4hrs around Bloomsbury/Kings Cross to show DD life as a UCL student.

[Ufsse]

Where would you go?

Drummond Street still has amazing places to eat but it's suffered a massive loss in footfall from the KX redevelopment so I always try to go there when I'm in the area.

My stamping grounds!

You can do a walk through old and almost unchanged 18th century bits of London from Bloomsbury to Clerkenwell and on to Exmouth market at the border of Islington and Clerkenwell , or go a bit more east to Spitalfields market.

The John Sloane Museum, and the park/ field bit of Lincoln’s Inn. Lovely in the summer.

I love working in Senate House Library. It’s quieter than the British Library and has great light places to read and write - great study areas and actual books on the shelves.

The poké place on Marchmont Street is great. Really friendly family running it. Chilli Cool in Leigh street is where all the Chinese students go - ace food. Drummond street behind Euston for Indian and other Asian food.

Ahhh to be an undergrad in Bloomsbury! Bliss.

Reading the thread, I see others reminiscing. The commodification and gentrification of the whole area is such a loss, I find. I remember when Brunswick square had a Somerville and an Iceland, and people on modest incomes could afford to live (even own property) in Bloomsbury. Now it’s only for the poor - those lucky enough to land social housing, and the rich, all around Goodenough college and Doughty Street. Such a pity.

If you go down towards Angel from Almeida Street, turn right onto Theberton Street. There's a great old fashioned French bistro there. Similar vibe and price to Le Mercure. Can't remember the name but it is blue and white - on the corner at the end of the first block on the right.

OP, I'd show her Coal Drops Yard and the book barge, Central London/Soho and Bloomsbury. DS was at KCL and mixed with UCL and CSM students a lot. They all loved London life rather than specifically student life. They went to art exhibitions and cycled/played frisbee around the parks, tried out little cafes and went to gigs in Brixton and Whitechapel. His social life was all over London.

Ahh yeah I used to work in Soho, my first ft job at 18. I didn't know they still had the fruit and veg at Berwick st.
It is indeed an amazing area. Bloomsbury, fitzrovia, Soho, Brunswick etc. So much good stuff is in walking distance.