What to do in London By Yourself
Ever have a day off and don’t really know what to do with yourself? You don’t feel like cleaning the house, there’s no real need to go shopping and sitting on the sofa to just watch Netflix isn’t exciting at all. If you’re the type of person who doesn’t really do things alone it can be a little daunting to have a day out exploring but London is one of the best cities for doing your own thing and rocking it in style.
If you ever find yourself in a pickle of what to do by yourself in London and want a day that’s more exciting than just going to the movies, then here are some great things you can do in London by yourself.
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Play Arcade Games
Is there anything better than trying to beat your high square at Pac-Man? How about playing Pac-Man on an original machine, drinking a fancy beer and having some chilli cheese fries. The Four Quarters down on Rye Lane right in the heart of Peckham is a bar set up like a retro style arcade with classic games and a lively atmosphere for anyone going solo. Who knows, you could make a friend while playing Time Crisis 2?
Get a Massage
Any day that’s stress-free is a day well spent and the perfect solo activity is a spa day, especially if you can take a few hours to be away from your phone and tune the world out. Getting a massage in Londonis easy with sites dedicated to helping you find a spa based on your current location and places like the Walk-in Backrub at Covent Garden helping you get a massage whenever you want.
Be Greedy At Borough Market
Forget about Camden (tourist trap) and Greenwich Markets, get a few quid from an ATM and then head to Borough Market for brekkie or lunch and get something a million times better than a pre-packed sandwich.
Borough Market not only has stalls where you can buy fresh produce for your dinner, but has merchants who make all sorts of goodies on site. There are a few I can vouch for that you should check out; Balkan Bites does traditional Balkan cuisine that isn’t very well-known in the UK like filo based pastries with hummus, and Scotchtails who made incredible vegetarian beetroot & lentil scotch eggs.
Be Your Own Tour Guide
This is a great way to see other sides of London without having to spend money on a tour guide to do this. Rather than being stuck in a tour with a bunch of tourists who spend more time holding their iPads up to take photos than actually seeing the sights, you can download apps that have self-guided tours around town. Two I’ve used before are Movie Map London which shows where a bunch of films and TV shows have been made and the Britain Audio Tour app which has great audio tours of Westminster, St.Pauls, the British Museum & the British Library.
Get a dog for a day
When you’re not busy and other people are, you can become a dog owner for a day. A service called Borrow My Dog will let you sign up and find dogs nearby that you can take out and look after for the day. The site matches you (just like a dating site) with dogs that you like and then finds owners nearby who need their pooch looked after for a few hours.
It’s a nice way of turning a walk around the park in to a game of fetch.