Inspiration comes from a lot of different places, one of which is indeed being able to walk a few metres beyond your front door and then feeling the beach sand between your toes. This is especially true for those of us whose hobby or profession involves anything creative, such as if you’re a writer like I am.

It’s always interesting to literally see the tension melting away from an “in-lander” as they hit the beach having come down from a city like London, which admittedly isn’t in itself too far from its nearest coastline, but many Londoners love coming to Cardiff for their beach getaway fix.

Believe it or not though, as mentioned about inspiration coming from a lot of different places, since the “beach inspiration” is somewhat of an everyday part of the lives of those of us who live in Cardiff, sometimes we go against the grain for our dose of refreshing inspiration.

So I guess you know where this is leading, don’t you? I do indeed love to go to London sometimes for a retreat, taking the whole family along whenever it’s practical to do so, so I have some tips to share about how your next London retreat can be more affordable, given the fact that this international city can get quite expensive.

So whether you’re visiting London for the type of refreshing inspiration from that constant buzz in the same way that it inspires me, you might perhaps need to stay a little longer than a couple of days, in which case you should think like a local by way of your transportation. Get yourself acquainted with the various bus prices for example, which if you paid close attention to you’d realise that it gets cheaper if you purchase longer-term tickets for multiple rides as opposed to buying a single ticket each time you take your next trip.

So thinking like a local Londoner by way of your daily commute is one way of making your retreat to this cosmopolitan city that much more affordable.

Another way to do so is booking well in advance for your accommodation, something which we’re perhaps not all lucky enough to be able to do. However, most people know long before they depart exactly when they’ll be going away on their London retreat, something which is common especially with international travellers who flock into the city from all corners of the world. Most booking platforms are flexible on such bookings which are reserved well in advance, which means you have ample time to modify, tweak or even completely cancel your reservation, cost free as well, should there be a change of plans or anything of the sort.

Finally, thinking like a local Londoner should extend even to your consideration of how and where you’re going to get your fill. Stay away from formal restaurants – you’ll just be unnecessarily spending way too much money for food you can otherwise get uncooked at a supermarket and then prepare it yourself, which would naturally suggest that you’d be lodging at a place of accommodation with self-catering facilities.

Keep all of this in mind and London won’t be as expensive as it’s commonly made out to be!