← All articles · United Kingdom · 15 February 2026

London

Inside London's most iconic shops - the Harrods Food Halls, Liberty's Tudor building and Fortnum & Mason - plus Chinatown stops and honest impressions.

Some shops are sights in their own right. On this London wander we went inside three of the most famous shops in the world, Harrods, Liberty and Fortnum & Mason, to see what they’re actually like beyond the name.

Inside London's most iconic shops: Harrods, Liberty, and Fortnum & Mason. Watch on YouTube

We started with the legendary Harrods Food Halls: luxury tea selections, beautifully presented desserts, and displays that belong in a gallery. From there it was on to Liberty, whose Tudor-style building makes it feel more like a stately home than a department store, and then the historic Fortnum & Mason, famous above all for its tea and hampers.

Along the way we stopped by restaurants, shops and pubs, including spots in Chinatown, Marks and Spencer, and Westfield London, sharing honest impressions and the hidden details you only catch in person.

If you’re planning a London trip, all three stores are free to walk around and genuinely worth an hour each, treat them as museums where everything happens to be for sale.

Photos from London

London is the city we keep coming back to. From the archive: a cabaret night on the South Bank in August 2015, and a properly rainy weekend of pavements, pubs and scones in February 2026.

A performer on a spiegeltent stage sending a fountain of sparks from an angle grinder under blue and green stage lights — August 2015, a big-top cabaret on the South Bank. Somewhere between theatre and metalwork.

Inga holding an umbrella on a rainy Oxford Street with a black cab and a red number 139 double-decker bus behind her — February 2026, Oxford Street doing its favourite weather. The 139 to Oxford Circus photobombed on cue.

Inga in a check scarf crossing a wide street near Piccadilly Circus with red buses, taxis and a 20 mph sign behind — Mid-crossing near Piccadilly Circus. You get about eight seconds to look this relaxed.

Selfie of Dileep in a trilby and glasses with Inga in a check scarf making a shared heart with their hands on the platform at High Street Kensington station — Platform selfie at High Street Kensington: one heart, four hands, zero trains missed.

Inga in a London England sweater at a pub table with Sunday roasts, Yorkshire puddings and dark beers, a Carnaby Street sign behind — Sunday roast duty by Carnaby Street: Yorkshire puddings, gravy jugs, and a sign insisting Carnaby Street welcomes the world.

Inga raising a glass over a table of scones, jam and a treacle tart in the Fortnum and Mason tea salon — Back at Fortnum's in February 2026, this time for the scones. The video above turned out to be foreshadowing.

Digging further back into the archive: the summer of 2015 was our first big London year, and the camera barely got a day off. Here it is by chapter.

The Tower and Tower Bridge, July 2015

The twin Gothic towers and pale blue walkways of Tower Bridge under a summer sky, a Union Jack flying between them — Tower Bridge in July sunshine, flags up, doing its best postcard impression.

A Queen's Guard soldier in red tunic and bearskin standing at his sentry box against the brick wall at the Tower of London, red geraniums to one side — On sentry at the Tower of London. We watched for a blink. Nothing. The geraniums moved more than he did.

Selfie of Inga and Dileep in sunglasses in front of the walls and White Tower of the Tower of London — Windblown outside the Tower of London. A thousand years of history behind us, sunblock on.

Kew Gardens, July 2015

The red brick Dutch-gabled front of Kew Palace with white sash windows and a lawn in front — Kew Palace, the small red brick royal residence hiding inside the gardens.

Inga standing in a Georgian drawing room in Kew Palace with powder blue walls, a card table and gilt framed portraits — Trying the Georgian drawing room on for size. The blue walls got a firm yes.

Dileep grinning in a white powdered Georgian wig in a dim room at Kew Palace — The dressing-up basket claimed a volunteer. His Lordship regrets nothing.

Beds of tall columnar cacti and prickly pears inside the Princess of Wales Conservatory at Kew Gardens — A desert filed neatly under glass in the Princess of Wales Conservatory.

A pond of giant round waterlily pads with upturned rims inside a glasshouse at Kew Gardens, visitors watching from the walkway — The giant waterlilies, like a fleet of pie dishes at anchor. Everyone quietly wonders if one would take their weight.

Inga in a denim jacket photographing the giant waterlily pond at Kew with a long Canon lens — Inga and the long lens, hunting waterlilies. This blog does not photograph itself.

Inga on a white spiral staircase winding up between palm fronds inside the Palm House at Kew Gardens — Up the white spiral stair into the palm canopy, where the air is pure greenhouse.

A carved terracotta urn on a stone plinth at Kew Gardens planted with red geraniums, purple lobelia and a young fan palm, a brick building blurred behind — Outside the glasshouses, the planting is just as deliberate: red geraniums, purple lobelia and a small fan palm sharing one carved urn.

Hampton Court Palace, August 2015

Inga beside the golden wine fountain in the Tudor brick Base Court of Hampton Court Palace, costumed figures nearby — The wine fountain in Base Court, inscribed with an invitation to make good cheer. A palace that opens with a wine fountain has its priorities straight.

Costumed Tudor courtiers walking through a cobbled courtyard at Hampton Court Palace led by a fiddler — Court in session: costumed Tudors sweeping through the courtyard with a fiddler in tow. You just fall in behind.

A gilded ceiling at Hampton Court Palace, deep gold coffers studded with painted heraldic bosses — One of the gilded ceilings. Necks ache; worth it.

A vast historic tapestry hanging floor to ceiling in a state room at Hampton Court Palace — Tapestries by the acre. Each one took a workshop years; we gave each about ninety seconds and still ran out of day.

A painted royal coat of arms at Hampton Court Palace with angels above a scroll reading Dieu et mon droit — Dieu et mon droit, in full colour with a supporting cast of angels.

Inga sitting on the lawn in front of the baroque east front of Hampton Court Palace, pink flower beds and clipped topiary behind — The baroque side of the palace, with flower beds in full August form.

Inga and Dileep together on the gravel walk in front of the long garden front of Hampton Court Palace — Both of us on the Broad Walk. Tudor in front, baroque behind, tourists everywhere: the full Hampton Court sandwich.

The sunken Pond Garden at Hampton Court Palace, tiered beds of white and red planting leading to a white garden building — The sunken Pond Garden, trimmed to the millimetre since the 1500s.

Inga and Dileep at the doorway of the glasshouse of the Great Vine at Hampton Court Palace — Paying respects to the Great Vine, planted in 1768 and still filling its own greenhouse.

Inga sitting in a golden carriage prop in front of the turreted Tudor west front of Hampton Court Palace — The golden carriage out front. When in a palace, travel accordingly.

It was actually our second visit. The files also hold an October 2011 trip to the same palace, autumn skies included.

Stitched panorama of the long baroque south front of Hampton Court Palace with potted trees along the terrace — October 2011: the baroque front of Hampton Court, stitched from a whole pocketful of frames.

Inga and Dileep standing in front of a round fountain pool in the Great Fountain Garden at Hampton Court Palace — Borrowing a fountain for a portrait in the Great Fountain Garden. The gold gates on the far side approve.

The palace front at Hampton Court under a pink evening sky, with clipped conical yews lining the gravel walk — Closing time light over the gravel walk, yews standing to attention.

Inga standing at the base of a giant cone-clipped yew tree in the gardens of Hampton Court Palace, for scale — One of the great yew cones, with Inga for scale. The yews have been winning this size contest since the 1700s.

Theatre nights, summer 2015

That same summer we worked through the West End at a rate of roughly a show a fortnight.

Selfie of Inga and Dileep under The Importance of Being Earnest marquee outside the theatre, crowds behind — July 2015: The Importance of Being Earnest. We were, briefly.

Collage from a War Horse theatre night in London: the poster, the horse puppet on stage, and a selfie of Inga and Dileep — War Horse in August. You forget the horse is a puppet inside about four minutes.

The lit facade of the Victoria Palace Theatre at night showing Billy Elliot The Musical — Billy Elliot lighting up the Victoria Palace on an August night.

Inga beside the Phantom of the Opera poster with its white mask outside the theatre at night — September, and the Phantom's mask gets a companion portrait before curtain up.

Notting Hill Carnival, August 2015

August bank holiday, we joined the crowds and rain ponchos at Notting Hill Carnival. The weather did its worst; the costumes won anyway.

A carnival dancer in a towering red feathered headdress and gold costume leading the parade past spectators in rain ponchos at Notting Hill Carnival — Red feathers versus grey drizzle: no contest.

A dancer in a jewelled pink and gold costume and teardrop headdress mid-step in the Notting Hill Carnival parade — Every costume a year of sequins, every dancer completely unbothered by the rain.

A dancer in a black top hat with red roses and a huge fan of red pheasant feathers smiling in the parade at Notting Hill Carnival — Top hat, roses, and a tail of pheasant feathers wider than the road.

A carnival troupe in silver and red tattered costumes posing around a giant black winged creature float on a wet Notting Hill street — A giant winged thing and its very committed handlers, mid-roar on the wet tarmac.

More from the 2015 archive

Digging further back into the files: at the end of June 2015 Formula E brought its first London ePrix to Battersea Park, and through that summer and autumn the city kept handing us reasons to stay out.

A purple and red Virgin-liveried Formula E car at speed behind catch fencing lined with Formula E app banners — June 2015: electric single-seaters whispering past the catch fencing at the first London ePrix.

Inga and Dileep posing with race helmets on a fan podium in front of a Formula E and Visa branded wall — The fan-zone podium. We both claimed the top step and the stewards let it slide.

Dileep crouching and Inga standing beside a Formula E show car on a white display plinth inside the fan village tent — Close inspection of the show car. No, they would not let us keep it.

Four men lifting trophies on a podium under a banner reading 2015 FIA Formula E Visa London ePrix — Trophies up under the London ePrix banner.

Alain Prost raising a trophy beside Richard Branson with his arms spread wide on the Formula E podium — Alain Prost with the silverware, Richard Branson conducting the applause. Decent supporting cast for a park in Battersea.

Three drivers in race suits spraying champagne on the podium in front of a Visa and FIA branded wall — Champagne physics: as mandatory in Battersea as anywhere else in motorsport.

Inga beside a poster for the National Theatre production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, with a bust of John Gielgud on a shelf nearby — July 2015 at the Gielgud Theatre, with the man himself in bronze approving our ticket choice.

A wooden board of sliced steaks with gravy boats, grilled vegetables and wine glasses on a dark restaurant table — September 2015: a steak board that required strategy, and got it.

View from high up across the Thames to the Shard, with HMS Belfast moored on the river below — London from above: the Shard across the water and HMS Belfast holding its spot on the Thames.

Inga and Dileep in the Covent Garden market hall beneath a huge cloud of white balloons filling the glass roof — Covent Garden in September 2015, when a cloud of white balloons filled the market roof and everyone forgot to look at the shops.

Plates of pastel macarons, a large pink macaron topped with fresh raspberries, and silver teapots on a wooden table at Laduree — Tea at Laduree: macarons arranged by diplomacy, eaten by force.

Inga and Dileep at The Lion King official souvenir stand inside a theatre foyer — Interval economics at The Lion King. We escaped with our wallets, mostly.

A dark auditorium lit red from above, the stage bare except for two chairs and a table, and a big screen showing a stylised portrait of comedian Jimmy Carr in a purple jacket — May 2015: a comedy night, red lights up, two chairs on an otherwise empty stage and the headliner watching us from the screen. Warm-up material only from here.

London Fashion Weekend, February 2014

Deeper still in the files: in February 2014 we took our seats at London Fashion Weekend at Somerset House, the weekend where the catwalk opens to the rest of us. One camera for the runway, one eye on the front row.

Inga in a black beret and lanyard beside a London Fashion Weekend board at Somerset House, The Catwalk sign in the background — Checked in at Somerset House, lanyard on, The Catwalk signposted behind. February 2014.

Dileep with a lanyard and tote bag in the cobbled courtyard of Somerset House, London Fashion Weekend boards and a sign for the gold and silver tote bag collection around him — Dileep, accredited and armed with the event tote. The signs point to the Gold & Silver Tote Bag Collection; we point to the catwalk.

Inga in a knitted cardigan and blue jeans stepping out of a row of red London telephone boxes in front of black iron railings — En route, a costume change courtesy of the most photographed red boxes in Britain.

A model on the catwalk in a blue and green printed dress with black sleeves and nude heels, a spectator checking her phone at the edge of the runway — First out: blue and green print at walking pace. Front row already multitasking.

A model in a pale pink top with sheer sleeves and dark panels carrying a gold clutch, the photographers' stand visible behind the white catwalk wall — Blush silk and a gold clutch, with the photographers' gantry working overtime behind the wall.

A model in an embellished white short-sleeved jumper and striped pencil skirt walking the white catwalk past a security guard — Embellished knit over stripes. The security detail remains unmoved by fashion.

A model in a white pussy-bow blouse and sparkly silver trousers on the catwalk in front of white double doors — A white pussy-bow blouse doing the talking, glitter trousers doing the walking.

A model in a silver v-neck top with a dark green waistband and white trousers with a silver stripe, audience members filming on phones from the front row — Silver on white, and a front row of raised phones. 2014, when everyone had just discovered filming everything.

A model in a monochrome lace top and striped cropped trousers carrying a small blue clutch on the catwalk — Lace, stripes and a cobalt clutch: three patterns, zero hesitation.

A model in a dark sleeveless dress scattered with pink and orange flowers walking past a seated audience — Dark florals for spring. Groundbreaking or not, it earned the phones-up treatment.

A model in sunglasses wearing a red rose print cardigan and mint green trousers, hands in pockets on the catwalk — Roses, mint trousers and indoor sunglasses: catwalk rules are different rules.

A model in a peach floral top and white broderie anglaise skirt with a front split, photographers massed at the end of the runway — Peach florals over broderie anglaise, walking straight into a wall of lenses.

A model in a yellow lace shift dress with a scalloped hem on the catwalk, the venue wifi details printed on the wall beside her — Sunshine yellow lace. The wall behind lists the wifi network LFW2014, password February14: security was more relaxed back then.

Close-up of a model in aviator sunglasses wearing a black and red raglan tee with a large crystal and flower necklace — Sportswear tee, cocktail jewels. The necklace got its own close-up.

A model in sunglasses wearing a turquoise leather jacket over an orange top with grey jogger trousers and black heels on the catwalk — Turquoise leather over orange, joggers with heels. A 2014 forecast that mostly came true.

Close-up of a model in gradient aviator sunglasses, a bright turquoise leather jacket open over an orange shirt — The same look up close, all zips and aviators.

A model in a sleeveless coral dress with a wide black waist belt and white heels, audience members seated along the runway — Closing note: coral, belted, unbothered. We left convinced we understood fashion. It wore off by the Tube.

The London folder goes deeper still. Three more from the archive: a birthday on the Eye, a Chinese New Year with hardware, and a sunny morning at the Palace.

Close selfie of Dileep and Inga cheek to cheek high on the London Eye, a glass capsule and the city stretching away below behind them — September 2005, Inga's birthday ride on the London Eye. Cheek to cheek at the top of the loop.

Inga and Dileep wearing camouflage helmets with goggles while sitting in an open army vehicle at Trafalgar Square, red lanterns strung overhead — Chinese New Year 2006 at Trafalgar Square, where an army display and the red lanterns shared the same sky. The helmets were not optional.

Inga standing on the red tarmac in front of the gates of Buckingham Palace on a sunny day, the Union Jack flying above the roofline — October 2011, Buckingham Palace with the flag up and the forecourt crowd in session.

Graduation day in Greenwich, July 2007

The oldest London chapter in the box: 20 July 2007, graduation day at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, with Dileep's parents and brother over for the occasion. The student years that led up to this day are over on Greenwich.

Graduates in gowns and mortarboards lined up with academics in colourful robes along the stone colonnade of the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich — The whole year lined up under the colonnades of the Old Royal Naval College, academic robes bringing the colour.

Dileep in cap and gown shaking hands on stage with an academic in a dark blue and red ceremonial robe — The handshake that made it official. Years of study, one scroll.

Dileep in graduation gown and mortarboard holding his scroll, posing with his mother, father and brother for a studio portrait — The official family portrait: one graduate, two proud parents, one brother already planning where to eat.

Dileep in cap and gown with his scroll standing beside Inga in a black coat and white scarf for a studio portrait — And the unofficial one. Inga attended every all-nighter by phone; the scroll is at least a third hers.

Our London 2012 Olympics

In August 2012 the Olympics came to our doorstep and we threw ourselves at it: the Olympic Park early in the Games, then a finals weekend of volleyball and basketball.

Dileep in a Union Jack t-shirt on a staircase in the Olympic Park, with the Olympic Stadium, the red Orbit tower and the rings on a pink banner behind — 4 August 2012, flag shirt on, stadium and the Orbit behind. Super Saturday, as it turned out.

Inga with a Team GB lanyard in the Olympic Park, the Olympic Stadium and orange banners soft in the background — Inga in the park with the stadium over her shoulder. The camera queue for this exact shot was Olympic in itself.

Brazilian women's volleyball players in yellow huddling and reaching for the ball courtside at London 2012 — 11 August, the women's volleyball final. Brazil's huddle before the storm.

Brazil's players in yellow celebrating across the court at the London 2012 women's volleyball final, coaches embracing at the side — Match point: Brazil beat the USA for gold and the whole bench piled on.

Japanese volleyball players in navy tracksuits waving flowers with bronze medals around their necks at London 2012 — Japan collecting bronze, flowers up. The medals did not stop smiling all ceremony.

Brazilian players in yellow jackets showing off gold medals and bouquets after the London 2012 women's volleyball final — Gold for Brazil, phones already out for the podium selfies. Some things are universal.

The flags of the USA, Brazil and Japan hoisted under a red London 2012 banner at the volleyball medal ceremony — Three flags up under the London 2012 banner: Brazil in the middle, USA and Japan either side.

Crowds beneath a pink London 2012 banner and an orange Basketball sign at the arena entrance, a Union Jack draped over one visitor — 12 August, the last day of the Games, following the signs to the basketball.

The scorers' table at the London 2012 basketball, officials with headsets in front of a pink London 2012 branded court — The scorers' bench mid-shift. Everything at these Games came in that same pink, including the paperwork.

Argentina in white and Russia in red contesting a shot under the basket at the London 2012 men's bronze medal basketball game — Argentina against Russia for the men's bronze, our farewell fixture of London 2012.

Singin' in the Rain, February 2013

Dileep in a green coat outside the Palace Theatre at night, under the Singin' in the Rain marquee topped with colourful umbrellas — February 2013 at Cambridge Circus: Singin' in the Rain, with a canopy of umbrellas over the Palace Theatre doing the set design outside.

There’s more from this trip on our YouTube channel, we film the real sights and sounds, no fluff. You’ll also find us on TikTok and Instagram.