Local Amenities around urbanest King’s Cross

30th June 2017 Joe Graham Accommodation Basics, Careers and Finance, London Life

This is a guest post by Lisa Herms from Florida, USA, currently a resident at urbanest King’s Cross student accommodation, London. She is studying International Health Policy (Health Economics) Masters course at London School of Economics.

Interesting fact: I actually enjoy reading Shakespeare…and all types of classic literature!

“What I love most about London are the people, the shopping, the history, the atmosphere!”

Local Amenities around urbanest King’s Cross

Banks/Currency Exchange/ATMs

As an international arrival hub, the area around King’s Cross & St. Pancras has plenty of banks, cash machines and currency exchanges. The easiest thing to do is just walk around the area, to discover which location looks appealing and trustworthy. Start off by standing in the big square in front of King’s Cross Station, and immediately a Barclay’s cash machine, an HSBC bank branch and numerous currency exchanges will catch your eye.

Gym

My personal recommendation is Pancras Square Leisure. A student membership costs only about £30 per month and gives you access to the gym, pool and all group classes. It also gives you access to all facilities across London, which comes in handy if you’re working or studying away from urbanest and want to work out in your lunch break, or even if you just want to visit some friends who live elsewhere. But around King’s Cross there are plenty of other gyms and fitness studios as well, some specialised and others more general. Take a look at the addresses below, and I’m sure you’ll find something to suit your fitness needs.

Anytime Fitness, 200 Pentonville Rd, N1 9JP
Kings Cross Studios: 154 Caledonian Rd, N1 9RD
Pancras Square Leisure: 5 Pancras Square, N1C 4AG
Urban Kings Gym: 4 Bravingtons Walk, N1 9GA

Laundries & Launderettes, Dry Cleaners

With the laundry facilities at urbanest, you probably won’t need to visit a laundry/launderette, but again it is still useful to know where they are. There are certain things I’d rather not wash on my own – suits, formal wear, nice dresses or delicate fabrics. They’re also useful for cleaning bigger items, like a winter coat or a duvet. As mentioned many times before, in general, I would say that Caledonian Road is the place to look!

1 Stop Wash: 100 Caledonian Rd, London, Islington N1 9DN
2Busy2Clean: 204 Caledonian Rd, London N1 0SQ
Alex’s 2 Hour Dry Cleaners: 289 Gray’s Inn Rd, WC1X 8QF
Fontaines @ The Angel: Islington High Street, N1 9LH
Smartline: 200 Caledonian Rd, N1 0SQ
Superlaundry: 138 York Way, London N1 0AX
Zac Dry Cleaning & Tailoring: 184 Caledonian Rd, London N1 0SQ

Libraries

If you’re in the need to get out of the house, but don’t want to travel to campus either, check out some of the libraries nearby. Most of them have visitor paces and workspaces, so they’re great places to study, if you desire a change in scenery.

Lewis Carrol Library: 166 Copenhagen Street, N1 0ST
Pancras Square Library: 5 Pancras Square N1C 4AG
The British Library: 96 Euston Road, NW1 2DB

Medical Services

Hopefully you won’t need it, but just in case, when you arrive in the UK, you should register with a GP. Generally, it makes sense to register with a surgery close to where you live. If you’re an LSE student, there’s also one right on campus, and personally I recommend registering with them. However, obviously it is also a bit farther away than you would normally like for your doctor to be, so if you are more comfortable with one close by (or if you’re not at LSE and there’s none by your university) any will do. That is the beauty in the UK NHS – you will get adequate treatment at most any certified GP surgery. Here are a few select addresses to start your search. They’re in alphabetical order, with absolutely no preference or ranking involved. To get a better understanding of how the UK healthcare system works, be sure to also check out one of our other posts (Health Care Guide – How the NHS Works)!

General Health Centres

AcuMedic Clinic: 101-105 Camden High St, NW1 7JN
Bingfield Surgery: 8 Bingfield St, N1 0AL
Bupa Health & Dental Centre King’s Cross: Battle Bridge House, 300-306 Gray’s Inn Rd, WC1X 8DU
Crowndale Health Centre: 59 Crowndale Rd, NW1 1TU
Gray’s Inn Road Medical Practice: 77 Gray’s Inn Road, WC1X 8TT
Hunter Street Health Centre: 8 Hunter St, WC1N 1BN
Killick Street Health Centre: 75 Killick Street, N1 9RH
King’s Cross Road Surgery: 215 King’s Cross Road, WC1X 9DN

Dentists

Bupa Health & Dental Centre King’s Cross (see above)
Camden High Street Dental Practice: 22 Camden High St, NW1 0JH
Eastman Dental Hospital: 256 Gray’s Inn Rd, WC1X 8LD

Hospital

Pancras Hospital: 4 St Pancras Way, NW1 0PE

Police

Remember, in an emergency, you should call “999”. If you are calling for a non-emergency issue, use the number “101”. The closest police station for urbanest KX is the Islington Police Station, at 2 Tolpuddle Street, N1 0YY. There is also a British Transport Police Authority located right within St. Pancras International.

Post Office, Parcels & Couriers

Some may think that post offices are nearly extinct nowadays, in times of e-mails and web communication. But occasionally you do find yourself in need of a physical letter and postage stamp – that’s where knowing the location of the nearest post office is useful. It’s also good to know a few parcel delivery services and couriers around the area. Again, I also recommend strolling along Caledonian Road – there are quite a few parcel shops scattered about.

Caledonian Road Post Office: 320 Caledonian Rd, N1 1BB
King’s Cross Post Office: 17-21 Euston Road, NW1 2RY
Mail Boxes Etc. London Kings Cross: 254 Pentonville Rd, N1 9JY

Printing Shops

It is dissertation time, and as I am finishing up my own, I am starting to think about where to print and bind my masterpiece. Yet even if you’re not facing a deadline for handing in a paper, it’s good to know where the closest printing shops are. Here are a few addresses I have found thus far, though I have my suspicions that there will also be a few printing shops along Caledonian Road. If you have the time (and need), go ahead, check it out and please share if you find something good!

Dodds The Printers: 193-195 King’s Cross Rd, WC1X 9DB
Kings Cross Printers: 163 King’s Cross Rd, WC1X 9BN
Nevex Printing Centre: 307 Gray’s Inn Rd, WC1X 8QS
OnOff Print and Design: 225 Gray’s Inn Rd, WC1X 8RH

Supermarkets

For the closest supermarkets near urbanest King’s Cross, check out my other post (The closest supermarkets to urbanest King’s Cross)!