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Visiting London in May means spring flowers, sunshine, and tea in outdoor cafes. Or, if you’re me, it means very windy, gray days. I recently re-visited London for five days in the spring for work and got off the beaten (canal tow) path to find some unusual things to do in London.
LONDON, ENGLAND
Length of stay:
5 nights
Where I stayed in London in May:
The Montcalm East Hotel, a Marriott hotel in Shoreditch/Hackney. I picked this hotel because of its proximity to both my office and the customer’s office, an easy 20 minute walk or 10 minute bus ride away. It is also a 5 minute walk to the Northern Line Old Street station.
My plane landed at 7am, so I was at the hotel by 8:30am. They let me work out in the fitness center and freshen up in the spa locker/changing rooms. When I arrived back later in the afternoon, my bags were waiting for me in my hotel room.
I have Platinum status at Marriott, so I was upgraded to a Sky Room, on floor 16. I’m not sure these are that much different than a standard hotel room, except the view is slightly better. My room had a queen sized bed, fridge, coffee maker and tea kettle, and rain shower. The lights were all automatic and at one point I magically turned them off and had to have the front desk help me turn them back on.
With my status, breakfast was included and I was very impressed by the large spread. The Montcalm East had the full English, of course, plus cereal, yogurt, veggie sticks, toast, oatmeal, meats, cheeses, pastries, etc. You could order an omelet or avocado toast too.
Location wise, the hotel worked for me because it was close to our offices. It says the hotel is Shoreditch, but it was actually Hackney. I walked 15 minutes to proper Shoreditch one night for dinner. Near the hotel is a Pret, Sainsburys, several chain food places, at least two pubs, and several cafes.
Why I visited London in Spring (again):
Readers will remember I visited London last year for work, and I visited again for work this year. I had customer meetings Wednesday-Friday, so I flew in a day early and left a day late for this trip.
Last year I stayed in three different hotels for two nights each, which was exhausting. This year I stayed five nights in the same place, but felt like I had less time to myself. It really felt like I could have been in any big city. I did not have that build up for this trip, since it was booked for work relatively last minute.
Lowlights of London:
The weather in London during May and early June was not as nice as I had expected. Living in Seattle, I’m used to 60 degree gray days, which is what we had in London for the most part. The gray, windy days still brought me down, although I missed most of the rain.
My other lowlight is going slightly the wrong way on the tube Saturday night and it taking three times as long to get home because so many people were on the tube. It was the night of the UEFA finals, and the Elizabeth line was closed, so the station was absolutely packed. My bus never came, so I walked from Liverpool Street station back to my hotel. It was crazy out!
What I did in London in May:
–Took the Greater Anglia train up to Broxbourne Station in the Lee Valley to rent a bike at Lee Valley Canoe and Cycle. I rode around the Lee Valley park towpaths for two hours. This was a big time commitment to train up and ride around, but I really wanted to get out of the city for a bit. Absolutely worth it to find such a hidden gem literally off the beaten path near London.
–Took the bus for transport – I am very comfortable taking the Underground around London, and have taken the bus once from Windsor. It’s SO EASY to take it now because you can tap to pay with Apple Wallet or Google Pay. I took it to and from the office, the theatre, the train station, etc. Overall I only took three cabs in London – one from the train station to my hotel when I landed, one with a coworker when the tube would have been much faster, and to the airport at 5am.
–Saw Guys and Dolls at the Bridge Theatre. I bought tickets last minute via Evening Standard, as they had a Spring sale on. My ticket was £55.00 in row B, right under the orchestra. Guys and Dolls is an award winning production of the classic musical where you can stand around the stage to be a part of an immersive experience. Those tickets were sold out, plus my feet hurt. However, I would absolutely do that in the future! The performer who played Nicely Nicely was sincerely one of the best I’ve ever seen. He brought down the house repeatedly!
-Near the Bridge Theatre, the neighborhood of London City is doing a Summer on the River popup with live music, a bar, cafe seating, and more with views over the Thames, Tower Bridge, and the Tower. I got an Aperol Spritz and was able to walk around to enjoy the sights, including some fan stuff for the UEFA game.
–Walked the canal towpath in Hackney. Before my trip, I made a Google Maps list of places I needed to go to (offices, etc). Zooming in, I saw a Towpath Garden listing. As it turns out, there is a path for miles along that canal filled with canal boats, flowers, cafes and more! I had a lovely, peaceful walk along the canal one morning. I saw several good bois and girls, lots of runners, ducks, and a cat! Also several cyclists, although the path was probably too narrow for that.
–Went to Afternoon Tea at Ham Yard – my first afternoon tea! This was a work “lunch” at a restaurant suggested by our customer. The setting was delightful, and we had but did not need reservations for a weekday afternoon. Tea included tea, two scones, three finger sandwiches, and four sweets each for £45.00. I added a glass of bubbles for £12 more. The food was delicious and surprisingly a lot – I was still full for dinner. My favorite part were the dishes, designed by the owner and designer of Ham Yard. She has a design studio at the hotel as well!
–Dinner at Dishoom – it’s so good.
–Dinner at Holborn and Pie Room, which was not so good.
–Visited the National Gallery art museum. I meant to visit the National Portrait Gallery but did not pay attention to the googles. It was very crowded, since it was right next to a fan activation for the UEFA game. The audio tour was also subpar. I wish I had been able to take a guided tour through the museum to really understand the art. They did have several Turners, which is my favorite artist.
What I didn’t do in London:
–Visit the Churchill War Rooms. A coworker visited and raved about it, but I just did not have time. I ended up working almost all day Friday, so I did not have time for the museum after all.
–Visit any rotating cheese shop or secret bookstore or anything else my sister Hi Friends It’s Julia has sent me from TikTok. I’ll make a highlight on Instagram of all the Reels she’s sent me.
–Visit the Mithraeum Space Museum or Sir John Sloane’s Museum – I asked on Threads what some different activities to do would be, and these two came up. I bookmarked them but ran out of time after working more than expected.
–Any walking tours – Threads suggested some London Walks tours, or the Rick Steves audio tour. I ended up walking SO MUCH to/from our offices that I just couldn’t do any more. In the past, I have done a Harry Potter walking tour and Jack The Ripper tour, and would have loved to do more.
–Visit the Beigel Bake Brick Lane Bakery shop – this came up so many times on IG Reels and blogs, and it was near me, but I was never in the mood for a bagel.
–Visit the Tower for my favoritest tour of all time, the Yeoman Warder guided tour of the Tower – with the crowds from the UEFA football game, Tower tickets were sold out.
What I read in London in Spring:
You know I love to read about the cities I visit, although I did not really read anything about London while I was there. I ended up finishing the fourth ACOTAR book on my trip. I have been reading a lot of books that I would describe as Regency Spinsters Solving Mysteries, and also Pride and Prejudice Extended Universe. I’ll list some fun ones below.
For my London Nonfiction titles:
For my Regency/Austen-esque books and mysteries:
Approximate trip cost for visiting London in May:
Airfare: Around $2200 on British Airways, paid for by work. I flew Economy Plus on the way over, Economy on the way back but was upgraded for free to Business!
Hotel: Montcalm East was £300 a night, my total in USD was $1900.
Transport: £47 on public transport total, including Elizabeth line from the airport and a trip to Broxbourne. I spent about £75 on two cabs, including one to the airport at the end of my trip.
Food: I was there for work, so most meals were paid for. I thought Pret a Manger was actually super affordable for lunch, under £10. Most of my drinks were £10-£12, which I also thought was a fair price given what I pay in Seattle.
Entrance fees: None, many museums in London are free and I didn’t visit any palaces or tours that cost any money.
Other fun stuff: £15 for my bike rental at Lee Valley Canoe and Cycle. £55 for my Guys and Dolls ticket.
Total: Based on my expense report, a lot!!!
A trip report is a quick summary or overview of my trip, intended to allow me to capture what I did quickly without the full formatting of an itinerary or post. Check out what other trips I’ve taken:
–Visiting Lausanne, Switzerland for the Christmas markets
–Sailing the Midcoast of Maine
-A very snowy trip to Zion National Park
