Rochelle Canteen, established in 2004 by Melanie Arnold and Margot Henderson, is housed in the converted bike shed of the old Rochelle School. Rochelle Canteen is one of my favourite restaurants in London for breakfast, lunch and/ or dinner. 

An organic shop and spa in the heart of Kensal rise.. They sell the best organic products and they do the best Ayurvedic treatments. 

Great little neighbourhood hangout. Delicious food, good coffee and open evenings Thursday-Saturday. Next to the Sylvanian Family shop! 

I go to the Heath every weekend (often via the wonderful Waterlow Park which skirts Highgate Cemetery) and during the week too if I’m working from home; it helps to put things in perspective when I’m thinking about my work. It’s great in the summer for obvious reasons but I love it the most in autumn and on those rare days it snows so much London grinds to a halt (which doesn’t take much). Everyone heads up there to make giant snowballs/cats/creatures and surf down Parliament Hill on anything they can get their hands on. Grown ups turn into kids for the day. My husband and I made this snow yeti last year, it was sad to leave him behind but he soon made friends and even made it into the Camden New Journal.

Great comic shop that stocks small press, and everything else you'd expect to find. The kids section starts at early ages and has something all the way up.