Thread by @LRBbookshop

i wanted to see whether all the london streets named after UK cities are horrible, or whether it was just Oxford Street. here are my findings

Aberdeen Road in Highbury. very ritzy. pleasant the way it fades off into mist in google street view. a solid 8/10

Armagh Road in Bow. keen on those houses on the left. lots of building work. nice-looking corner grocery. 7/10

Bangor Close. friendly cul-de-sac in Northolt, nice pink brick (or is it an effect of the wintry sun?). 7.5/10

Bath Road. a horrible stretch of the A4 just next to the Heathrow Long Stay Parking. 2/10

Belfast Road in Clapton. This is my favourite yet. a neighbourhood florist, beautiful cobbles, a shoe-making collective, homemade signage. 9/10

here is the first shocker of this project: there is no London street named after Birmingham!! (anyone who knows different let me know - I searched for road, street, close, avenue, place etc.) london councils, get on it!

Bradford Road. short and functional. a self-storage unit to the left, a glazier's workshop to the right. gets bonus points because it is on my way to work. 7/10

Brighton Road in Stoke Newington. a lot to be said for this. 8.5/10

Bristol Road in East Ham. I like how the colours of the bin lids accentuate the brickwork and geraniums. bonus point for the gent sinking a tinnie on his way home from work. 8.5/10

Cambridge Road. if you continue in this direction, three mins brisk walk will bring you to Go Ape Battersea Park. 7/10

Canterbury Road, near Kilburn Park. The first in this series so far which intersects with another street also named after a UK city. which city...? that would be telling. 5/10

Cardiff Road, pleasant residential cut between two main roads in Northfields. perfectly nice but can't see it ever becoming a tourist destination. 7/10

Carlisle Road, blue skies and blossom near Brondesbury Park. 7/10

Chelmsford Road in Walthamstow. look at the doorway on the yellow house! isn't it the business. 8/10 (i'm feeling generous)

Chester Road in Highgate. i love the gentle curve & gradient. nice-looking cafe (Oak Tree Cafe) and the library is just round the corner. 9/10

Chichester Road. this is the one which intersects with Canterbury Road (Canterbury Road is just at the bottom of this picture). nice streetlight I guess. 7.5/10

Coventry Road in Bethnal Green. this is my preferred width for roads. 7.5/10

Derby Street, tiny Mayfair alley, very pretty and what else is there to say, 8.5/10

Derry Street. it has this little pedestrian bit which i like, and also Dishoom Kensington. but i can't abide high st ken. 6.5/10

Dundee Street. romantic back-alley in Wapping, twisting down to the river, and look at that burgundy ironwork. 8.5/10

Durham Street in Vauxhall. broad and leafy. has a pub on it called 'The Beehive' where i think i went once for a poetry launch afterparty & it was extremely serviceable. 7/10

Edinburgh Road in Walthamstow. the cemetery is just behind the houses to the left. traffic must be a nightmare. 7/10

Ely Place, site of the former residences of the Bishops of Ely, allegedly their gardens grew the finest strawberries in London. mentioned by shakespeare. 9/10 (but that is with 2 points for historical associations)

Exeter Road in Kilburn. runs parallel to shoot-up hill. bit too wide for my liking. not sure why but not really doing it for me. nice tree by the postbox i suppose? 7/10

Glasgow Terrace in Pimlico, attractive dog-leg shape and fine house at the end. 6/10

Gloucester Road, pretty hellish, very good art in their tube station nets them an extra point, 7/10

Hereford Road in Notting Hill. quite like the bamboo. seems ok to me. 7/10

Inverness Mews in Bayswater. thought i was going to hate this but i mean look at it! and a Greek restaurant too. sorry for having doubted you, Inverness Mews. 9/10

Kingston Road in Wimbledon only half-counts (the city's proper name is Kingston upon Hull), but i am going to give it a pass as it is a pleasant leafy backstreet on a sunny day. 7.5/10

Lancaster Road in Ladbroke Grove. very functional. a Greggs, a Turkish restaurant, a milliner, a school, a motorbike repair shop. 8/10 for convenience

Leeds Street in Edmonton. this one has a sorting office and a butcher's shop. the weather / season in street view are not doing it any favours I reckon. 7/10

Leicester Street. the back-end of Chinatown. as touristy as you would expect. johann strauss lived in the bar selling moules at some point. 7/10

Lichfield Road. beautiful leafy road leading down to Kew Gardens main entrance, and just behind it is Kew Gardens tube, the only underground station with a pub on the platform. 8.5/10

Lisburn. The second UK city not to be featured in a London street name (again if you know different let me know). sorry Lisburn, I think you'd make a lovely street name.

Liverpool Street. "it is what it is" (lrb bookshop review of liverpool street, 06/12/20). gets 3 bonus points because in the first Mission Impossible film then tom cruise rented a flat on it. 8/10

regrettably but perhaps also sensibly there is not a "City of London Road" in London, so that's omission #3

Manchester Road, perhaps not special from its pictures but it is on the Isle of Dogs which I still find childishly exciting (especially going through the foot tunnel to get there) and so gets a perhaps over-generous 8/10

Newcastle Close, amiable little alley in Farringdon which leads to an underground garage, I like the builders having their lunch, it's round the corner from the Betsey Trotwood, go on have another 8/10

millions of Newport Streets in London - you are spoilt for choice. this bright breezy one in Vauxhall has a pleasant art gallery on it, and that's a good-looking balcony on the left hand side too, 7.5/10

Newry Road in Twickenham could use some trees, 6.5/10

Norwich Road in Forest Gate. leaving aside the traffic this really appeals to me. 8/10

Nottingham Road in Wandsworth. another stunner. get out of the way you daft SUV. 8/10

Oxford Street we all know about. 1/10

Perth Road is very pleasant in its own right, but much more importantly it has the Faltering Fullback on it, one of the very best pubs in London. 9/10

Peterborough Road in Parson's Green. i once walked down here to visit a giant underground book warehouse so have nothing but fond memories. 8.5/10

Plymouth Road in Canning Town. that building on the left has a lot of character, not sure about the rest. 6.5/10

Portsmouth Road, lovely leafy lane through the middle of Putney Heath, must look lovely on a foggy morning, 8.5/10

Preston Road in Wembley, much much too wide, 4/10

Ripon Road in Tottenham, charming street, nice houses, and if you have non-ferrous metals to sell there is 'Mixed Metals: Major Buyer of Non-Ferrous Metals' just around the corner. 8/10

St Albans Avenue in Acton. I know this street and it really is as pretty as it looks in the photo. there's a nice bakery at the bottom too. 9/10

St. Asaph's Road in Nunhead. imagine living here. quiet strolls along the edge of the cemetery, crofton park books in easy walk, pottering down to the ivy house in the evening. a lot to be said for it. 8.5/10

St. David's Close in Bermondsey. with all that scaffolding i suppose it is really too early to say, but a provisional 5/10

Salford Road in Streatham. I think those three-storey mock tudor houses are cheery. and there's a coffee shop a little further along called 'The Fantastic Bean'. 7.5/10

Salisbury Road, an attractive street on the "harringay ladder". the poet michael donaghy used to live not far from here and so did my sister at one point. good stuff. 8/10

Sheffield Street in Holborn, part of the maze round the LSE, how could you possibly resist this, 9/10

Southampton Row, with a higher density of Prets per square inch than any other street on this list. large plus point - it is mere moments from the bookshop

Stirling Road in Clapham, excellent houses, excellent greenery, excellent on-road bike storage, that satellite dish wants a wash. 8.5/10. (btw forgot to rate Southampton Row, above - it is 5/10)

There is no London road named after Stoke-on-Trent, as far as I can tell.

Sunderland Road in Forest Hill - I like the nice vista and the blossom and the traffic calming measures - still too wide for me - 7.5/10

Swansea Road in Enfield - there's a primary school a little way down so this is probably always lively and friendly - 7.5/10

Truro Road in Wood Green, I would never guess this was in London! those houses on the left look almost American / Canadian to me. i approve. 8/10

Wakefield Road in South Tottenham. i like the gent leaning in to confide something to his shadow. 7/10

Wells Road in Shepherds Bush. I can speak with authority and say that this road is a big pain in the neck if you are changing between the 94 bus and Goldhawk Road. docked 2 points for danger. 4/10

Westminster Road in Edmonton, very unobjectionable, 7/10

Winchester Street. Really not keen on Pimlico's grid system and this is a particularly ugly example. 4/10

Wolverhampton - as far as I can establish there is no London street named after Wolverhampton. this would also make a super name for a street so someone should get on it asap.

extremely fond of how worcester drive is literally just a drive. 8/10

York Street in Marylebone. T.S. Eliot had digs not far from here. 7.5/10

this concludes the survey of london streets named after uk cities. thank you very much everyone for putting up with this nonsense (or for muting us for the duration)