerating so common road sense must prevail. If you suddenly stop,in the full knowledge there are cars immediately behind you, who would not expect you to do that, then you will, likely, cause a major problem As we Londoners used to say "Use your noddle m8" 😀

[@Blade1310]

@@Isleofskye You make 3 assumptions about me and 2 of them are wrong. Your defence of the vehicles not stopping is not worthy of consideration and is typical mindset of a lot of motorists today - a perfect example of why the Highway Code has had to be amended to show you now MUST stop when people are waiting to cross. Pity it took over 50 years for it to happen though! The worst thing is that ignorant driving habits are commonplace everywhere - not just major cities - with selfish drivers having no regard to anything other than the end of their bonnet. 😒

[@flaxhorizon]

What do you mean the "Real" London? Has London become an imaginary city now or something??

[@Isleofskye]

@@flaxhorizon The "real" London was one where a Newspaper vendor left his moneybag and papers overnight for people to buy The London Evening News and he would collect the money from the pavement in the morning. The Reall London was where I broke down 3 times and got complete strangers to change my flat tyre (Lewisham, Croydon and Blackheath) and there was a real Community but now that Community feel only exists in small pockets. A Real London where you would talk to strangers on a Bus and they would not be isolated in their own World on their mobile and where people in the park etc acknowledged each other instead of being immersed on their mobile . A London where my friend's Dad would pull up at Bus Stops and take 2 or 3 strangers in,if they were going his way and drop them off That kind of thing...

[@mrbigarms]

Interesting to see 90% of the cars were British made. How things have changed!

[@HarborGuy]

I was there in 1973 loved it -

[@gabrielagraneros8141]

👏👏👏 que what a beauty city!!!!! '70.... 💜🇬🇧!!!

[@inlibertywetrust425]

Mr Celebrity Yes, I went to school in England during the 70s and were in London with my parents in December 1986. In 2012 I went to London and was shocked over that brittish cars were gone.

[@andybeckman8606]

Not just the cars, the people too.

[@EnEvighet7]

Imagine London used to be a city with English cars and a majority English population..

[@wendyhuggins5288]

Totally love this - I love that they are virtually all the British cars too. 💞

[@manofthehour6856]

I did see three American vehicles at the outset, all US Fords (Mustang, a Country Squire Wagon, and a Falcon sedan), but all in the vicinity of Canada House, so probably High Commission personnel. Regardless, great to see all the classic cars in action, and the traffic flowing so smoothly!!!

[@djb5645]

All British people too.

[@djb5645]

And the drivers all had a license and insurance, where today the police daren’t even stop anyone to check.

[@countfosco8535]

@@djb5645 You ever been abroad fella?

[@djb5645]

@@countfosco8535 why?

[@RAYalized]

What a pity, it has no sound .. but great footage!

[@vijaykhatsuria7448]

I am an Indian, to see London video I think that London is one of the best city in the world thnks for the video 🙏🙏

[@stevecommons3822]

Good to see such a positive remark; thank you!

[@Thomas828]

This is the London where I was born in 1971. It had changed somewhat by the time I came back on holiday in 1984 and I saw it change immensely when I lived there between 1991 and 2011. I haven't been back there since but I can still recognise most of the places in this film.

[@davidbillyard6629]

If you decide to visit again, it would be advisable to wear a stab vest or bulletproof vest.

[@MetroTitanD78]

What a fantastic video and very good quality for something done in 1970.

[@voiskumbeaver3285]

Shot on film, which always makes things look better!

[@valentinius62]

Yes. And we even had jet airplanes and computers back then! 😳 LOL

[@loushared6602]

Notice how well people are dressed!

[@datheat2854]

I remember cycling as a youngster from Stoke Newington to West End and back. When I told my Mum and Dad they didn’t believe it !!!

[@davidallum6841]

Fantastic round about that time I used to with a group of friends buy a "Red Rover" and stay out all day. Most of the sites are familiar to me. Great cars ( no German or Japanese ones ) the odd Yank motor a few French and Italian. Life was great then.

[@cskuk]

Nice movie...lovely quality....I wish London was still like this 😔

[@self-confessedluddite269]

This footage might be a year or so before 1970. There is an ad on the back at the bus at 5:51 for 'The Tyrant King' which came out in 1968. There are several Mk 2 Cortinas, and Viva HBs but only one Escort Mk1s among the cars. I think Mk1 Escorts would have been numerous in London by 1970 since they had been out since January 1968 and were a very popular model.

[@pigknickers]

You know a lot more about cars than me but I was thinking the same. Doesn't quite feel like 1970 to me, slightly earlier. Just looks like the sixties to me.

[@georgetjn]

I spotted at least one car with an "F" registration, so the film was definitely shot sometime after August 1968. The other clue is that the new style black on yellow rear number plates started to appear slowly from 1968 onwards (they didn't become compulsory until a few years later though), but I can't see any in this clip, which means that it was not filmed much later than 1968 either. If you put these facts together, then a reasonable guess might be that it was shot in late 1968 or early 1969.

[@silverline6935]

pigknickers while we are at it... where are all the foreign cars and trucks?? I worked in London then and it was a magic time. It makes no difference what part of the country we live in now... what we had then has gone and I miss it very much.

[@pigknickers]

Silver Line 69 Yes I know. The loss of this old world is a definite sadness in my life. I moved out from London 20 years ago but when I go back I'm always struck by the same feelings - how much has been lost and how much better things were then.

[@self-confessedluddite269]

Silver Line 69 Yes, it is amazing to see that more than 90% of the vehicles were British made. What is more, I expect that most other manufactured items were still made over here. It really is heart wrenching to think of all the wealth and employment prospects that the people of our country have lost due to the myth of free trade being a good thing for everyone. In reality, the only people who benefit from free trade are the top 5%.

[@martinwatson9615]

Never seen traffic going down Coventry Street before. Thanks also for no cheesy music telling the viewer what to feel.

[@geo2819]

So sad to see the state of London now compared to this, used to be quite charming. Place has lost its identity

[@DJ_Dopamine]

You could say the same for most cities in the UK nowadays.

[@MoBahar687]

fyi, London was extremely polluted during those years and not as green as it is today. You will hate it.

[@mebsbakawala2137]

It’s evolving, you have to move with the times otherwise you get left behind

[@boreal75]

@@DJ_Dopamine Things are much worse in France now, due to massive and out of control immigration, as you have seen during the violent events at the Stade de France, near Paris, aggravated by the lies of Darmanin, the pathetic french Home Minister..

[@travisbennett3964]

Well it is less British now that is all I’m going to say.

[@parvindermander5664]

I would love to experience that era, so much simplicity compared to today

[@Isleofskye]

You are SPOT ON, My Friend. THAT was the "Real" London where drivers were so courteous that there were few traffic lights and few Yellow Lines, Double Yellow Lines, Parking Meters, Bus Lanes, Congestion Charges, Severe speed restrictions etc. Iconic Double Decker "Routemaster" Buses where you could hop on and off in heavy traffic. Black simple Cabs. Clean streets and I could go on and on as I am a 68-year-old Londoner.Good Luck.

[@StarBoyyX]

My comment above this one apparently this era was worse and London’s never been better than today - hyper focus is his name and he must be on medication or on a visa

[@jasnapanic3621]

Adorable!!! This is London I remember😍😍😍

[@juliesmith5567]

I love when you see black cabs and the busses along roads together why not, they make it look good

[@funkyalfonso]

It was a time when live music was amazing. Happy memories of the Roundhouse, Chalk Farm.

[@cat-yf5uz]

I love seeing all the old vehicles 😊

[@paulacol2142]

My dear beloved Dad had a white Zefa zodiac car in the early 70s

[@clivebennett7985]

Had a photo taken in trafalgar Square in 1972. London just like this back then I was 18. Just been and had a photo taken in the same spot this year (2022). I'm 68 now. The nostalgia comes flooding back watching films like this

[@stewartmarshall4112]

I did that too, Clive. I was a student then and had a photo taken at Greenwich in front of the Royal Naval College when I was 19, then same place again with wife and family in 1998. I am 69 now. Glad I knew the old London of those years.

[@sahmed80]

I did the same Clive. Took my first in 1985 then back again in 2015. Oh how London has changed.

[@Isleofskye]

Me too and I am also 68:) Born less than 3 miles from these streets and moved 11 miles almost 40 years ago in 1983 as London was rapidly changing. It has been a fabulous 39 years here right on the very edge of S E London and Kent. Where you born in London and where are you now,my friend?

[@clivebennett7985]

@@Isleofskye I'm actually from Leeds. I love London and try to visit a couple of times a year .. I used to go with friends back then and 50 years on we are still friends and go on trips together

[@sahmed80]

@@Isleofskye Yes born and bred Londoner. But now tagged with the Essex label lol

[@gregoirewoore6535]

Thanks for this vintage tour of my favourite city! I was a year old when this was filmed...Visited London for the first time in 1998..

[@itsroger]

Not a sign of graffiti or tags anywhere.

[@VCYT]

There still isn't.

[@zivkovicable]

If you can spot any graffiti on any off these central London routes now, i'd be surprised. In fact they've cleaned up the buildings now. in this film many are covered in grime & soot.

[@willyappel7722]

@@zivkovicable people nowadays put graffiti on their own body. And they are proud of it thinking that they are the only one with a "tattoo".

[@Sundays566]

@@freebidou so there were no knifings or gangs before the people you despise entered you Garden of Eden country......ever heard of Jack The Ripper who slit women open from their throats to their stomachs not before removing their organs ....or the Krays who gouged out someone eye with a fireplace poker.....or frankie frazer and the richardsons who relished torture with electricity....what about the East End of London that became a "no go" area long before the first black person set foot anywhere near there....I could go on but I'm obviously dealing with someone of low intelligence especially from someone who can't even spell the word "cultural" correctly.

[@Sundays566]

@@columbmurray no 1 jack the ripper killed defenseless women in the east end in 1888. No 2 the east end people hated each other with a passion, the "punch ups" they had with each other were the norm. No.3 the east end was riven with racism....because the docks were near -by, and people from all over the world settled there....but the local east enders would give them a hell of a time, making the immigrant lives very uncomfortable indeed.... when the council estates were built in Hertfordshire and the east ender were moved out of the slums, their intrenched bigotry came out with them to infect the innocent people of Hertfordshire .

[@westerlywinds5684]

Reminds me of my Dinky and Corgi Toys catalogues. I love every single car I saw driving past, and can name them all.

[@paulacol2142]

Who remembers the toffee apple man ,the chestnut man ,,candy floss man the rag and bone man ,,,and the steptoe and son programs ,

[@stuarthall6631]

As we see so much of the RT bus, reg. NLE 829 towards the end, I looked this up (all right, sad, but that's me!!). It is RT 3722 which spent most of its life until 1965 as a green, Country Area bus before being repainted red for the Central Area It was scrapped at Wombwell South Yorkshire in 1973.

[@wossisname4540]

Don't be shy! Nothing wrong with taking an interest - and you saved me the trouble of looking it up!

[@AussieSaintJohn]

I lived in London in the 70s for 4 years before I left the country in 1977, this video brought back a few memories...

[@andrewbarbarash3116]

London is arguably the greatest city in the world in many ways right now.. but I must say things did look far more sophisticated and classy back then.

[@lukewilliams448]

In what way is it the greatest city in the world?

[@karlosthejackel69]

How is London great? It’s just big

[@Bereadyalways123]

It WAS, now we have LONDONSTAN, as an ex TRUE London born 1956 in London is has become GHETTO...and deep down you know that ..

[@uksilverstacker413]

@@Bereadyalways123do one you old cnut

[@Bereadyalways123]

@@uksilverstacker413 Are you AUTISTIC with a Statement of SPECIAL-NEEDS? your English grammar is so bad, when you start a sentence always use a upper case letter, and your spelling is awful also, one has to assume your name "SILVER STACKER" you must work is a supermarket stacking shelves, with Autism that would suit you, do you exist in LONDONSTAN?

[@BruceDanton-xw6eg]

Nice to see old film thank you as well too of course.

[@michaelkenny8540]

This is 1968. Bus at 0:00 has posters on RH for Playtime at The Haymarket ,July 5 to Nov 7. LH side is for My Giddy Aunt at The Savoy June 20-Aug 8 1968

[@deansinger8285]

the year is right, probably filmed in January/Feb - noticed the recent car number plates were F reg; also noticed there were no Ford Escorts on the roads (start to make them around the same time); at the back of two buses were small posters of a TV series called the Tyrant King(early 1968) - the road signs we see today had not been updated... like to see those times come back one day!

[@peterstudley1804]

@@deansinger8285 there is a Ambassador blue Ford escort mk1 2 door at the 1 minute mark in front of the white Austin 1300 mk11 , it can't be early 68 because of the greenery , trees in full leaf in the parks we see , I'd say June or July 1968.

[@michaelkenny8540]

@@deansinger8285 The tyrant King posters are for the book and not the TV Series

[@adriankatsikides3390]

heavens! what planet is this ? can only be London, to think I was nine years old at this time, looks so alien now, I must be sad as I know what most of these vehicles are, nearly all home grown, but I believe the Aston referred to is a DB4 G,T the grille being smoother than the DB5. The gadget car from Goldfinger was not an Aston DB5 (if you look at any stills from the film you will not see any DB5 badges on it - boot, front wings) it was a DB4 GT series V Vantage.The other Aston in the film the 'road car' seen at the golf club was a DB5, this had the chrome wheels, the gadget car didn't, cheapskate painted ones. Great great footage, I think I went into a trance, now, I must get a life.....

[@trevormunday3691]

BACK THEN Were loads of council flats.... don't seem to be there these days. What with the NEW YORK style tower blocks being erected they've demolished former council estates and most Londoners moved on further out. SAD, SAD, SAD.

[@Khayyam-vg9fw]

You can blame Thatcher for selling off huge tranches of the council housing stock; you can blame Labour for filling what remained with their "ethnic minority" client base.

[@canman5060]

Because they do not want new migrants to live in council houses.You have to really work and do well in London to stay.

[@Khayyam-vg9fw]

"New migrants" depress the wages of the indigenous working class. That is why the globalists like to import them in quantity.

[@EdinburghGuy]

Councils didn't have the money to modernize those homes. They needed double glazing, exterior cladding, wall insulation, roof insulation, new electric sockets, central heating, all to fix mold, damp and condensation problems. That would have taken decades. Cheaper to give each tenant a financial reward for taking care of the home. What was £80K becomes £250K

[@user-kg6rw2ty9v]

Trevor Munday It’s because of people like the FAT ARSE HOLE BORIS JOHNSON whose NOT PATRIOTIC 😡 I’m a British born Asian in my mid - age now. I’m proud of being British and there’s no need to be inspired by anything American! Apart from 1 or 2 thugs maybe.

[@kkarrido]

this is great i have always wanted to see London at that time

[@Isleofskye]

I was there and no traffic lights around the old Trafalgar Square and Hyde Park/Marble Arch Roundabouts, my friend. Drivers relied on the English politeness and less traffic to get by...

[@nguyendailam6703]

Fabulous upload. Enjoyed watching.

[@sharonhyde7735]

I know nothing has been perfect nothing is , but I always felt safe back in the day 😮

[@bernadettemurray2016]

Smashing film! I first went to London 1981 as a 17 year old with a school friend from North East England. Also went in 84, 89, then late December 2017, changed massively!

[@sarahbasto6520]

Not the traffic, which looks preety much the same 😂

[@AntiFurryJihad]

So sir, you are going to be retaired in 2 years? I wish I was born back then, when everyone lived a real life not a virtual.

[@rizzXyguy]

​@@AntiFurryJihadyou are the real pests to country

[@norwegianzound]

I arrived in London in the mid eighties and it had modernised from this hugely in only 15 years.

[@sparky7558]

The good old days long gone now

[@pduk6917]

Very much long gone. Not being racist, but.

[@pduk6917]

@@The86rick speak for yourself son.

[@mstrpig123]

we can bring them back, just a matter of remembering who we are and having pride and discipline. Its possible

[@zoesays3830]

Not from our memories though!!!👌

[@fraser_mr2009]

@@The86rick is this younger generation lying again? all of those are 100% worse nowadays. the police didn't harass people. the acted like public servants. society back then wasn't atheist so equality of access to healthcare, etc, was far better.

[@desmondbarker5683]

This really interest me London in 1970 I was born then, different world and how times have changed.

[@hairymorrisman]

I used to enjoy delivering around London in an HGV back then, driving through the traffic was shear ballet then. Everyone seemed to know where everyone else was heading.

[@pimlican]

Agree. Positioning and signalling. Drive like you're on rails.

[@robm8809]

@@pimlican People were more patient and had more consideration and manners back then. People are more selfish now, due in no small part to the fact that so many are basically foreign and feel no community with anyone else.

[@cupcakechronicles4551]

I don't know if it's because of video resolution but it looks like the streets were a lot cleaner and less vandalized than today. I can see why the UK was everybody's destination back in the day

[@Isleofskye]

Old London iconic Buses AND Black Cabs. No restrictions around Trafalgar Square and no lights as Drivers were considered adult enough to sort the road conditions out themselves. That is all in the first 30 seconds of this film. FREEDOM ! Passengers allowed to get on/off away from Bus Stops if traffic was heavy. Now you MUST WAIT !!

[@meridianx9020]

More traffic around now, though.

[@daviddixon9322]

The roads and streets are so much cleaner and less congested. I remember going on a school trip in 1971 to London as a 11 year old from Durham and being star struck!

[@mickmaphari6606]

Ah, nostalgia ain't what it used to be.

[@arnoldhemsley9317]

No it aint. Its all in the past.

[@ontheisland11]

It's interesting to see how much fewer the line markings on the roads were then. There's also loads of pre-Warboys signage visible (the yellow AA and the blue RAC stuff, amongst others). Since the Warboys (essentially the signage system we see today) was introduced from 1964 onwards, I'm surprised how little had been rolled out in the capital.

[@1974cfjl]

A time when London streets was dominated by RT's and RM's and over 85% of bus routes had conductors.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

And sticky seats, chewing gum everywhere and the rancid stink of cigarette smoke.

[@williamkeery7376]

So love looking at the classic cars,lovely

[@Ulysses1707]

The Odeon, Leicester Square was showing Dr Zhivago (released 1965) so some parts of the film possibly even earlier than 1968?

[@deansinger8285]

I think it had a long run, noticed the reg plates on the cars were F reg - est Jan 1968...

[@peterh1353]

A big thanks to the poster of this video. I was smiling right through it. One of the lucky ones who travelled all over Europe in those days with the family. I close my eyes and try and remember it all. Don't remember much of 68, only remember the parks and the river trips. No one in their right mind would cycle in that city - no highway code was ever obeyed. People pulling out at random. The East End was a bit run down and dockland was still that - although dying. Love to see Paris in the same style.

[@richardsmith3585]

Fabulous when London was great

[@johnster1964]

Almost all of the roads shown, I know very well indeed. There is generally very little difference between now and then except for more cars now and now the historic buildings are much much cleaner.