Very rarely do we stay in London on a Bank Holiday weekend. But for this one, we decided to pack a picnic and head to Primrose Hill, London, given we only just came back from Seville (blog post to come). Fortunately, we’ve been granted nice and summery weather – I am pretending the brief rainfall yesterday afternoon didn’t happen!
Summer is definitely upon us. After so many months of cold, wet wintery blues, everyone is hitting the outdoors and parks at the first sight of sunshine. There is just something about the London buzz when the sun is out… it’s like being released from the prison of our own home. That feeling of freedom! Parks are filled with picnic rugs, people chatting away with friends, kids playing with other kids and even dogs wagging their tails rigorously waiting for someone to throw them the ball.
Having a picnic has become one of my favourite pastime activities since moving to London. I know, so British!! This weekend, the husband and I and our friend G decided to make our way to Primrose Hill to soak up some vitamin D. Evidently so did the rest of London! 🙂
Primrose Hill, London is one of my favourite parks in London. Once you trek up to the top of the hill, you are greeted with an amazing view of the London skyline. You can see all the famous buildings from here. We can see the Shard, the Walkie-Talkie, the Cheesegrater, the Gherkin and the list goes on. By the way, don’t you just love the naming conventions? They do have their official names, but these are so much cooler! There are no other parks with this kind of view. So it is also a tourist hotspot. The husband and I have trekked up to the hill many times before since we used to live around the corner from here. But I have to say the view doesn’t get old at all. Every time, I still stand here staring out into the horizon in awe whilst my mind and thoughts run wild. Oh, I miss this place!
It is a bit of a hike up the hill but the view is totally worth it. We found a spot for us to park ourselves (one with a view of course) and made ourselves comfortable. I have to say, even though it is a tourist hotspot, it is never overly crowded. Plenty of spaces between us. So it is super nice and chilled.
Because it was last minute decision, we didn’t have time to prepare anything fancy. So we literally just picked up some antipasto platters and olives from Waitrose and my childhood favourite, Tiny Teddy from Australia. (Sorry for the crude image. Note to self: I must invest in a nice picnic basket set so I have pretty pictures to post!) G made the most amazing savoury scones I’ve had in a long time. It was delicious!! Perfect when pairing with cured meats… the next big thing, is scao (scones + bao). Yes, you heard it here first!
We stayed like this for the rest of the afternoon… until the clouds took over and it was starting to get cold. So ALWAYS carry a jacket or cardigan with you regardless of the temperature. As you don’t know when the weather turns. Moody London!
There are a number of eateries, cafes and pubs around, particularly if you head towards Belsize Park. Our favourites are The Washington pub on England’s Lane and Ginger & White cafe, they serve the best coffees with an all-day breakfast menu. But we didn’t have time to venture down on this occasion so we hopped over to the Primrose Eatery instead. As we were so full from the picnic we just settled for some tea/coffee. But people were having pizza next to us and they smelt so good!! Will definitely make a trip back for their pizzas.
What did you get up to over the weekend? What is your favourite park for a picnic?
Thanks for reading.
… by J
It was a beautiful afternoon indeed. How did we miss primrose hill, it was everything we remembered, the hill itself, the grass, the view and everything else.