You know those rare days where everything just goes… right? That was last weekend.

The Bloke and I took a spontaneous trip to London. I had already booked the day off in anticipation of being needed by a social media client, who unfortunately wasn’t available. Meanwhile, The Bloke discovered that he had a few surprise days of annual leave, so we made a last-minute decision to have an overnight stay, just for a change of scenery and a bit of head-space after what has seemed like a rather intense few months. We hadn’t done a proper touristy day out together since last September, so we figured we were due.

And from the moment we woke up, it was like someone had sprinkled a bit of travel fairy dust over us. We had booked an eye-wateringly early train (we always do this to avoid the main time where everyone commutes – the carriages are less busy and tickets are usually much cheaper), and were so uncharacteristically organised that we got to the station with time to spare, just as the train before ours arrived. The guard allowed us on, and we were in London before 7.00am. I can’t remember the last time I was that productive before breakfast.

The early train seemed to set the tone for the rest of the day. At every Tube stop, trains turned up like they were waiting just for us; the weather was glorious, and even our hotel gave us a surprise 2-for-1 breakfast offer. That has never happened to me in over a decade of staying overnight in the capital. Everyone we met seemed bizarrely friendly too (possibly due to the fabulous sunshine), which caught me off guard as I am well versed in the “get-out-of-my-way” London mentality that hits you as soon as you exit the train at Euston.

We decided to head to Little Venice, which was somewhere neither of us had been to before, with vague plans to make our way up to Camden afterwards. Little Venice has been on my ‘to-visit’ list for a while, and the stunning weather made it the perfect day to go. It is a very charming space of London near Paddington and Regents Park that is known for its colourful narrowboats and relaxed atmosphere, and the perfect spot for leisurely canal-side strolls and dining options in waterside cafés. And because we visited during late spring, the canals were filled with ducks and geese who all had young chicks with them. True to form, as we had a stroll, The Bloke AKA Dr Doolittle was stalked by a moorhen and its little ones, which was adorable. Little Venice is definitely worth a visit if you aren’t in the mood to deal with bustling crowds – it’s one of those places that makes you slow down and go, “Ah… this is nice.”

After we had walked around, we stopped to work out how to get up to Camden. Purely by chance, we stumbled across several canal boat tours going straight there. The one we chose was “Jason’s Trip,” a 45-minute tour on a 118 year-old narrowboat named ‘Jason’ (which you can see in the first picture above on the left). Despite not booking ahead, we bagged great seats at a cost of just £18 each, and it was worth every penny. The guide had that dry Alan Carr-esque delivery that made the history lesson genuinely entertaining, and the scenery? For the most part, beautiful. Herons posing on rooftops, moorhen chicks paddling along like they were in a David Attenborough special, the famous Feng Shang Princess restaurant that has been featured in movies, the outside enclosures at the edge of London Zoo, £20 million houses… What struck me (and made me quite sad) was that just across from those eye-wateringly expensive houses, there were clear signs of people with no home at all, making do with makeshift shelters. The contrast was a stark reminder of the extremes between the super rich and those living way below the poverty line in the UK.

Camden, of course, means street food, and we merrily ate our way around: salt and pepper chicken bao buns, falafel wraps, bubble waffles with ice cream… all extortionate, all completely worth it. And we realised that it wasn’t just a random day, it turned out to be the ninth anniversary of our engagement, so we celebrated with an impromptu 80s-style Photo Booth session. Unfortunately, the booth was way too quick for us and we looked… confused.

By the afternoon, we were both slightly sunburned and flagging after our silly o’clock wake-up, so we headed to our hotel on Brick Lane – a compact little Premier Inn ‘hub’ that was half the price of our usual stay near Euston. Small, yes, but clean, comfy, and had decent Wi-Fi. We had a nap, and it was very much needed.

As if the ridiculous amount of street food we had consumed already wasn’t enough, we decided to wander around Old Spitalfields Market nearby for dinner, indulging in dumplings from Dumpling Shack, more bao buns from Yum Bun and treating ourselves to a dessert from Humble Crumble before we went back to the hotel. It felt indulgent but not over the top, just a lovely evening pottering about with no responsibilities or time limit.

That whole day felt like it had been curated just for us. And as it turned out, our timing was immaculate. The next morning, the heavens opened and it rained heavily for hours. Avanti (the rail network) had also decided to do “urgent” Bank Holiday rail works (as they usually do), and the station was rather chaotic. But once again, we were ahead of the curve: early to the station, on one of the few direct trains back to Birmingham, seats secured well before the masses arrived. By departure time, it was standing room only, and we were tucked away with snacks, feeling smug and slightly knackered.

One of those rare, perfect days. No drama, no stress, just pure, well-timed magic. More of those, please.

Want to visit Little Venice? Find out more here!