London on the cheap? That is the question. Can you go out for a fiver for a full day of London food and entertainment? This is a story of my £5 a day experiment and how I had a fabulous time and restored my health and sanity. My life was a mess there was no denying it. Suffering from exhaustion and overwhelm, a chance reading of a blog changed me forever…
Events that Led up to Doing London on the Cheap
A London in the Cheap experiment wasn’t in my horoscope but here is how it came about.
My mother had been ill for some years and was now confined to a wheel chair. My father at 87, was a bit doddery but still a practising pharmacist. And I was working 80 hour weeks managing the e-learning output for a large organisation…and managing my investments and properties…think deadlines, mold, damp, repairs, neighbours, tenants. It wasn’t kittens and roses.
And just when it didn’t look as if it could get any more complicated, my father had a fall on a bus sustaining a bleed on the brain. So now I had two parents, both frail and bonkers, and a pharmacy to close down, plus everything else.
On the exact day of my father’s death, the phone rang…I had won a lucrative but complicated project in Sweden, the land where a glass of wine costs £15, the sun sets at 2pm in December and waiting for a bus causes icicles to drip from your nose.
My face was red and puffy from exhaustion. My eyes had shrunk further into my skull. My whole life was subcontracted to cleaners, gardeners, virtual assistants and doctors. And my sole entertainment comprised going to the local pub for lunch on Sunday.
And all of this came at a monetary cost too. I was earning a fortune and spending £21,000 a year on foreign travel, meals away from home and the plethora of other useless things that go with an executive consulting career.
A Blog Post on a £5 a Day Challenge Changed my Life
Late one night I was researching investments, when I fell upon a blog written by a business school professor. She described how she was was paying off £60k of debt by eliminating all unnecessary outgoings with the exception of gym membership and a meagre £150 a month for entertainment. This worked out at a fiver per day.
Her story preyed on my mind. Could this be the key to changing my life? Where would a fiver in London take me?
My plan on how to do London on the cheap took some working out. I would ignore any transport costs. I joined a luxury gym. And I wouldn’t take into consideration any of my existing memberships which were:
- Kew Gardens
- National Trust
- National Art Pass
In turn this £5 a day challenge became the inspiration for me starting the Londonology bog as I explain in Hello World.
London on the Cheap, or for a Fiver, per Day
That left me with a fiver, or £5 a day, to go out..and as a cup of coffee in London was about £2.50, I was clearly not going to get very far.
But what if I stayed local to my home in West London on one day, used my memberships and took a picnic lunch? My expenses for those days would be zero. Then on alternate days, I would have £11 to spend. This was much more viable. The plan was born.
My “Free” Local Days
My local days didn’t involve much suffering despite all expenditure being (largely) forbidden.
Invariably, I would start my gallivanting, with a trip to the gym where I spurned any form of strenuous exercise and headed straight to a hot foaming jacuzzi alternating with the steam room, solarium, a brief swim and the sauna.
Sometimes I would swing by Waitrose for a free coffee (it’s shame that they stopped that source of profound pleasure).
Then I would drift between a walk in Kew Gardens…
Or a free Tai Chi class overlooking a grand tree lined vista…
Or a trip to Richmond Park to see ancient trees and deer…
I discovered that the Odeon ran a scheme for the over 60s (Odeon Silver cinema) where I could have tea and biscuits and watch a movie for £2…so not zero expenditure but fairly close.
My “free days” were, in fact, quite a lot of fun!
My First London on the Cheap Adventure
On an overcast day in December 2013, I embarked on my first budget adventure with a well researched plan.
I started at the V&A, where I joined an organised museum tour of the little known Theatre and Performance Collection.
Among the costumes, set designs, advertising posters and oil paintings was the horse from the theatre production of Warhorse. Joey the puppet had starred in over 1,640 shows of the stage adaption of Michael Morpurgo’s book before he retired to the V&A in March 2013.
Slightly exhilarated with my no cost V&A success, I walked on icy pavements to the Serpentine Gallery. I was overawed by the cafe extension, built that year and designed by Zaha Hadid; a cloud like edifice of steel and glass where the undulating roof plummets to the ground at various points. I stopped for a pot of tea with a complimentary lavender shortbread biscuit.
There was an interesting, if not unnerving exhibition, of Klu Klux Klan figures and multilated art in their Contemporary Art Space (free and entertaining).
Walking back to South Kensington, I abandoned my plans for crepes when I saw the welcoming orange awnings of Comptoir Libanais.
I had a late lunch feasting on the Mezze Platter of hummus, baba ghanuj, quinoa, tabbouleh, falafel, labne, cheese samboussek, flat bread and pickles. And to drink, I had rose mint tea which arrived in a steaming Middle Eastern silver tea pot and was a refreshing blend of green tea, fresh mint, rose water and sugar.
I then hopped on a bus to Harrods to see the Christmas windows. It was the year that they were decked out like carriages on the Orient Express. Really, they were a 1920s marvel to behold.
I ended my First London on the Cheap mission with a walk round the Harrods Food Hall which was brimming with Christmas treats – bronze turkeys at £120 and all manner of pricy delicacies.
The total for my exhilarating day out had come to £11.34 including tea at the Serpentine cafe and my mezze lunch at Comptoir Libanais. The theatre tour at the V&A was complimentary, as was entry to the art exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery. Bear in mind these are 2013 prices but this wouldn’t cost much more today.
My “London on the Cheap” plan was not only born but my plan worked!
Fine Tuning My Days Out
Over the coming months, I discovered a few things that helped me to refine my London on the Cheap plan.
The key was lunch for a fiver, a few coffee stops to rest and get a caffeine boost and a well researched plan of things to see and do.
Of course, anyone can get a sandwich on-the-go but I wanted something better and for £5 there’s a surprising range of tasty morsels.
I was bowled over by both Mr Sammy (such a charming man) and his Beigel Bake shop in Brick Lane where I was given the most enormous white doughy bread roll stuffed with huge amounts of salt beef, neon yellow, nose tingling mustard and gherkins for £4.25.
Then there was Five Guys, where somewhere at the bottom of the menu they advertised a small beef burger for £4.75 and when they asked me what toppings I wanted, I said “All of them!”. This was a gargantuan lunch time treat as they slapped on tomatoes, mayo, lettuce, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, jalapeño peppers, green peppers and ketchup.
And I loved the soup and crumble combination at Cafe in the Crypt under St Martins Church. Each day they brought out a vat of fresh home made soup, hot baked bread and an apple crumble with a jug of custard which was £5.95 (slightly more now).
These days my caffeine fix is taken care of with a £20 monthly subscription to Pret which includes smoothies, cappuccino, hot chocolate and a large range of barista drinks – useful for someone like me who is always on the go. You can have up to five drinks a day at 30 minute intervals.
It is worth noting that Pret does a black filter coffee for a £1 reduced by 25p (pre coronavirus) if you bring your own travel mug.
The easy part was finding things to do. I discovered the key was to research the day before online, find vouchers and keep an eye open for membership based entertainment. I would try and contain my activities within a small area, or on a single tube line, and have some variety between them eg. an art gallery plus a performance or recital.
I still get excited when I find an interesting lunch deal for a fiver. Look at this one that I found yesterday at the famous Poppies which is arguably the best fish and chip shop in town. But honestly, if you are near a market, or street food stall, you can pick up amazing things in the £5-8 range.
By the way be sure to check out our blog post on free and cheap things to do in London as this is a great way to get started.
So Where is My “London on the Cheap” Plan Now?
Before my great budget project, the only people I really knew were old friends, neighbours and IT work colleagues.
Now my friendship circle is simply magical…amazing, creative people with interesting stories, who I have met on my London adventures. We hoot with laughter and are always booking things for each other and zooming into town.
As I was having such a good time, I would prefer to be out living it up, instead of chained to a desk and a computer, so I retired.
And I no longer look like the walking dead.
Do I still go out for a fiver? No, sadly not. I did it for years and it was the most fun ever but I decided to pay more to properly recompense the fantastic venues, bars and restaurants that are the backbone of my new life. And I like to be out with my friends without feeling financially constrained.
I think back to 2013, the blog that started it all and my chance decision to click on the author’s About page which was the catalyst for my London for a Fiver project. But even 7 years later, going out every day to fascinating places, all for the price of your average office worker’s lunch is definitely achievable.
Me, Today
Happy and relaxed with friends in our opera box at the London Coliseum.
So I implore you dear reader, get off your sofa now and go out. You can go out for free! And you can definitely have the time of your life in London on the Cheap.
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