Sun, Sips, & Styles: A Weekend in London
From city strolls to stadium shows, here’s how I spent a warm weekend in the capital.
I love weekend getaways to London.
For a few days, I get to swap the Tyne Bridge for Tower Bridge, trading my usual Quayside views for the bustle of Queen’s Walk. Recently, I headed down to the capital for a weekend of wine and sun-soaked wandering. Oh, and to see a small musician called Harry Styles. You may have heard of him.
Here’s how I spent my time in the sunny south.
There’s no place like Farringdon
After the three-hour train journey from Newcastle, we’d finally arrived at King’s Cross. As the doors slid open, suitcase in hand, I took the first step onto the platform and was instantly met with a wonderful wall of hot air. If I closed my eyes, I could’ve sworn I’d just stepped off a plane and onto Spanish soil. But no, this wasn’t Barcelona – it was London during a heatwave. Needless to say, I wasn’t complaining.
First things first, we made our way to Farringdon. This lovely little neighbourhood, tucked between Clerkenwell and the City of London, may as well be considered my second home of the south. In fact, over my last four visits to London, I’ve checked into the exact hotel here, without fail. Either I’m a creature of habit, or I just appreciate a good tradition.
In all seriousness, Farringdon is the optimal base for a London stay. It’s only a 15-minute stroll down to the River Thames, and just 10 minutes from St. Pauls. The area is buzzing with historic pubs and cosy cafes, and is always teeming with a fun and lively energy. It also sits on a direct Metropolitan line to Wembley Stadium, which, in my case, was pretty much ideal.
Wine & waterfronts
Speaking of tradition, I can’t do a London trip without a visit to Vagabond. After hearing the first time about self-serve wine, it wasn’t a question of choice, but rather, a necessity. Previously, I’ve visited the Vagabond in Victoria, which was the perfect prelude to an evening seeing the incredibleWicked.
This time around, we went for the branch nestled next to St. Paul’s, which was channeling a gorgeous al fresco vibe in the evening warmth. We started inside for a round of wine, padrón peppers and charcuterie, which was just as delicious as it looked. There’s nothing more satisfying than engineering the ultimate charcuterie bite, experimenting with endless combinations of bread, cheese, meat, chutney, and honey. It’s basically an art form.
St. Pauls in the evening sun.
Vagabond has an array of self-serve wines, from crisp whites to juicy reds.
Meats, cheese, chutney, and bread…i.e. heaven on a plate.
After exploring a few wines, from Riesling to Vino Verdhe, we decided to grab a table outside to make the most of the warm weather. The square was filled with a lovely hum of friends and colleagues catching up over seasonal Aperols. As I sat, people watching, I realised that’s my favourite thing about London: the social atmosphere, the sense of community you feel on every street corner, people spilling out of pubs and leaning their pints on windowsills. It’s amazing what a few rays of sunshine can do.
Satisfied and beautifully fed, we meandered down toward the river, crossing the Millennium Bridge just as the sun began to dip below the skyline. We took a lovely stroll along Queen’s Walk, passing the buzz of the riverside bars, food stalls, and outdoor salsa classes, before finally turning around at Big Ben.
Enjoying my favourite – a crisp glass of Riesling.
London skyline after dark.
Together Together
And now, the big day had finally arrived.The morning started exactly as it meant to go on: with me, looking incredibly content, at the hotel breakfast. I can only describe a continental buffet as pure joy. Croissants on tap? Now that is the absolute dream.
We spent a few hours in the city centre, wandering through the streets of Soho before grabbing a mandatory Blank Street beverage. I went for the Coconut Cream Matcha, which was delightful (though not quite as superior as the white chocolate matcha, FYI). Afterward, we headed back to the hotel to refresh, glam up, and get ready for a wonderful night of disco pop.
The Coconut Cream Matcha from Blank Street: horchata, coconut, and cinnamon.
It’s hard to replicate the energy of Wembley Way. I first experienced it during the Eras Tour – my very first time at Wembley – where I was beautifully overwhelmed by the scale of it all. It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced, and this time around was no different.
As soon as you step off the very hot and cosy tube, you join a mesmerizing runway of colours and textures. It was so much fun spotting all the different aesthetics everyone had gone for, from corporate chic and cowgirl glam to sporty babe. I strutted down Wembley Way in my retro ensemble (full outfit details here), more than ready to embrace the groove of the night ahead.
Read my Together Together lookbook here.
Not a bad seat in the house.
Shania Twain sang some of her catchy country hits…let’s go girls.
The show
Fuelled by Pimm’s (and plenty of water), we made our way up to our seats. Before long, I was dancing along to ‘Man! I Feel Like a Woman!’ as Shania Twain opened the set with her iconic country hits. Then, there was Harry.
As always, he put on a spectacular show, singing tracks from his new album as well as his older classics. (The crowd went wild when he remixed a little Kiwi into Watermelon Sugar.) His stage is so big that I occasionally lost sight of him completely, squinting to spot where he’d run off to. You can definitely tell the man trains for marathons with the amount of ground he covers.
My favourite song of the night had to be Sign of the Times. His vocals, combined with those crushing lyrics and the dramatic stage lighting, made for what I can only describe as a cinematic masterpiece. Even with the inevitable chaos of the tube traffic afterward, it was worth every single second. Afterwards, we topped the night off with a celebratory midnight sub back in Farringdon.
Wine, Harry Styles, and Subway. It doesn’t get much better than that.
All smiles before the set.
My favourite moment of the show, Sign of the Times.
The energy of Wembley Way is hard to replicate.
The end to a perfect weekend.
