Harrow, both as a town and as a borough, is an ideal choice if you want to stay far from the swarming streets of central London while still being able to reach them easily. With charming independent shops and leafy streets, Harrow has the feel of a village located right inside the heart of a major international city. This makes it a prime choice for professionals and families who seek a more peaceful neighbourhood.

1. What Makes Harrow Unique?
2. Things To See In Harrow
3. Nightlife In Harrow
4. Sport In Harrow
5. Food In Harrow
6. Shopping In Harrow
7. Culture And Entertainment In Harrow
8. Cost of Living In Harrow
9. Transportation In Harrow
10. Explore The UK From Harrow

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1. What Makes Harrow Unique?

A diverse population

Harrow is a melting pot of London where you can run into many communities from many different cultures. Whether you are from China, India, Ireland, or Pakistan, you will feel right at home in this outer borough.

Safety

Harrow has a much lower crime rate than other areas in London. Disorder, vehicle crimes, and common assaults only have a few instances while violent crimes and burglary are not a big issue for residents of Harrow either.

Great school system

This town and borough is home to the famous Harrow School, one of the UK's few all-boys, full-boarding schools. The alumni include a long list of prime ministers, kings, Nobel Prize winners, and stars in the entertainment industry.

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2. Things To See In Harrow

Heath Robinson Museum: a museum in Pinner, Harrow where you can get to see the works of William Heath Robinson, a world-renowned illustrator and humorist. Harrow Arts Centre: the focal point of Harrow's arts scene, this centre is a venue for all kinds of performances from plays to concerts, where local and national talents showcase their works inside a Grade II listed building. Harrow School: one of the longest-running independent boarding schools for boys in Greater London. You have to buy a ticket to visit the place where many British politicians and celebrities, such as Churchill, spent their school years. Harrow Museum: with more than 15,000 objects documenting Harrow’s past, this museum offers a closer look at the history of this area from pre-recorded history to the present.

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3. Nightlife In Harrow

Harrow is a fairly quiet corner of North West London, so it's not surprising that the selection of bar and nightclubs in this town is much more limited compared to central areas. This is one of the downsides of a tranquil town like Harrow. If you want to spend a night out, however, there are still a few good choices.

The most well-known place to have a drink while listening to live music in Harrow is Trinity on Station Road. This pub and club venue has operated with a late license for over 25 years, where you can get hold of some bits of Camden right in this London suburb. Set on two floors with gothic decor, Trinity offers amazing live music and talented DJs in a friendly atmosphere. This place also provides live sports and private party booking. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, student promotions are available with many drinks starting at £2. Trinity doesn't offer food, but customers are more than welcome to bring in their own.

Regular pub chains like O'Neills and Yates also have a presence in Harrow. At these places, you can find food and drink at reasonable prices, and in the case of O'Neills, live music on the weekends.

If you feel let down by these nightlife options or simply have gotten bored of going to the Trinity every week, hop on a bus or taxi and get to Watford, where the night scene is much more vibrant.

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4. Sport In Harrow

Unlike many areas of Greater London, Harrow doesn't have any big football club to put it on the sporting map of the capital. Wealdstone F.C., who play in the fifth tier National League, represents the town, even though they have been based at the Grosvenor Vale Stadium in Ruislip since 2008. Another local football club which remains in town is Harrow Borough F.C., who play in the seventh tier Isthmian League Premier Division.

Wembley Stadium is right on the doorsteps of Harrow. Sports fans from this town can easily see any important match in the UK’s biggest stadium, from NFL games to football matches played by national teams.

There are plenty of golf clubs in the area as well, including Stanmore Golf Club, Grims Dyke Golf Club, and Pinner Hill Golf Club.

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5. Food In Harrow

As a result of the diverse population, Harrow is a hub of many venues offering flavours from many places in the world. The most prominent point of the food scene is the authentic South Asian restaurants, thanks to the large Indian community that consists of more than 25% of the local population.

Top choices of local Indians are usually Chennai Srilalitha and Degrees. Chennai Srilalitha specialises in vegetarian food, especially dosa. All chefs of this restaurant are from Chennai to preserve its authentic flavours, according to the website.

Popular high street restaurants like Nando's and Prezzo are presented in Harrow while many independent choices like The Old Etonian are also available. This restaurant is located in a conversion area, and from its menu, you can see that it's heavily influenced by French cuisine. The Old Etonian is a favourite of many locals since people can enjoy delicious dishes under the sun on the terrace outside.

Doll's House is another popular choice that has different menus for breakfasts and lunches on top of afternoon tea and other drinks. Taking a sip of coffee and savouring a traditional English breakfast at the Doll's House is something many people from Harrow dearly miss after they move to other parts of the capital.

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6. Shopping In Harrow

The two mainstays of the retailing business in Harrow are two big covered shopping centres - St George's and St Anns - where you can indulge yourself once in a while.

St Anns is located on the pedestrianised road with the same name. It also has another entrance on College Road, facing the Harrow-on-the-Hill station. Opened in 1987 by Princess Diana, St Anns shopping centre is home to many high street brands such as M&S, Boots, and H&M, along with a food court that includes a Subway, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Burger King, on a total retail space of 280,000 square feet.

Located on the same road is the St George's shopping centre, which was opened in 1996. There are over 30 units for restaurants, leisure, and retail over three floors, with stores and branches from Fitness First, Vue, Nando's Boots, and TK Maxx.

Many major supermarket chains have opened their branches in Harrow as well, including Iceland, Asda, Morrisons, Waitrose, and Tesco, while the High Street is brimmed with small independent shops and tea rooms with an authentic nostalgic feel.

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7. Culture And Entertainment In Harrow

While this quiet borough doesn't provide the same level of entertainment and cultural activities that central areas of London offers, Harrow still has many places to explore. There are two great theatres in town, the Harrow Arts Centre and the Compass Theatre, in addition to the Vue Cinema and the Safari Cinema, where you can always find the latest releases from Hollywood.

Harrow Arts Centre is a major arts venue in London, offering a wide variety of entertainment, including film, theatre, workshops, classes, family events, dance, and music. Usurp Art Gallery & Studio was created by Usurp Art group to promote and provide support for contemporary artists by hosting many cultural programmers. It is the only gallery of its kind in the area.

History buffs wanting to know about the past of this borough and the surrounding areas can head to Harrow Museum, in the grounds of Headstone Manor, a Grade I listed house that dates back to the 14th century.

8. Cost of Living In Harrow

Harrow is definitely not the cheapest place to live. Only 5% of properties in the borough are in bands A and B of Council Tax while the average of London and the country is 17% and 44%.

• Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course: £50
• Domestic Beer (0.5-litre draught): £4
• Monthly Pass (Transportation): £96.50
• Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 85m2 Apartment: £150
• Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat: £9.5

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9. Transportation In Harrow

The public transportation of Harrow is one of the main reasons many people make the decision to relocate to this outer town and borough of London. Commuters can rely on great transport connections to travel around and get to central areas easily.

Train

Harrow is served by many National Rail and London Underground stations: Harrow-on-the-Hill, West Harrow, South Harrow, North Harrow, Harrow & Wealdstone, Headstone, Kenton, Rayners Lane, etc.

Harrow-on-the-Hill is the main station of the town, serving both the Metropolitan Line and Aylesbury Line with direct routes to the City of London and Baker Street, while Rayners Lane, West Harrow, North Harrow are all on the Metropolitan Line.

Bus

The Harrow bus station is situated right next to the Harrow-on-the-Hill tube station. All bus services in Harrow are under the management of TfL (Transport for London) and provide links to areas as far as Heathrow Airport, Hayes, and Northwood.

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10. Explore The UK From Harrow

Surrey Hills

Abundant with beautiful wildlife, this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty covers parts of Greensand Ridge and North Downs in Surrey. Surrey Hills is often dubbed as one of the most prettiest places in southern England, and with good reason. A lot of people travel far just to see the marvellous panoramic views in Surrey Hills. In the summer cyclists can also take on the challenging yet stunning route through the area in the annual London–Surrey Classic race.

Bray

Bray is a large village in the Royal Borough of Windsor, Berkshire, where many visitors have chosen to make a stop and enjoy its attractive riverbank properties, fine dining options, and a wealth of houses and cottages.

Colne Valley Regional Park

This park consists of many reservoirs and green spaces over an area of 43 square miles alongside the River Colne. Established in 1965, Colne Valley Regional Park is a mosaic of woodland, water, and farmland and one of the first places west of London you can get a taste of the countryside.