Our country has been through big changes that a lot of us never though would happen during our lifetimes. Over the past year, our country has experienced three lockdowns, in the government's attempts to suppress the coronavirus from spreading accross the entire United Kingdom. When the initial outbreak of Covid-19 occurred in England, London was effected very severely and upon the easing of restrictions after the first lockdown in May 2020, I wanted to discover how the, usually very busy, streets of London had changed due to the restrictions.

I cycled into central London and soon became aware of the impact that the restrictions were having on the daily occurrances of the people of London. Throughout my cycle, I saw very few vehicles and even fewer people as I travelled through various streets and past landmarks that would usually be surrounded by people. It looked as though the whole city had been abandoned.

From Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens to the Shard in the City, locations where one would ususally see people travelling to work, residents going about daily life or tourists visiting. Almost completely silent. 

The Mall which leads to Buckingham Palace, one of the most famous tourist attractions in the world, I managed to cycle past with ease and wothout disruption from vehicles and my view was clear of any obstruction.

Regent Street, another infamous tourist spot and one of the busiest streets in London, once again, free of traffic and the busy comings and goings of people. Just a handful of empty buses travelling through.

With this journey and looking back at these photos, it truly depicted how severe COVID-19 is and has really made me more aware of the effect of a pandemic not just for the world but on a more local scale. 

We all need to stay home so that we can see these beautiful streets, full of life once more.