What does YOUR train station taste like? Man who 'tastes' words comes up with a flavour for each of the 274 London Underground stations, from jelly to Spam fritters and 'wet sand'



James Wannerton spent 49 years creating the map to raise awareness for his condition, synaesthesia

Synaesthesia is a cross-sensory neurological disorder which causes the 54-year-old to literally taste words

A journey on the Central Line will start off tasting of burnt bacon and gradually change to taste of cabbage water



'The tastes are all involuntary and cannot be "turned off" or "toned down"', said Mr Wannerton


Does your tube stop taste of apple pie, HP sauce or putrid meat?

For James Wannerton these are just some of the strange tastes he experiences as he travels on the London Underground.

A journey on the Central Line for the 54-year-old will start off tasting of burnt bacon, and gradually change to taste of cheese, sausage, sprouts and cabbage water.



H OVER YOUR MO USE O VER A TUBE STATION T O ZOOM IN AND SEE WHAT IT TASTES LIKE

Waterloo tastes of fizzy water, London Bridge of lumpy mashed potato, West Hampstead of spam and chocolate and Westminster of After Eights

And the tastes are very real. ‘They are all involuntary and cannot be "turned off" or "toned down",’ Mr Wannerton told MailOnline.

That’s because Mr Wannerton, from Dollis Hill in North London, is one of an estimated two-and-a-half million people who suffer from gustatory auditory synaesthesia.

This a cross-sensory neurological condition which means he can literally taste words.

The bad news for people in Mile End is their area tastes of fingernails. London Bridge tastes of lumpy mashed potato, West Hampstead of spam and chocolate and Covent Garden of digestives.

‘As a young child I used to travel to school on the London Underground and because of my synaesthesia, on each trip I experienced a taste and texture sensation of each station name,’ said Mr Wannerton.

A journey on the Central Line for Mr Wannerton will start off tasting of burnt bacon, and gradually change to taste of cheese, sausage, sprouts and cabbage water

‘I used to recognise where I was along the journey by taste just as much as by the actual location.

‘I did this every time I travelled on the Underground and it very soon became an involuntary and very automatic additional response to my general perception.’

While he can get tastes and textures from simply reading a station name, the ‘ambiance’ and appearance can also alter that experience.



‘The tastes are 100 per cent consistent in that they never change,’ said Mr Wannerton.

After 49 years of collecting and noting down the tastes and textures, he wanted to create a map to raise awareness of his condition.

Remarkably, Mr Wannerton didn’t know he had synaesthesia until he was 21.

It was only until a visit to the U.S. in 1981 - when he saw a woman on TV explaining that she saw colours when she listened to music - that he realised he might not be the only one who tastes words.

On his return home, he made a visit to London's Maudsley Hospital and underwent a series of MRI scans to look at the part of the brain linked to taste.

When normal people are given headphones and played music and words, no activity is recorded in this area. However, the taste area of Mr Wannerton’s brain lit up significantly.

James Wannerton has synaesthesia, a neurological condition that mixes up your senses in the brain. This means he can taste what he sees. Oxford Circus, for instance, makes him taste Oxtail Soup A standard tube map for comparison. While Mr Wannerton can get tastes and textures from simply reading a station name, the 'ambiance' and appearance can also alter that experience

TASTE OF POPULAR TUBES STOPS

Victoria – Candle wax

Waterloo – Fizzy water Leicester Square – Curly Wurly Covent Garden – Chocolate digestives Tottenham Court Road – Sausage and egg Oxford Circus – Oxtail soup South Kensington – Soft wine gums Clapham Common – Lemon sponge cake Brixton – Vanilla ice cream Warren Street – Raw carrot King’s Cross St. Pancras – Fruit cake and dripping High Barnet – Brandy snaps Camden Town – Dolly mixtures London Bridge – Lumpy mash potato Bank – Minstrels Baker Street- Burn Jam Roly Poly Paddington – Flumps Finchley Road – Fresh Peach Regent’s Park – Malt Vinegar

THE MOST BIZARRE TASTES OF THE LONDON UNDERGROUND

Bond Street – Hairspray High Street Kensington – Midget gems

Clapham South – Crisp sandwich

Elephant & Castle – Wet sand

Wanstead – Stamp glue

Stratford High Street – Rubber diving brick

Mile End – Fingernails

Royal Oak – Bic biro ink

Farringdon – Warm semolina

Pinner – Dried Blood

West Hampstead – Spam and chocolate

Canons Park – 3 in 1 oil

Hackney Wick – Sealing wax

West Silverton – Blood and chocolate

Brent Cross – Corgi car tyres

Kilburn High Road - Putrid meat

Latimer Road – Candy shrimps West India Quay - Wet Wool Osterley - Sugar sandwich



‘I was diagnosed with gustatory auditory synaesthesia. At last I had proof that I had a neurological disorder, and it was a huge relief to find out,' he said.



‘I finally felt validated and not mad. Before that point, I'd been frightened of telling people about it for fear of them thinking I was a raving lunatic.’

The systems analyst recalls his earliest memory being in a school assembly chanting The Lord’s Prayer.

‘But it's not the words, the school hall or the teachers I remember most,’ he said. ‘It's the flavours, because The Lord's Prayer tasted unmistakably of bacon.’

Mr Wannerton says, to him, tasting words is as natural as breathing.

But concentrating and particularly reading are difficult, as often the words' flavours overwhelmed their meanings.

‘I can't cope with tabloid newspapers either as the flavours are overpowering,’ he said. ‘The Sun and Mirror are the worst.

‘And some words taste better than others. French words are difficult because most of them taste eggy, like the crispy bits under a burnt fried egg.

‘German, which tastes of marmalade, is far more enjoyable. Maybe it's the gutturals.’

One accent that Mr Wannerton can’t bear to hear is cricket commentator Richie Benaud's.

‘Every word he says has a taste,’ he said. ‘I can work my way round most things, but with him, the flavours come one after the other. Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.’

Since Mr Wannerton’s diagnosis, he has submitted more than 3,000 words with flavours to researchers at University College London and Edinburgh University.

‘Every now and again they ring up without notice and I have to instantly articulate the taste of whatever word they give me,’ he said.

‘My answers are instant and they never change, so it's obviously not just a memory thing.’

Synaesthesia is essentially a genetic fault - Mr Wannerton’s mother and sister are also affected, but not as strongly.

It is caused when neurological pathways between the senses are not pruned during brain development, resulting in an overlap of the senses.

Some people can 'hear' textures, others can 'see' smell.

‘I've avoided weddings and parties over the years, and if I know someone with a horrible tasting name is going to be at a social situation, then I just won't go,’ he said.

One accent that Mr Wannerton can’t bear to hear is cricket commentator Richie Benaud's (right). Apparently the name Gordon Brown (left) tastes of muck. ‘Gordon Brown is even worse,’ he said. ‘It's a revolting name - a mixture of mud and Marmite. Absolutely disgusting’



‘I'm not going to let it dominate my existence to the point where it ruins my life, but it does play a part in the decisions I make.

'Most of my friends have names that taste nice, and I have avoided people on the basis that their names tasted unpleasant.’

Apparently the name Gordon tastes of muck. ‘Gordon Brown is even worse,’ he said. ‘It's a revolting name - a mixture of mud and Marmite. Absolutely disgusting.’

Tony, on the other hand, tastes of desiccated coconut. And Martin, which has a Bakewell tart flavour.

‘My partner is called Jeanette, which is nice, as she's a mild bacon flavour,’ he said.

‘People ask me if I could wave a magic wand would I get rid of my synaesthesia, but I wouldn't live without it, despite the difficulties and the isolation it can bring,’ he added.