Escorts in W1, from Soho to Marylebone: who is close, and how soon
Ten o'clock on a weeknight, and W1 splits down the middle. Along Oxford Street the shutters are down, the buses have the road nearly to themselves, and the diagonal crossing at Oxford Circus, built for the daytime crowds, can be crossed without breaking stride. North of it, Marylebone and the streets round Portland Place are going quiet behind their front doors. South of it, Soho is only halfway through its evening.
Eight names on the board live inside the postcode, in Mayfair, Soho and Marylebone, which helps a late message more than anything else can. From the office's confirmation she is usually about an hour, a little more on a crowded Friday, and the chat gives her exact time; the ten hour overnight and every shorter length appear on the rates.
On the ground
W1 in practice
Landmarks on the arrival slip
By postcode, never by nameW1K 4HR, W1B 1JA, W1J 9BR, W1T 1RJ, W1D 3DH.
Nearest stations
Walking timeOxford Circus, 2 minutes. Bond Street, 5 minutes. Tottenham Court Road, 7 minutes.
Getting there
W1Travel is included across Zones 1 and 2, and counted from the moment the hour is set rather than from when she leaves.
On the board
Nearest prints to W1
Who works here
On the board in W1
The eight prints above are a first shortlist for W1 tonight. Any of the twenty eight on the who is free page can be asked for by name instead.
Note 02
The shopping street after closing
Oxford Street at night is a strange sight: its whole length of shop windows glowing with nobody behind them, the department stores dark above their displays, and the traffic mostly buses and black cabs. It is better walked than crossed. From Oxford Circus the curve of Regent Street runs south towards Piccadilly Circus, its stone fronts lit, and at the bottom the big screens on the corner of the Circus burn right through the night, so a late walk in W1 always has something bright to head for.
Note 03
Soho, still halfway through
Below Oxford Street the late night belongs to Soho. The theatres on Shaftesbury Avenue let their audiences out in the late evening and send them into the side streets, the kitchens of Gerrard Street keep cooking after most of the West End has stopped serving, and Old Compton Street is at its fullest just as the rest of the postcode empties. For W1 escorts and their guests, this is the half of the map where an evening can still begin at eleven.
Note 04
Marylebone and Mayfair behind their doors
North of Oxford Street the night ends early. Marylebone High Street is a village street, and late in the evening it is lit windows above closed shops. At the top of Regent Street the round columned porch of All Souls stands beside Broadcasting House, where the BBC's newsrooms work through the night, one of the few buildings in the north of W1 that never quite sleeps. Mayfair keeps its late life indoors, in members' clubs and hotel bars, and the squares and mews outside are almost silent.
Note 05
How a late evening here ends
Late nights with escorts in W1 end simply: the postcode is compact enough that the walk back from Soho to a room off Portland Place or near Grosvenor Square can be part of the night rather than a chore, and black cabs pass along Oxford Street and Regent Street until very late for anyone who would rather ride. Fitzrovia, north of Oxford Street on the eastern side, winds down sooner than anywhere in Soho.
From The Roundup
Two notes worth reading for W1
Asked most often
W1, asked and answered
Where can we still walk at midnight without the streets feeling empty?
Is Oxford Street worth anything once the shops are shut?
Which corner of W1 is quietest late at night?
It is past midnight and neither of us wants to stop. What then?
One zone either way
Next along from W1
Last strip
Say a name and an hour
Write in with a length, a time and the zone you are staying in, and a name from the board comes back with a window attached. That is the whole of the arrangement.