I’ve been asked by many-a-friend where to stay while they are in jolly old London (how my mom and dad say it). Where are the best places to party? Where can I grab some delicious spotted dick? Where is this Trump so-called “war-zone”? Thankfully, none of you guys have asked that, as London is farthest thing from a war-zone and Donald Trump is a dumbass. BUT I digress. To be honest, no one has asked about spotted dick either, which is good, because…it’s not that good, and you can go without.
So here is my two-pence on where to stay while you’re over here. I’ve taken into account how close it is to the wedding venue, how close it is to cool things, and how much I know about the area.
East London (Shoreditch, Hackney, Tower Hamlets) – East London is great in terms of trends. It is easily the “hippest” place with cool hole-in-the-wall burger joints popping up and cool unique museums (The Museum of Childhood, never been, but always wanted to go!). Also very cool bars – including one with a ball pit – so there is no shortage of entertainment. The Tower of London is a place I highly recommend to see the crown jewels and hear the story of Anne Boleyn getting her head chopped off, and for food, head to Brick Lane Market.
Notes: Very gentrified. This isn’t necessarily a negative, but be prepared to see like a MILLION vegan cafes with bearded flanneled men in them with a homeless guy across the street. It’s a mixed bag, but it’s a cool place. I would stay away from some areas of North East London, but there isn’t really reason to be there anyway so you should be fine.
North London (Camden, City of London, Barking, Hammersmith) – North London is anything above the River Thames, which is the big river through London. The City of London is actually a separate area of the city, as in, the Queen has no power there (though she has no REAL power anywhere). She even has to ask permission to cross through the City of London. I love North London. Lots of things to do, it seems like nearly all the touristy things are technically North. Big Ben, the West End, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, yada yada. Not to say it’s better than South, but I would say if you’re planning to stay anywhere, North London is where you are going to end up most days.
Note: This will probably be the most expensive area of London, just because it’s by all the touristy stuff. BUT it is also closest to where the wedding will be, which is Epping. Just take the Central Line (the red one) up, up, up, train terminates in Epping. We are still figuring out how we’ll get everyone to the venue from there, standby.
West London (Richmond, Kingston, Fulham, Kensington, Hyde Park) – I know a few of my friends are looking towards Notting Hill, which is in the lovely west London area. West London is…posh. It’s green with lots of parks and cutesy tree lined drives, it’s where all the snooty English people live…and where I live so I can’t talk. I love West London. It’s easy to walk everywhere, it has great links everywhere via Hammersmith, and you are usually right along the river. Don’t get me wrong, people aren’t mean or anything, it’s very friendly and happy with lots of markets and great food. Keep your eyes out for some celebs, I’ve recently THOUGHT I saw Tom Hardy in Richmond – which is where he lives – but I wasn’t sure. I Instagram messaged him to ask, but he didn’t get back to me. Rude.
Note: Other notable celebs living West include the wonderful David Attenborough, Colin Firth, and Rick Astley (Of Rich-roll fame, NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP). But honestly it’s my favorite area of London if that means anything. Oh and gonna mention Richmond Park, which is the biggest park in London. Lot’s of wild deer that stare at you and you can get pretty close. Just…don’t let your dog off their leash.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GRSbr0EYYU
South London (Clapham, Brixton, Wandsworth, Greenwich) – Cannot fault South London in the least. Again, I live in the SW area of the city, so it’s super easy to get from one place to the other. If you are interested in the Aussies, go to Clapham, it is crawling with blokes and birds from down under. Brixton airs on the hipstery side, but not nearly as much as East London. Greenwich is amazing! So cute, seems like a little village right outside the city. Only negative is it’s slightly a bitch to get to sometimes. I won’t go through all the details of places to visit and things to do while you’re over here, but South Bank is also great for a walk to see all the fabulous landmarks of London from the river. South London features big stations like Waterloo, London Bridge, as well as The Shard and The London Eye. Whether you realize or not, you’ll be spending quite a bit of time in South London, and you won’t be mad about it.
Note: South London will be the farthest from Gaynes Park, but again, with it being only a five minute drive from Epping station on the Central Line, it won’t be too hard to get there. Central line (the red one) connects everywhere. The tube is your friend. It’s safe, fast, reliable, and easy to navigate.
Central London (Piccadilly, Leicester Square, Covent Garden, Westminster) – This isn’t exactly technically an area of London…but it is. Central London is Big Ben and Trafalgar Square, the West End, London Bridge, etc. The photos you see of London, nearly always of these areas. Incredibly close together, honestly you do NOT need to take the tube in Central London, you can walk easily from one place to another. There are signs all over the place that tell you how close different tube stations and landmarks are from five minutes away to 15 minutes away. It’s a very easy city to navigate.
So there you have it, my quick rundown of where to stay while you’re over here. I will soon be putting up a short (maybe…it might be long) list of things to do while you’re over here and tips to get around efficiently. You don’t have to do what I recommend, in fact, please get lost and find some awesome place in some corner of the city and tell me all about it, but as for my tips, I would give those a read in my next post.
As for me, still need to speak with our potential photographer and start working on the centerpieces. Also, I did want to mention that big hats are allowed and in fact encouraged.
Planning an Awesome US to UK Wedding 