citylikeyou — The Nightingale — London by James Davies

London / Pub

The Nightingale is the antithesis of the hundreds of soulless gastropubs that a lot of decent pubs have recently become and remains everything a proper pub should be. Britain’s pubs haven’t had it easy lately. The smoking ban and the general effects of the recession have hammered the industry hard. The Nightingale continues to be what it has always been, a proper pub at the heart of the local community. Its annual charity walk has raised nearly £500,000 for good causes in over 30 years and it seems determined to do the things a pub should do and do them properly. Once inside you feel like you could be in a country pub instead of in the middle of South London. There’s no jukebox and the TV is hardly ever on, but there’s a great atmosphere with a good set of locals and good drink and food. Bliss.

Address
The Nightingale, 97 Nightingale Lane, Balham, London, United Kingdom

Photographer

Current city: London

jamesdaviesphoto.com

Born and raised in Cardiff, James Davies is a photographer who has lived in London for 13 years. His work centres around the impact of the city upon its citizens and its citizens upon the city, as well as the wider social, economic and political themes that affect daily life in Britain. His most recent series, The Sclerosis of Existence, looks to explore the relationship between the people and the places of a city when seen through the repetition of daily routine.

More Places in London 471

London / Shop

Sometimes when I wake up it feels like I am at sea watching a big ocean liner pass by. It is the view from my home in one of the two stepped concrete apartment blocks that make up the Brunswick Centre in Bloomsbury. When you visit skip the chain stores of the shopping centre below (except for the excellent Renoir Cinema) and instead get an invitation to one of the small but gorgeous flats with their winter gardens or just wander through the spectacular concrete A frames and across the vast sun drenched terraces on podium level.

London / Art

The oldest public art gallery in London also is my local gallery in my neighbourhood. Opposite to the Dulwich Park where I walked with my puppy regularly. They have great collections of Dutch paintings as well. My husband found the original Dutch painting of the print at his home he was growing up with.

London / Cafe

If you like some nice cool beer, portuguese sweets (the once with yellow custard inside) tasty and affordable sandwiches, good strong coffee and football, at all hours. Max Snack Bar is worth checking out.

London / Cafe

Raisin bread and sausage rolls; plus madeleines, palmiers, financiers, croissants, and cinnamon buns for breakfast with a Parisian jazz soundtrack

London / Park

Half a mile from Markfield Park down the River Lee is Springfield Park. The park rises steeply up from the river and has an amazing array of tree species making it beautiful in all seasons. At the brim of the hill there is a line of park benches each one surrounded by box hedge offering a private view across the Lee Valley, Walthamstow and beyond. The park warden was nice enough to give me a chestnut log a couple of years ago from which I carved a bench and two stools.