Lucie Loves... London // Enjoy music | Skate | Art & food ? Check out House of Vans LDN 

tumblr_ndc94uYnw51qzipnzo9_1280.jpg
tumblr_ndc94uYnw51qzipnzo2_1280.jpg
tumblr_ndc94uYnw51qzipnzo6_1280.jpg
tumblr_ndc94uYnw51qzipnzo1_1280.jpg
tumblr_ndc94uYnw51qzipnzo7_1280.jpg
tumblr_ndc94uYnw51qzipnzo5_1280.jpg
tumblr_ndc94uYnw51qzipnzo8_1280.jpg
tumblr_ndc94uYnw51qzipnzo3_1280.jpg
tumblr_ndc94uYnw51qzipnzo4_1280.jpg
tumblr_ndc94uYnw51qzipnzo10_1280.jpg

This weekend JMG and I took a train to Waterloo in pursuit of the House of Vans skatepark. JMG has been a massive fan of the brand ever since we met 7-years ago. I swear that boy has worn out so many pairs of Vans, I’ve lost count of how many I’ve bought him for birthdays and christmases! He also promised there would be food so off we trotted to check it out.

We spent a good 10-minutes spent wandering the tunnels underneath Waterloo station before finding it. We visited a rather unexpected pop-up art gallery showcasing 3d printed jewellery and screen printed artwork, soaked in spray paint fumes and watched street artists at work. We then quickly circumnavigated a photo shoot, involving a cross-dressing rollerblader and a girl riding a moped, and emerged back onto the street, having finally found the entrance to the House of Vans. Which is actually at street level and not in the tunnels underneath!

H.O.V has a skatepark, cinema, cafe, two bars, a music venue (which recently hosted the Foo Fighters) and is a great place for people of all ages to hangout. We were well impressed!

JMG and I arrived at around 2:30pm on a Saturday afternoon and were pleasantly surprised at how calm the place was. Alternative looking mummy’s and daddy’s and their über-cool skater kids were hanging out amidst the more seasoned skaters, watching the Vans Shop Riot Finals via the cafe’s live stream tv in between free skate sessions. Rad.

There was also a independently published books and zines fair on, which was pretty sweet too.

The only downside to this fabulous piece of the skating underworld, is that there is no cashpoint! Be warned! if you’re hungry or thirsty after your skate session - make sure that you’ve got cash to buy refreshments, otherwise you’ll need to hot foot it to Waterloo station for the nearest ATM machine.

All in all the food was pretty darn good. It cost us £17 for two meals and two cafe lattes. Nice!

Check out House of Vans LDN and if you haven’t seen them already, have a look at a few of the photos I took of the Long Live Southbank campaigners supporting the cause. Congrats on saving your skate space guys! 

Photography © Lucie Kerley

London, FashionLucie Kerleyuk fashion and lifestyle blog, House of Vans, House of Vans LDN, London, Skate, Skatepark, Waterloo, Where to eat, Brunch, food, coffee, lbloggers, BMX, Vans