Singing and songwriting ‘circus-swing’ with her band Gabby Young and Other Animals, Gabby met stylist and journalist Katie Antoniou through their love of vintage fashion, and the pair ended up forming a lasting friendship and working relationship, collaborating on projects like Gabby’s music videos.They also run handmade collective Gabberdashery together, celebrating the work of British craftswomen and artists. Gabby runs her own record label Gift of the Gab with her parents who live just down the road from Katie, whose boyfriend happens to be old friends with Gabby’s manager. They often all congregate at Gabby’s parents’ house in Battersea for Sunday lunch and dog-walking in Battersea park. The walk they’ve curated includes some of their other local hangouts!
Starting point: The Garden Museum in the converted church of St Mary
The Garden Cafe is one of those brilliantly kept London secrets- its beautiful shop is hidden inside a converted church joined to Lambeth Palace. In the summer you can eat the cafe’s homemade food in the secluded walled gardens full of beautiful flowerbeds, a little urban oasis. Gabby has really got into gardening lately-you can see her latest efforts on her home and garden blog- so she now frequents the museum’s shop and lecture series. Pop in to buy some seeds for your garden or windowbox!
Walk along the river towards Vauxhall and you’ll pass the Tamesis Dock (2)- a boat moored on Albert Embankment, converted into a bar and live music venue. Gabby performed there last year-and it’s literally right outside Katie’s flat, so its her local!They book some great bands and its a lovely spot to sit on the top deck for a drink in the summer, with a view of the houses of parliament and Big Ben.
Walk down Albert Embankment and turn left into Glasshouse Walk and right into Vauxhall Walk For the Tea House Theatre (3).
The Tea House Theatre. Ahhh-how sweet!Who would guess that this venue was, until recently, one of London’s oldest strip clubs,garishly painted orange,complete with boarded up windows!
The area that used to be Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens is experiencing a huge revival, with establishments like The Tea House Theatre replacing older, dodgier venues. This gorgeous tea house serves over 30 different teas and always has an array of huge,homemade cakes you can enjoy in an armchair by the fireside.Katie is editor of London arts and culture site Run-Riot so is always on the look out for great new venues-especially when they’re on her doorstep.
Walk through Spring Gardens or Vauxhall City Farm and exit onto Kennington Lane, turning left to Vauxhall Bus Station. Did you know the Russians inspired by Vauxhall adopted the word Vokzal for their country’s first ever rail station? Vokzal is now the word for station in Russian.
Just across the road, the other side of Vauxhall tube and bus stop, visit LASSCO (4) for endless inspiration for your home.The Brunswick House Cafe is next door, and is furnished with many of the peculiar gems from LASSCO- salvaged vintage Moroccan lamps, ancient posters, old cinema chairs and eccentric clocks- so you can have a cup of tea or a full meal amongst them. Now run by brilliant young chef Jackson Boxer, you have to book early if you want to get a table.
Now, whilst LASSCO is a lovely place to browse, its prices are a little out of our league, so from here we’d hop on a bus (344) or walk along the river down to Battersea Car Boot Fair (5). Gabby is the car boot fair queen- her north London home is full of the most wonderful stuff, mostly picked up for next to nothing from car boot fairs like the one in Battersea, which is her favourite.
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