The Barrage Walk, Cardiff Bay

If you have kids, the round trip from Cardiff Bay to the playground on the barrage, enclosing the harbour, makes for an invigorating two mile walk. As you head towards the attractive waterfront of Penarth in the distance, you can survey an eclectic mix of ultra modern and nineteenth century architecture. Lined with old-fashioned lamp-posts, the route takes you past the space-age glass and steel of the Welsh Assembly and a Norwegian white clapboard church, housing an arts centre and coffee shop. Outside the church is a striking, but amorphous, mosaic statue of a sailor. Further along, the wide path is lined with ugly and high mesh fences, patches of wasteland and disused Victorian warehouses and docks. But look back across the yachts in the bay and you'll see a red brick Gothic harbour building, which looks a bit like a Rhineland fairytale castle, against a backdrop of the gleaming gold armadillo-shaped Cardiff Opera House. Further around is a row of handsome Victorian terrace houses flanking a large and smart white apartment block with a funky arc mounted on its flat roof. As you approach the barrage itself, you come to an imaginative wooden playground with a nautical theme. The centrepiece is a shipwreck, with colourful bunting hanging from its masts and barrels strewn around, half-buried in the sand. From here, you get a fine view of the grassy mounds of the islands in the middle of the wide open waters of the mouth of the Severn. If it also had a coffee shop, it would be a great spot for both adults and kids to pass an hour or two. 7/10

Le Petit Parisien, Grove Lane, south London

Stripped-back and laid-back pub-cum-brassiere with overt French theme and funky music, which can be cranked up quite loud. The bar has upright, but comfortable, leather seats, while the restaurant has a bunch of small wooden tables. The decor is fairly bare, except for a few pot plants, some small French prints and the numerous spherical lights hanging down from the ceiling. Many of the signs and labels are written in both French and English. As you would expect, there is a good selection of French wines by the 175ml glass (between £3.75 and £6) and continential lagers, such as San Miguel (£3.50 for a pint), Becks and Leffe, on tap. There is a keenly-priced bar menu and you can get a bowl of economy peanuts for 50 pence. Le Petit Parisien attracts a variety of punters, from small groups of young people to middle-aged loners either reading books or using the free WiFi. The young staff, some French, some English, are friendly and chilled. It is the sort of place where the chef hangs around the bar, in between orders, fiddling with the stereo and chatting with the bar staff. 6/10

Natural Kitchen, New Street Square, central London

Occupying a corner of this smart square of new office blocks, the Natural Kitchen has big windows, high ceilings and plenty of space. Wicker baskets, bare-brick walls, hessian sacks and metal pales give this cafe a highly-stylised rustic ambiance. It is divided into two areas - one laid out like a restaurant with square tables for four and the other with big, long tables, lined with benches. The canteen-style section is where you can eat food ordered at the counter. Served in a cardboard box, a fist size, piece of cold, but tasty, chicken, or a fat slice of quiche, accompanied by two helpings of salad, costs about £6. The lightly-seasoned tomato salad and potato salads are both fresh and tasty. To drink, you can choose one of the array of soft drinks, from coke to flavoured waters, in the large chilled cabinet. Jazz music is piped over the speakers in the ceiling. If you are looking for a lunchtime alternative to sandwiches, the Natural Kitchen is not a bad bet. 7/10

Cambewell Grove, south London

Running in a straight line for about a kilometre up hill from inner city Camberwell towards the more genteel suburb of East Dulwich, Camberwell Grove, lined with large mature trees shading distinguished eighteenth century terraces, is one of south London's most atmospheric roads. At the north end, a developer has sympathetically converted a Victorian school into apartments, while also building some imitation Georgian terraces alongside it. Further up the hill, the original four or five-storey Georgian terraces are interrupted by a small modern council estate, but much of the road looks pretty much like it would have done two hundred years ago. Towards the top, the brown bricks and cast iron balconies of the Georgian architecture give way to elegant Regency houses, painted various shades of white and, in some cases, pink. The grandest residences sit on Grove Crescent, a rough private road that curves around a wide grassy border next to the main drag. Camberwell Grove sees a fair bit of traffic, but it is calmed by a series of speed humps and some traffic lights, where the road is supported by a weak bridge over a railway line. Neighbouring Grove Lane also boasts a handsome eighteenth century terrace set well back from the road and partly hidden by very mature front gardens. 7/10

The Canteen, Royal Festival Hall, Belvedere Road, central London

An onslaught of clean, modern lines and right angles, this branch of The Canteen, embedded into the back of the modernist Royal Festival Hall, has rows of sturdy wooden tables, mostly flanked by uncomfortable seats or benches with virtually no back to them. There are also tables outside sheltered by large parasols, but the floor-to-ceiling glass windows ensure that the interior is flooded with daylight. At pains to stress the authenticity of The Canteen's free-range ingredients, the menu is made up of unashamedly British fare, covering breakfast, lunch and dinner. Staples include a large leg and thigh of golden roast chicken with a great pile of chips and some garlic mayo (for about a tenner), smoked haddock, spinach and mash (£13) and walnut, tarragon and roast chicken salad (£9.50). The specials might include a modest chicken and mushroom pie, with light fluffy pastry, some delicious creamy mash potato and appetising buttery cabbage, for about a tenner. If you are still hungry, one of the classic deserts, such as treacle tart and cream, will set you back between five and six pounds. Coffees include a good, strong latte. Although service by the young multinational staff can be painfully slow and even forgetful, the fine food is good value and the The Canteen buzzes on a Friday lunchtime. 7/10

Oliver, Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, central London

It would be difficult to ask for more from this extravagant all-singing, all-dancing production of Lionel Bart’s adaptation of Charles Dickens' renown novel about the grim underbelly of Victorian London. Together, the cast and orchestra number about 100 and, during the big set piece songs, such as Consider Yourself At Home, the stage is a whirling mass of carefully choreographed activity that will have you trying to watch four cameos at once. Some of the individual performances are also from the top drawer. Two parts humour, one part melancholy, British-Iranian comedian Omid Djalili, who has taken over from Rowan Atkinson, plays Fagin to near perfection. The comic noises Djalili makes in between sentences, his languid dance moves, mimicked by the smallest of his gang of pickpockets, and his rich repertoire of facial expressions will have you chuckling out loud. Another standout is Tamsin Carroll, the "alternative" Nancy, who has a fine voice, gusto and a fluid, convincing acting style. Ross McCormack is full of sparkling energy as the Artful Dodger and Steven Hartley's Sykes is hoarse, but suitably menacing. The standout scenes include a rousing chorus of Oom Pah, Pah amid the drunkeness and debauchery of the ale house and the amusing introduction to Fagin in his intricate, multi-level underground lair, which is a maze of cubby holes, adorned with rows and rows of silk handkerchiefs.

National Express train, London to Newcastle

Book well in advance to get a reasonable price for a return ticket on the fast and busy east coast line from London, up through Peterborough, York and Newcastle, to Edinburgh. Fortunately, your advance booking comes with an automatic seat reservation or you might end up sitting on the floor in the luggage-strewn corridors between carriages. Although there are electric sockets next to most seats and free WiFi on board, the connection is intermittent as the train speeds its way north. The landscape on route is mostly flat and dull, there is no longer an on-board magazine and the drinks, snacks and mediocre sandwiches, available from the buffet car or trolley, are pricey. Still, the train is the fastest and most convenient way to get from central London to Newcastle. 6/10

The Cannon, Earsdon, Tyne & Wear

The Cannon is an old-fashioned, well-kept pub surrounded by stone nineteenth century houses, opposite a distinguished church in the endearing village of Earsdon. Inside, there is maroon upholstery everywhere, while the tables can be cramped and the stools small, so be choosy about where you sit. The walls are lined with prints of very dated paintings of pastoral scenes in ornate gold frames. But what pulls in the dozens of elderly regulars is the keenly-priced food and hand-pulled beers. The real ales include Directors (a fine, smooth pint) and Pedigree, while there is the usual array of lagers.

Proper mushy peas
Most of the main courses (around six to eight pounds) are served with a choice of chubby chips, decent new potatoes or a jacket potato. On a Saturday lunchtime, the corn-beef hash pie sells out quickly, but the hungry will find the mediocre Highland sausages, served with melted cheese, bacon, proper mushy peas, onion rings and sweet corn, is quite an appetising combination. There are also several different variations on fish, chips and mushy peas. The fish tends to be wrapped in light and relatively-healthy batter, while the flesh inside is succulent. Or you can opt for a large, crisply-cooked baked potato with a prawn mayonnaise topping, a substantial side-serving of tuna, and stacks of fresh salad. There aren't any children's meals and, oddly, the staff insist that you pay in cash straight after your food arrives, rather than when you order. 7/10