Friday 12 May 2017

Loving London - The Best of British

A London street, with title overlaidI am not very good at London. I absolutely love going and I would love to go more often, so that I get the hang of getting around a bit better, but I'm still very much a tourist when it comes to navigating. It's a great place to be, though, and I've always felt really at home there. I love the diversity, the different architecture, and I really love the people. People say London isn't friendly, but this has never been my experience. I've always wanted to write a post about my experience of London, as a visitor and, after visiting recently for the This Morning Live press event, I had the perfect opportunity. So here is everything I love about our capital city, let me know in the comments if you agree or if I've missed anything!

Being cheapskates, we spent exactly five hours travelling from Bristol to South Bank, where we had a meeting at Television Centre for our This Morning event. We are huge fans of the Megabus, as it provides opportunities to visit fascinating cities for a very small fare. After leaving the Megabus at Victoria, we decided to man-up and get the bus, instead of taking the easy option and hailing a cab. Unfortunately, London is very different to Bristol and it wasn't immediately obvious where we needed to get the bus from. Also, where are the zebra crossings? It's kind of lovely, in a way, because there's lots of opportunities for nice drivers to stop and let you cross, which is sweet, but Bristol is covered in crossings and traffic lights, so it seemed really strange to me! Anyway, a lovely lady stopped to show us where we needed to be, and after realising we weren't at all local, decided it was probably best to walk us to the actual bus stop. All the way there, on her own time. People don't come much nicer than that.

One of the things I love most about London is the diversity. There is diversity in everything, the architecture, the food and, of course, the people. I can't imagine anywhere else that has such a mix of different cultures and nationalities, yet no one looks out of place. I always feel it is a tribute to the welcoming and accepting nature of the population of London that so many different people can fit into what is essentially a pretty small space. I think Paddington Bear said it best with this, my favourite quote from the 2014 film. The essence of which was that in London, nobody is out of place, because everyone is different.

The London underground with paddington quote overlaid

What frustrates me most about the city, is that I never get to stay there long enough. There is just so much to do, from tourist attractions, such as London Zoo and The London Dungeon, to beautiful parks and gardens, Like Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. There is something for everyone and every budget. It is possible to spend quite a lot of money on some of the more well known tourist spots, but you can also do a lot of things for free, like simply viewing all the different famous bulidings, such as Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. There are also a wealth of different shopping opportunities. There's the glamour and elegance of Oxford Street and Mayfair, for splashing out or window shopping in style, but don't forget the amazing assortment of different markets, where you can buy anything you could probably imagine. Or, just wander aimlessly for hours, taking in all the colours and soaking up the atmosphere of a shopping experience that is quintessentially London. No one does a market like London and I recommend you take in at least one on your next visit, if you haven't already.

It really doesn't have to cost much to visit London, particularly if you can take advantage of the cheap fares on the Megabus, but other coach companies offer great deals at certain times of year too, so it's worth keeping an eye out. We use our Tesco clubcard vouchers to make it even cheaper, since you can double your points to buy your Megabus tickets. London gets a bad press sometimes, but I genuinely feel the people of London don't deserve it and the beauty and vibrancy of the city will never diminish. I would happily take my children every month if I could. It's so full of education opportunities and entertainment, I don't think we would ever run out of things to see!

View of London, featuring Big Ben



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16 comments

  1. I love going to London, I think I've been to central London more times since I moved than when I lived there!
    Just last week, I met up with a friend and went to a restaurant for the first time, Smith and Wollensky, I thoroughly recommend it, the staff were so friendly and attentive and then we went to see Mamma Mia, we had a great evening. Luckily for me, it's only a 90 minute train drive away which I prefer to driving, what's that old advert? Let the train take the strain?

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    1. There is nothing quite like a London show, I haven't done that in years. Would be nice to be a bit nearer, so I could go more often.

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  2. I have only ever been to London a few times, I really should visit more often. xx

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    1. I don't go that often either, but everytime I go I promise myself I will go more!

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  3. Aww Paddington bear! XD lovely post, well done. Xx

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  4. We LOVE London and try to visit as often as we can. My boys love going on the tube so much. I wish we lived closer

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    1. Me too, although I wonder if it wouldn't seem like such an adventure!

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  5. I grew up in London so I don't really visit it as a tourist destination. I've never been to places like Madame Tussand's but the kids love the museums.

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    1. The museums are amazing too! Can't believe I forgot to mention them.. might have to do an edit!

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  6. I used to go to London a lot before I had children, both for work and to stay with friends there. I've never really visited many of the tourist sites - it was more about bars, clubs and restaurants back in those days - but I'd love to take my children and visit all the famous attractions. x

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    1. They would love it, I think. There's something sort of magical about it when you're little.

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  7. We went to London last month for joes birthday, we went for the day and night and we packed in so much we needed another break when we got home lol.we visited the dungeons where I was throw-in a torture chair,(no it was not deserved ��) I throughly enjoyed it there and found it cheaper to book online before we went.We went to a comedy club which was also amazing,you can't beat a good laugh in a night out and what better way than at a comedy club.That was 2 hours of laughs for around £19 per person.we also Walked(got lost went back and forth numerous times) through Hyde park and was lucky enough to catch a marriage proposal and shuffled through Camden market. The second we got back we decided we were going to return for my birthday next month so if anyone has any tips or things we must see please let me know x

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    1. £19 is really reasonable! Everytime I go to London I always want to go back. I want to see a marriage proposal too!

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  8. Oh London is such an amazing city (but very expensive) - also love Megabus here, plus saves money which means more fun in the Capital. Hope your This Morning meeting went well

    Laura x

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  9. I think you've really captured the essence of London here - everyone fits in because it is so diverse and there is so much to do and see, on any budget. I'm a huge London fan!

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