47. Passing Alley Where? We're back in Clerkenwell to probe this connector of St John Street and St John's Lane. What? Oh what japery the denizens of Clerkenwell must have enjoyed around this one over the centuries. Passing Alley is only one vowel shift from accuracy, as attested by a number of fruity puddles on our visit. Alternatively, as shown in the picture, a little obfuscation of the sign re-enforces our back passage innuendo. Ooo,......

44. Man In Moon Passage Where? Diddy dogleg allowing congress between Regent Street and Piccadilly via Vine and Swallow Streets. What? Man In Moon Passage is surely one of the more whimsical names we've encountered. What is a Moon Passage, and why is there a man in it? Probably best not to ask. The short, boomerang-shaped cutting offers two contrasting egressions. The northern end debouches onto busy Regent Street, beside the delightful Caffé Concerto, whose......

42. St John's Path Where? Deeply atmospheric jitty linking Britton Street with St John's Square, Clerkenwell. What? Someone requested this one a few weeks back. Surely some mistake, thought we. St John's Path is the Platonic ideal of backpassagery. We couldn't have missed such an instantiation, could we? Well, by Thackerey's scruttocks we did. So we decided to stop titting about with silly long words that we don't fully understand and go do some probing.......

41. Red Cross Passage Where? Deep in the heart of Borough, a little south of Union Street, this passage links Red Cross Gardens to Ayre Street. What? The alleyway runs alongside a series of model dwelling cottages designed to improve the lot of local residents. The cottages were built by uber-reformer Octavia Hill in 1887, who noted that much of Victorian Southwark was given to crime, pollution and poverty. Her solution was to build an......

40. Regent Quarter, King's Cross Where? Converted factories and warehouses east of King's Cross station, tucked inside the Islington boundary on yonder side of York Way. What? Regent Quarter is a quaint huddle of 19th century industrial buildings, sandblasted and renewed into a community of small businesses and restaurants. Gone are the prostitution and drug dealing of the 1980s in favour of cosy courtyards where office workers catch the lunchtime rays. Names such as Laundry......

39. Dansey Place Where? Picturebook shabby access road north of Gerrard Street and south of Shaftesbury Avenue. What? Dansey Place today is a foetid passage, where few would care to linger. You have no business to be down here unless you (a) collect discarded duck flesh and yellowing brassica, (b) appreciate the brool of extractor fans, or (c) you're researching a column about back passages for a well-known London web site. Between the wars, however,......

And that's 'Back' in more ways than one. Long-time readers may remember our (n)ever-popular journeys through the capital's snickleways and ginnels. Each week, we'd explore a fresh, and sometimes not so fresh, shortcut through the busy thoroughfares of London. Well, thanks to some words of encouragement in our recent readers' survey, the alleyways have returned. So pinch your nose, check that your wallet's secure, and follow us into Londonist's back passage. 37. Charing Cross highwalk......