Arcadia England

By Anna Lewis

I think I was stepping in urine. The smell was distinct, unlike its location. Shallow puddles collected near my shoes on the concrete slab, but I hoped they were leftover water from rain. Standing beneath the Waterloo Bridge, wind attacked me like a bully. It made me shiver and want to leave, but for Viv Askeland it was home.

“I’ve felt safer down here sleeping under this bridge than I ever did in the female hostel in Camden,” said Askeland.

Wearing a light-weight hounds tooth jacket, a bright blue and pink floral skirt and a metallic murky green scarf that reflected the color of the Thames River behind her, Askeland was unmistakable amongst the tour group.

Unseen Tours was created in 2010 as a mutually beneficial tour. The homeless are employed as guides and the tour groups gain a new perspective of the London by visiting historical places while discussing the difficulties of being homeless.

We began our journey in Temple Park. Askeland started with a shock. Instead of stating typical information that I could have looked up online, she pointed out a bench that were her bed for three years. Although she described the park as a good place for the homeless because it was an area away from the public, I couldn’t believe it. “You’re always looking for a better place to sleep when you’re on the streets,” said Askeland as she led us to the next stop on the tour. Standing on concrete terrace, exposed to the cold winds, Askeland pointed to the King’s College Students’ Union. By mentioning notable students such as Florence Nightingale, John Keats and Virginia Woolf, it gave a plain-looking building meaning. Askeland also acknowledged two wooden benches with metal framing that were on the terrace with us. If I had been by myself, I would not have noticed the benches were pushed together so they were facing each other, much less tried to contemplate the reasoning behind it. For Askeland, though, it was how she used to make a bed with her partner.

As the tour continued along paved sidewalks and small cobblestone alleyways, we visited the last Roman Bath in London, which Charles Dickens mentions in David Copperfield, one of the few remaining green cab shelters, which serves cheap food to the homeless, and an old Shell building that used to be the epicenter of information for people on the streets.

Then we stopped in an obscure narrow alleyway near the Savoy Theatre. Here Askeland told us how she had to scare away men who were dumping lighter fluid on a homeless woman who was by herself. “There’s safety in numbers,” said Askeland.

Despite her grim story, Askeland continued on unaffected. Although I physically moved forward with the group, my mind was stuck on the alleyway.

For most people, buildings, benches and bridges go unnoticed. For others, it’s everything.

Unseen Tours: Covent Garden (sockmobevents.org.uk, 075 1426 6774) offers tours of London from £12 per person.