Inspired by Dave Eggers’ projects in the USA such as the Pirate Store in San Francisco and Superhero store in Brooklyn, The Monster Supplies Store in Hoxton is home to the Ministry of Stories: A volunteer run organization, founded by Nick Hornby, to help young people with creative writing of all kinds through workshops and free mentoring sessions. The store is the “Purveyor of quality goods for monsters of every kind” with fascinating bottles and tins containing everything from eyeballs to Zadie Smith’s short story Mortal Terror.

Forget Selfridges or Liberty! Fenwicks Contemporary Womenswear department has the biggest selection of Sonia Rykiel this side of Paris, amongst other great labels such as Thomsen, Dagmar, Les-Prairies-de-Paris and See by Chloe. But the best thing about it – it's quiet!

Founded in 1828 the museum houses around 67,000 specimens many of which are now extinct or endangered. My favorite is the skull of a Bottlenose Whale from 1860.

I trust owner and director Tamsin Clark completely with what I could and should be reading.

Lovely, open space close to Highbury and Islington with tennis courts, netball courts, kids' playground and Parkrun on a Saturday morning at 9am!