▨ Jamie McHale
Journal

London

Long weekend · June 2025

We had a lovely trip to London at the end of May - a rare weekend away as a couple. We’re looking forward to August with our new arrival, so this is likely one of the last times just the two of us for a while.

We stayed in Bloomsbury at the Kimpton Fitzroy, well located for walking to the various restaurants, museums and galleries. The breakfast was excellent, with great service.

Kimpton Fitzroy at Night
Kimpton Fitzroy

Across the long weekend we visited The British Museum, The National Gallery, the Hunterian Museum, and Imperial War Museum plus a wee wander around the surrounding areas for shopping, a trip to the LRB Bookshoop and Daunt Books.

A bust of John Hunter surrounded by animal skulls
A bust of John Hunter surrounded by animal skulls
A bust of Joseph Banks in the British Museum
A bust of Joseph Banks in the British Museum
Hans Holbein at the National
Ambassadors, Holbein

It’s been a long time since I’ve been in any of these museums, so it was good to see their collections again. I enjoyed the Hans Holbein at the National, plus the Medieval galleries. The Imperial War museum was good, and it was interesting to see artefacts and personal stories related to the books I’ve been reading recently.

We ate out at Tampopo (nice food, but an incredibly strong red wall light!), Scarlett Green (Aussie-style brunch), Honey&Co (middle eastern, sharing platter and then amazing meats, recommended).

H in the red light at Tampopo
Good food, bad light
Me in the red light at Tampopo
Seriously, too much red
Aussie Brunch at Scarlett Green
Aussie brunch at Scarlett Green

I managed a run out around Regents Park in the sunshine. Strava informed me that I’d set a personal segment record, my only other time being ten years previous. Nice to know that my running has improved.

Running in Regents Park
Running in Regents Park
← Glentress 10k Trail Run
November 2024