Is soho the only place with walk ins?

[SirPuntz]

I wondering if anyone knew about walk ins in the south west area?

[ralhar]

walk ups can be found in soho and a lesser known district of mayfair called shepherd market... but only just... soho is down to maybe a dozen and shepherd market a grand total of 2 (2 walk ups, 3 rooms / girls)...

when I started punting in 96 or 97 there loads of walk ups all over soho and shepherd market and my first punt was all the way over on pollen st by berkley square...

but the credit crunch, the change in punting habits (internet), aggressive land grabs and authoritarian oppression have reduced the scene to almost a memory and a part of the west ends history that seems to about to get conveniently swept under the carpet...

somebody once mentioned a walk up in kings cross but apart from that I have never heard about a walk up anywhere other than the west end (soho and shepherds market)...

on the other hand, if by "walk in" you meant somewhere you can just turn up then i'm sure there are still plenty of parlors around but they also seem to be in decline... its all online now isn't it.

but walk ups, as in a room with a door on the street and a sign openly inviting you to knock... no, just soho and shepherd market and they won't be there much longer either I don't think.

[Bassman]

I usually see those signs on open doors "hot busty blonde model upstairs" etc in China town too. A stones throw from Soho. I guess these are advertising walk ups.

[ralhar]

yeah you probably mean Lisle st... or newport court / st... I think china town counts as soho...

[bukowski]

walk ups can be found in soho and a lesser known district of mayfair called shepherd market... but only just... soho is down to maybe a dozen and shepherd market a grand total of 2 (2 walk ups, 3 rooms / girls)...

when I started punting in 96 or 97 there loads of walk ups all over soho and shepherd market and my first punt was all the way over on pollen st by berkley square...

but the credit crunch, the change in punting habits (internet), aggressive land grabs and authoritarian oppression have reduced the scene to almost a memory and a part of the west ends history that seems to about to get conveniently swept under the carpet...

somebody once mentioned a walk up in kings cross but apart from that I have never heard about a walk up anywhere other than the west end (soho and shepherds market)...

on the other hand, if by "walk in" you meant somewhere you can just turn up then i'm sure there are still plenty of parlors around but they also seem to be in decline... its all online now isn't it.

but walk ups, as in a room with a door on the street and a sign openly inviting you to knock... no, just soho and shepherd market and they won't be there much longer either I don't think.

I was walking around soho tonight and had a look (from across the rd) at the walk up on the corner of Bateman St and Greek St. The building looks untouched since the 50's I should imagine. I couldn't see the cards in the doorway to see what they said but i remember in the 90's they always used to be for `Mandy` and `Candice`. I remember some old hand telling me in the pub next door one night that there had been a `Mandy` and `Candice` there since the 40's.

It's amazing they are still there given that the crummy little building they are in is probably worth the best part of £2mil.

[ralhar]

yeah its not clear why it's taken so long for the property prices to eat the walk ups but it is interesting that they have survived as long as they have... if it was just about money I'm sure they would have disappeared well before now...

[bukowski]

i do remember the building across on the other corner (that is now a trendy bar) was for many years boarded up and i heard it was owned by someone serving a long jail sentence who didn't trust anyone to do anything with it while inside. It was boarded up for at least 10 years that i knew of. I remember one night about 2 in the morning seeing a guy unlock the padlock on the hoardings, throw a bag inside, lock it up again and walk off. I thought about going down there and breaking the lock to get the bag but didn't on account of me being a chickenshit

[Slartysmith]

my first punt was all the way over on pollen st by berkley square...

I remember that place on Pollen St.  It originally housed a French woman that had previously been on D'Arblay St (Brigitte).  Upstairs was another French woman (Hougette) who was as old as the hills and I would be very surprised if she got much custom.

[ralhar]

yeah I think you mentioned that over on the other forum... that pollen st place was really weird... I saw a brazilian black girl there and got a fucking awful rush rush punt... 

what happened was I decided to get myself a prostitue (and I was only going to do it once) and headed for Soho because I had heard that's where you find them...

but it wasn't as straight forward as I had hoped and after getting clipped for 40 notes down at Tisbury Court I went in a phone box (I can't remember where but I had actually been stupid enough to use one of those ones on Rupert st earlier on in the day LOL, I may as well have hung a sign round my neck)... I dialled a number and got directions to pollen st where (as described) the door was open with a sign saying "please come in" or something...

I remember there were loads of queers and media types outside because of a cafe and they were all smirking as I walked up clearly looking for somewhere then had to squeeze past them to get in....

once inside this young mixed race maid let me in and I sat awkwardly in the kitchen with a glass of orange squash while the maid tried (unsuccessfully) to make conversation... the girl was having a bath (she seemed to be doing this between punters)

I wasn't very sexually experienced back then and for some reason decided that I should get a blow job to completion (with) and then have sex... I think my theory was that if I had come after the blow job then I could last longer for the sex... LOL

of course the whole experience was entirely underwhelming... she gave me one of those facing away wood pecker blow jobs that neither of you actually enjoy then I don't think I could come again when we had sex (which was as bad as the blow job)... I can't remember how much I paid but it might have been £60... I remember the girl was reasonably attractive but a bit cold and stand offish at first... once the sex was done though she lightened up and was a bit friendlier...

anyway, getting clipped, visiting whores... soho, the west end... I decided it was the most excitement I had ever had on a Saturday afternoon and was straight back down there the next week... I somehow worked out that you don't pay random crackheads standing at bottom of the stairs and no need to use phone boxes and became a walk up regular...

@ Ivybridge - if you had got caught doing that you probably would have ended up in the cement down at the millennium dome...

[joe diddley]

There was one reportedly about ten or twelve years ago in Stamford Hill, above a pizza place on the Broadway but never visited it, so can't confirm if it was really like one of Soho's walkups with which I am probably too familiar.

[bukowski]

@ Ivybridge - if you had got caught doing that you probably would have ended up in the cement down at the millennium dome...

i think so
but now
30+ years on
i think about it every now and then
and.............

[ralhar]

when you walk round Soho now it's hard to believe just how dodgy it was back then... I still see some familiar faces occasionally... some of those clip artists around tisbury court have been hanging round there as long as I have and i used to see the ones that clipped me on my first visit up until quite recently... some of the girls that used to work the doors of the clip joints can be seen hanging round up to no good and there's this black guy that they called "captain" who used to sell weed... he used to wear a trench coat in all weather and shades even at night... i see him occasionally he's shuffling round now looking like a tramp and picking up dog ends off the floor...

[Bond]

when you walk round Soho now it's hard to believe just how dodgy it was back then... I still see some familiar faces occasionally... some of those clip artists around tisbury court have been hanging round there as long as I have and i used to see the ones that clipped me on my first visit up until quite recently... some of the girls that used to work the doors of the clip joints can be seen hanging round up to no good and there's this black guy that they called "captain" who used to sell weed... he used to wear a trench coat in all weather and shades even at night... i see him occasionally he's shuffling round now looking like a tramp and picking up dog ends off the floor...

ralhar first of all, sincere thanks for your informative and entertaining contributions to this and the other Soho/Shepherds Market threads.

I'm curious to know whether there were indeed any walk-ups in Kings Cross area back in the day. I seem to recall someone saying on this (or another) forum there there used to be a couple in the eighties/nineties.

[ralhar]

glad you enjoy my posts bond... i'm never sure if it's a particularly constructive activity and i'm sure I spend too much time doing it but enjoy it anyway and enjoy reading other peoples memories...

yeah I'm not sure where I heard about the kings cross walk up but I definitely picked it up either here or the other forum... whoever said it was quite certain and somebody else remembered it also... i got the impression it was on that road that stretches down the east side of the station but could be wrong about that and i think they were talking about the 80's or early 90's...

I lived in the midlands in '98 and '99 and used to come in to London at st pancras... it was still quite sleazy at night with zombie crackhead street walkers hanging around and felt a bit edgy at times because there had been some horrific stories in the news about the area... it was nothing like i've read about in the 80's though... I used to have a mooch around before jumping on the last train and remember buying a miss fellatio vhs tape from a dodgy little sex shop round there... I never saw a walk up though

[russell sprout]

yeah I think you mentioned that over on the other forum... that pollen st place was really weird... I saw a brazilian black girl there and got a fucking awful rush rush punt... 

what happened was I decided to get myself a prostitue (and I was only going to do it once) and headed for Soho because I had heard that's where you find them...

but it wasn't as straight forward as I had hoped and after getting clipped for 40 notes down at Tisbury Court I went in a phone box (I can't remember where but I had actually been stupid enough to use one of those ones on Rupert st earlier on in the day LOL, I may as well have hung a sign round my neck)... I dialled a number and got directions to pollen st where (as described) the door was open with a sign saying "please come in" or something...

I remember there were loads of queers and media types outside because of a cafe and they were all smirking as I walked up clearly looking for somewhere then had to squeeze past them to get in....

once inside this young mixed race maid let me in and I sat awkwardly in the kitchen with a glass of orange squash while the maid tried (unsuccessfully) to make conversation... the girl was having a bath (she seemed to be doing this between punters)

I wasn't very sexually experienced back then and for some reason decided that I should get a blow job to completion (with) and then have sex... I think my theory was that if I had come after the blow job then I could last longer for the sex... LOL

of course the whole experience was entirely underwhelming... she gave me one of those facing away wood pecker blow jobs that neither of you actually enjoy then I don't think I could come again when we had sex (which was as bad as the blow job)... I can't remember how much I paid but it might have been £60... I remember the girl was reasonably attractive but a bit cold and stand offish at first... once the sex was done though she lightened up and was a bit friendlier...

anyway, getting clipped, visiting whores... soho, the west end... I decided it was the most excitement I had ever had on a Saturday afternoon and was straight back down there the next week... I somehow worked out that you don't pay random crackheads standing at bottom of the stairs and no need to use phone boxes and became a walk up regular...

@ Ivybridge - if you had got caught doing that you probably would have ended up in the cement down at the millennium dome...

Lol, great posting. I love the noob punter logic!

Which year was this, ralhar?

[ralhar]

October '96 to be precise... yeah there's me expecting some kind of life changing experience and there's her just wanting to get me out the door... we never discussed time but im sure i imagined i would be spending the best part of the afternoon in her company... LOL

and after learning how not to get clipped and that you could just walk up and knock on a door without involving anybody else... I then had to learn how to get out if I didn't like the girl... it took me a while to realise I could just say no thanks and walk... I fucked so many awful hags because I didnt know what to say... LOL

and i used to do that thing of of walking up and down (and in the process drawing lots of attention to myself) waiting for a moment when i thought nobody was looking before diving in a doorway... and when it came to leave I was certain that i was going to get seen by somebody i know...

[Bond]

glad you enjoy my posts bond... i'm never sure if it's a particularly constructive activity and i'm sure I spend too much time doing it but enjoy it anyway and enjoy reading other peoples memories...

yeah I'm not sure where I heard about the kings cross walk up but I definitely picked it up either here or the other forum... whoever said it was quite certain and somebody else remembered it also... i got the impression it was on that road that stretches down the east side of the station but could be wrong about that and i think they were talking about the 80's or early 90's...

I lived in the midlands in '98 and '99 and used to come in to London at st pancras... it was still quite sleazy at night with zombie crackhead street walkers hanging around and felt a bit edgy at times because there had been some horrific stories in the news about the area... it was nothing like i've read about in the 80's though... I used to have a mooch around before jumping on the last train and remember buying a miss fellatio vhs tape from a dodgy little sex shop round there... I never saw a walk up though

Thanks again ralhar!

[SirPuntz]

what are the chances of getting an std in a walk up? you reckon they're higher

[russell sprout]

Ha ha, "spending the afternoon" 

[ralhar]

what are the chances of getting an std in a walk up? you reckon they're higher

surprisingly low I think providing you are sensible and cautious... in 20 years of using walk ups the one time i picked something up i had fingered this girls arse (stupid but i got carried away) then wasnt careful when washing (even stupider)... i remember feeling some of the water go the wrong way when washing... a couple of weeks later I took a piss at work and felt some burning... after a few days i realised it wasnt going away and went to the gp who referred me to my local GUM... they ran tests and diagnosed NSU or NSI can't remember which... gave me antibiotics there and then but started to ask awkward questions... i must admit i was too embarrassed to admit whoring and gave them some bullshit about one night stands and too many big nights out... i think they thought i was queer... they told me to wait while they got someone to get some details of my "conquests" and i did a runner with my antibiotics... that took a couple of weeks to clear up and i thought it had come back because it still burned when i pissed... anyway i went back and it turned out i was dehydrated and just needed to drink loads of water... they didnt mention the runner...

lesson learned.

i don't know what other punters experience has been... but most of the girls only service "with" and despite the volume of punters they service there was apparently quite good support for the girls... plenty of available advice and easy access to Soho GUM... i think the GUM used to visit the walk ups and promote regular checks and safe practice... all of the girls i have talked to about this have been really careful and responsible... i'm not sure what the situation is now though and if they get the same level of support...

OWO was always forbidden by the house as well... it was always very clearly forbidden on the price lists and for a long time rarely offered and then in only very hushed circumstances...

what does everyone else think? would like to hear others experience here...

[ralhar]

Ha ha, "spending the afternoon" 

yeah... LOL

[SirPuntz]

surprisingly low I think providing you are sensible and cautious... in 20 years of using walk ups the one time i picked something up i had fingered this girls arse (stupid but i got carried away) then wasnt careful when washing (even stupider)... i remember feeling some of the water go the wrong way when washing... a couple of weeks later I took a piss at work and felt some burning... after a few days i realised it wasnt going away and went to the gp who referred me to my local GUM... they ran tests and diagnosed NSU or NSI can't remember which... gave me antibiotics there and then but started to ask awkward questions... i must admit i was too embarrassed to admit whoring and gave them some bullshit about one night stands and too many big nights out... i think they thought i was queer... they told me to wait while they got someone to get some details of my "conquests" and i did a runner with my antibiotics... that took a couple of weeks to clear up and i thought it had come back because it still burned when i pissed... anyway i went back and it turned out i was dehydrated and just needed to drink loads of water... they didnt mention the runner...

lesson learned.

i don't know what other punters experience has been... but most of the girls only service "with" and despite the volume of punters they service there was apparently quite good support for the girls... plenty of available advice and easy access to Soho GUM... i think the GUM used to visit the walk ups and promote regular checks and safe practice... all of the girls i have talked to about this have been really careful and responsible... i'm not sure what the situation is now though and if they get the same level of support...

OWO was always forbidden by the house as well... it was always very clearly forbidden on the price lists and for a long time rarely offered and then in only very hushed circumstances...

what does everyone else think? would like to hear others experience here...

Damn thats a long punting career. I'm lucky enough that I have no caught anything yet but I did have a scare when I had my first punt. The asian lady I had gave me a very rough Hand job and it turned out that she popped a blood vessel of course I only found out when I went for a check up after suffering for about a week of intense itching down there. As for OWO I had this one punt where this girl just started sucking me off with no comment about condoms. I asked if she was worried or if she had something- she replied by saying that she takes classes at a sexual clinic and she checked my cock for obvious signs of stds and she said mine was fine. I was a bit put off at the time but I must admit it felt awesome and she did a good job with her mouth but that was the only time I had OWO.

[ralhar]

what happened to me could have happened as a civvie... you need to be careful what you do with your hands when they've been somewhere dirty.

its not clear to me if OWO is a risk or not... i think the official line at the GUM is that there is definitely a small risk... so i tend to avoid in soho where the volume is high and conditions are rushed...