Learn to scale back and love a little piece of London

The capital can be overwhelming, so Robin focused on the trendy and eclectic area of Seven Dials, where he found everything needed for a top break

Samuel Johnson once declared that “when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life”. The city’s scale and diversity can actually be a problem though, as there is such dizzying choice – it can truly be bewildering planning a break to the capital.

So on my most recent visit, I decided to hone in on an area and spend time really exploring it.

I chose well with Seven Dials.

The area takes its name from its distinctive roundabout, which sports seven lanes spiriting off from it right in the heart of Central London. It doesn’t have exact borders as such, but roughly, Seven Dials stretches north from Covent Garden towards the British Museum, then west to Cambridge Circus and east to Endell Street. Handily, there is a website that highlights many of the area’s attractions, www.sevendials.co.uk

I actually spent half a year living on the northern fringes of Seven Dials in Bloomsbury in the 1990s, but never really explored it to the full.

This weekend proved that was a serious mistake. I often yomped by heading for the river, not realising there was such a treasure trove of independent shops, clothing boutiques and superb restaurants.

Our base – I was there with my wife Jenny, and two daughters, Tara, 11, and Emma, eight – was spot on. The characterful Radisson Edwardian Mercer (www.radissonhotels.com) sat right on the Seven Dials roundabout, and our room had a view out over the action. Emma enjoyed sitting up on her bed gazing out at the ever-changing street scene right in the heart of the city. London’s hotels are seldom cheap, but the four-star Radisson offers good value, especially if you snare one of their internet deals.

Our plan for the weekend was to visit as many places and enjoy as many experiences as possible.

My girls were keen on shopping, so we kicked off with a slew of wee stores. I love that, in Seven Dials, it’s not just all about huge, faceless chain stores. First up, for example, was Nappa Dori, a leather goods shop whose headquarters are in Delhi. This is their only London outlet and it’s a bit of a Tardis, with another room buried downstairs.

Clothes were our main shopping focus, though, and here, Seven Dials really came into its own. At Club Monaco, Jenny and Tara were on the hunt for a swish, classic dress and a jacket. The staff were brilliant, offering that personal service you just don’t get in the big High Street stores. This was a constant theme all weekend.

Next up was a very personal Seven Dials experience. Tara is a big fan of Superga trainers, which I’d dismissed as just a more expensive version of Vans. I stand corrected. We went in and they told us about their illustrated shoes concept. This involved talking to an artist about what your interests are and they then conjure up a hand-painted design. My brief was, unsurprisingly,

travel and as I write this, my bespoke pair of travel-themed Superga are on their way north. You could buy Superga online, but it was brilliant fun going in and being able to design our own.

There are serious pampering opportunities in this village within a city, too. There is the famous Neal’s Yard, a brilliantly photogenic, postcard-pretty hideaway that’s home to the famous brand and a sprinkling of other stores.

Tara and Emma spirited off to Skinny Dip to get their nails done, while I enjoyed a first – I went into hip barber’s Murdock, not for a haircut, but for a hot towel facial. It was really relaxing and the perfect tonic to the big city rush.

Seven Dials is no slouch when it comes to eating out either.

Forget homogenous fast-food outlets. We are talking proper food. At Flesh & Buns, we savoured an Asian fusion menu alive with sushi, sashimi and salmon teriyaki. On a Friday night, it was buzzing with a youngish crowd, but we were still made to feel very welcome as a family.

At Rossopomodoro, meanwhile, we were spirited off to Naples to enjoy proper thin-base pizzas. I recommend their classic Margherita, the pizza that kicked off the Naples pizza tradition. They really get it spot on here.

There are plenty of sweet treats around Seven Dials too. We sampled a sumptuous afternoon tea at the Radisson’s Monmouth Kitchen. It was decadent enough without having to add the Champagne version. We lingered over our feast while the shoppers busied by outside.

Seven Dials has loads of wee oases like this where you can slow down and take it easy for a bit.

A highlight for the girls was a chocolate-making session at Hotel Chocolat. No mere shop, they have chocolate-making facilities tucked downstairs, where the girls conjured up some seriously sugary creations.

I was content to savour the delicious salted caramel hot chocolate the Scottish manager from Ardrossan recommended. It was ridiculously good.

I reckon you can’t spend a whole weekend eating and shopping – much as my girls wanted to – and I’m not suggesting you do. We ventured north to check out the British Museum too.

It really is a world-class museum that very much looks the part too. No two visits are the same here as there is just so much to see, from Egyptian mummies through to Scotland’s very own Lewis Chessmen. They are also great with kids, with dedicated family programmes that kept ours engaged.

We then spirited south to Covent Garden, which is always a joy. We took in the street entertainers and leafed through the covered market feeling the buzzy vibe. There are lots of wee shops to check out but, on the whole, they feel a bit more touristy than in Seven Dials proper. The London Transport Museum is here too, but we just lost an idle hour taking in all the sights and sounds.

Seven Dials also sits in the heart of London’s Theatre District. There is the Cambridge Theatre (currently performing family favourite, Matilda

The Musical), St Martin’s Theatre (home of Agatha Christie’s record-breaking Mousetrap) and the Palace Theatre.

The star attraction at the latter is the constant sell-out Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. My girls still haven’t quite forgiven Daddy for not being able to find them a ticket...

Back in the heart of Seven Dials, we chanced upon somewhere that says much of what is so good about the area. Never a place to rest on its hard-won laurels, a new arrival in the district is the impressive Seven Dials Market.

This voluminous creation is housed in an old banana warehouse, and its multiple levels are alive with all manner of street-food-style options, from doughnut stalls through to spicy Asian outlets. Juice bars and proper coffee complete the compelling cocktail. You just grab a tray and sit anywhere in an experience that, again, is a world away from multinational fast-food chains.

We left Seven Dials glad that we had decided to travel back to Scotland on the swish revamped Caledonian Sleeper. We needed the extra room in our cabin for all the shopping we’d picked up. And we all needed a good lie-down after pounding the streets of what proved to be a destination within a city that kept us entertained all weekend without us having to catch the Tube anywhere. It provided London in a nutshell.

I’m not sure what Samuel Johnson would have made of our trip, but Seven Dials was certainly impressively eclectic and an area of London it would be hard to get bored of.

Seven Dials radiates out from a Covent Garden roundabout and includes the British Museum and plenty of eating and shopping opportunities.