17 replies to this topic

[Kupru]

Hey! My name is Kupru. I'm going to visit London someday in this year(2017), i hope so. I'm from Finland and i want to make this trip "not so tourist like". I don't want to see any mainstream London things 'well i DO but that is not my main point'. I want to focus on Amy and where she went, how she lived overall. Primrose hill, Hawley arms etc, i know the basics like what were her favourite places to go but some deep insight would be nice from a locals. So if you live in London and you know the city well and something that i don't know about Amy, where she visited, had shows, got wasted, etc let me know. i have heard that there are some expensive pubs and restaurants in London but if you really compare those Pound/Euro charts to our prices here in Finland they are medium meaning (i can afford expensive drinks/services in UK, not being braggy about it.)  

 

I have been planning to do this trip for over an year now and it has been cancelled for many times because of my financial situation. I want to get out of here for a while, it is so depressing to live here and i hate it and as a big fan obsessed to Amy's music i want to visit somewhere else even once of my lifetime to see something new. Sorry for my grammar i'm not having 100% focus on writing now and i'm also a bit drunk at the moment. I Would greatly appreciate some advice, also if you know any good hotels/motels 'what ever they are called in British. If you could provide me some information where to stay in Camden or somewhere around London, it doesn't need to be close to Camden, it would be nice. My budget is medium so price wont matter that much, i'm planning on staying for a week or 4-5 days at least. Flights are cheap to London from to Helsinki, Finland but i'm just worried about hotel prices there in UK so.. recommend me some good hotels to stay.    Thank you. Xoxo.

 

-Fan from Helsinki,Finland.

 

 

[melnyk]

Hello Kupru,

 

I'm almost feeling how much you're probably excited about this trip! Coming to London, exploring Camden Town and visiting Amy's places - this experience is unforgettable and priceless.

 

I'd recommend you Camden Lock Hotel. It was the hotel where my wife and I stayed when we visited London for the first time. It's not pompous, but it's relatively reasonably priced (in comparison), the rooms are clean, the staff is very hospitable and its location is just perfect, really. It's also always an interesting experience to find a room on AirBNB.com, but it depends on your preferences.

 

Wish you to have a nice trip!

 

P.S. I might be visiting London this September, so there's a chance that we'll say Hi to each other

[pattieboyd2]

Hi Kupru,

 

I hope you have a wonderful trip!  Just do it, don't put it off!  I am not a native of London but I go there every 2 years and it feels like an old friend now that I miss so much when I am not there and I think everyone should go there at least once.  I have never stayed in Camden but I think I have been to Camden every time I've been to London, not just because of the Amy associations but because it is an interesting place in it's own right (I love Chin Chin Laboratories for ice cream!).  I think you know all the obvious places to see like Amy's houses and Hawley Arms and other pubs and clubs in Camden.  I also went to Porchester Hall.  You can go to places she liked going like the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square which you should go to anyway.  There is also a picture of her at the National Portrait Gallery next door.  You could have a meal in some of her favourite restaurants like Jamon Jamon.  She liked the East End too.  I came across some Amy street art on Brick Lane.  Oh, I also went to Blakes Hotel in Kensington where she stayed once.  You can have a meal there.  We usually stay in Paddington just because it is such a long flight for us from Sydney that we want to be as close to the Heathrow Express as possible when arriving/leaving on a tiring flight and it is so easy to get everywhere in London by tube it really doesn't matter where in Central London you stay (although the Northern line to Camden can be a bit troublesome sometimes).  You have a short flight from Finland so it should be much easier.  Sydney is an expensive city like London so the price of food/drinks is pretty much the same but hotel accommodation is much more expensive and train travel is quite expensive.  Hotel rooms are pretty small for what you pay so just be prepared for that!  I really liked seeing the Amy wax work at Madame Tussaud's too.  Keep us posted on your trip!

[pattieboyd2]

Oh, of course you have to go to the Jewish museum too!

[Kupru]

Thanks for the insight which gave me more places to visit that I didn't know before. I'm going to update this thread with pics and posts when I know a more precise time for when I am going to visit London.     

[ralenius]

Thank you Kupru that you posted this!
I am also going To London for the first Time. I dont know (yet) any places where i should go there. I want to know where is "amys house" in Camden? And what are the places what i should see?

[pattieboyd2]

Just to get the ball rolling - she lived in a few places in London but the 3 in Camden were Jeffreys Place (I don't know the street number but you can recognise the black gate she used to come in and out of if you go there, it is a very short street).  You can't actually go in to the complex but it's still interesting to see the street and get a feel for where she used to walk around. This is the flat she bought with her advance from Frank and her parents still own it.  Then she lived around the corner, a 30 second walk away at 25 Prowse Place.  She rented this place while friends lived in her Jeffreys Place flat.  Her last home was at 30 Camden Square, a slightly longer walk away, maybe 10/15 minutes from Prowse Place.  I also walked by the Hawley Arms and the Roundhouse, and to the Good Mixer on the way to the Jewish Museum.  There's so much to mention but I'll leave it there for now.  I'm sure others have more to add.

[ralenius]

Thank you pattieboyd! This helps me.

[Mizzwanned]

I'm also going to London for the first time in May! Yay, so excited!! So this thread is helpful. I want to visit all the places she liked to eat and where she lived etc

[pattieboyd2]

You'd have to go to Jazz After Dark as well.  You can also do a Camden Rock and Roll Legends walking tour which includes Amy related sites but you would probably also want to be interested in rock musicians in general to get the most out of it.

 

She also lived on Greenbrook Avenue in Barnet a bit later on (number 10 I think?) if you feel like venturing a bit further.  This is near where she grew up so you could also visit her schools Osidge Primary school in Southgate and Ashmole Academy. She also lived in the East End at the Omega Works apartments on Roach Road in Bow.  I haven't been to any of these because you'd need a bit of time and really only be focusing on Amy sights instead of everything else that London has to offer (which is soo much!).

 

The vintage clothes shop Rokit where she shopped and worked is still there in Camden too.

 

I wish I had time to sit down and really write a proper list of sights but I'm just writing things as I think of them.

[Philip]

You should vlog your tour, it'd be very interesting! 

[imnogood]

Wow, it's amazing people are doing this in 2017. I'll be visiting London for the first time soon and i'm very excited just because of Amy. Want to visit all places she loved. Particularly interested London jazz scene, maybe some of you could mention more places?

Also, i'll be traveling alone, and it'd be amazing to hang out with someone. I'll be there in June 21-26.

[pattieboyd2]

Well definitely go to Ronnie Scott's in Soho.  So exciting to have your first London trip but be warned, you will be hooked!

[Mizzwanned]

Wow, it's amazing people are doing this in 2017. I'll be visiting London for the first time soon and i'm very excited just because of Amy. Want to visit all places she loved. Particularly interested London jazz scene, maybe some of you could mention more places?
Also, i'll be traveling alone, and it'd be amazing to hang out with someone. I'll be there in June 21-26.

Aw is meet up with you but I leave June 9th

[imnogood]

Aw is meet up with you but I leave June 9th

How was your trip? What places you visited? Was it fun?