Although I was born in London in the balmy summer of 1978, my family moved out to rural Buckinghamshire when I was a young child. And that was that, we never looked back. 

I eventually lived all over the UK, only really making it back to the capital for sporadic visits to catch up with family and friends. And of course to go and watch my beloved Queens Park Rangers. 

Later, I left the UK altogether for a life travelling the world.  Every few years or so, usually in between various work contracts, I’d find myself back in Britain for a catch up.

These brief trips would always include a visit to London. To gorge on my favourite foods. Eavesdrop and perfectly comprehend the snippets of conversations I caught on the street and on The Underground. To reconnect, if you will, with a sense of lost Englishness.

Finally, over the course of the spring, summer and autumn of 2019, I got round to doing something I’d never truly done before. Actually live in London.

It wasn’t planned, it just kind of happened. Unsure of my long term future plans, my old friend Henry in Tooting Bec offered me the chance to live at his place. “Stay as long as you want” he said, with typical Henry nonchalance.

Thus it came to be that I got to know my home city like never before. I explored the parks and sought out the best curry houses. Moreover, I delved deep into the city’s rich history with visits to some of London’s most historic sights.

Furthermore, I made pilgrimages to some of the city’s hallowed music sights. And dove deep into the local coffee scene in Tooting Bec.

It’s been fun documenting these experiences here on Leighton Travels. Following years of self imposed exile, I’ve certainly enjoyed rediscovering my roots. In fact, it has inspired me to go even deeper each time I return.

And so I will continue to build this page with the passing of the years. For the full story on my adventures, why not visit London with my articles on:

The Monster Sights:

Changing of the Guard, Buckingham Palace

Churchill War Rooms (coming soon!)

Highgate Cemetery (coming soon!)

Leicester Square (coming soon!)

Parliament Square

The Sky Garden (coming soon!)

Tower Bridge

Trafalgar Square

Westminster Abbey

Westminster Bridge

Victoria and Albert Museum (coming soon!)

The Parks

Green Park (coming soon!)

Hyde Park & Kensington Gardens (coming soon!)

Greenwich Park

Hampstead Heath & Kenwood House (coming soon!)

Regent’s Park

St James’s Park (coming soon!)

Tooting Bec Common

The Markets

Borough Market (coming soon!)

Camden Market (coming soon!)

Leadenhall Market (coming soon!)

Mercato Mayfair (coming soon!)

Neighbourhood Guides:

Camden Town

Tooting Bec

Notting Hill (coming soon!)

The Churches

St Olave’s Church (coming soon!)

Southwark Cathedral (coming soon!)

St Dunstan in the East (coming soon!)

St. Mary’s Abbots Church (coming soon!)

St Pancras Old Church (coming soon!)

Music Sights:

Abbey Road

David Bowie Mural & Birth Home

Under the Radar:

Cecil Court (coming soon!)

St Martin’s Lane & Goodwin Court (coming soon!)

Kynance Mews (coming soon!)

Leake Street Graffiti Tunnel (coming soon!)

Savile Row (coming soon!)

My London:

Fitzneal Street

Kensal Green Cemetery

Queens Park Rangers Football Club

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