We left London for Lapland eight years ago. What was it like to go back?
Updated: Sep 6
We lived in London for 15 years before leaving for Lapland in 2018.
Eight years later, we were finally going back together for the first time.
Would London feel different? Would we still like it as much as we used to? Would we miss our old life there?
We wanted to revisit some of our favourite places, discover what had changed, meet old friends and simply enjoy London without work meetings, rushing and everyday responsibilities.
But before London, we were taking a little detour… to Scotland!
Leaving Lapland
A few days before our trip, Paul said he was excited to go but sad to leave. I knew exactly what he meant.
Since moving to Lapland, we usually travel by car, always with Gooseberry coming with us. Flying away together and leaving both Lapland and Gooseberry behind somehow felt very different, almost wrong.
Sitting on the plane a few days later, I looked out of the window and said:
“Such a sad feeling.”
“I KNOW!” Paul replied.
We were genuinely excited about our holiday, but at the same time it felt very difficult to leave home. Not just the physical building but the spiritual place we call home, our forest and the mountain of Levi, they are a part of us.
Once in the air, after admiring Lapland below us, it was time for me to do some work. I was preparing an Instagram post about Polar Nights when Paul suddenly told me to look through the window. The sky was painted in the most intense pink and blue – exactly the Polar Night colours I had just been writing about.
How incredible is that?
We had an overnight stay at the Clarion Hotel at Helsinki airport, which we recommend if you have a connecting flight early the following morning. It is just 100m opposite the front doors of Terminal 2, so it could not be easier.
From Helsinki to London and almost to Wales
Our first proper day was rather eventful:
🍳 Breakfast in Helsinki at 5am EEST
🥗 Brunch in Notting Hill.
🍦 A stop in the Cotswolds.
🍲 Dinner near the Welsh border 9pm GMT
After two hours of the hustle and bustle of Heathrow airport, we were finally on our way into central London, taking the train to Paddington.
Almost immediately, we started talking about how strangely familiar everything felt. Almost as if we had never left. The sounds and smells of the train logged deep inside our memories are refreshed.
Since moving to Lapland eight years ago, I had only been back to London once, for a conference around seven years ago. And yet here we were, knowing where we were going and recognising everything around us.
From Paddington we took a black cab towards Notting Hill and I could not stop making excited noises every time we passed another beautiful bakery, cafe or little shop.
One thing we immediately noticed again about London was how much effort so many businesses put into their spaces. Of course, competition in a big city is high, but it feels like more than that. There is a real appreciation for making places inviting and beautiful.
Living in the Nordics is different. Nature provides so much beauty that perhaps there is less need to create it everywhere else. But we definitely miss some of that attention to detail you find in big cities.
Perhaps our years in London influenced Foxfires more than we realised. We put so much effort, passion and love into creating our spaces because we want our guests to have both: the incredible nature outside and somewhere warm, cosy and carefully considered inside.
And then there is the food. London has so much good food. If you are in Notting Hill, put Ottolenghi on your list for lunch or simply coffee and cake.
Eventually we collected our rental car and started driving north towards the Welsh border. Our plan was to stop at Clarkson’s Farm for lunch and then visit Burford, a beautiful Cotswolds village nearby. We had been there many years ago while visiting a dog breeder we hoped one day to get our first dog from.
A year later, Gooseberry was born. Yes, our little Lapland dog comes from this beautiful part of England!
But, as often happens when we travel, the plan had to change. We spent far too long enjoying Notting Hill and arrived at Clarkson’s Farm pub, The Farmers Dog too late. The farm shop was already closed and, unsurprisingly, the restaurant was fully booked. The weather, however, was perfect – not too hot, not too cold – so we stopped for lemonade drinks outside in the garden. Most people had already left and it was very calm and relaxing.
Then we continued north and arrived at Paul’s mum’s late that evening.
A little detour to Scotland
The following morning, we planned to drive to Scotland using country lanes. We do not particularly like motorways. They are fast, but quite boring. We prefer slower journeys where you can see the countryside, beautiful villages, little cottages, and animals in the fields. But the British weather had other plans. The rain was horrendous and visibility was so poor that this time the motorway was definitely the better option. In Scotland we met Paul’s family and spent two lovely days together. Time with family is priceless, particularly when you live as far away as we do.
I had last visited Scotland around 20 years ago and remembered how beautiful it was.
We were hoping to see Highland cows, so it was a very pleasant surprise to discover that our cottage near Stirling was surrounded by farmers’ fields full of animals. There were horses, sheep and, yes, Highland cows too! It was incredibly peaceful waking up and looking out at all those animals.
A day in Edinburgh
Edinburgh is such a charming city.
For us, the best way to discover a place like this is simply to walk. Get a little lost in the smaller streets, find a market, look at local art and things people make, stop for coffee when you feel like it.
We came across the West End Fair and were overwhelmed by how many amazing artists and makers were exhibiting there. There was so much interesting work, and of course we could not leave empty-handed. We bought a few pieces to bring home with us.
That is how we like to travel.
Edinburgh was particularly busy because the Fringe Festival was on, but somehow that added to its charm. There were performers everywhere – singing, playing music and entertaining people in the streets.
One moment from that day will stay with me forever.
We were walking along colourful Victoria Street when we stopped to listen to one of the musicians performing there. His music was so powerful and somehow just perfect for that particular moment.
I cried.
We carried on walking, slowly, without rushing and without ticking boxes. Eventually we found Nor’ Loft, a rooftop bar overlooking the city. It was a lovely way to finish the day. I only wish we had one more day in Edinburgh. Plus several more days to explore the highlands. Next time!
Back to London
We left early on August Bank Holiday because we expected the roads to be horrendous as it is probably the biggest travel day of the year there. Driving in the UK felt much more stressful than we remembered. It must always have been like this, but when you live with it every day, perhaps you simply stop noticing. Surprisingly, our drive back to London was quick and easy.
And now the very busy and exciting part of our holiday was beginning: three days of seeing friends, revisiting familiar places, eating very good food and enjoying everything London has to offer.
We stayed at art’otel at Battersea Power Station.
The whole area has changed enormously since the days we lived nearby and is now full of shops, cafes and restaurants. For everything we wanted to do on this trip, it was also a perfect location. The hotel has a rooftop bar with panoramic views over London and a rooftop swimming pool, which was excellent for an early morning swim and a quick dip between all the things we were doing.
Soon after arriving we had lunch at Dishoom - highly recommended, by the way. We enjoyed the food so much that we came home with their cookbook.
Sitting there, we were talking about how surprisingly easy it felt to go from living in a forest, in one of the most peaceful parts of the world, to being back in one of the busiest cities in the world.
London still felt completely natural to us.
The biggest difference was that this time we were tourists. There were no work meetings to attend, no rush and no tight schedules. We could walk slowly, stop for coffee whenever we wanted and change our plans simply because something else looked more interesting.
It was a very different way of experiencing the city we once called home.
London is a little like an old friend
A huge part of our time in London was spent meeting friends. There was so much laughter. Some of them I had not seen since we moved to Lapland eight years ago, but that is the thing about really good friends. It does not matter how long you have not seen each other. When you finally meet again, it can feel as though you were together only a few days ago.
And I started thinking that perhaps London is a little like that for us too. Like a good old friend.
Its appearance changes. New buildings appear, areas develop and restaurants come and go. But underneath, it is still the same friend. Familiar and good.
Three nights were simply not enough to see everyone we wanted to see, which made me quite sad. But one day we will be back. Or hopefully they will come and see us in Lapland.
Seeing London on foot
London is huge and its public transport is excellent. If you want to visit many of the famous attractions, you will probably need to use buses or the underground because everything is quite spread out.
But do not dismiss the black cabs.
On this trip we mostly walked and used taxis. They were convenient and not as expensive as you might imagine. I used the underground only once, when I was meeting a friend, and immediately regretted it. Europe had been experiencing a heatwave for a long time and although it was “only” around 20°C when we arrived, for us that was still rather warm. Lapland’s summer has been cool this year so 20°C is high for us! Down on the tube there was no air. It was hot and sweaty. Not particularly pleasant.
What we enjoyed much more was walking.
London has its famous sights, of course, but it also has so many beautiful streets and neighbourhoods that are quieter and feel much more like everyday London.
If this is not your first visit to London, or you simply want to see a slightly different side of the city, these are some of the walks we enjoyed.
Battersea, Chelsea and some old memories
From our hotel at Battersea Power Station we walked along the river, crossed Chelsea Bridge and continued towards Sloane Square and King’s Road.
King’s Road holds a lot of memories for me.
Almost 25 years ago, I got my first permanent job there, working in a pastry shop. It was where I met people from all over the world, including good friends I still have today and met again during this trip.
It was also where I really began to understand how different cultures can be.
There is never only one correct way of seeing things. The world is diverse and interesting because people are different, and learning to respect those differences has been very important in my life.
I am very thankful for the people I met in London and everything they taught me.
Anyway… back to our walk 😃
Close to busy Sloane Square is Duke of York Square, with shops, cafes and restaurants. It is a nice place to stop for lunch or coffee and escape the busier streets for a while.
From there we walked towards Elizabeth Street, another pretty street that does not feel quite as overwhelmed by tourists. We stopped for coffee and cake and, of course, I visited my favourite dog shop. Years ago, Paul’s first London office was located there too. It’s such nostalgic place to visit again.
From Sloane Square it is only around a 15-minute walk to Harrods, another place full of memories for me. I worked there for Chanel just before I went to university – in my thirties, by the way 😃
Nearby you also have Hyde Park and some excellent museums. When we lived in London, we used to visit the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum every year.
A little bit of busy London too
Of course, we did not completely avoid the hustle and bustle.
Fortnum & Mason, which we wanted to visit, is close to very busy Piccadilly Circus. The flagship shop of my favourite cosmetics brand is in Neal’s Yard, a beautiful little courtyard hidden away in one of the busiest parts of London. From there we walked to Covent Garden.
We very quickly realised that Covent Garden was now a little too busy for our liking 😂
For the journey back to Battersea we took the public river boat. This is such a good way to see London from the Thames without booking a sightseeing tour. And after spending so much of the day walking, sitting down for a while was quite nice.
Walking against the crowd
Our final day in London was also our ninth wedding anniversary.
For dinner we booked Lucky Cat, Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant on the 60th floor of 22 Bishopsgate. We had wanted to visit it since watching a programme about it on Netflix. Our reservation was at 17:30. At around 17:00, offices across the City of London begin emptying and thousands of people start making their way home.
So there we were, walking across London Bridge against a stream of people rushing in the opposite direction. It’s a Hollywood image we have seen in movies and Paul always wanted to do it now that we have left the rat race. It was quite a sight and quite impossible to walk in a straight line against the tide but very satisfying! It was also a moment we did not plan, we had just forgotten about that thing called rush hour!
Many years ago, I was one of them. My office was close to Tower Bridge. How amazing is that by the way!? I remember walking home across those bridges in full make-up, high heels – always – and usually a pretty dress. Paul also had an office there and loved commuting over Tower Bridge on his motorbike every day.
And suddenly this very ordinary walk to a restaurant felt like a metaphor for the decision we made in 2018.
We went in a different direction, and never looked back.
Our life now could hardly be more different from the one we had eight years ago.
But we do not look back at London negatively. Quite the opposite. We loved our life there. We still love London and think it is one of the best cities in the world. I even loved my job. There were simply a few things missing from our lives: more time together, more freedom and a closer connection with nature.
We took a risk because we wanted something different.
And we are very grateful that we did.
Change does not have to mean leaving everything behind and moving to another country. Sometimes it can be much smaller. But I think it is worth noticing when something in your life no longer feels quite right and asking yourself whether there is something you could change.
For us, that question eventually led all the way to Lapland.
Our anniversary at Lucky Cat
And then it was time to celebrate. Lucky Cat was an experience from the moment we arrived at the building. The doorman already knew it was our anniversary, which was such a sweet touch. The restaurant itself is stunning. The views across London are incredible, the food was excellent, the staff were lovely and we really enjoyed the music played by the DJ. As two people who love food and have eaten in many wonderful places around the world, this quickly became one of our favourite restaurant experiences.
London has plenty of places with panoramic views. Another favourite of ours from the past is Sky Garden, although we did not have time to return on this trip. A day before I met a friend for drinks at Sabine, a rooftop bar with a wonderful view towards St Paul’s Cathedral and other London landmarks.
And suddenly our three days were over. Far too quickly. But then I always feel like that when something lovely is coming to an end. A holiday, winter, autumn… I always want to keep it for just a little longer.
We did not manage to see everyone we wanted to see or revisit all our favourite places. But that gives us plenty of reasons to come back.
Our London recommendations
We could probably write an entire blog about our favourite places in London after living there for 15 years. Instead, here are a few places, experiences and areas we particularly love, including old favourites we return to, new places we discovered on this trip and a few we are saving for next time.
Places to eat, drink and stay:
art’otel Battersea Power Station – we loved the location for exploring London on foot, and the rooftop pool was a particularly nice addition to busy days in the city.
Dishoom – excellent food and somewhere we enjoyed so much that we bought the cookbook.
Ottolenghi, Notting Hill – if you are visiting Notting Hill, it is a lovely place to stop for lunch, coffee or cake. We really enjoyed it. He has places across London too.
Lucky Cat at 22 Bishopsgate – we chose it for our anniversary and it became one of the highlights of the trip. Wonderful food, service, atmosphere and great views of London.
Borough Market – an old favourite of ours and a great place to stop for something to eat while walking along the Thames. We have heard it has become much busier in recent years, but we did not make it there on this trip, so we will have to see for ourselves next time.
Sabine Rooftop Bar (St Paul’s) – a lovely rooftop bar with great views across London, including St Paul’s Cathedral, The Shard and other London landmarks.
Things to do and our favourite walks:
Sky Garden – one of our favourite places for views across London. It is right at the top of our list whenever friends ask us where to see the city from above. We did not manage to go back this time, but we will definitely return on another visit.
Uber Boat by Thames Clippers – a great way to travel across London while seeing the city from the Thames. We used it to get back to our hotel and really enjoyed seeing London from the water without taking a sightseeing cruise. You can simply use it as public transport, with services stopping at piers across London.
Covent Garden and Neal’s Yard – Covent Garden is one of those London places everyone knows and it is certainly worth seeing, but it can get extremely busy. Just a short walk away is Neal’s Yard, a colourful little courtyard that we have always liked and where you will also find the flagship store of one of my favourite skincare brands.
Battersea to Chelsea – we walked this route several times during our stay, starting at Battersea Power Station, following the river and crossing towards Chelsea. Chelsea holds many memories for us, but even without that personal connection, it is a lovely walk. You see a more residential, everyday side of London, away from many of the main tourist attractions, with beautiful streets, cafes, shops and plenty of places to stop along the way.
From Westminster to Tower Bridge and along the Thames – if you are visiting Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, instead of taking the tube afterwards, take the river boat towards Tower Hill, which used to be my tube stop when I worked in the office in this part of London. You can visit the Tower of London, cross Tower Bridge and then start one of my favourite London walks along the south side of the Thames. I did this walk so many times on my way to and from the office. Stop at Hay’s Galleria for coffee, continue to Borough Market for lunch and then follow the river towards Waterloo. If the Southbank Centre Food Market is open, there is always room for another snack or cake 😃
Borough Market to St Paul’s – start around Borough Market and walk west along the Thames, passing Shakespeare’s Globe and Tate Modern. From there, cross Millennium Bridge towards St Paul’s Cathedral. The view of St Paul’s as you walk across the bridge is one of our favourite London views. Take your time, stop for coffee and simply explore the area rather than rushing from one attraction to another.
A little further from central London
If you have more time, there is much more to London than the centre. We lived near Wimbledon Village and later near Hampton Court, so this part of London still feels very much like home to us. Wimbledon Village, Richmond, Kew Gardens and Hampton Court are all places we loved and would happily recommend if you want to spend some time away from the busiest parts of central London.
And perhaps our biggest recommendation
Do not plan every minute. Leave some space to walk, get a little lost, stop somewhere because it looks interesting and change your plans if you feel like it. This is how we have always liked to travel, and it is the same advice we give to people planning a trip to Lapland. Some of the best moments are often the ones you did not plan.
Coming home
Leaving London gave us one final contrast.
Heathrow felt busy and manic. People rushing everywhere, noise, crowds and shop fronts constantly asking for your attention and tempers flaring. Helsinki Airport already felt calmer. There are quiet areas designed simply to sit, rest and slow down.
But the biggest difference came when we landed in Kittilä.
The moment we stepped outside, we noticed the air. It felt so clean. After London, the difference was incredible.
Then came the quiet. The space. The almost empty roads.
Living here every day, it is easy to forget just how much this environment affects how we feel. Over the years, we started asking ourselves questions. Why had we hardly had a cold or flu since moving to Lapland? Why did we feel so peaceful here, even during our busiest winter months? And why did we so often see a change in our guests the longer they stayed with us? They seemed calmer, they told us how good they felt, and many of them wanted to come back.
Paul became fascinated by these questions and spent years researching them. Eventually, that research became the wellness chapter in our Lapland guide, looking at the effects of clean air, quiet, forests, pure water, outdoor activity, sauna and simply spending time in nature.
If you are curious about what Paul discovered and the conclusions he came to after all that research, you can read the full chapter in Our Winter Guide to Levi Lapland.
One thing we noticed particularly strongly when we returned to London was the noise. We could actually feel it in our bodies. London has always been noisy, but after years of living surrounded by forest and so much silence, we seemed to experience it differently.
Coming home made us notice the contrast again. Perhaps wellness does not always have to mean doing something specifically designed to make you feel better. Sometimes it can simply be the place you are in.
And on our drive home, we met some reindeer. Of course we did 😃
After such a busy but amazing holiday, coming back to Lapland felt a little like the day after a really good party. You loved the party. You had a wonderful time. You are very happy you went. But now it feels so good to be home, somewhere quiet, clean and peaceful.
So, eight years after leaving London, do we still love it?
Absolutely.
Perhaps even more now that we can experience it differently.
But coming home reminded us that we also made the right decision eight years ago.
We can love London and still be very happy that our everyday life is now here, in a quiet forest in Lapland.
And perhaps that is the nicest thing we brought home from this trip.
Thank you for reading.
See you in Lapland,
Aggie, Paul & Gooseberry
Every photograph in this article was taken by us during this trip.
