Changes

 1. # '''Get dropped off on or near the M25 and use the public transport to get wherever you need.''' If you are coming from the west and your driver is heading south on the M25, ask to be dropped off at the first junction on the M25: Heathrow Terminal 5. Get off at the roundabout at the end of the motorway spur and walk to the terminal building. The Piccadilly Line Underground starts here. If they are heading north, see the description for getting to Uxbridge Underground station below.<br/ >

 2. # '''Hitch into London from the last services on your motorway before the M25 (the driver will usually know which one this is).''' Then try to find a ride that bring you close enough to your destination. Check "public transport" for navigating the system efficiently and cheaply.

== Sleep =Links =There are 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. === [[Camping|Wild Camping]] ===Its quite possible to sleep out in London in considerable privacy despite its gigantic population of 10 million. Go North East to Trent Park (Piccadilly Line Northbound, second to last stop before Cockfosters - i.e. Oakwood Station). Find the directions for the university (Middlesex) campus and walk (or take the free bus) up the hill. Beside it and beyond the lake are quite a few miles of woodland and and it is incredibly beautiful. [[User:Whisperingofthestars|Jason]] lived here for 7 months during his final year of university. Be careful with park wardens, they eventually discovered him during the last few weeks of his studies. Build camouflage from ferns if staying for long. People are unlikely to be your greatest threat...dogs are. Dogs! A lot of people walk them here but you can find amazing places if you search hard enough. And if you search really really hard, you'll find a tree with the dates of the past dweller's residence...;)  Also, outside this station (Trent Park), there is a Greek Bakery. Behind it lie huge sacks of bread every night. Please go. Its crazy that this could possibly be wasted every night. === Squatting ===London used to have an abundance of [[squat]]s, but it has recently become more difficult. While it is still legal to squat commercial property (warehouses, offices, shops), it is illegal to squat residential buildings (if you admit you are doing this to the cops, you might be sentenced to jail time.) For all information on squatting in the UK: the '''[http://www.squatter.org.uk/ Advisory Service for Squatters]''' is helpful for people that are planning to find a place to live and cannot really 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)That being said, there are still a good couple of squats all around London. Most squats are places where people live and go about their normal business, so don't expect too much from them. Perhaps it would be good to find some friendly squatters by word of mouth or on [http://www.couchsurfing.com couchsurfing] or similar. Don't worry about the negative connotations associated with squats. They generally aren't crackhouses or scabies-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. [[User:Zac Stewart|Zac]]<small>^{[[User talk:Zac Stewart|talk]]}</small> ended up with a squat to sleep in on his first night, and in [[Mayfair]] of all places! There are still some remnants of squatting communities in North London, North East London, and South London. If you want to meet some people, go to the practical squatting nights taking place every week (alternating): http://www.squatter.org.uk/for-new-squatters/practical-squatting-nights/For more info on social centers in London, check out [http://www.socialcentresnetwork.org.uk/ Autonomous London]. Generally though, it has become harder to track squats down or just pop up, as there are fewer, and more and more evictions, which means less space. This should in no way discourage you, however! == Eat ==Cheap and free food abounds in London.  === Free ===Hari Krishna offer free food from several locations in London at lunchtime: outside SOAS by Russel Square from 12:15 to 14:00(Monday thru Saturday), for example. Expect to queue for 30 minutes, arrive early to guarantee a fill - the food does run out. Otherwise... If you want a free, warm meal closer to the end of the day: from Thursday to Sunday there is a food market on Brick Lane, next to the vintage market (the one with the vinyl records store). Try going there about 18:00-19:00. Most vendors will be closing their booths and throwing food away. Just go up to them and ask(it's handy to have your own container). It's mostly Asian cuisine therefore delicious. In the UK, the term for eating food that would otherwise be thrown away, is called skipping. Lots of people do it, all from people that come from poor countries and see all the food that goes to waist, to people that are political in there way of living. Many people, especially in the squat scene live totally out of food from the bins... Plenty of places throw out food at closing time. Always check the bags out front of '''Pret a Mangers''' and '''Benjy's''' at 17:00-19:00. 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! (That being said, Pret a Mangers doesn't give any food to random people, just to "charity".) The '''Coffee Republic''' on Great Marlborough Street near the Oxford Circle and Carnaby Street is reported to put out garbage bags with totally normal food--boiled potatoes, sandwiches, etc. every evening around 20:00 on weekdays and 19:00 on weekends.The sandwich company "Eat" throw away lots of stuff everyday all over town. Have a look in there bins or outside the shops on the street.The bakery 'Paul' in Blackfriars and Paddington throw out a lot of cakes, all extremely luxurious and scrumptious. From Blackfriars station walk up the main road, and Paul's will be on your right after a few minutes.If you are into Sushi, try one of the many Wasabi places in the city when they close at 21:00 or 21:30. They always leave food outside, and there are always loads of people picking it up, but you'll get some if you're on time. The most luxurious place to skip is always Waitrose. Places like Sainsburys, Marks and Spencers (generally difficult to skip!), Tesco and so on have a marking system on their packed food that says when the food should be thrown away and when it should be eaten before. The gap between this days are often two days and you can still have it more or less a week more depending on what it is.Most bins are secured by fences, cameras, etc. Don't mind them too much, it is rare that they'll call the cops on you as long as you don't "destroy property". Good places to try in Hackney are E.A.T., Iceland, supermarket metros or locals and markets. === 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 are a bit out of Central London, you might as well look for '''Lidl''', '''Morrisons''', '''Netto''' or '''Asda'''. Anyhow with a decent and wise grocery, you can get your grocery for nearly a week for about 10-15 pounds at any of the mentioned supermarket with decent, fresh and healthy food ''(to cook)''. Be aware though that these supermarkets are not in any sense "ethical". They are wiping out local shops, taking monopoly on feeding us, destroying the environment and throwing away food every day that could feed hundreds of people. It's better to eat out of their bins. <!-- Totally irrelevant information! --> 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''' which are always always totally vegan! (some good all-you-can-eat start at £3,50). Go early, they get more expensive in the evening. While downtown, you can also get a ''<nowiki>'</nowiki>6-inch sandwich of the day<nowiki>'</nowiki>'' at '''Subway''' for 2 pounds. The markets in Camden Town have cheap food around 17:00, especially in the Lock Market where, if you walk for a few minutes past all the initial food courts, you can easily find dishes of noodles for GBP 2. == Internet ==In Westminster, there's a public library which you can use for free Internet access. You might need to register yourself, though, and that process (and waiting for the next available computer) can take quite some time. Go to the Apple store (on Regent St. near Oxford Circus), ask any '''local''' around Piccadilly or Regent or Oxford street and they should be able to tell you the exact location.{{nomadwiki}}