A while back — a really long while back, for full accuracy, though not as long a while back as another outfit I’ve got scheduled — I met up for coffee with Laila from Tape Parade and Belphoebe from Rags of Love. I suggested slash pressured them to meet in Camden because I could walk there and I’d never really got a good look at it: I’d just seen the main road and was convinced people were making up the charm.
The walk was not quite as pleasant as I’d hoped for, as there was this misting rain coming down, it was quite drearily gray, and I was running late, so I wasn’t exactly stepping around leisurely with my camera as befits a pleasant walk. Also, I got lost. I’d checked the map multiple times beforehand, and walking straight down from Haverstock Hill seemed super boring, so I wanted to postpone the turn onto that road as long as possible, and so headed down Belsize Park Gardens towards “south.” I forgot “south” was Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill, not Camden, and so, when I got to King Henry’s Road, I had to turn back and figure out where I was on an offline phone map, and how to go east and actually reach the right road.
(Side note: How did I never make it to Primrose Hill? Why did I never take that walk through Regent’s Park? I want to go back.)
From then on it was the aforementioned dreary walk. That road is a lot nicer up north towards Hampstead. Chalk Farm isn’t very exciting.
It turns out, however, that Camden is! There are all these little nooks and corners, and cobblestone walks and quads, and street food and tiny establishments, and stairs taking you up to more street food and more tiny establishments. Laila took us to two of these cafés, both of which I scoffed at because they were dark and stifling, and my head was feeling off enough from the rain to add to it.
I’m a commandeering nitpicker kind of person when I want to be.
We ended up at the Camden Foundry a little ways further north towards Chalk Farm, in the Camden Stables, whatever the fuck that is. A week or two before, a few bloggers had held a market there, and I remembered it being, like, well-lit and spacious from the photos, which is all I want in a coffee shop. Well, that and armchairs. I like armchairs. I miss armchairs.
The Camden Foundry is a really huge space with a glass ceiling, an area with mismatched chairs and tables, and another area with a lot of rugs and artwork and couches. The couches are pretty comfortable, but I’m concerned about the provenance of the furry stuff.
I had a pretty nice vanilla latte; it was pretty and it was hot and I enjoyed it. The menu was on the overpriced side, but I’m not super used to independent London so I can’t tell you how it compares. I can just tell you they had cookies in jars and they were like, £2 each. That seemed a little much. The latte was £2.80.
It was definitely comfy, and it was nice to see the rain fall down outside. All in all, I had a really nice day, and it left me wanting to socialize more, if also exhausted. Headaches and bad weather and crowds, all things I don’t handle well before coffee — or ever, to tell you the truth.
Full-body shots by Laila
Location: Camden Foundry
Stables Market, Chalk Farm Road
Camden Town
Coat: Mango / Gloves: c/o Pia Jewellery / Bag: c/o Joules / T-shirt: c/o Blanc Mind / Jeans: Pimkie / Cardigan: c/o B.Young / Glasses: c/o Firmoo / Trainers: ASOS