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 felt in love with the giant glasshouse, it's a great place to draw.

A multi-disciplinary art and project space in White City. Designed by architects Liddicoat and Goldhill, Elephant West is a new venture from Elephant Magazine - an online and print art publication

This beautiful 19thC industrial building is situated in Markfield Park just around the corner from my studio. Once a sewage treatment works serving the whole of Tottenham and now a museum. The fully restored Victorian pump engine is only open to the public on the second Sunday of every month but the outside of the building and surrounding park is a worth a visit regardless.

Lots of traditional charming country pubs around the area, but it can a bit hit and miss. A really friendly one with amazing food (and a unusually large veggie selection…) is the Beehive in Epping Green; close to the Great Wood. It's friendly enough you dare going there by yourself with the paper and are not at the mercy of local rubbernecks ("the rubberneck" = person who stares at strangers without any sign of guilt)