Open Writing

Going down to the London area is something I don't do very often and whenever I plan to travel somewhere I know very little about I always do a little research to try and find unusual places to visit and perhaps eat out.

The Guardian has a nice little story about how retail chains are slowly taking over towns and making them look like clones of each other.

It mentions the top 10 towns with local identity and I was pleasantly surprised to see Hebden Bridge top a list of unique towns.

While big retails chains mean you know what to expect wherever you are, you can't help but feel that the spark of individuality which could make a good establishment great is lost.

While conducting my search on restaurants to meet some friends at Heathrow airport I found that after discarding the common burger and pizza chains (and the hyper expensive restaurants) there was little to recommend above pub grub.

Ironically, I almost found myself wishing that we had undertaken a trip into London to find an eatery like the ones I happened across during my earlier web search - Classic Cafes.

There's plenty of atmosphere in the pictures and descriptions and you could probably imagine there was a good value meal or two to be had in them too.

With time running out we eventually settled on a little Italian restaurant behind one of the many hotels situated on the A4 Bath road. The decor was more American diner than Italian restaurant and the cuisine wasn't as good as the prices had suggested which was a bit disappointing. I guess independent doesn't always mean excellent.

Convenience beat avante garde the next night when we chose to dine at a hotel restaurant. Yes it was a bit pricey but the food was top notch and I can certainly recommend visitors touching down at Heathrow to find the Oak and Avocado restaurant at the Heathrow Thistle Hotel and treat themselves to some excellent British food.