I love how much you are aware of the changing seasons out of the city; there are numerous beautiful forests around Hertfordshire to go for a run, a walk or have a picnic. One of the best destinations for a day out from London might be Northaw Great Wood. The main entrance is located on the Ridgeway, the B157 from Cuffley to Brookman's Park.

A beautiful and spacious (outside of rush hour) way to get from Highbury, through east London to south of the river in minutes. The train snakes epically through Hoxton and Shoreditch and opens up the Jubilee Line via the beautiful Canada Water / Bermondsey stations.

Apart from the fact that its building is worth a visit by itself as it's the only purpose-built stable that functioned as a horse hospital within Central London that is still intact, it also offers some of the best underground and avant-garde culture in London. Aside from exhibitions, film screenings and music events it also houses 'The Contemporary Wardrobe Collection' which features vintage street fashion, couture items and accessories to the Film, TV and Fashion industries.

It's a members-only library but you might be granted access with a research request. The writer's room is great but there's a few special, hidden corners among the bookshelves to tuck yourself away in.

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.