Firstly. I will introduce myself - I am Annelise and I have lived in Wimbledon for 2 months now, I am Dutch myself so moving here for my internship at Wimbledon School of English was exciting and all new to me. London is a very big city which I am not used to in the Netherlands, but the area Wimbledon feels more like a big village to me. London is very close by tube, train or bus, but I love to live here in the more quiet part of London. Still there is a lot to experience here in Wimbledon, I made a list of all the places I find very interesting and nice to go to here in Wimbledon.

Wimbledon Common

This is a lovely place for the nature lovers or people who like to go for a walk. The school often organises social activities here - like the Easter Egg Hunt and Running Club - just remember to sign up to these events at reception! The park consists of a big open field together with a lake and next to the park, the Horse Close Wood is situated, this is the forest area of the park, where you can have nice relaxing walks. At the western side of the park, the Tennis Lawn and Croquet Clubs are located. There are a wide range of facilities in the park which makes it possible to do a lot of activities, such as beach volleyball, football, sailing, canoeing and more. So especially when the weather is nice, this park is lovely to go to. 

Wat Buddaphadipa (Buddhist temple)

When I first came here and someone told me that there is a very beautiful Buddhist temple in Wimbledon, I was very surprised. Normally you do not expect a town in London to have an old Buddhist temple. The temple is a training centre, a very popular one as well. The temple is open on the weekends when you will see monks walking around the premises since it is still being used, however, the temple is open to any faith, gender and nationality to visit. Not only the temple itself is worth to visit, also the grounds surrounding the temple are very interesting. The garden includes a pond, a few bridges and also statues and information points with text for people to read.

All England Lawn Tennis Club 

Tennis is what makes Wimbledon famous worldwide, so the tennis court is almost a must seen place. If you come to the school during the Championships, you can go here with other students, it's an interesting and fun day out! This is also the place where the Grand Slams are held every year. There is also a museum next to the court where you can get a tour, see exhibitions or go to by yourself. You will learn more about the history, trophies, legends and traditions when visiting the tennis museum. Sometime there are matches you can attend, the tickets are available via the website of the centre court - https://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/tickets/index.html

Wimbledon Theatre

This theater opened its doors to the public for the first time in 1910. Despite the building being renovated, it still has a lot of its original features. When the theater first opened it had a Victorian bath in the basement.  If you like to go to the theater or just want to see one of the largest theaters in London, that is decorated in a beautiful mix of Italian and Georgian styles, you should go to The New Wimbledon Theater.

The selection of bars and pubs

England is of course popular for its bars and Wimbledon has a wide range of old pubs too. The pubs are spread over the whole area and are all very different from each other. Most of the bars are very old, some even date back to the 1800’s. The inside of the bars is mainly very homey, they have a lot of decoration and every pub has its own interesting history. Not only alcoholic drinks are available in these pubs but also a lot of soft drinks, hot drinks,  finger food, burgers and other snacks. Most of the bars and pubs in Wimbledon, especially near Wimbledon common and the park, are very dog friendly since most people walk their dogs in this area. The school organises a Pub Tour once a month so you may have the chance to visit many of these places.  If not, you can go with some other students.

This is my top 5 although there are so many more places to check out!  Find out for yourself and enjoy your own discovery!

Thank you Annelise for writing this blog for us!