Paddington is an area in the west of London in the City of Westminster.
It boasts a mainline railway station, Paddington station, which brings commuters from the west of London (e.g. Slough, Maidenhead, Reading) and going off to Oxford, Bristol, Bath (a Roman city still sporting many examples of Roman architecture), Taunton, Exeter (an excellent cathedral), Plymouth, then Cornwall and also South Wales including Cardiff and Swansea. There is also an express rail line to Heathrow Airport.
In Paddington Station there is a display case showing Paddington Bear, a character of children's fiction who, in the book, is first discovered at this station and hence named after it.
Paddington has several famous sons, notably Alexander Fleming - the scientist who discovered Penicillin (a plaque commemorating this is placed outside his old house in Praed Street) and Alan Turing (brilliant mathematician; there is a plaque on the Hotel where he was born: The Colonnade in Warrington Crescent). A more recent native son of Paddington is the musician Seal.
Important places in Paddington include St Mary's hospital (and nurse-training centre) and Paddington Green police station (high-security police station). The IRA bombed the telephone box outside the police station early one morning in the late 1990s as a demonstration to the British security services.
The Paddington arm of the Grand Union Canal terminates at Paddington Basin (this canal links Manchester and London).
There are many pubs in the area ranging from antipodean to Irish.
An early nineteenth century political rhyme comparing the stature of two politicians goes "London is to Paddington as Pitt is to Addington".
See also
Nearest places:
Nearest tube stations:
Nearest railway station:
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