You know we're on Instagram, right? 2019's been quite a year for us — we reached 250k followers, while bringing you images of London's best pop-ups, independent shops you need to know about, and the bits of London you don't normally get to see. Here are the 12 posts that you showed the most love for.
Follow us on Instagram to keep up with what's happening in the capital in 2020. We take all our photos ourselves (with the exception of those clearly marked as a commercial partnership), so you'll get a unique, one-off view of the capital through our lens.
12. The Baked Beans Museum
The pop-up game was strong as ever in London this year, from a Fleabag Cafe to a vegan butchers. But the one you showed most Insta-love for was the Baked Beans Museum. For two saucy summer days, Heinz celebrated its 150th anniversary with a space dedicated to the trusty baked bean (it continued the celebrations in October in a cupcake collaboration with Hummingbird Bakery, but the less said about that, the better).
11. Swimming on Hampstead Heath
We didn't have the burnt grass of last summer's drought, but summer 2019 still offered us some pretty decent weather. Cue the whole city heading for outdoor pools and lidos to cool off. We took this snap on a balmy Saturday in June, as we fought for towel space in the 33°c heat.
10. Street art squirrel
2019 was the year that brought us Carnaby's ocean-themed mural, Brick Lane's Avengers, and a sprayed tribute to the nation's honorary grandfather, Sir David Attenborough. But the one you loved most? A squirrel. The ragged-tailed rodent went acorn-hunting just around the corner from Seven Sisters in Tottenham, and the 3D effect was loved by our Instagram followers.
9. Baker Street
A classic — what more can we say? We know we shouldn't have favourites, but Baker Street station, with its renderings of fictional local detective Sherlock Holmes, has a special place in our hearts — and in yours too, apparently.
8. Tasty phonebox
Our December wanderings took us to Croydon, where we came across this art installation by Whatshisname, aka Sebastian Burdon. Nothing phone-y about it, as far as we're concerned.
View this post on InstagramWe couldn't resist this tasty phonebox art by Whatshisname (aka Sebastian Burdon).
7. Some AA Milne inspo
We're often in awe of the witty and wonderful things that tube staff write on their ticket hall whiteboards. But it was the words of AA Milne — taken right out of the mouth of his ursine creation, Winnie the Pooh — which really struck a chord. Does this mean Londoners are deep, or just really, really lazy? We can't decide.
(Warning: this may not be the only tube whiteboard on this list).
6. Christmas at Kew
Ah, Christmas at Kew. With its twinkling light tunnels, choreographed laser shows and illuminated greenhouses, the lights festival is made for Instagram. In fact, our 2018 photo of Christmas at Kew was not only our most liked of that year, it's still our most popular Instagram post ever.
5. William Blake at St Paul's
St Paul's Cathedral has seen some action this year. In October, archive images from the Blitz were projected onto it. Then, a month later, William Blake's final masterpiece, Ancient of Days, was shone onto Wren's famous dome. Tate Britain was involved in the stunt, and has a Blake exhibition running until February.
4. Van Gogh at Tate
Another one for art lovers, and for Tate Britain, as our early look at the gallery's Van Gogh exhibition (now closed, sadly) went down well. Was it the painting itself you loved, or a rare, clear view of a famous artwork without dozens of other people's heads in the way?
3. Trump meets Johnson
OK, we lied earlier when we said the street art most loved by our followers this year was Tottenham's squirrel. This street art depicting Donald Trump and Boris Johnson received more likes — but the photo was taken back in June 2016, before either held their current roles as leaders of their respective countries. Still, looks like its struck a chord with many of you three years later. Can't think why.
View this post on InstagramWhen we saw this near Londonist Towers in June 2016, we probably chuckled. More fool us.
2. Trump balloon
Another entry for America's tangerine-toned president. When he visited London in June 2019, this foil inflatable likeness of Trump flew over Trafalgar Square, along with plenty of placards protesting his visit.
View this post on InstagramTremendous crowds of wellwishers for Donald Trump in Trafalgar Square right now
1. Pride in London
And finally... Pride in London took place in July, celebrating LGBT+ history, identity and rights. But it wasn't a photo of the celebrations themselves that proved popular — this shot of TfL's notice board in Leicester Square station was our most liked photo of the year.
