London is a city that’s easy to fall in love with — all it takes is one ride on a double decker bus, one walk around the Royal Botanical Garden, or one visit to Big Ben. Then, you’ll always want to have a little piece of London with you. That’s why we created our special collection devoted to London this season — one of the cities we love most.
But since we’re not exactly locals, we talked to one of our favorite Londoners — stylist Lucy Gough — to learn more about the best places to visit in this amazing city. Keep reading for Lucy’s London City Guide, below.
What do you think makes your city different from any other?
London is like nowhere else on the planet. It is full of incredible history and architecture — both traditional and modern. It is full of all sorts of people from all over the world, and people are mostly very tolerant of each other — which is one of the reasons why so many creative projects start here. There is inspiration around every corner, with free museums and galleries all over the city. Not to mention the acres of green space and all the entertainment! There is theatre, opera ballet, musicals and gigs every day and night of the week. One can never tire of London, if you ask me!
Why did you decide to live where you live? What made you fall in love with your city?
I moved to London 5 1/2 years ago because I met my English parter in Sydney, Australia (where I am originally from), so I sold everything I owned and moved over on a one way ticket! I also knew that I wanted to be an Interior Stylist and I thought London would be a good place to start a new creative career.
Favorites:
Lunch spot: Gabriel’s Wharf on the Southbank. While you relax and have some lunch, you can see St Paul’s Cathedral across the river — one of my favourite buildings in London, ever since I saw it in Mary Poppins as a child!
Place for a girl’s night out: I like to meet friends at the BFI on the Southbank (you can tell I live South of the river!). We will have dinner in the restaurant and then go and see a film and then have drinks at the bar.
Local date night: We live in Streatham in South-West London so we will either go to Wholemeal — a small vegan restaurant around the corner that serves consistently amazing “home cooked” style dishes. We might also go down to the new Brixton Village where you can find any cuisine imaginable under one roof. It is always busy and has been amazing for the local economy. It’s worth going even if you’re not local — people travel far and wide to visit the village!
Place to think and wander: One of the things I love most about London is that you don’t have to own a car. Public transport is brilliant (contrary to what a lot of people think), but most of all, you can walk to most places in central London. It’s wonderful to walk through all the back streets and discover hidden gems that you wouldn’t see if you were stuck on the tube. My favourite place to walk however would have to be The Rookery in Streatham. I can walk there from my house and I call it my secret garden. It looks like the garden in the film with an array of incredible plants and flowers, and lovely places to sit and have a coffee from the local coffee shop on the common.
Secret about your city: London is greener than you think! It’s not just cars, busses and cobblestones. London is the greenest city of its size in the world. Green space covers almost 40 per cent of greater London — 173 square km in total!
Don’t forget to visit stylist Lucy Gough‘s fantastic blog to learn more about her adventures in London.
