Fidel:

There's nothing special about High Holborn: it's just an interesting (well to me) combination of conventions.

We usually use "on" only for things on relatively long and important streets, and we always use the whole of a street's name. So the only times we don't use a suffix (as in "Trinity Street") is when the street doesn't have a suffix (as with steets like Pall Mall, Newington Butts or Kensington Gore), or prefix (The Strand, The Mall)

There are only a few streets big enough to get "on" that also lack a suffix or prefix: Piccadilly, High Holborn and Holborn, for example.

So an Americanm, hearing us refer to the Princess Louise on High Holborn might be misled into thinking it's called High Holborn Street but the American convention of dropping "Street" is being used. And that might encourage him or her to think they can get away with using this convention here, when it'll get them into trouble.

As in "how to I get to Waterloo from Liverpool station?" (a question once asked on this board, to which the answer is "get the Northern Line, but you have to go the 200 miles to Liverpool first" ) or asking for Gloucester, a town 120 miles away, when you want one of the many London thoroughfares starting "Gloucester"

You could always ask the guide for suggestions.
I once went on the Dickens walk and the guide pointed out a few pubs where you could eat.

They want to eat first.

Should have said that My Old Dutch is on High Holborn, across the road from the tube station.

Thank you for the note Mr.Flanner. It gave me the same strange sensation I get when I'm on the transport site; for example, "the only times we don't use a suffix...is when the street doesn't have a suffix." But I am starting to learn the ropes -- I wasn't the one who inquired about it here, but one early Sunday morning I breathlessly asked a rather large officer at the Notting Hill Station about the right way to Liverpool...well you can imagine the conversation he gave me after that.

I agree with the choice of the old Cheshire Cheese, despite its having so many tourists

Ben Haines, London
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