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  • Where to find free wi-fi in London

  • By Harry Williams


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    Free wi-fi in north London
    Proud Camden
    The new Proud Camden might not be quite as hip as it used to be – a victim of its own cult success – but look carefully and you will still spot the odd skinny-jeaned singer in one of the old horse stalls. It’s a good place to come for a quiet coffee and free wi-fi in the day. There’s live music every night from about eight.
    Proud Camden, Stables Market, Chalk Farm Rd, NW1 8AH (7482 3867/www.proud.co.uk).

    Big Chill House
    Just down from King’s Cross station, the Big Chill House is all comfy sofas, shared platters and European lagers. There’s a very reasonable £5 lunch menu, which is probably the time take your laptop before the music gets cranked up in the evening.
    Big Chill House, 257-259 Pentonville Rd, N1 9NL (7427 2540/www.bigchill.net).

    Wellcome Collection Café

    An outpost of Peyton & Byrne, the compact café in the Wellcome Collection foyer is relaxing and civilised. Sip on an Earl Grey tea, settle on a sofa and get to work on your essay on ‘Why science is essentially art’.
    Wellcome Collection Café, 183 Euston Rd NW1 2BE (7611 2222/www.wellcomecollection.org). Feature continues

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    Camden Arts Centre
    According to Time Out itself, the Camden Arts Centre has ‘the best coffee in north London’, and the pastries aren’t bad either. The café is light and airy with free wi-fi and nice big tables, but there’s also a gallery and bookshop stocked with quirky little publications that you’ll struggle to find anywhere else. The café opens on to a garden, where you can work among the various temporary artworks.
    Camden Arts Centre, Arkwright Rd, NW3 6DG (7472 5500/www.camdenartscentre.org).

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35 comments

  1. Posted by Piglicker on 03 Nov 2009 11:13

    The Westfield shopping centre in White City has a free network with a good signal and plenty of comfy seats.

  2. Posted by Angela on 28 Oct 2009 14:35

    Thanks Ian, I am on my laptop with it plugged into the wall for power at departure! How brilliant! the staff is so kind and it's a creative based cafe/library which is great for me because I'm a designer :)
    Now I can work in peace!

  3. Posted by FishFace72 on 21 Sep 2009 02:41

    Good work, Time Out, but I think Annie's excellent post proves that you could have tried harder.

  4. Posted by Phil Davison on 21 Sep 2009 01:19

    Much as I dislike Starbucks, I have to back them up a bit here. They do have info on their web site about the WiFi they use. It is currently only available in Holborn and Chiswick in the London area.
    http://starbucks.co.uk/en-GB/_Card/Starbucks+Card+Re wards+Wi-Fi+Support.htm
    Phil.

  5. Posted by Little Brown Bird on 20 Sep 2009 21:25

    Starbucks have switched to BT Openzone and you can only access the free wi-fi if you have one of their Starbucks cards however none of the staff are able to tell you how to access it and nor is there any info on their UK website.

  6. Posted by Vanessa on 15 Sep 2009 10:37

    Am aware of the WiFi hotspots in London...South London infact, in like McDonalds and so forth, but has anyone found an ideal spot for meetings, simply where you can have a group discussion alongside free wifi (enough space)?

  7. Posted by Phil Davison on 24 Jul 2009 01:53

    Annie Boland's list looks very impressive until you notice how many Wetherspoons there are in there. Wetherspoon advertise free WiFi in all their pubs but it is extremely hit & miss and where you can get a signal it takes you to the wrong log-on page! Cheers JDW! To log on (where you can actually do so!) you need to stick the following in your browser's address bar and hit enter...
    https://hotspot.thecloud.net/cloud-ssg-web/ssg.do
    That should take you to the page where you put your ID in as "Sponsored" and password as "Service" (it's all on the correct log on screen).
    The free WiFi in McDog is brilliant. Just wish I could say the same about the food!
    Phil.

  8. Posted by Paul Jarvis on 23 Jul 2009 16:55

    Thankyou Annie! Now that's what I call really useful!

  9. Posted by Annie Beland on 23 Jul 2009 16:30

    For those who are interested, I made a list of all addresses of Restaurant/Pubs chains offering free WIFI in London (Wetherspoons, McDonald's, etc). It can be very useful to keep this list for offline use on your laptop or mobile phone: you will be able to search the txt file by street name in the list to find the nearest FREE hotspot in London :-)
    Here is the addresses... ENJOY!
    Corney & Barrow (Bar) FREE
    ---------------------------------------------------- --------
    19 Broadgate Circle
    9 Cabot Square
    1 Ropemaker Street
    5 Exchange Square
    25 Fenchurch Avenue
    1 Leadenhall Place
    12 Mason's Avenue
    2b Eastcheap
    3 Fleet Place
    12 New Street Square
    111 Old Broad Street
    37 Jewry Street
    10 Paternoster Square
    ---------------------------------------------------- --------
    Leon (Restaurant) FREE
    ---------------------------------------------------- --------
    Carnaby Street, 35 Great Marlborough St
    12 Ludgate Circus
    275 Regent Street
    3 Crispin Place
    86 Cannon Street
    73-76 Strand
    7 Canvey Street, The Blue Fin Building (Behind the Tate Modern)
    ---------------------------------------------------- --------
    Coffee Republic (Coffee Shop)
    ---------------------------------------------------- --------
    FREE for 10 minutes
    Note: Spend a minimum of £2 and you’ll get 20 minutes (the code is printed on the receipt), spend £5 and you get 45 minutes.
    ---------------------------------------------------- --------
    Unit RS190 Cabot Place
    198-200 Earls Court Road
    71 The Mall
    119 - 121 Gloucester Road
    39 Great Marlborough Street
    214 Portobello Road
    19 Soho Square
    1-9 Wimbledon Hill Road
    Unit 3, 25 Exchange Square
    38 Berwick Street
    52 Gray's Inn
    32 Coleman Street
    157 Kings Road
    778 High Road, North Finchley
    8 Pembridge Road
    214 Portobello Road
    19 Soho Square
    99 Tottenham Court Road
    1-9 Wimbledon Hill Road, Wimbledon
    220 High Street, Beckenham
    38 Berwick Street
    79A The Strand
    126 Queensway
    92 North End Road, West Kensington
    25 Exchange Square, Broadgate
    118A High Street, Bromley
    35 King Street Parade, Twickenham
    Southside Shopping Centre, Wandsworth
    ---------------------------------------------------- --------
    McDonald's (Fast-Food Restaurant) FREE
    ---------------------------------------------------- --------
    County Hall, Westminster
    45/47 Whitehall, Westminster
    155 Victoria Street, Westminster
    Unit 43 The Colonnade, Lambeth
    34/35 Strand , Westminster
    5 Swiss Court, Leicester Square
    25/27 Shaftesbury Avenue , Westminster
    68/69 St Martins Lane , Westminster
    115 Buckingham Palace Road , Westminster
    74/78 Regent Street, Westminster
    8/10 Oxford Street, Westminster
    152/153 Fleet Street
    112 High Holborn, Camden
    185/187 Oxford Street, Westminster
    291b Oxford Street, Westminster
    West One Shopping Centre, Westminster
    198/200 Walworth Road, Southwark
    6/7 Holborn, Holborn Circus
    177 Brompton Road, Kensington
    134 Tottenham Court Road, Camden
    2/3 Marble Arch, Westminster
    49 Kings Road, Chelsea
    Boland House, London Bridge
    143/149 Cannon Street, City Of London
    41/42 London Wall, City Of London
    368/370 Wandsworth Road, Clapham
    122 Baker Street, Westminster
    Belgrove House, Kings Cross
    178/180 Edgware Road, Westminster
    302/304 Pentonville Road, Kings Cross
    Unit 25 The Concourse, Liverpool Street, City Of London
    Unit 55 (Macmillan House), Paddington Station, Westminster
    67 Chapel Market, Islington
    241 City Road, Islington
    518/522 Brixton Road, Brixton
    201/217 Commercial Road, Tower Hamlets
    112 High Street, Camden
    130/134 Clapham High Street, Clapham
    76/78 Queensway, Westminster
    518 Old Kent Road Retail Park, Peckham
    208 Earls Court Road, Earls Court
    102/106 The Highway Westbound, Shadwell
    Sundial House, Kensington
    ---------------------------------------------------- --------
    Pret A Manger (Restaurant) FREE
    ---------------------------------------------------- --------
    7-8 St Martin's Place, Trafalgal Square
    1 Whitehall
    25 Villiers Street
    62/65 Traflagar Square
    421/422 Strand
    ---------------------------------------------------- --------
    Wetherspoons (Pubs) FREE
    ---------------------------------------------------- --------
    18–20 Edgware Road, Marble Arch
    198–204 High Street, Lewisham
    185 Lower Road, Rotherhithe
    Metro Central Heights, 119 Newington Causeway, Elephant & Castle
    56a High Street, Tooting
    338–346 Holloway Road, Holloway
    87–91 Mansell Street, Aldgate
    29–35 Farringdon Road, Farringdon
    7 Station Approach, Marylebone Road, Marylebone
    4 Hertsmere Road, West India Quay, Docklands
    125–127 Stroud Green Road, Stroud Green
    22 Replingham Road, Southfields
    282–284 Mare Street, Hackney
    553 Kingsbury Road, Kingsbury
    283–288 High Holborn, Holborn
    250–252 Chingford Mount Road, Chingford
    255–256 Upper Street, Islington
    Swan Island, 2–4 King Street, Hammersmith
    146–148 The Grove, Stratford
    857–861 High Road, Leytonstone
    105–107 Charing Cross Road, also at: 20 Greek Street, West End
    46–47 The Mall, Ealing
    Unit 5, Spouter’s Corner, 180 High Road, Wood Green
    Unit 3, First Floor, Fulham Broadway Centre, Fulham
    120–124 King Street, Hammersmith
    32–33 Westow Street, Crystal Palace
    194 Balham High Street, Balham
    71–79 Peckham High Street, Peckham
    149 Denmark Hill, Camberwell
    7–9 Wellington Street, Woolwich
    Cutty Sark Station, 210 Creek Road, Greenwich
    107–109 Streatham High Road, Streatham
    281 High Street, Acton
    202 Upper Richmond Road
    15 Trinity Square, Tower Hill
    Africa House, 64–68 Kingsway, Holborn
    16–18 Whitehall, West End
    Unit 5, Victoria Island, Victoria Station
    28 Leicester Square, West End
    25 Wilton Road, Victoria
    ---------------------------------------------------- --------
    Le Pain Quotidien (Cafe) FREE
    ---------------------------------------------------- --------
    70 Parsons Green Lane
    Units 5 & 6 Bow Bells House, 1 Bread Street
    201-203 Kings Road
    1 South End Road, Hampstead Heath
    174 High Holborn, Covent Garden
    81-85 Notting Hill Gate
    Upper Festival Walk, Belvedere Road, Royal Festival Hall
    18 Great Marlborough Street
    15- 17 Exhibition Road
    Unit 4, St Pancras International, Euston Road
    4- 5 High Street, Wimbledon Village
    9 Young Street, Kensington
    ---------------------------------------------------- --------

  10. Posted by Mukesh on 08 Jun 2009 18:26

    its the first time i have used this site and each time i am in london i find its the first one i use to locate.
    Debbie who sent a message on 11th May 2009 comments about Brighton, but there are plenty of free sites there. I have a question to ask, is this the same Debbie who claimed to have a house in Kensington, Hounslow and Brighton?

  11. Posted by Debbie on 11 May 2009 17:52

    There are LOADS of free wifi places in East London....at the top of Brick Lane, E2 (the Bethnal Green ROad end) there is a small cafe between the 2 bagel bakeries which offers it, plus one accross the road on the corner with big sofas, and the Surf Shop/cafe directly opposite the end of Brick Lane also has a couple of laptops you can use. THere are also other cafes along there which offer it too.
    Bethnal Green library also offers free computer/internet use (possibly wifi too) you just become a member so need proof of address but do NOT need to be a resident of Tower Hamlets.
    The Gallery Cafe next to York Hall swimming baths on Old FOrd Road E2 also offers free wifi.
    London in the Stoneage indeed. When the pebbles on Brighton Beach have worn down to sand and the howling chill wind on the seafront dies, call me, it might be worth a visit :D

  12. Posted by Ian on 11 May 2009 09:03

    Leon's in Regent Street does not have wi-fi, nor do staff know anything about it

  13. Posted by Paul Jarvis on 07 May 2009 15:39

    Well! That was a bit of lame effort was'nt it? I thought you'd have more than a few for the whole of East London! I get the impression this article was written to fill quota rather than serve any useful purpose. Disappointing!

  14. Posted by sortitoutsouthbank on 01 May 2009 09:05

    I just called the Southbank Centre to see if there have been any issues with connectivity before I make the journey. The girl on the phone was useless! ''We haven't been told anything...urrrmmm...there's always problems and glitches...but I haven't been told anything'' Give me strength!

  15. Posted by Pixel Ninja on 30 Apr 2009 12:18

    Southbank Centre WAS a great place to go until the wifi signal mysteriously became hit and miss a few weeks ago.
    Spacious, large tables, numerous power outlets to plug in your laptop, no obligation to buy anything and stay as long as you want without being hassled -- these things made this my favorite free wifi place to go for a full day's work when I started going there about 2 months ago. But about 3 weeks go, the signal strength dropped to the point where basic browsing is painful (flashback of 56k days), and twice the wifi signal dropped completely. It's no longer reliable and now I have to find a place...arghhh.

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