Rachel Barton - Secret London

Rachel gives us her antithesis to raving in London with some great places to relax after a big night out.

White Horse, Brixton Hill

This has been my local for almost four years and I love it. It's one of those comfy pubs that you just want to sit in for hours, and I regularly do on a Sunday as they do the best roast dinners for miles around. Picture this - a squashy sofa, a massive glass of red wine, a Sunday roast with all (and I mean all) the trimmings and the paper - that to me is the best Sunday possible. There's also the resident black labrador called George who is a total food whore and will only love you when you have roast beef on your plate, but I forgive him because he's gorgeous. God I want a dog.

Richmond Park, Richmond, London

The most lovely place to go for a long walk. It's almost 2500 acres so there's plenty of room! There are herds of reindeer in the park - apparently King Charles I introduced them back in 1637 as he wanted to hunt. On one side of the park you get an amazing view over London. I love going there and having a long walk, it really clears the head, I grew up in the country and I miss the fresh air and greenery. Plus as a gym hater the only bit of exercise I ever do is go for a walk.

Champneys CityPoint, Ropemaker Street EC2
www.champneys.com

Oooh get me...okay this place is a bit posh I know but I had to get it in here because if you need to chill and relax this is the place to go. It's expensive but worth it. It's right below Citypoint, you get in the lift down to the basement level, it's one of those super smooth lifts that makes no noise on its descent and you hardly feel it moving. The doors open and the smell of luxury hits you immediately. All the treatments are lovely but the best bit is they have a room with these reclining, padded chairs - I guess they look a bit like dentist chairs. Under each chair is a duvet and on one entire wall in the room is a fish tank with the most amazing array of tropical fish. It's dark apart from the light in the fish tank and you're not supposed to talk so you just sit in this darkened silent room and watch the fish for hours while under a duvet on the most comfortable chair imaginable. Bliss.

Borough Market, 8 Southwark Street

London's oldest market. This place is wicked, you walk in and straight away it's really hectic. Loads of noise and bustle with amazing food everywhere you look - cheese stalls, butchers, posh deli type stalls (I found one with about 12 different types of houmous - god bless the chickpea) and loads of fish. I think it's one of those places where you could go every single weekend and still find somewhere new each time. I love the fact that the traders are really vocal, plus the fact that there's so much choice. I imagine it's really hard work if that’s your job but it's proper, honest graft and I really respect that.

Tower Bridge, SE1

Anywhere by the river in London is lovely and I love going to the South Bank near Waterloo and Westminster Bridge but if you keep walking and get to Tower Bridge it's ace. Obviously the bridge itself is amazing, I'd love to see it lift up to let a massive boat pass through as it was designed to do but I think that's pretty rare these days. There's also the Tower Of London very nearby which is steeped in history and got some pretty huge jewels on display! But if you keep walking on the south side, heading east along Shad Thames you find yourself on cobbled streets which take you right on the river side, past old ships and onto narrow walkways. Eventually you'll find yourself in a little secluded area at the very north of Bermondsey, full of old warehouses and factories, most of which have now been converted in to extortionately priced flats but the whole area has a real feeling of history about it. Apparently about a century ago it was a very poor area full of 'ladies of the night' and unsavoury characters and it was there that Dickens was inspired to write Oliver Twist. You can really picture that time when you walk around and visualise horses and carts, shady dealings going on and obviously a very tough time for many.

Published: 30/01/2008

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