Bike-part streets 1 of 10: Pump Court

It's time for a short series again. This is the first in a set of ten posts about some of London’s streets that happen to share their name with bike parts, together with a picture of each showing the part in question.

Where is it?
Just south off the eastern end of Fleet St, next to Temple Church, founded by the Knights Templars. The church is known for its circular nave, and role in The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, who earned a shedload of money for writing verbose, empty rubbish. You're right in Inner Temple and Middle Temple here, in the Inns of Court, the home of Britain's finest legal brains, who also earn a shedload of money...


What’s it like?
Like an Oxbridge college quad, quiet and stately, with similar painted name boards at the foot of each staircase. The only sounds are the rustle of the leafy trees, the puzzled multilingual murmur of lost tourists, and the humming of fine legal brains pondering complex issues, such as how much they can get away with charging.

Why bike there?
The whole historic Inns of Court area is fun to nose around, with large areas traffic free: peds (and walked bikes) only. Not much bike parking, though.


Is it a good place to pump up your tyres?
Yes. Unlike Fleet St, it’s quiet enough for you to hear air leaks as you hunt the site of your puncture. Probably not a bad place for a picnic, too, while you wait for your inexpertly patched inner tube to deflate again. You could nip into the Temple Church for a look round, and request divine blessing for your rubber-solution handiwork.