london - is it technically north?

[caz21]

I once heard or read that London, being the capital city is technically (not geographically) north and you drive up to London and down to Scotland (just an example) i think it was from King Henry VIII reign but i'm not sure, has anyone else heard this and is there anywhere i can look it up to proove what i'm saying because everyone i have asked says i am wrong, but i'm sure i've heard it somewhere!

[Mumof2]

I ve always said London is south as I live oop north in Yorkshire

[Quizmonster]

It has nothing to do with actual direction. Coach timetables and later train timetables in Victorian times used 'up' for coaches/trains going to London whether they were coming from Newcastle, Brighton or Cardiff. The idea was that the capital is the country's most important city and so one would go 'up' to it.
Thus, the up-lines were those taking trains towards London and the down-lines were those taking them away from there. If the line had nothing to do with London as such, the up-line was the one headed for the larger or more important destination.

[heathfield]

Traditionally, it's always 'up' to a capital city, and 'down' from there to anywhere else. The exception in the UK, apparently, is that one goes 'up' to Cambridge.

[caz21]

Thanks, I also live oop north in yorkshire! lol, i think heathfield is closest to what i mean, although not sure about why you say cambridge? just need to find somewhere that prooves it now! x

[shaneystar2]

You go" Up " to Cambridge if you are going to study at university there ....nothing to do with how to get there or from which direction and when you graduate you come "Down" .
From where I live we go "over " to Cambridge !

[ELVIS68]

On the railways it`s still called the ..."Up Road".....(from Cambridge to London)..... and "Down Road"....(from London to Cambridge)

[shaneystar2]

Well I stand corrected Elvis ...I never knew that !
I think it's time I went "up " the wooden hill ! All this up and down makes you dizzy.

[Quizmonster]

Click here and read item No.8 for Chambers Dictionary's description of travelling 'up' to London. Will that do for somewhere that 'proves' it?

[heathfield]

Good source, QM. And read item 9 which mentions 'up to' universities. Presume that's where 'up to Cambridge' originates.
And, strictly speaking, railways have 'up lines' and down lines.

[ahhdundee]

My English teacher at school always says "one goes up to the capital" regardless of the geographic location. This also applies to Edinburgh , Cardiff and Belfast in the UK.