While he’s not much more than a bit part on the album, Alwyn and Swift spent six long years jetting between London and the States, and while she’s Miss Americana at heart, she did lay down real roots in the big smoke.
Spending much of her time around Highgate, Primrose Hill and Hampstead (ironically the same haunts as her ex, Harry Styles), Swift was spotted around numerous London locations in those six years, some more expected (The Savoy) than others (Kentish Delight kebab shop). She name-checked a bunch in her beloved, wildly geographically incorrect track London Boy, and with the likes of new track So Long, London, there’s more — “I left all I knew, you left me at the house by the Heath,” she croons.
Album aside, she’ll be back in the city this June and August for her UK leg of the Eras tour, which kicks off in Edinburgh today. Will she return to some of her old favourite haunts? Who knows. But for those wanting to live a little like the mega, here’s a comprehensive guide to Taylor Swift’s London.
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Track 17 of Tortured Poets contained a strangely specific reference — south London boozer, the Black Dog. The song, named for the pub, is thought by fans to be about Alwyn going for a drink without letting Swift know where he was. “I am someone who until recent events you shared your secrets with and your location/You forgot to turn it off/And so I watch as you walk into some bar called The Black Dog,” she sings. The pub, which is in Vauxhall, was mobbed soon after the album’s release, though it’s unclear whether the actor or Swift herself ever actually visited. Staff told the Standard they didn’t recall seeing either of them in, but owner Lily Bottomley later hinted that Alwyn is a “regular” during an interview with Sky News. The truth remains unclear, though one thing is certain: the Black Dog is now forever part of Swiftie lore.
She lived in Crouch End, Primrose Hill and looked to buy in Belsize Park
Houses in Primrose Hill, North London
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Discussion of Taylor’s London life is often limited to Highgate, where Joe Alwyn’s family live, but it turns out the singer actually spent much of her time in the neighbouring area of Crouch End. Alwyn’s own property was there, and it’s said that he and Swift spent much of the 2020 lockdown there. How that didn’t lead to any paparazzi shots of them walking hand in hand down the Parkland Walk will forever remain a mystery.
After Crouch End, the pair moved into a £7 million, four storey, six-bedroom townhouse in the comparably swankier area of Primrose Hill, which they were renting. They were apparently looking for a more permanent home in the nearby area of Belsize Park in 2022, only for the couple to part ways in early 2023.
The Savoy Hotel
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Now that her north London base is gone, it’s possible that Swift will return to one of her most trusted luxury hotels during her stay in London. She’s been known to stay at the Savoy, and also filmed scenes for her 2017 music video for the track Endgame in the Royal Suite. Plus, in 2015, she posed for Vanity Fair at the Savoy’s Beaufort Bar.
Given that the Savoy’s other famous guests have included the likes of Oscar Wilde, Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Barbra Streisand, Bob Dylan and The Beatles, Swift would be in very good (if a little posthumous) company.
Kentish Delight Kebab Shop
One of Swift’s less conventional London faves is a kebab shop in Kentish Town, which also features heavily in the Endgame video. Kentish Delight has leaned heavily into its Taylor connection, with signs in the window that show selfies of Taylor and the kebab shop staff, declaring its place in Swiftie history.
In one TikTok, a Swift fan who visited the shop revealed she was quite the regular, explaining: “The guy working there said she actually came a lot before the video as it was her boyfriend’s favourite, and that she was so lovely every time.”
The Bell Inn, the Flask and the Spaniards Inn
The Flask, Highgate
Press handout
Swift has been spotted in all these north London pubs, though she took care to go incognito in a few of them. She’s said to have attended the Spaniards Inn with Alwyn, but donned a black wig to help her stay under the radar. This is hardly out of character for Swift, who Zayn Malik once revealed would squash herself into a suitcase to get to places unnoticed.
Swift was also spotted multiple times at Highgate’s the Flask, known for its sublime Sunday Roasts. And she fully got into the spirit of things, too, as she sings in London Boy: “You can find me in the pub, we are watching rugby with his school friends.”
Laylow, Notting Hill
Laylow
While many of Taylor’s London hotspots tend to be linked to her relationship with Alwyn, a more recent haunt is Laylow in Notting Hill, which she visited in January 2023 alongside Cameron Diaz, Sacha Baron Cohen and Lena Dunham.
The trio were photographed leaving the stylish celebrity hotspot, although Swift chose to hide herself inside a partially closed umbrella to escape the paps. For the young and trendy types trying to imitate a night in the life of Taylor, this is one of your best bets, though note that its presently temporarily closed.
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You might think that Harry Styles had complete jurisdiction over Hampstead Heath, but it turns out Taylor used to pay it a visit too during her time in London. In London Boy, she sings: “Like a Tennessee, Stella McCartney on the Heath,” and as metioned, sings about the spot in So Long, London.
Fans have even speculated that she may have taken a dip in the ponds once, recalling lyrics from her song Paper Rings: “In the winter, in the icy outdoor pool. When you jumped in first, I went in too. I’m with you even if it makes me blue.”