Whipps Cross boating lake is a true hidden East end gem. Located on Whipps Cross flats midway between Walthamstow and Wanstead.

The Greenwich Observatory with its green laser beam can transfigure any night sky. If you decide to cross the Thames via the foot tunnel, make sure you look out for the green ray. You can be on one side of the meridian in a minute, and cross to the other side on the next, without even realising it.

Great food and atmosphere in Brixton. Try their Vegan Viking pizza: Cashew cheese, pistachio pesto, red chillies, rocket and mint or their Cauliflower cheese arancini. And who doesn't like a bottomless brunch in the weekends?

In between soho and covent garden. There ares lots of great independent shops on this street. Dover bookshop, magma, super superficial and Mint to name a few. Also if you want a cheap lunch on your work break Cafe No.1 is amazing. £2.50 jacket potatoes with cheese and beans.

London is blessed with many fine parks, but Brockwell is a real jewel in south London. A short walk or bus ride from Brixton, or right by Herne Hill overground station, the park includes large grassy areas, the fantastic Brockwell Lido (a vast open-air pool – hectic mid-summer unless you get in early - a 7am swim is utterly blissful), tennis courts, a bowling green, a BMX track, a mini-railway, a secret garden, and a few newly landscaped ponds. Perfect for a lazy summer day.