Muddy Stilettos


<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/06/Nell-Hudson1675-min.jpg" alt="Nell Hudson, actress and author " class="wp-image-2051"/></figure>



<p>We’ve seen Nell Hudson&#8217;s star quality in ITV’s hit series <em>Victoria</em> and then more recently in the period drama <em>Outlander, </em>but where does she go when the cameras aren&#8217;t watching?<em> </em>We caught up with the Worcs gal turned Londoner to find out her favourite local haunts, places she loved while at drama school in Oxford, where she hangs out in Paris (where she recently got engaged!), and about her love affair with Harrogate.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-london-nbsp"><strong>LONDON</strong>&nbsp;</h2>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-kenwood-ladies-pond-hampstead-heath-nbsp"><a href="https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/green-spaces/hampstead-heath/where-to-go-at-hampstead-heath/kenwood-ladies-pond" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kenwood Ladies’ Pond</a>, Hampstead Heath &nbsp;</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/06/Hampstead-Heath-.jpg" alt="Hampstead Heath swimming pond " class="wp-image-2111"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><em><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jmhickey/2481278050/in/photolist-2eAx7Kv-2bXPJwB-K2qBRt-4p9MRu-bJz9SV-26efuhX-5qhMK-26KszP1-dVnX5Q-4Mgcw3-5PBWAw-bJzaPi-bAExCm-adyA3i-7f7Vyi-28diXKo-2n4h4Lo-4EmB3R-4EqW9s-2mevErU-2jythtv-2mXuCLr-2kvyRdx-2kwaUnc-2jTK619-2kDoc1C-2kMjGr5-2kLfCsh-2eQp3T5-2ezBzzK-2gEzixj-2kEh5Hh-2hsdDD7-2j2w3wc-PHVR4b-2jYAqLJ-2kJqoGP-2iiaVb5-2n3LJkf-2n41CU3-2dwXJSt-2jtfXAc-TFRJpC-2nScHkR-2n5oDXZ-2ed23x4-2jkvkYy-2n4Hc2Q-2gopu7F-2hXYvtx">Image: JmHickey</a></em></figcaption></figure>



<p>This spot has become something of a cliché, but like a lot of clichés, it&#8217;s a cliché for a reason.&nbsp;If you can, try to go when it&#8217;s slightly off-peak &#8211; so, not on the one hot day that we get in summer &#8211; then you’ll see just how incredible it is. I&#8217;m a country girl, I grew up on a farm, and when I moved to London, I loved the chaos of the city. That buzz is what I tried to capture in my first book <em>Just For Today</em>, which is a coming-of-age story about a group of 20-somethings navigating life in London. I wrote a lot about parties and going out with your friends, which is what my early 20s mostly looked like. But whenever I needed a break from that I would find solace in the Ladies’ Pond. You get wrapped up in this sort of divine feminine energy when you rest amongst this sea of women all in the meadow relaxing. I almost forget I&#8217;m in London when I&#8217;m there.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-red-hand-bar-dalston-nbsp"><a href="https://www.red-hand.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Red Hand Bar</a>, Dalston &nbsp;</h3>



<p>If you love beer, like me, you’ll love this place. They have a wide selection of delicious craft beer, and the aesthetic is New York-esque –think exposed brick and dim lighting. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a cool date spot because I had my first date with my now future husband there. It&#8217;s engraved in my personal history as an important spot. And it&#8217;s also stayed pretty under-the-radar, so it&#8217;s never too busy. You can always get a table or seat, which is usually a nightmare in Dalston. Oh, and they make proper gourmet&nbsp;toasties.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-ivy-house-peckham-nbsp"><a href="https://www.ivyhousenunhead.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>The Ivy House</strong></a>, Peckham&nbsp;</h3>



<p>I love it here because it&#8217;s just a great community pub. It&#8217;s child-friendly until around 8 pm and it&#8217;s dog-friendly all the time. It&#8217;s a real leveller of a pub where you&#8217;ll find people from all walks of life. I find that&#8217;s quite rare in London because people tend to flock in tribes, but this pub welcomes absolutely everyone.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-abney-park-cemetery-amp-nunhead-cemetery"><a href="https://hackney.gov.uk/abney-park">Abney Park Cemetery </a>&amp; <a href="https://www.fonc.org.uk/">Nunhead Cemetery</a></h3>



<p>This is a bit of a strange one, but hear me out.&nbsp;The one thing I have in common between when I lived in Hackney and where I live now in South East London, is that I&#8217;ve been close to beautiful old cemeteries with ancient ruins. I used to live near&nbsp;Abney Park Cemetery and now I&#8217;m close to Nunhead, and they make for stunning walks. I don&#8217;t sit down for a picnic, for obvious reasons, but when I&#8217;m feeling a bit stuck with my writing, I like to go for a walk around the cemetery with the dog and just think. This was also a good way to metabolise my writing when I was working on my book, plus you get the bonus of admiring these lovely historical places.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-paris-nbsp"><strong>PARIS </strong>&nbsp;</h2>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-la-poule-au-pot-1st-nbsp-arrondissement"><a href="https://xn--jeanfranoispiege-jpb.com/la-poule-au-pot" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">La Poule au Pot</a>, 1st&nbsp;<strong>Arrondissement</strong></h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/06/la-poule-au-pot-cherve.jpg" alt="La Poule au pot restaurant, Paris " class="wp-image-2113"/></figure>



<p>I know restaurants are a contested subject because&nbsp;the food in Paris is just phenomenal. I&#8217;ve even got a list saved on my maps, and it&#8217;s grown to over 100 restaurants. But if I had to choose it would be this gem. The décor is so quintessentially old-school French with checked tablecloths, silver dessert trolleys, and waiters in the full penguin outfits. When I’m in England I&#8217;m vegetarian, but when I&#8217;m here I indulge – they make the most wonderful matchstick French fries, snails, and steak. You feel like you are in the 1920s or something here. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-les-cuves-de-fauve-amp-septime-la-cave-11th-nbsp-arrondissement"><a href="https://fauvebiere.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Les Cuves De Fauve</a> &amp; <a href="https://septime-lacave.fr/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Septime La Cave</a>, 11th&nbsp;<strong>Arrondissement</strong></h3>



<p>I don&#8217;t feel at home in Paris until I’ve stepped into these two spots. They are a stone’s throw from each other, so whenever I arrive, I’ll immediately go for a drink at either one. Les Cuves De Fauve is a brewer-pub with such a welcoming vibe, the team really looks after you. It also has a great selection of small dishes like cheese, bread, olives, and charcuterie. It&#8217;s always buzzing, and there&#8217;s always a bunch of people outside smoking in that cool French way. And Septime is already really famous, but for good reason. When my partner and I got engaged, we went straight there afterwards. He proposed at the top of <a href="https://www.tourmontparnasse56.com/">Montparnasse Tower</a>, then we came down the tower, got the tube, and went to get a drink. We were buzzing, walking around the streets telling every stranger that we just got engaged – they obviously didn&#8217;t care, but we were super excited.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-marche-aux-puces-de-saint-ouen-18th-arrondissement"><a href="https://www.pucesdeparissaintouen.com/">Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen</a>, 18th <strong>Arrondissement</strong></h3>



<p>This is shopping heaven. It&#8217;s a district in north Paris packed with&nbsp;antique shops and markets. When I went there, we arrived in the morning, and we didn&#8217;t leave until suppertime – you could spend a day or two just walking around and shopping. There&#8217;s a whole floor for&nbsp;vintage clothes and then a whole floor for&nbsp;record shops and music memorabilia. Plus, there are a few restaurants dotted around. You&#8217;ll never want to leave.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-oxford-nbsp"><strong>OXFORD </strong>&nbsp;</h2>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-manos-cafe-amp-deli-jericho-nbsp"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ManosDeliJericho/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Manos Café &amp; Deli</a>, Jericho &nbsp;</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/06/Manos-restaurant-Jericho-Greek-tables-at-back-terrace-.jpg" alt="Manos Greek cafe bar Jericho outdoor terrace wooden chairs tables and umbrellas with blue sky " class="wp-image-2093"/></figure>



<p>I grew up about an hour outside Oxford, and my parents would take my siblings and me there for the ice rink. We&#8217;d go ice skating, then we&#8217;d go to this little Greek café for lunch. So when I came back to Oxford for drama school, I remembered it and it was still there! It has a cosy familial feeling which I needed when I was a student, living on my own for the first time. It was like a hug going in there, and it’s still going strong today.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-port-meadow-oxford-nbsp"><a href="https://www.oxford.gov.uk/directory-record/673/port-meadow" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Port Meadow</a>, Oxford &nbsp;</h3>



<p>I also discovered this spot when I was at drama school and would go there when I felt overwhelmed or restless. Port Meadow is&nbsp;about ten minutes from Oxford City Centre, and it’s a lovely part of the Thames that you can swim in that has wild horses&nbsp;in the meadow – it&#8217;s as gorgeous as it sounds. Even people who don&#8217;t love wild swimming will like it because the water is shallow, gentle, and not at all dicey. There&#8217;s also a pub nearby called <a href="https://www.the-perch.co.uk/">The Perch</a>, which I recommend for grabbing a post-swim bite.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-h-arrogate"><strong>H</strong>ARROGATE</h2>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-turkish-baths"><a href="https://visitharrogate.co.uk/business-directory/turkish-baths-harrogate">Turkish Baths</a></h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/06/Turkish-Baths-Harrogate-.jpg" alt="Turkish baths from the victorian period in harrogate" class="wp-image-2047"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><em><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/uk_pictures/4362087463/in/photolist-25HyXr9-7DsQCx-25PMNQM-8BYqBQ-qAQjbS-2hqt33J-AHMEc/">Image: Visit Britain</a></em></figcaption></figure>



<p>The first two series of <em>Victoria</em> were filmed on a set in Harrogate. I’d never been before, but I grew to adore it. Before filming, we would get picked up in the morning and taken out to this bunker in the middle of nowhere. Then my cast mates and I would go back to Harrogate and hangout. The Turkish Baths are steeped in history and have remained untouched since the Victorian Period. You step in, and you&#8217;re surrounded by mahogany, red velvet curtains, and beautiful, frescoed ceilings &#8211; it&#8217;s incredible. Apart from being a great spa day, the architecture is also worth taking in. I don&#8217;t know many places in the UK worth making the trip to, but this is one of them.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-major-tom-s-social-nbsp"><a href="https://www.majortomssocial.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Major Tom’s Social</a>&nbsp;</h3>



<p>This is the perfect spot to go out for drinks in a group – there are pool tables, ping pong, and board games, and we would have&nbsp;margaritas and beers. The atmosphere is very relaxed.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-la-feria-nbsp"><a href="https://laferiarestaurants.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">La Feria</a><strong> </strong>&nbsp;</h3>



<p>For food (also in a group) La Feria is a brilliant tapas restaurant, with half-covered outdoor seating. And they&#8217;ve got fires to keep you warm, too. It captures a lovely Mediterranean atmosphere, which is incredible given that it&#8217;s in Yorkshire.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bettys-tea-room"><a href="https://www.bettys.co.uk/cafe-tea-rooms/our-locations/bettys-harrogate" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bettys Tea Room</a></h3>



<p>If you’re out with your mum, take her here! Betty&#8217;s is an old-school tearoom, where all the waitresses still wear white aprons, and tea is served in frilly little cups.&nbsp;It’s a wholesome spot for afternoon tea, and the tea is a proper Yorkshire brew.&nbsp;</p>



<p><em>Loving Nell&#8217;s vibe? Find her book <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/just-for-today-an-intoxicating-unputdownable-must-read-for-fans-of-anna-hope-and-sally-rooney-nell-hudson/6202348?ean=9781472284006&amp;fbclid=PAAaa2Hzbs6YAJPLGO65HjVUdo6_hQoGo24ViEtj_PRJE0zXyZoJsJtu1WfTs_aem_AXgfEfGgB_x-a6sHkK">Just For Today here</a>, watch her in Victoria, Outlander or follow her on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nell.hudson/">Instagram</a>. </em></p>


Actress Nell Hudson’s favourite spots in London, Paris and beyond

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