There is one thing you most definitely expect when you head to London is bright lights. In fact it’s one of the things that UK capital is perhaps most famous for.
So it’s quite remarkable that one place where you’ll find barely any lights is the nearby Essex village of Theydon Bois, which has an Underground station meaning it’s only a short trip from the capital’s boundaries.
According to MyLondon, the villagers have consistently voted against the installation of such lighting for decades, out of fear that it would ruin the ambience of the place as well as adding to their council tax bill.
Youtuber and TikToker @iboxtoycat visited the village and gave his verdict on the place.
He said: “This is very strange and honestly you don’t even notice it at first, it’s something you don’t even think about during the day – however at night time you’ll notice it’s pitch black basically everywhere.
He added: “You get to see the stars – it’s bizarre in London. You can see stars as you look up but also more importantly people feel safer.
“One of the weird facts I found when I was looking into this is people feel safer when everything is dark because there are no dark alleys to hide in when everywhere is dark at the same time.”
Instead of using street lighting the area is lit up by its local businesses and houses – but there is one exception as its London Underground station is lit up.
This makes the village a great place for stargazers with The Loughton Astronomical Society regularly meeting there.
Its website says: “The best way to see the night sky is from a dark site. Theydon Bois has been our venue for meeting and observing for many years.
“It retains its village charm but importantly, it is a reasonably dark sky.”
But not everyone is happy – with concerns over the years from locals from the lack of lighting.
A change.org petition was set up by the Theydon Bois Parish Council in an attempt to remedy the situation in 2016.
The petition said: “As more and more crime incidents occur in Theydon Bois, and more people push for an unrealistic police presence at night, one solution would be to finally light up this dark and dangerous village. It’s a safe haven for crime, because you can’t see anything!
“Make Theydon Bois a safe place to be again, with the inclusion of street lights. Bring this village out of the Stone Age and into 2017.”
