St Albans

I love London, but what I love even more is discovering new little boroughs of London which feel like you are in the countryside, with a village feel that leaves you feeling like you've been on holiday! Some family have just moved down to St Albans, a 20 minute train ride away from Kings Cross.

It is one of my favourite places I've ever been in London - it feels like you are in a town with every thing you could need (hello Topshop, Wagamamas etc) alongside independent shops and restaurants, giving a proper village feel complete with friendly faces and pretty, narrow alleys to get lost in. 

First port of call was obviously food, we (Dima) cooked up an incredible BBQ as all of the meat was organically sourced from the local market in St Albans, which was massive. One thing you definitely notice as you leave central London is the dramatic fall in prices of general things - my aunt and cousin are paying very cheap rent to live in a cosy, pretty house which is the equivalent of the rent I paid for a single bedroom in a broken down flat on a council estate in East London. (Also very excited about moving next week to Shepherds Bush!) 

I also discovered an amazing shop called The Pudding Stop - basically they have a giant range of puddings, drinks and board games. Sounds like my ideal night, and I forced Dima to go back the next day before we left for more salted caramel ice cream and carrot cake! Definitely need one of these in central please! (Although I hear a board game cafe is opening up pretty soon..) 

We explored the local park/giant forest and I tried out my new 'Runtastic' running app (now that I have almost finished Homeland the treadmill becomes less appealing). It was huge and very easy to get lost in. 

We also made a stop off at the Park Inn, which had one of the best sasuage rolls I have ever had the pleasure to steal from Dima! 

We ventured on a giant climb up the bell tower, at £1 it was well worth the amazing views and interesting bits of history as you climb. 

and made a stop off at the beautifully huge cathedral.. 

St Albans is a lovely place to get away from the bustle of London, we had a great weekend there relaxing in the sun and will definitely be back :) 

Any other ideas of escaping London locations? x