Check out the crazy Tudor facade of the Liberty shop!
I love the front of the Cloth House shop - very linen-ey and Japanese-craft-book-esque :)
I would have loved to take photos of/in all of the places, but I felt too guilty. I managed to sneak in one photo of a wall of beautiful rolls of felt in The Cloth House before noticing the security camera!
Mmm, so much beautiful wool felt.
The Orla Keily shop was gorgeous, but I felt uncomfortable just walking through it, let alone taking a photo! The shop assistant followed me around the store with a hawk eye ;)
Something is stressing me out quite a bit at the moment - where to go for our last week here before we're scheduled to fly home. We realised too late that it's the Easter weekend when our acommodation expires, and as a result flights and everything are crazy expensive. Any suggestions of where we could go/stay in Europe/UK that's not going to cost the earth?
36 comments:
You should be able to take a trip to Edinburgh fairly cheaply if you book the train a few days in advance. I think you'd enjoy some of the quirkier shops on the Grassmarket (not to mention the pubs!), plus most of the tourist attractions are in the city centre so you never have more than a 10 minute walk between them.
You could go to Cornwall... a little windy perhaps at the moment but it's absolutely beautiful, and you can't knock the seaside ;)
I would suggest Amsterdam, and The Netherlands. See how much flights are with BMI...
http://www.flybmi.com/bmi/en-gb/index.aspx
And you can find plenty of places to stay, one is mentioned on my blog from yesterday, as we head off on Thursday for 4 nights.
http://kandpreadme.blogspot.com/
If you still have time you must go to the Designers Guild store on the Kings Road in Chelsea.
Then try the Lake District, Scotland or even Dublin. Going to Dublin on the ferry is quite cheap I think.
or, stay in england. the southern coast is so lovely and very cheap to get to from london. i highly recommend brighton. bath is also fun... have fun with where ever you go and whatever you do!
Lisbon! Lovely old city, gorgeous weather and nice people!
You are making me wish I was back in London. If only I could jump on a flight and meet you on Friday
*jealous* i want to cry i'm so jealous. train to paris, edinburgh, dublin, lake district. if it was me i would definitely go to paris - can you find any hostels there?
I've been finding it much easier to take photos in smart shops recently.
When I've seen something really gorgeous - such as this plate in Selfridges - I ask the shop assistant for the maker's card or leaflet. They usually say they don't have one and so I ask if I may take some photos instead. They always readily agree.
So, it's worth asking permission if ya wanna take pics.
Why not stay local, but get out of London for a break or for a change of scenery?
Here's a suggestion: Herstmonceux Castle (http://www.herstmonceux-castle.com/)
To get there from London, go to Victoria tube station and buy a ticket to Polegate. Once you reach Polegate, hire a taxi and ask for a ride to Herstmonceux Castle. The folks around there are familiar with this Castle because of the Castle being a school for international university students (including myself a few years ago).
Oh darn darn darn. I just visited the website for this castle and it's not open until April 12th. Darn it.
It's really worth your visit if you want to stay at a rural location for its rural setting, quietness, Castle, the grounds, the trails, and etc. But, do not stay for the accomodations as they're as basic as student dorms, one of which I stayed at a few years ago.
Other ideas include Brighton, Bath, Bristol (which is close to Bath), Liverpool/Manchester/Chester (all of which are close to each other), Cardiff, the Lake District (great for its natural beauty), Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds (a mini London; great for shoppers), Cornwall, etc. I wouldn't bother with York as I didn't find it to be anything but a town full of old history. Although I haven't been there, you could try to visit a few communities in Kent (in the southeast of London).
Don't think that planes are the only option. Consider trains, buses, or even renting cars.
Have fun!
czech republic?
not sure if the flights are expensive, but everything is cheap once you get there.
It sounds like you want somewhere outside the UK so..... In my experience, Portugal and the Czech Republic both seemed cheaper for Aussies after travelling in England, though I guess flights might be the issue because of Easter. Ditto re. the Baltic states, which I really enjoyed when I was in Europe. Most of Scandinavia, unfortunately, is just as expensive, if not more, than the UK. Paris and Rome are fabulous but probably only a tiny bit cheaper too. As someone else said, if flight are cheapish to Amsterdam, it's great.
I'm sure some of the Dutch bloggers would love to meet you, have coffee, show you crafty shops etc.
good luck!
Hi there, sorry I don't have any accommodation suggestions - just want to say how jealous I am of your trip to london! = ) I was there in 1998 and how I miss the shops!!!! I am very envious, ENJOY! Oh and I am coming to visit Australia (first time) in July - really looking forward to it! Good luck with getting a good find for the last week!
ps - I don't know about costs but Bath is really nice and so is Stratford-upon-Avon. Really enjoyed those and York is also great - such an amazing little town!
Ooh, you lucky thing. Sounds like you're having a great time. My vote's on Amsterdam for your last week, btw.
Visit Cardiff in Wales - very cool and nicely different from London.
I envy you, I used to live in England. I miss it. I wish I could go to London. Your blog is very nice, I love everything you've made. So inspiring!
PS: Check out the Sir John Sloane museum. My favourite museum in London. It's a home, so even a non-museum person will enjoy it. He was an architect and a mad collector.
I live about an hour from London and was down there yesterday for work. However I've never been to any of those shops- I must remedy this situation soon!
wow i'm jealous! hope you're having lots of fun :)
xx
firstly, just to clarify I am not stalking you (although i do feel a bit like I am)
Secondly, have a look at this website:
travelzoo.co.uk
They have lots of last minute trips to UK/Europe and many are bargain prices.
If you decide to stay in the UK, you could hire car, and just drive the south coast for a week (Brighton, Bath, Bristol, Devon and Cornwall - all lovely places)
Monda
x
I've spent a bit of time here and there in Cork City, Ireland over the years. It's south of Dublin, and not nearly as pricey, but has a wonderful downtown with great restaurants and shops and the most lovely accents on the friendly people!
How about Bristol? - very easy access from London, and there's a city guide thats just been put on on designspongeonline.com today!
I would have to say Lisbon.It is great to be here, lots of inspiration...i am loving it!
jealous! I love orla kiely. hope you got a chance to snag some goodies for yourself.
by the way, i received the bulokku in the mail this week -- thanks so much! even more gorgeous in real life. i'll send a pic of the final product when it's finished ;)
Well, I just asked my husband and he said it's all right if you come and stay with us for a while. It's a couple of hours bus drive from Helsinki-Vantaa airport to Turku :)
I'm drooling over that wool felt. It looks heavenly. Thanks for sharing the photo.
I'd fly to anywhere in Italy. You can live well on panini and gelato without spending a fortune. Trains are a good way to get around and avoid car hire. Have fun.
I second edinburgh! we had a lovely time up there for easter a few years ago just after we got married! we stayed in a super trendy hotel and there were lots of easter rates on and ours included dinner and breakie! cute shops, great castle, lots of cute pubs and trendy restaurants! we really loved it!
thanks for the photos of london, makes me misty eyed..till I remember catching the tube twice a day!
BRIGHTON IS AMAZING YOU WILL LOVE IT YOU MUST GO
Holland, stay in Amsterdam or Rotterdam, great shops, not soexpensive as London.... or Paris...
Try having a look on lastminute.com for cheap breaks.
When I went to England last summer, I really enjoyed my stay in Bath. The Travelodge was soooo affordable (the best place I stayed in the whole 10 days!), and they have a really nice natural hot springs spa called Thermae. It was great for relaxing after days of train riding and sightseeing!
I agree with jude. Come to Edinburgh!
Come to Canterbury! Its awesome! and only an hour and a half from london! Its purdy and has awesome pubs! :P
Could go to Staines - LOL ali G stylee. (joke - dont go there!)
Where ever you decide to go....do not travel out the day before Easter and please buy the tickets ASAP! Buying tickets and traveling the day before Easter weekend can be quite difficult as so many people leave any city on such a holiday. Think of Thanksgiving here. Overnight train out of Paris to Nice on Easter weekend was the WORST train ride I ever took. Too crazy to even go into detail. Nice was amazing once we arrived and worth the "adventure".
Hi,
what a pitty, I left London last wednesday, otherwise I could have met you.
If you want to stay in GB gu somewhere to the country-site. But don´t you just gu to any travel-agency and ask, which destination they have for low-budget? Sometimes they have great last-minute-offers.
If you´re looking for better weather then go to spain, portugal,... - or have you evenr been in marokko or tunesia?
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