🎃HAPPY HALLOWEEN MONTH 👻

Halloween is really a state of mind. It’s a season. A whole vibe.

(OKAY YES, I know it’s just the beginning of October, but let me live. 2020 has been kinda bust, so anything that sparks joy is A WIN) So bust out those pumpkin candles, stream Hocus Pocus, and get ready to virtually explore London with me via my spooky little adventure.

Small tangent: I don’t know if it’s because I’m American or what, but I go ALL OUT on holidays. October, November, December- these are the holy trinity of holiday months and you BETTA believe that this home takes it dead seriously. 💀Anyone else feel me?? Let me know I’m not alone in the comments! 

In a conversation with my British boyfriend recently,  I basically said (in the nicest way <3) ‘either ride the crazy train with me or get off.’ No grumbling about too many pumpkin candles, no moaning about too many decorations, and definitely no grumpiness at the excessive theme music and movies that accompanies each holiday. To my surprise, he got on board haha. I knew I picked a winner. 🖤❤️

BACK TO THE STORY:
I’m an Ad creative by trade, so coming up with ridiculous ideas like this is my bread and butter. To celebrate and REALLY get in the spooky mood, I got this crazy idea in my head to do a Halloween photoshoot at some of London’s most iconic spots.

Ghosts like to explore too- no tube fare!

BEHIND THE ‘SCREAMS’, if you want to recreate:

• I bought two double bed sheets (fitted, oops!) and the black glasses at Roman Road market the previous weekend. 
• I marked chose a few stellar spots of London that I wanted to feature on my blog and created a little storyboard of what the photos would look like. 
  
• We stayed up late the night before, steaming the sheets and prepping the camera equipment (tripods, rechargeable phone batteries, etc!) 

THE HAUNTING:

An early morning wakeup call (5:30 am) on a Saturday would’ve made any other dude mad, but my ‘Ghoulmate’ is one of a kind. On the big day, we took off in the POURING rain to explore the iconic sights of our home. The first stop is one that I hope you won’t need any help from your friends in guessing where it was shot.

 

All of my life, I’ve dreamed of going to Abbey Road crossing. Never once did I think I’d be crossing it quite like this. Note to any traveler and Beatles fans out there, if you’re hoping for a picture like this, you should get there when no sane drivers would be on the road- it gets BUSY. (I would probably go at 5 or 6.) Don’t let this quite street shot fool you (photoshopped out the bus and cars 😉 ) 

Address: 3 Abbey Rd, St John’s Wood, London NW8 9AY
(It’s the crossing right in front of the studio)
Nearest tube station: St. John’s Wood

London is gorgeous, holy sheet.

The rain had cleared up by noon and then it was a lovely, gloomy day to walk along the Thames, the North Bank. From this side, you get a great view of the London Eye, the Shard, the Tate gallery, and more. 

And this pose, I think ‘Ghostfluencers’ could be the new thing, honestly. 

*insert inspirational Autumn/Fall quote about ~Pumpkin spice and everything spooky~*

Nothing screams fall like wrapping up with a cozy knitted scarf on the North Bank while you stare out at the Thames river, the London eye, and an iconic red bus all at once.

Wine Office Court Alley
Deep in the back passages of London, you’ll find a haunted alley…

Ok, the ghosts are us… but you might find famous ghosts, who knows! This passage is SO old, dated back to earlier than 1675 and this is the location of the famous pub ‘Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese,’ which has seen the likes of Dickens, Tennyson, Yeats, Teddy Roosevelt, and many more.

So many greats, and I’m here dancing around like a fool. Ah well. 

My absolute favourite part of the day was walking across the Millennium Bridge dressed as a ghost. The kids were livinggg for my costume and so many of them stopped to ask me ‘why do ghosts have legs?’ and ‘why would a ghost wear sunglasses outside?’ At least this adventure put some smiles on some faces that rainy day! Aww warm fuzzies.

If this is your first time visiting London, this is a GREAT location for a nice view of St. Pauls, Tower Bridge, the London Eye, and more. It’s a classic.

Location: Millennium Bridge, entrance on the South side, next to the Tate gallery.

Covent Garden Iconic Phone Booths
So this is the location of the many red iconic phone booths sat side by side, however, they were under construction when we got there. BOOOO.

I think the construction actually makes it a particularly grungy photo, don’t you think?

Better luck for you, when you visit!

Location: Broad Court, Covent Garden

Tower Bridge 

Revelling in the night and watching the sunset over tower bridge was the perfect ending to a spooktacular day. Our feet had carried us 9 miles, all across London, our eyes were bleary from seeing all the beauty, and our hearts were full of Halloween spirit. Besides the silliness, I had the best best Saturday. Sometimes its good to let go and let ghoul. 😂 👻 

If you’re wondering where to get this epic shot: If you cross the bridge (not the Southbank side) and take the stairs down, there’s a quiet section that jets out under the bridge. Tag me if you go there!

RECAP: Ghost costume or not, here’s a recap of some classic spots you should put on your London Bucketlist:

• Abbey Road Crossing
• The North and South Bank
• Wine Office Court 
• A photo with a red phone booth (so touristy yet, it’s a must do!)
• Covent Garden/ Broad Court (when construction is over)
• Millenium Bridge
• Tower Bridge

That’s it!

I hope this post made you laugh and also inspired you with the visuals. Thanks for reading this far & Happy October!

So, let’s chat!

• Did this make you want to explore london?
• What are you going to dress up as for halloween?
• Did happen to see me walking around London like this last week?

Spot you soon,
Red

 

Fancy another read while finishing your cuppa?

Read a little more about me here. 

If you’re in lockdown in your area, my indoor travel blog is a fun read to cheer you up! Keep your chin up.

Want to see some hidden corners and gems of London, read this post.