I’ve lived all over London, but in the aftermath of my first marriage breaking down I lived in Kentish Town and adored it.
I told myself I was never going to leave.
Then I met Justin, my now husband, who has to live south of the river. I was reticent to go but he suspected I might like Vauxhall and he was right, I love it.
I love the history combined with the modernity.
At one end of our road we’ve got a downtown LA skyline and at the other beautiful green space and a church.
Eating and drinking
Brunswick House is one of the most special places to eat in London, not only because of Jackson Boxer’s exceptional food and the fact that he’s a local boy (his father runs Italo deli on Bonnington Square), but also because the setting is so exquisite.
It’s a Georgian building on the edge of Vauxhall roundabout, surrounded by traffic, and yet this building has remained.
It’s also where Justin took me on our second date and it’s the first place we kissed.
The Canton Arms does an incredible breakfast Martini made with marmalade. Vauxhall Market has opened up next to the station; you can get everything from Sri Lankan food to bubble tea and frozen Margaritas.
Working out
Embody Wellness is a yoga studio but it also does Pilates and circuits, plus it has massage therapists and facialists.
It’s run by a great guy called Bruce and it’s one of the best yoga studios I’ve found anywhere in London or LA.
To commune with nature
Vauxhall Park is my particular favourite. It’s a modestly-sized park, which means that if you were someone who forced themselves on a daily jog it’s feasible to do a lap of it.
They’ve done an amazing job of renovating it and there’s a fountain, playground, lavender fields, a model village, tennis courts and a sign which marks the place where Millicent Fawcett used to live.
There’s also a dog park; nothing cheers me up more than seeing a really happy dog bounding across to meet his or her friends.
For a culture fix
Battersea Power Station is a fantastic place now. They’ve done such an incredible job of renovating while staying true to its original architectural beauty.
It has two cinemas, both owned by the same people — one in the power station, which has very comfortable seats, and another under the arches.
That has a particular soft spot for us; one birthday we hired out one of the screening rooms and invited friends to watch one of my favourite movies, Roman Holiday.
Grocery shopping
Waitrose and Sainsbury’s are opposite Vauxhall station.
Italo deli is a treasure trove, it’s so perfect. It has wooden shelves filled with jars of chickpeas and cannellini beans, and you can get incredible pasta, flour and tuna.
You feel like you’ve been transported to Sicily.
Getting around
You can walk to Parliament from here in 25 minutes and you can walk into Soho in an hour.
Otherwise I get the Tube. I’m lucky because I’m between the Victoria line and the Northern line.
Dream street
I’m on my dream street.
There’s a great pub a few doors up from us, we have amazing neighbours and it’s a really great mixed community.
When Justin was on his charm offensive about Vauxhall we did a bit of a pub crawl and we ended up on this road and I said, ‘Oh this is perfect, this is where I’d like to live.’
There are lots of little nods to Vauxhall in my novel Magpie.
Something you only see in Vauxhall
So much history still lives and breathes around us.
There are the historic boundaries of the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens; just across the river is Tate Britain on the site of Millbank Prison — you can still see a section of the moat.
What’s the catch?
Vauxhall doesn’t quite have the villagey feel of some parts of London, as yet there’s not a cluster of local shops greengrocers or cafes that you can just pop round the corner to.
In three words
Inclusive, evolving, unique.
Elizabeth Day’s Friendaholic: Confessions of a Friendship Addict is out in paperback.
Schools
Herbert Morrison Primary, Ashmole Primary and Vauxhall Primary are all local state schools rated outstanding by Ofsted.
What it costs
Buying in Vauxhall
Average flat price: £545,540
Average house price: £1,157,520
Renting in Vauxhall
Average flat price, pcm: £2,960
Average house price, pcm: £3,950
