London Day 5, Part 3: Primrose Hill + Dinner in Richmond + Fireworks

Primrose Hill

After Camden we headed for Primrose Hill. Our intent was to see if the top of the hill would be good to watch the fireworks later that night. We explored the utterly charming Primrose Hill area and hiked to the top of the hill to check it out. The neighborhood has lots of boutiques and other shops. There were quite a few people staking out their spots at the top of Primrose Hill to watch tonight’s fireworks. There was a nice view from the top, but the pictures didn’t do it justice, so I binned them. The ground was pretty damp, though, and it was starting to get quite chilly, with several hours to go before the fireworks would start, so we decided to ditch the idea. We had dinner reservations in Richmond, but would not be heading back to Primrose Hill for the fireworks after all.

Dinner in Richmond

Once back in Richmond, we cleaned up and headed to dinner at The Britannia restaurant. They had a special New Year’s Eve menu, and it was absolutely delicious. We split the Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi and the Wellington Chateaubriand for 2 (which came with Dauphinois potatoes and glazed tarragon carrots), with Sticky Ginger Pudding and Chocolate Mousse Cake for dessert. After a pre-dinner cocktail, wine with dinner, and bubbles with dessert, we were ready for some fireworks! (From the warmth and safety of our room, lol!)

Fireworks

We decided to skip the crowds (and the hours long queues for the tube after) and watch fireworks from our hotel. There were smaller fireworks displays going off all over London, and we could see them lighting up the sky from our window. For the main attraction, though, we watched the BBC One NYE show, which consists of a full Rick Astley concert (he’s live in Camden right now), with a break for the fireworks show down at the London Eye. It was fantastic all the way around. Rick Astley put on a fun show, and the fireworks were an amazing combination of real fireworks and drones. They really go all out! The best part about the broadcast was there were no talking heads. At all. Not a single commentator. Just the concert, then fireworks (with no commentary!), then more concert. It was perfect. The U.S. television networks could learn a thing or two from the BBC.