Inspiring Locations

Everyone knows about the views of the city found from Primrose Hill in North London. These are the views of London you see from practically every Brit film ever made. But I have some alternatives for you, and in many ways I think these are better, more intimate and have more soul. Northala Fields, Northolt Northala Fields Firstly, if you’ve ever driven into London on the A40 and spotted four humps of grass near Northolt but never got out of your car, then you’re in for a treat. Northala Fields is odd, really odd, but so so cool. It’s a bit tricky to find the route into the car park from the A40 but once you’re there it’s worth the confusion. Take a stroll up one of the mounds, the route up the highest takes you round in a spiral and you don’t realise just how quickly you’re ascending or how high you are until you suddenly notice that you can no longer hear the roar of the traffic on the main road.  Striking Northala Fields view courtesy of Phil Ermiya T...

Looking for an alternative tourist location in London which even the locals barely know about? One of my favourite quirky places in the capital can be found in zone three, on top of a hill in the gorgeously green south of the city. Barely on the map in the 1850s until the incredible glass building from the Great Exhibition was moved to the area, Crystal Palace is now a funky little area with some seriously astounding views over London and out towards Surrey. However my favourite part is tucked away in a corner of the rather lovely Crystal Palace Park. Find the right spot, follow the trail and you are whisked back in time to the dawn of the dinosaurs! So here's how this happened: Around the time of the Great Exhibition fossil-mania abounded and dinosaurs were in vogue. When the Crystal Palace was moved from Earls Court after the Exhibition to its new home in South London the world’s first ‘theme park’ was created around it to entice visitors. And what could be m...