Everyday Exploring – Exploring London’s Neighbourhoods Like a Local

Everyday exploring – exploring neighbourhoods like a local to get an insight into the everyday life of the local residents, and really getting a feel for the rhythm of a place – can be as satisfying as seeing a city’s major sights. Exploring London’s neighbourhoods is a treat – as long as you have good weather! Here’s how we like to explore London like a local.

Hanging out in ordinary local neighbourhoods might not suit every traveller, especially first-time visitors intent on ticking off sights and monuments, but for us, experiencing places like the locals is the best way to experience a place, and an important part of what our Grantourismo project is all about.

As we’d been to London a few times before we flew in last Monday for our Grantourismo launch party, we were excited about staying out of central London and away from the hoards of tourists and settling into our HomeAway rental apartment on the south side of the Thames.

The location near Battersea and Clapham was ideal for us, giving us an insight into the bustle of daily life in the inner-city suburbs while providing us with access on foot and by public transport to London’s better-known and more central areas.

Everyday Exploring – Exploring London’s Neighbourhoods Like a Local

From our apartment rental in Putney we set out each day to explore everyday London like the locals do, on foot and by bus. Here’s how we spent our time exploring London during our stay.

Exploring Our Neighbourhood On Foot

A ten-minute walk southeast from our home away from home in London took us to bustling Clapham Junction, a busy transport hub with some good old-fashioned British pubs, an excellent Waitrose supermarket, a Whole Foods and a Debenhams department store in a gorgeous old building.

The terraced brick houses in the side streets reminded us of British television series from the 1970s that we’d watched in Australia as kids – and our own inner-city suburbs in Sydney that foolishly followed the architectural style of the motherland of the colonisers, despite the weather being vastly different. The architecture of Spain or Mexico would have been far more suitable.

A short amble in a northeast direction took us to Battersea Reach with some busy little cafes, neighbourhood restaurants, and shops (including the famous Cake Boy), and further along, on the High Street, antique shops and art galleries, and beyond that, leafy Battersea Park.

Exploring London On Foot with a Waterside Walk Along the Thames River

A three-minute stroll from our apartment and we’re at a lovely waterside promenade skirting the Thames that gets busy with joggers, walkers, mothers with prams, and commuters striding to and from work, at all times of the day and night – despite the weather hovering around the zero mark most days!

What we’ve loved about the path is that it takes us by everything from sleek, chic, expensive, glass-fronted apartments to more modest brick council housing estates, providing a brilliant insight into how Londoners from all walks of life live – proving that walking really is the best means of exploring London.

We began what would become our favourite Thames River waterside walk on a moody day after lunch at Roast and shopping at Borough Market. We slowly strolled ‘home’ via the Millennium Bridge, the Tate Modern, the South Bank Centre, the London Eye, (taking in Westminster across the river), and (much, much later) to Battersea Park.

The walk provided a wonderful combination of local experiences and London’s must-do sights, if we were so inclined. Although we obviously weren’t on this trip, dedicated as it is to slow, local and experiential travel. Plus we had visited London’s star attractions and museums on previous trips.

Having said that, if it’s your first time in London you should definitely take time to visit The Tate Modern and take in the spectacular views of the city from the London Eye. Also get on The Thames itself to take in the river and waterfront by boat on a London dinner cruise.

Exploring London By Local Bus

The 170 bus to Victoria Station stopped virtually on our doorstep and was crammed with commuters. Bewilderingly, there wasn’t a single tourist aboard that bus or any of the buses we took.

The single-storey red bus (no double-deckers do this run) provides easy access to Victoria Station in just 15 to 30 minutes depending on traffic, and then on to London’s most popular neighbourhoods and major sights, including Soho, Covent Garden, Bloomsbury, and The City via the London Underground.

More compelling for food lovers and shoppers are the posh suburbs on the way that you can  explore on the 170 route including Chelsea, Kensington and Knightsbridge, and a little further afield, Mayfair and Marylebone, where we began our culinary-themed walk with Context.

Our Tips for Exploring London Like a Local

• Buy an e-sim or a pre-paid SIM card for your mobile phone on arrival (they’re sold everywhere from pharmacies to local supermarkets) for making restaurant reservations and calling cabs. We used a T-mobile SIM, which was cheap and reliable.
• Buy an Oyster card as soon as you arrive in London and if you’re going to be here for a week whack £20 on it — it can be used on the bus and tube and will save you loads of time queuing for tickets at train stations
• Pick up a handy little Tube Map at the same time and figure out where your nearest station is — navigating the underground can be overwhelming for first-timers to London but becomes easier the more you do it; try to avoid peak hour travel when it’s uncomfortably crowded
• Identify the nearest bus stop to your holiday rental then identify the best bus routes.
• Note the number of a mini-cab company and call them if you’re running late for a restaurant — although they may not all have ‘the knowledge’ of a black cab, they’re significantly cheaper and will quote a price on the phone.