Despite having had a very bad nights sleep I’m very excited about having moved house yesterday into Swiss Cottage. Of course, as anyone who has moved house before will know, I was feeling a bit nervous. This was mainly because I had not yet seen the house I was minutes away from moving into so I did not know what to expect. When I arrived with all my things packed away in boxes and had my first look around the house I was shocked.
I don’t know about you but every time I’ve moved in the past the house has been in more of a need of a clean than most bikes in London. This house was different, it was… clean!
The second shock was how spacious the house was. I had only seen some blurry pictures that didn’t paint a great picture but I trusted my friend who I’m living with to have picked a good place. Luckily he has.
The cyclist I got as a present now proudly sat near my bed
Now there is only three things left to do. The first is fix the doorbell alarm that kept me up last night, the second is convert my friend into a cyclist (it is futile resisting) and the third is to have a cycle around the area to explore.
What I know so far about Swiss Cottage:
- There is a table dancing club somewhere which I probably won’t be visiting
- There is an Odeon cinema somewhere which I probably will be visiting
- Free wifi in the library – not sure where the library is?
- There is a swimming pool and leisure centre
- There is a pub called Ye Old Swiss Cottage
- My house is on the boundary between Westminster and Camden council (handily named Boundary Road)
- and I’m not too far from Little Venice canal which I want to visit soon
As you can see my knowledge is pretty limited at the moment but as soon as I finish writing this I’m off to have a look around. I’m also for now being more over protective of my bike than most paranoid mothers are of their children. It has no less than three locks attached to it! Including my new Kryptonite lock which I will be reviewing soon.
Anyway, from now on this is my base and where I will be running London Cyclist from. Wish me luck!
See also:
Good luck!
Is that a nice balconey you have there?
Good luck with the new place.
When I first moved to London in ’98, I lived on Boundary Rd for a couple weeks, so I have fond memories of that area 🙂
Thai Pepper (restaurant) used to be really nice a few years ago (have since moved east to Stoke Newington). I can also remember that there was a Hungarian Cake shop that was pretty good. Good Luck in the new place
Blimey. Do London Cycle thief’s really climb balconies??
Hey guys! Thanks for the good lucks.
We have a balcony aswell but the bike is locked onto the railings outside the entrance to the house hense the excessive 3 locks! Though seeing a thief scale a building to steal a bike would be an amazing sight!
David I’ll see if I can find that cake shop 😉
@Nigel
“Blimey. Do London Cycle thief’s really climb balconies??”
YES! They do!
You are brave for moving into a house you had not seen before…but I suppose new is usually exciting.
Also good luck with converting your friend into a cyclist…I’m having trouble convincing anyone!
Thanks Angi, I’m sure it won’t take me long to convert him! Maybe I’ll post up an article with some tips on how to convert someone!
The Argos on the highstreet absolutely kicks! – Check it out sometime.
I work in the area and have always thought of Swiss Cottage as a bit of a ‘nowhere’ area… I don’t mean that as a dig, just really curious to find out what made you move here. I’m looking to move at the moment, but Swiss is relatively expensive and there’s nowhere to go out until you get over to Kilburn.
PS: The library is the quite cool looking 60’s concrete building by the swimming pool.
I want to cycle my Dahon folder to the local underground station, fold and carry it on the underground and use at other end. Problem is that I travel a long distance across Central London at rush hour and concerned about where to stand the bike (with or without its bag) on a crowded rush hour tube.
Do they have anywhere special for it or do we have to just park it by the doors and guard it.
I want to cycle my Dahon folder to the local underground station, fold and carry it on the underground and use at other end. Problem is that I travel a long distance across Central London at rush hour and concerned about where to stand the bike (with or without its bag) on a crowded rush hour tube.
Do they have anywhere special for it or do we have to just park it by the doors and guard it.?
@Fred- great recommendation! I’ll add it to my things to do in Swiss Cottage
I kind of agree with your “nowhere” area analogy. I think that’s what makes it kinda good. It’s got the amenities you need such as a local market near the swimming pool on some days, wh smith, big supermarkets such as waitrose and of course lets not forget argos. Then just round the corner you can head to oxford circus, camden area and like I found out on a bike its pretty near to the rest of London too like Covent Garden. I think when you are mobile with a bike it doesn’t really matter where you live. The area is perfectly nice and there is plenty of good pubs around. Sure I wouldn’t mind living a little further into the centre of London but then the prices go up again.
@Stephen, I think you’ll just have to park it by the door and stand by it. I can’t see them being angry at you at having a folding bike because it is the same size as a small suitcase. Let me know how you get along
I know what you mean about bikes in London… Friend of mine is a motorcycle courier, when I see his bike I can’t see where the bike starts and the grime begins.
Still in the area? I live barely 2 streets off Boundary Rd.
Any favourite rides around the area?