Question About Stairways In Europe

[Whirlwind]

This question might only apply to Brits, I am not sure what people do in other European countries regarding driving. Here goes.

In America we drive on the right side of the road, in UK it is the left. Now suppose you are in a stadium and you want to walk down or up the stairway to your seat. In USA we automatically take the right side of the stairway...I suppose that is due to the way we drive -- on the right side. Walking on a sidewalk we also instinctively take to the right side and let others going in the opposite direction take the left.

My question: in the UK, do you walk on the left side of the stairway. Walk on the left side of a walkway?

[Pol]

Basically yes I would say , there isn't any unspoken rules tho , as for the pavement it depends what side of the road your walking most people walk on the inside nearest the buildings more shelter I think  especially with our weather and your further away from road. If your walking on a country road with no pavement u walk towards on coming traffic  - common sense tho .

[Whirlwind]

Wow. So going up or down a stairway, you stick to the left side. Has to be because of driving.
We use the right side here. Driving, stairways, walkways...

[Tony S]

I instinctively walk on the left side up a staircase, or when walking towards people coming the other way on the pavement (sidewalk). However, when going up escalators here in the UK, the convention seems to be to stand on the right side, allowing people who want to go up quicker to "overtake" on the left, for reasons I've never quite understood, as that is the opposite of what we do on the roads when driving.

[Master Ray]

I instinctively walk on the left side up a staircase, or when walking towards people coming the other way on the pavement (sidewalk). However, when going up escalators here in the UK, the convention seems to be to stand on the right side, allowing people who want to go up quicker to "overtake" on the left, for reasons I've never quite understood, as that is the opposite of what we do on the roads when driving.

Ha, Tony,you're absolutely right about that!  Double that if you're on the London Underground (seriously, you'll get some proper dirty looks if you stand still on the left!)  I have no idea why that is, especially for the reason you mentioned about which side of the road we drive!  It just seems to be some kind of hive mentality, bred into us since birth... 

[lotus]

Perhaps history helps ...
Women walk on the right side of a sidewalk - nearer to the houses, and men on their left side, nearer to the street and all the dirt and danger (horses, cars) from there

[Whirlwind]

Perhaps history helps ...
Women walk on the right side of a sidewalk - nearer to the houses, and men on their left side, nearer to the street and all the dirt and danger (horses, cars) from there

That makes absolutely no sense.

How can one walk on the side nearer the houses and call it the right side? OK, if one is walking southward on the block to visit your neighbor, houses on your right, then you are walking on the right side. But then when you want to walk back home - head northward - to keep the houses near to you and to keep away from the street, one would have to walk on the left side of the walkway.

"Nearer to the houses" could be right or left side of the walkway.