Abbey Road – The Real Location Behind Death at Abbey Road
Abbey Road is a real street in St John's Wood, London, and its famous zebra crossing is the setting for Death at Abbey Road, book 6 in the London Cosy Mysteries, the series I co-write with Millie Ravensworth (aka Heide Goody and Iain Grant). Here's why we saved this most unusual London landmark for last.
How did we choose the London Cosy Mysteries landmarks?
When Heide, Iain and I sat down in 2022 and mapped the series out, we picked six London landmarks and alternated between the historic ones and the modern ones. Westminster, the West End, Tower Bridge, the Thames, St Paul's. Five of them are centuries old, or as near as makes no difference.
Why Abbey Road?
Abbey Road is the odd one out, and that's exactly why we saved it for book 6. It's a zebra crossing on an ordinary road in St John's Wood, with a recording studio behind it and a webcam pointed at it. Nothing about it is grand. People fly across the world to stand on it and walk four abreast while London drivers lean on their horns. It's a landmark made entirely out of other people caring about it, which felt like the right note to end on.
And of course we had to spend some time there mucking about with videos, cats and zebra crossings.
Real London landmarks in the London Cosy Mysteries
Westminster
The West End
Tower Bridge
The River Thames (Death on the Thames)
St Paul's Cathedral (Death at St Paul's Cathedral)
Abbey Road (Death at Abbey Road)
