Around London In 12 Snakes

M@
By M@

Last Updated 30 January 2025

Around London In 12 Snakes

Continuing our beastly series of animals in London.

Snakes don't always get the best press. As a consequence, we don't see them celebrated or commemorated much around town. But there are exceptions. Here are 12 places you might spot a serpent while out and about in London.

See also: Around London in 12 elephants - Around London in 12 dragons - Around London in 13 tigers - Around London in 11 swans - Around London in 11 horses - Around London in 12 rabbits and hares - Around London in 13 pigeons - Around London in 14 lions and lionesses - Around London in 9 camels - Around London in 11 bears

1. London Zoo

Harry Potter speaks to a snake at London Zoo

As with many animals, the first place to look is London Zoo. In fact, the attraction's newest habitat concerns the creatures. The Secret Life of Reptiles and Amphibians houses a Mangshan pit viper, one of the world's rarest reptiles. You can also come face-to-scaly-face with a king cobra, black mambas and other writhesome creatures. The former reptile house (now closed) gained notoriety in 2001 when a Brazilian boa constrictor escaped captivity with the aid of a bespectacled accomplice (pictured). Another child was left within the enclosure.

2. Wild snakes

An aesculapian snake
An aesculapian snake. Image: Felix Reimann, creative commons

London also supports three species of wild snake. The harmless grass snake is the most common, found in places close to lakes, ponds and streams. Adders, also called vipers, favour heathland and the edges of woods. They tend to avoid humans; bites are rare and usually mild in effect.

London's largest reptile is the aesculapian snake, which can grow to two metres in length. A small breeding population can be found on the banks of the Regent's Canal, not far from London Zoo. These are not native to the UK, and are thought to have escaped from an educational facility (and not the Zoo) in the 1980s. The aesculapians are harmless to humans and kill their prey by constricting.

3. Runic snakes

A snake eats a deer on the Jelling Stone
Image: Matt Brown

More serpentine action just around the corner from London Zoo. Head to St Katharine's Danish church on Outer Circle where you'll find the Jelling Stone. This is a replica of an ancient monument in Jutland. Among the patterns and runic symbols on the mock-Viking artefact is a picture of a lion caught in the coils of a giant constrictor. Neither animal is commonly found in Denmark, and the imagery is thought to be symbolic of the fight between good and evil.

4. Snakes on a plane!

Snake on a plane tree
Image: Matt Brown

Acton Park has a lovely trail of sculptures up in its trees, dating back to the Noughties. Among them is a large snake. I'm not sure if it's intentional, but it's been placed in a London plane tree; literally, snakes on a plane.

5. Snakes and ladders

Snakes-and-ladders mosaic at Oxford Circus tube
Image: Matt Brown

London's most viewed snakes are surely the ones that adorn the walls of Oxford Circus tube station. Created in the 1980s by Nicholas Munro, the playful mosaic can be found on the Central line platforms.

6. More snakes on the tube

A grey snake like water absorber
Image: Matt Brown

These mysterious grey snakes can often be seen on the tube network. They seem to emerge only during damp conditions, and are naturally drawn towards puddles and standing water. Oddness.

7. Snake house

A snakes and ladders mural in Bethnal Green
Image: Matt Brown

Would you want to live in a flat that's riddled with giant snakes? That's the proposition on Bethnal Green Road, where the facade above Venturi Architects shows a mighty serpent trashing the block. The curious mural was painted in 2024 by street artist Captain Kris, who also doodled some of team Londonist at our 10th birthday party in 2014.

8. Double serpent

Double-headed Aztec snake in British Museum
Image: by Geni, creative commons licence

London's museums and galleries contain unknown numbers of snake-themed artefacts. Perhaps the best-known is this double-headed serpent from Aztec Mexico, on show at the British Museum. Its original purpose is unknown, but is presumed to have been used during religious ceremonies. Find it in Room 27.

9. The Battersea snake

The Battersea snake
Image: Matt Brown

This mini-roundabout sculpture is supposedly a "contemporary representation of the smoke flumes that were previously exhausted from the historical site of Battersea Power Station". But, come on... it's a snake right? Right?

10. Snake knocker

A snake door knocker from London
Image: Matt Brown

Not a door you want to call at if you're scared of snakes. This sinuous knocker can be found on several doors on Denmark Street, each of which leads to serviced apartments. Denmark Street was once famous for its music shops and recording studios, and was nicknamed Tin Pan Alley. Perhaps it should now be Taipan Alley.

11. Snakes alive!

Snake on a head of a dummy at the Sherlock Holmes museum
Image: Matt Brown

Sherlock Holmes also had a run-in with a serpent. A venomous snake is revealed to be the killer in The Adventure of the Speckled Band. Most of the hissing takes place in the fictional estate of Stoke Moran in Surrey, but the story is recalled with an asp-addled dummy at London's Sherlock Holmes Museum.

12. Snakey places

Snakes Lane West in Woodford
Image: Google Street View

From the Book of Genesis onwards, the snake has been feared and maligned in the western world. It does sometimes appear in a positive context, such as on medical logos, or the caduceus of Hermes/Mercury, but is usually a symbol of evil or danger.

Consequently, we don't find many streets named after snakes — its just not asp-irational. An exception can be found in Woodford, north-east London, where Snakes Lane West and Snakes Lane East form two of the major routes out of the town. Tellingly, this has nothing to do with serpents, but is a corruption of 'Sake', the family who owned the land. Visitors to Trent Park near Cockfosters might pass along another Snakes Lane, though I'm not sure of its etymology. Beyond that, London seems to have no place names with serpentine origins... with the exception of the Serpentine itself.

So, developers and councils, how about giving your new housing estates a few snakey road names? Anaconda Avenue has a nice ring to it. Or how about Python Parkway, Cobra Court or Mamba Mews? Fangs for your consideration.