Okay, here's the thing. I've never been to London, or England for that matter, but my story has the necessity of taking place there for two reasons: First, as it deals with old legends and mythology, I have to cross the United States from the equation and second, other European places will be explored throughout the plot. Now, to jump over this obstacle I'm thinking of creating a fictional city somewhere in East Sussex or Kent, which are located in the southeastern coast, tentatively named Dunport. This is YA fiction, in the vein of Harry Potter and Riordan's work (Percy Jackson, Krane Chronicles, etc.). I've never seen anyone do this before, preferring places like New York or Chicago for this kinda thing. Is it a no-no or could it be effectively done? Waiting for your answers. Pd: I'm practically set to start writing the novel, so this type of quips are thrice annoying. Seriously, even the smallest of details are giving me a headache. Thanks in advance!
Creating a fictional place in the UK might give you even more problems if you unfamiliar with the reasons for the street layouts, names, architecture that have shaped British towns and cities over the centuries. Using a well known city such as London or Manchester is that a wealth of information is available about them all the way down to their sewers. Most of it is available for free on the Internet.
Thanks for the replies! Sure I could use Google Street View, but... I don't know, my experiences traveling tell me you can't feel the city from your computer screen, if you know what I mean. I know fictional London very well, especially the Victorian one (through the works of Dickens, Conan Doyle and the like), and I've read several books on the subject, so I guess that will have to suffice... And Bryan Romer, you've got a very valid point there. Thankfully, history buff as I am I actually am familiar with the layouts, names and architecture. Mind you, I'm not an expert on the topic, but seeing as my story is situated in the 'magical' parts of town, the real places kind of fade into the background. You've been very helpful.
