The past few summers me and my mum have headed down to London for a few days, and this year we decided to go from Monday until Saturday morning. However, Storm Floris had other ideas. Let's just say, it wasn't ideal to get an email the night before we were set off for the train station early the next morning to say that every single train from Scotland to England had been cancelled. Especially when we'd booked Moulin Rouge tickets for the first night.
But, it could have been a lot worse. At least we weren't jetting off on a proper holiday or only going for two nights. But without dwelling on the money that we've not been able to get refunded *cries*, here's what we got up to over four full days in London this summer, in no particular order.
Went to the Space NK Oxford Circus opening
I've been quite lucky that my trips down to London coincide with press days and events, and I couldn't have been more excited to get a sneak peek of the new Oxford Circus Space NK before it officially opened to the public the following day. And what a store it is!
From the PLAY section, where you can fill up one of their super handy and iconic travel bags with a rotating choice of the bestselling and most popular minis. Perfect for your travels or taking some of your favourite products on the go with you. To the incredible fragrance conveyer belt, which had me mesmerised and gave me a chance to spritz the likes of Phlur, Sol de Janeiro and Ellis Brooklyn.
That's before I even mention the Space NK exclusive Jellycat! While it's currently out of stock, it should be back in-store (and online at some stage) soon. And I would highly recommend picking one up if you're an avid Space NK shopper or love a good novelty memento. Not only is it so adorable, but it will always remind me of the great morning that I had in the store and the week itself.
Chaired a BookFest panel
As you will know, if you follow me on Instagram, I chair quite a few book and author events throughout the year, mainly in Glasgow. But I did chair a brilliant panel at last year's BookFest down at Waterstones Piccadilly. And my travel dates matched up so that I could do that again this year. While BookFest itself was pretty chaotic, to say the least, the panel was such a welcome respite from the madness downstairs and there was such a great audience.
I was able to chat with four incredible authors – Jean Menzies, Georgia Leighton, A. B. Poranek and Molly X. Chang – all about their fairy tale and myth retellings. And it's always so interesting to hear what goes into bringing these stories to life. It was also the perfect excuse to finally wear a beautiful Damson Madder dress that I'd had sitting in my wardrobe since earlier in the year.
Went to the Lapland press event
One more press event and we went from the blistering hot heat and sun outside to a winter wonderland thanks to Lapland UK. As I often work on Christmas gift guides, both as part of my freelance work and on here, it's always so fun to see what's coming out. And they had so many lovely pieces. From sweet toys and cosy pyjamas to Christmas Eve chests, blankets and tableware, it definitely got me inspired and ready for December.
We also indulged in a gorgeous hot chocolate and some festive sweet treats, too.
Walked from Camden back to our hotel via Regent's Park
I visited Regent's Park for the very first time in June, so I couldn't wait to take my mum with me. We actually took the Underground to Camden and had a wander around the shops before walking down to Regent's Park – and all the way back to Tottenham Court Road – as it was a lovely day. Our feet were cursing us though, as we ended up doing over 27,000 steps. However, it was such a nice day for it.
We were also very grateful to the person we stopped to ask if they could take a quick photo of us, as they essentially did a mini photo shoot and directed us to stand in front of a few different backgrounds. Haha.
Visited Westfield London
We weren't sure what to do on our last full day, and as my mum wasn't really in the mood for visiting a museum we thought we'd give Westfield London a go. I'd never been myself, but it was giving big American mall vibes, which my mum loved. There were so many great shops all under one roof. We spent the entire day there with Sephora, Bath & Body Works, Miniso, Uniqlo, Dunelm, Waterstones, H&M Home and TK Maxx keeping us occupied for hours.
I got a gorgeous reversible quilted jacket from TK Maxx, which I can't wait to wear in autumn and spring. And I can only hope that we'll one day get a stand alone Bath & Body Works or H&M Home up in Glasgow.
And did plenty more shopping in Covent Garden, Soho and more
That wasn't the only shopping we did. Is it really a trip to London without a visit to the Glossier Showroom or Liberty London? For me, the answer is no. The same can be said for the Foyles flagship.
I also got a few adorable things from Miniso and Artbox, after becoming obsessed with the My Melody & Kuromi series on Netflix.
Indulged in some great food
I probably sound like a broken record at this point, but I still have no idea why we don't have Shake Shack, Chipotle, or Gail's up in Scotland. Our dinner at Shake Shack was an absolute highlight. They're currently doing some limited edition Korean menu items and we can't recommend them highly enough. The Gochujang Chicken Bites in particular were incredible. And my mum couldn't stop raving about the Korean BBQ Burger.
And we even had a good wander and tried all of the samples at Borough Market. Of course, we had to take a snap of Bridget Jones' flat, too.
So, that's what we got up to in London this time.
Have you ever been to London over the summer months? If so, what are your must-dos?
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