Nothing will ever be able to fully replace in person working. Nothing will capture the nuance of body language and facial expression, the coffee conversations that are captured in person and the energy from working around others, and sometimes you just have to get out the house!
I've spent a lot of time this year coworking with various people and this always requires a place to work! Or sometime's I'm just looking to work from somewhere that isn't home!
Here is my ever growing list of places to co-work for free in London where you can cowork with others while you are there. One of them even has bookable meeting rooms (Santander work cafe). All are free to use and have varying degrees of suitability. I would hands down rate the Santander work cafe as the best kept secret co-working space in London.
- Santander Work Cafe, Warren Street.
- Science Gallery Cafe, London Bridge.
- Hoxton Hotel, Shoreditch.
- CitizenM London Bankside hotel, London Bridge.
- Pancras Square Library.
- Any spoons (though not top secret)
Santander Work Cafe, Warren Street
Santander bank has free co-working spaces in several different countries, starting in Santander, Spain. I accidentally stumbled across this while walking the camino, and I incidentally needed to do a days work from it! It's free to use, you can just walk right in. It has bookable meeting rooms, free wifi and a cafe where you can buy food and drinks!
(I need to take a better photo for this one considering it's the best one!)
Science Gallery Cafe, London Bridge.
Another hidden London gem. This place is part of the Kings College London Campus and has tables setup to work from. There are limited power cables and I've never actually successfully connected to the wifi but it's still pretty great. Lots of light, not too noisey and plenty of space. You can also buy food and drinks from the cafe, but you also can bring your own since it's a seperate space. As an added bonus they sometimes host events in the space at lunch time.
Hoxton Hotel, Shoreditch.
The OG spot to co-work from a hotel lobby. An insane number of young people co-working from the Hoxton hotel, really great vibes. You can order tea, coffee, lunch etc. but it's also not too noisey that you can take calls from the lobby too - though I have been yet to try.
CitizenM London Bankside hotel, London Bridge.
This is just a hotel lobby that's very spacious, you can find a spot in the lobby, buy a few drinks. It's quiet enough you can take a call, it's spacious and generally a lovely environment to work from. It also has free wifi.
Pancras Square Library.
It's nothing glamorous but it does the trick. There are lots of tables to work from, some OK internet but mobile reception is pretty limited. Nice and bright and well lit on the top floor. You can work with others and talk while working which is an added bonus.
Any spoons!
As long as you can avoid working in the evening, spoons can be a good place to work with a £1.50 unlimited tea or coffee refill. It's hard to go to far wrong, except that you are spending the day in spoons?