I found out an amazing fact recently about this place which weirdly enough relates back to my interest of analogue TV distortions in my work. The building where the restaurant stands is where John Logie Baird gave the first public demonstration of Television. If that doesn’t want to make you go there, the band Pulp also wrote a song of the same name on their Different Class album. Apart from these two great facts their food is pretty darn good too!
2 Willow Road designed by Ernő Goldfinger and completed in 1939. It has been managed by the National Trust and is open to the public. Goldfinger lived here with his wife and their children until his death in 1987.
A walled secret garden, the Physic Garden is like a time capsule, founded in 1673 to allow apprentices of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London to study the healing properties of plants, it is now a living museum. Tours are offered by volunteers with immense knowledge of botany and the cultural history of the garden or visitors can wander the grounds alone and spot odd and fascinating plants such as the mystical Mandrake.
It's such an iconic building and it's always a joy to be anywhere near it. It just dominates the landscape around it. Ever since I first saw the cover of Pink Floyd's Animals I've loved it and I still do. There are always reports in the news for plans for developers to spend billions on refurbishing it. I'd genuinely prefer it to remain as it is rather than see it being turned it into a massive shopping centre full of chain stores. The thought of it being turned into some kind of Westfield full of people on Facebook on their laptops in a Starbucks fills me with rage.
Eccentric and surprising house and museum of architect Sir John Soane. Mostly unchanged since his death over 180 years ago, it is full of atmosphere. Also have spotlit, late night openings.