← All articles · United Kingdom · 15 February 2026

London, United Kingdom: A rainy weekend of roasts, scones and red buses

Inside London's most iconic shops, the Harrods Food Halls, Liberty's Tudor building and Fortnum & Mason, plus a rainy weekend of roasts, scones and red buses.

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.

Inga under a teal umbrella walking past the black and white mock Tudor front of Liberty in heavy rain, the LIBERTY lettering and a Union Jack above her — Liberty in February 2026, in the rain it deserves. The Tudor timbering isn't Tudor at all, but nobody standing under it minds.

Inga standing on the wet cobbles outside the main entrance of Liberty, buckets of pink and red flowers banked either side of the doorway — The front door, flanked by the flower stall that turns up whatever the weather. That's the shot we came for.

A properly rainy weekend

Around the filming there was a whole weekend of it: pavements, pubs, buses and one very good tea room. London didn't hold back on the weather, and we didn't hold back on the roast potatoes.

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 lifting a grilled skewer off an ornate silver platter at a mosaic tiled table under a heated awning, more skewers, chutneys and a cocktail spread across the table — Late afternoon, under a heated awning, working through a table of grilled skewers and little dishes of chutney. The mosaic table did a lot of heavy lifting for the photos.

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.

Close view of two scones with jam and clotted cream, a treacle tart and two glasses of sparkling wine on a Fortnum and Mason printed menu placemat — The full order, laid out on the menu itself: two scones, jam, clotted cream, a treacle tart and a glass each. We didn't leave much.

A few rules worth knowing first

Fifteen seconds of basic London rules for first-time visitors. Watch on YouTube

Weekends like this one go a lot smoother if you know the unwritten rules, so we put the basics into fifteen seconds. Stand on the right on escalators, walk on the left, let people off before you get on, and pay with contactless. Eating and drinking are allowed on public transport, though it's worth being mindful of everyone else, and when you cross the road, look right first. None of it is complicated, but getting it wrong is the fastest way to be spotted as new here.

London is the city we keep coming back to, and we've been coming back for a long time. The summer that beat them all is London, summer 2015, the palaces and the Olympics are in London, 2011 to 2014, and the oldest frames we own sit in London, 2005 to 2007.

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.