AD – This post is in collaboration with Hotels.com, the spending money was gifted by Hotels.com, but all views are my own.
For just about my whole life I’ve lived a 20 minute train journey away from central London, something I feel so incredibly lucky about. I’m in London several times a week right now and yet I often feel like I’ve seen hardly any of it, especially some of the more touristy spots that I’ve avoided for all of my adult life. I find myself passing through places on my way to a theatre or a meeting, so it felt like it was time I did some proper exploring and took a day to just see what myself and my girlfriend Jemma could find and Covent Garden felt like the perfect place to do just that. It’s an area I’ve always thought I knew quite well when in fact, there are so many spots and hidden corners that I didn’t even know existed!
Now if you’re going to explore London properly then I suggest a little weekend break so you have a base to head back to for a rest (or if the wonderful British weather decides to turn) and there are certainly plenty of Covent Garden Hotels to choose from! I think it’s such a central place to stay with the West End, Oxford Street, Trafalgar Square and a bunch of museums to explore nearby, as well as it being well connected to other parts of London. As for transport of course you have the underground but I’d actually recommend London buses, especially if you’re disabled like me, as it means you get to see more of London rather than just the inside of a tunnel! You never know what you might come across by doing this.
If you’re anything like me food will play a central part in your day and we are certainly spoilt for choice in London. Being a wheelchair user restricts my options slightly and means some of the cute independent places are off limits but I recently came across the most beautiful and tucked away Bill’s in Covent Garden. It’s hidden away from the busy streets, making it a tiny piece of quiet heaven compared to the busy environment that London can often be. You can find this particular Bill’s in St Martin’s Courtyard and it’s the ideal brunch spot to start your day off. I can personally recommend either the Egg’s Benedict or the Smashed Avocado, Feta and Poached Egg’s, I’ve eaten both far too often recently but they are just so tasty!
Once we’d fuelled up we headed off to start our day, with Neal’s Yard being top of our list. I’ve seen photos of this stunning corner of London across social media over the years but I’ve never got around to visiting until recently and it was certainly worth the hunt to find it. I’ll admit I couldn’t get into any of the shops in the little courtyard but the buildings are incredible, I just love these kinds of places which make you forget you’re in one of the busiest parts of central London.
Something London, but particularly Covent Garden, are really good for are pop up’s! You’ll find all sorts of pop’s up if you simply stroll around the area, right now there is even a Heinz beans one near Leicester Square station so we really do get it all! One that I had been spending all Summer trying to visit though is the Disney West End pop up, featuring costumes from The Lion King, interactive games and some photo opportunities. Frozen The Musical arrives in London next year and we couldn’t resist having our photo taken in the Frozen photo booth area. Unfortunately I think this particular pop up has closed now but as I say, keep an eye out in the area because you really never know what you might find.
Continuing on the stagey theme, if you’re in the Covent Garden area then the West End is just a few minutes walk away from you and it really would be rude not to pencil a show into your day! I’d really recommend seeing Six The Musical, it’s just down the road from Covent Garden tube station and it’s only 75 minutes long with performances on Saturday’s and Sunday’s. It’s the perfect show if you want to get some food and do some exploring during your day as well. The show itself is like The Spice Girls meets musical theatre meets Henry VIII’s six wives!
Of course it’s not a day in Covent Garden without heading to the famous market. Not only is there the market itself but there’s also such a wide range of shops and places to eat there. The queue was huge so we didn’t get any ourselves but if you fancy a mid-afternoon snack head to Ben’s cookies for a gorgeously melty cookie! We went in search of a different sweet treat however and came across Milk Train where we had what was honestly the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted. You can add different toppings or buy specially made ones and you can even add candy floss to them, both tasty and ideal for an Instagram photo. It was a much needed afternoon energy boost and I know for sure we’ll be heading back there again in the future.
By this point we were both in need of a rest so we headed to one of our favourite cafe’s, taking a detour via a colourful Instagram spot first. If you’ve not visited yet you must head to Long Acre Street to find the rainbow tunnel. I’m all for being a cliche and going to get snapped there because it really does make for some cute photos. We even saw a dog having a mini photoshoot in it!
Whether or not you’re seeing a show during your day I think if you are at all a theatre fan you must head to The Theatre Cafe on St Martin’s Lane! They are a lovely little cafe where you can get drinks in cups covered in your favourite shows, as well as the yummiest cakes, all with constant musical theatre songs playing in the background. You can even add your own favourites to the playlist and they also have shows come in to do live performances so it’s always worth popping your head in to see what’s going on. Their walls are also covered in everything stagey, from show’s props to signs and fun places to take your photo. For example, if you head to their toilet you’ll find the perfect selfie taking mirror.
As for shopping, I’m sure many of us will remember that there used to be a LUSH in Covent Garden and it was often the highlight of my trips there when I was younger. Unfortunately it’s not there anymore but you can find LUSH Oxford Street just a short walk away, they house the biggest variety of products I’ve seen in a LUSH store as well as offering the opportunity to try out hair treatments and there is of course the LUSH spa. They also offer so many exclusive products and it’s my go to for some of my favourite lesser known offerings that my local shop don’t do, like the shower bombs! You could honestly spend well over an hour in there. We treated ourselves to a few things to recreate our own relaxing experience at home and by then it was time to call it a day!
I have to say this has really encouraged me to pencil in more days like this, whenever I’m in London I’m always on a schedule and I’m often seeing a show which means I’ve not seen anywhere near as much of the city as I believed I had. I’d forgotten how nice it is to just explore an area without a plan to see what you come across!
Leave a Reply