For us, none other than the amazing tradition of Christmas markets is what gets us in the Christmas spirit, and so we have gathered some of the fantastic Christmas markets in South London that are definitely worth checking out in your local area this year!
As the sun finally begins to show its face, we’re bringing you a list of the best spots to don your sunnies, slap on the suncream and settle in for an afternoon of cold ones in the London sunshine. From riverside sundowners to boozy lunches on the terrace, Putney’s got an exciting little assortment of al fresco possibilities and we’ve rounded them up just in time for the Bank Holiday.
With the gradual, yet steady closing-down of local cinemas and theatres that has been happening in Britain for decades, we thought it a good idea to use our platform to pay homage to one of the oldest theatres in South London that has survived this unfortunate decline in entertainment venues, and continues to showcase cutting edge theatre and events to this day....
Season's greetings! There is no better way of getting into the Christmas spirit than by attending your local christmas markets. Wrap up warm with the family or a few friends, stroll down to your local market and enjoy the rich warming smells of mulled wine and mince pies, whilst trying to remember the lyrics to your favourite carols. We've got the round-up; check out where your local market is happening and make sure you're there!
Run your fingers along their spines, cast your eyes up and down the shelves, flick through the pages and sit cross legged on the floor engrossed in the words resting in your lap. Escape the dull, uniform, needlessly clean chain bookshops that are a stalwart part of any high street or soulless shopping centre. South London has its fair share of independent bookshops where hidden treasures can be found, prices are right and the shelves hold countless stories to lose yourself in.
There's nothing like a little pick-me-up as the days are getting colder. As you swap to your winter boots and scarves and the seasons change, sometimes you want to change your look as well. Not forgetting that much needed relaxation that comes with a beauty treatment. Well, South London has a lot to offer you in terms of pampering and chilling out. Here are our 7 favourite salons that you can count on to make you feel special and leave looking fabulous! You deserve it...
We live in a day and age where faceless supermarket chains surround us and promise cheap deals and convenience. But it hasn’t always been this way, and it doesn’t have to stay that way. So what can we really do about it? We think the story of Waters SE23 might inspire you to get involved in bringing local businesses back to life.
So, you’ve bought the gym membership, the results should come in time, right? Not always. Most of the time gyms are so daunting you end up wandering around looking at the scary contraptions and deciding on attempting some crunches in the corner, which you realise you could have done at home anyway. For the best results and a kickstart on your fitness goals, getting a personal trainer the first step to the new you. No longer exclusive to the rich and famous, personal trainers are for everyone who’s trying to shape up. We’ve narrowed down a list of our favourite personal trainers in South London, so you can choose one that is local and appeals to you.
Us Brits love a Sunday Roast and have finessed the art of the home cooked roast dinner over the years. But sometimes you don’t want to fire up the oven for hours and slave away in the kitchen. Autumn Sundays in London are always special, so why not get out of the house, wander round the park to work up an appetite and then indulge in one the best Sunday lunches on offer South of the river? Fortunately, we’ve done the hard work for you and rounded up the crème de la crème of roast dinners.
With Spotify, Apple Music and other streaming services becoming the go-to platforms to listen to music, it is easy to feel a little more isolated in your musical pursuits than you might have been a few years ago. But the music community is still thriving in South London and is waiting for you to jump right in, browse some records, get involved in musical debates or even learn an instrument. Maybe you just want to get some insider knowledge to get better at pub quizzes. Whatever direction you want to go in, we're sure the places on this list will help you get there!
Beer shops are actually quite an old thing, though it might not feel that way. Having gone through something of a lull, plenty of beer shops have been opening up all over London in recent years off the back of the surging craft beer scene. As we all know, and we as showed in our A-Z, South London is home to the best craft breweries in all of London - and the presence of these breweries has led to the opening of some fantastic beer shops. Beer shop operate in a very similar manner to wine sellers, and they are wonderful places to just browse - you know, just stand around looking at stuff you might buy. If you haven't got into the craze that is figuratively sweeping South London, we think it's about time that you did, so to help you get going here is our list of the 14 best beer shops in South London.
Let it be known that haircuts are very important. Though their importance varies from person to person, there is little question that haircuts are always important. They're a key way in which we as individuals define ourselves and play an incredibly important role in how we are visually received by others. Really, a haircut should be what you like, what you want - not what every one else has, but it's difficult to argue against the power of wanting to look like your peers. For some people, the role of a haircut is quite complex - it's there to help you stand out, but not massively. It's a rather peculiar but essential balance. Anyway, having a hairdresser or barber that you trust and know is, by proxy, vitally important. You are a beautiful portrait that needs touching up now and then, and if you're happy with how it looked previously, you're not going to have some other artist touch your portrait are you? No, so if you're in need of a new artist in Lewisham Borough to trust your hair (portrait) with, then we've got you covered with our list of the 13 best places for a haircut in Lewisham Borough. We split it up into unisex, female, and male to make sure you don't go somewhere that can't help you.
Italian food is pretty well-travelled. Go anywhere in Europe or North America, and you'll probably be able to find an Italian restaurant. Italian food is undoubtedly popular - it's so popular that a particular Italian food is the central premise to a worldwide fast-food chains. If you hadn't guessed, that particular food is pizza. When you think of Italian food you probably split it between pizza and pasta - some of you might even think of just pizza. Italian food is so popular that it's hard to think of a time before it in the UK, a time that we shall call 'BP'. If you can't, we'd encourage you to ask your parents, or anyone you know who was alive, or at least aware, during the 60s about it. Having a favourite Italian restaurant is an essential we would say, and South London has plenty of fantastic Italian restaurants waiting for you to discover them, so to help you out, we've compiled a list of 11 great Italian restaurants in South London.
Delicatessens, or delis as they are known amongst the bright and the beautiful of this world, originated in Germany, as the rather foreign-sounding name would suggest. For an outsider, and an insider for that matter, what a delicatessen is exactly is hard to say. They seem to sell all manner of rustic foods and expensive produce, such as cured meats and pastries, however there doesn't seem to be anything edible that delicatessens can't sell, so really, almost anyone can call themselves a delicatessen. That said, delicatessens certainly serve a number of purposes - if you are need of funky cheeses and such goods, you will want to attend your local delicatessen. We care about supporting independent business, and delicatessens are on the frontline against the major brands like Tesco in attempting to provide customers with a wide variety of high quality produce. To help you find the deli that's right for you, we've compiled this list of the 17 best delicatessens in South London.
London is well-known for having some of the best Vietnamese restaurants this side of Saigon, however there are many beyond the more commonly known establishments in East London. South London is home to numerous different cuisines, and we're not saying Vietnamese food is our favourite, but it certainly has added something rather delicious to the South London food scene. We reckon it's about time you got stuck into some, so we've gone out of our way to compile a list of 11 Great Vietnamese Restaurants in South London.
A local discount card to support South London's local businesses while saving you money!
We aim to help you discover and explore all that South London has to offer, from hidden gems to the best-kept secrets!
The South London Club Card will take you on a tour of South London that you've never experienced before, showcasing our fantastic local businesses that are the lifeblood of our communities.
With 850+ local businesses to choose from, including gift shops, bike shops, restaurants, and roofers, our pocket-sized card is full of value.
Join us and let's work together to make South London even better.
