People who know Central London well...

[roaringwater]

I do not know Central London well: I am from the sticks.

Recently, due to activities of DD's, I have started going more often and am quite enjoying building up a knowledge of where things are and how to get around on foot rather than being tied to the tube map.

Tomorrow, I have a whole day in Clerkenwell while DD (15) is busy doing her thing - she'll finish at 5pm and we want to grab something to eat before travelling home. Is there anywhere you'd recommend?

Thank you for any tips

Which station are you leaving from?

Loads of options round there. I love Modern Pantry but it’s maybe a bit more formal than you’re after? Polpo Smithfield also brilliant.

We need Faringdon Tube but will be going back to Paddington.

You could go to the Museum of London.

Wandering around London and discovering bits I didn't know is one of my favourite things to do.

Clerkenwell - you could visit Charterhouse and/or the church of St Bartholomew the Great. There are also some unspoiled streets to wander around, such as Cloth Fair. There are some old buildings which escaped the Great Fire and the Blitz. Plus Smithfie!d Market.

Also, as pp said, not far from the Museum of London, but that will be busy as it's half term. You could also go and look at St Paul's and/or the Guildhall Art Gallery and Roman amphitheatre.

You aren't far from the Thames. If you have quite a lot of time to kill and the weather is ok, you could have a walk down to St Paul's and go for a wonder along the South Bank.

I was going to suggest Polpo as well. I work locally and its where we often take clients.

I second looking round St Bartholomew The Great. It’s the oldest church in London and absolutely stunning.

But then, I got married there so I’m biased

I was just going to say St Bartholemew's, Charterhouse and the Museum of London! Great minds! (Though I walk down Cloth Fair every day and it's not terribly interesting, from the name I was expecting something really olde worlde>)

Try and have a wander around Postman's Park en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postman%27s_Park . It's home to the Memorial to Self Sacrifice en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_to_Heroic_Self-Sacrifice which is just fascinating and so interesting.

Exmouth Market is worth a wander for lunch/ dinner as well - plenty of restaurants and stalls.

These are fantastic suggestions - thank you all very much. I'm really excited about the opportunity to discover things off the tourist track, so that's great. I discovered Exmouth Market on my last visit and yes, there are definitely places to eat there.

There are some nice places around Exmouth Market for a bite to eat.

Just opposite Farringdon station is the alley that was the inspiration for Fagins Lair. There is a Wetherspoons on the right and on the left is Bleeding Heart Yard. It’s not much to look at (and leads down to Hatton Garden) but I always loved having a little walk down there as a kid (geeky English literature fan!)

That sounds cool! The Charles Dickens museum isn't a million miles from there either.

Walking round Hatton Garden and looking in all the jewellers' windows was something I used to do when my dd was similarly occupied in Clerkenwell.

There's a Pret by the traffic lights on the main junction between Clerkenwell Road and Farringdon Road, and a small Costa right outside Farringdon station.

I'm a bit 'iffy' about heights, but this looks like a good new one:

[https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/blog/2019/02/17/londons-largest-roof-garden-opens-to-the-public/?fbclid=IwAR0-YW2Sih1nrANgTXrS3iY6gr8-5lELxRy8NIKfSUA0XN26tzhJrLn2Ee8]

If you're going to Dickens' house, also consider going to the Postal Museum and riding a heritage section of the underground Mail Rail.

You'll also be not far from the lesser known UCL museums

www.ucl.ac.uk/culture/

Thank you for more terrific ideas. I'm going to have to save some for future visits!

toomanyofthemnow I'm now suspecting your DD has the same interests as mine!

roaringwater

I am reliably informed that there is a Nando's quite near Farringdon station.