“The best way to see London is from the top of a bus.”

—  William Ewart Gladstone

No known direct citation to Gladstone; first attributed in early 1900s (e.g. Highways and byways in London, 1903, Emily Constance Baird Cook, Macmillan and Co.) but appears in late 1800s London guides by other authors, such as:
The best way to see London is by the omnibus lines.
A Tour Around the World in 1884: or Sketches of Travel in the Eastern and Western Hemispheres (1886) by John B. Gorman
Misattributed

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The best way to see London is from the top of a bus." by William Ewart Gladstone?
William Ewart Gladstone photo
William Ewart Gladstone 121
British Liberal politician and prime minister of the United… 1809–1898

Related quotes

Rosa Parks photo

“I'd see the bus pass every day… But to me, that was a way of life; we had no choice but to accept what was the custom. The bus was among the first ways I realized there was a black world and a white world.”

Rosa Parks (1913–2005) African-American civil rights activist

Quoted in 2008-07-01, The Story Behind the Bus, Rosa Parks Bus, The Henry Ford http://www.thehenryford.org/exhibits/rosaparks/story.asp, (2002)

Jonathan Stroud photo

“When I landed on the top of a lamppost in the London dusk it was peeing with rain.”

Jonathan Stroud book The Amulet of Samarkand

The Amulet of Samarkand (2003)

“When people ask me what I think is my best work, it's the bus. There're lots of books, but there's only one bus.”

Ken Kesey (1935–2001) novelist

Trip of a Lifetime (1999)

Winston S. Churchill photo

“The best way to insure against unemployment is to have no unemployment. ... Idlers at the top make idlers at the bottom.”

Winston S. Churchill book The Second World War

The Second World War (1939–1945)
Source: Broadcast (21 March 1943), quoted in The Times (22 March 1943), p. 6

Joe Strummer photo

“London Calling - Yes, I was there, too,
And you know what they said? Well some of it was true.
London Calling at the top of the dial…
And after all this, won't you give me a smile?”

Joe Strummer (1952–2002) British musician, singer, actor and songwriter

Joe Strummer / Mick Jones, "London Calling", London Calling (1979).
Lyrics

Edwin Ransford photo

“In the days when we went gypsying
A long time ago;
The lads and lassies in their best
Were drest from top to toe.”

Edwin Ransford (1805–1876) British opera singer

In the Days when we went Gypsying.

“I am finding the inherent politeness of this place quite destabilising. Having come from a House where politeness is about as rare as an orderly queue at a London bus stop, the culture shock on entering your Lordships' House has been profound. Indeed, such relentless politeness is not merely destabilising, but positively exhausting.”

Tony Banks (1942–2006) British politician

maiden speech to the House of Lords http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200506/ldhansrd/vo050720/text/50720-23.htm, 20 July 2005; quoted by United Kingdom Parliament World Wide Web Service
contrasting the House of Lords with the House of Commons.

“I am like a tree,
From my top boughs I can see
The footprints that led up to me.”

R.S. Thomas (1913–2000) Welsh poet

"Here"
Tares (1961)

Nigel Cumberland photo

“The best way to learn something is from experience”

Nigel Cumberland (1967) British author and leadership coach

to actually try doing the task or activity. Great learnings can come when you face challenge and difficulty and when you might not succeed.
Page 214
Your Job-Hunt Ltd – Advice from an Award-Winning Asian Headhunter (2003), Successful Recruitment in a Week (2012) https://books.google.ae/books?idp24GkAsgjGEC&printsecfrontcover&dqnigel+cumberland&hlen&saX&ved0ahUKEwjF75Xw0IHNAhULLcAKHazACBMQ6AEIGjAA#vonepage&qnigel%20cumberland&ffalse, Managing Teams in a Week (2013) https://books.google.ae/books?idqZjO9_ov74EC&printsecfrontcover&dqnigel+cumberland&hlen&saX&ved0ahUKEwjF75Xw0IHNAhULLcAKHazACBMQ6AEIIDAB#vonepage&qnigel%20cumberland&ffalse, Secrets of Success at Work – 50 techniques to excel (2014) https://books.google.ae/books?id4S7vAgAAQBAJ&printsecfrontcover&dqnigel+cumberland&hlen&saX&ved0ahUKEwjF75Xw0IHNAhULLcAKHazACBMQ6AEIJjAC#vonepage&qnigel%20cumberland&ffalse

“Now, you're either on the bus or off the bus. If you're on the bus, and you get left behind, then you'll find it again. If you're off the bus in the first place — then it won't make a damn.”

Ken Kesey (1935–2001) novelist

Source: The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (1968), Ch. 6 : The Bus
Context: There are going to be times when we can't wait for somebody. Now, you're either on the bus or off the bus. If you're on the bus, and you get left behind, then you'll find it again. If you're off the bus in the first place — then it won't make a damn.

Related topics