Poorna Bell

The classic Londoner’s lament – usually felt when boarding the same bus as an entire class of primary school students or braving the sweaty crush of the Central Line in mid-July – is that peace and tranquillity could be yours only if you got out of the city. But you don’t actually have to travel that far for a bit of peace and quiet if you know where to look.  Unlike other cities with their fancy-pants grid systems and forward planning, London’s haphazard history – it was abandoned as a city in 410AD and only started growing 900 years later – has created plenty of unexpected micro-pockets of calm. It’s less ordered, but it’s also a lot of fun to explore. With the city’s population forever on the rise, the quest to find places that allow you to draw a breath and get a bit of respite from the relentless onslaught has never been more important. There are tons to choose from, but here’s our pick of the best.

When the author William Styron said: ‘Reading [is] the best state yet to keep absolute loneliness at bay’, he probably had no idea how true a statement it was. If you're looking for inspiration on where to spend some quality alone time with a good read ahead of World Book Day on March 5, we have good news: you are spoilt for choice.  London is absolutely bursting with spots to connect over books; from the hipstery streets of Hackney to a Conservative-club-turned-Brixton-pub, and from the magical shrines of public libraries and bookshops to grassroots book clubs that have sprung up across the city. Here’s our pick of the eight best places to read in London. RECOMMENDED: London’s best bookshops