Another Christmas morning spent cycling around central London devoid of workers, and for an hour or so, mostly devoid of tourists.

It’s as much the empty streets appeal for the eerie sense of sudden abandonment, it’s the silence that really captivates. Yes, there are some cars, and rather a few shop alarms beeping, but a city that is normally so noisy is, for a few hours as quiet as the countryside.

That is apart from Debenhams, and curiously, Bank tube station was still playing warning messages to the non-existent passengers.

And good luck to the two chaps I met at 7am in the city asking about the cycle hire, as they were trying to get to Barking.

More photos from 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2013

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