London is a huge city, made up of lots and lots of high streets and neighbourhoods- all with their own unique charms. This means London is full of some of the best charity shop crawls. Whether you’re heading to north, south, east, or west London- there are plenty of areas where you can while away an afternoon charity shopping.
It’s a great idea to do a charity shop crawl because you can hit lots of stores at once, without needing to travel around in between. London high streets will always have one or two charity shops, but in some areas, there is as many as 8 charity shops to look through!
I’ve personally visited a crazy number of areas in London, in order to get you the best insider charity shop knowledge. The following places are, in my opinion, the best charity shop crawls in London…
The Best Charity Shop Crawls in London
Wimbledon
I love Wimbledon because the high street is relatively small, but has 6 charity shops in very close proximity to each other. And if you REALLY wanted to make a day of it, there are also several more charity shops over on the posh side of town in Wimbledon Village.
The shops in Wimbledon are really well priced for the area, and Wimbledon is even home to my all-time favourite Royal Trinity Hospice store. I don’t know what it is about this store, but it always has such a beautiful selection of vintage and second hand clothing at great prices.
If you’re doing a charity shop crawl in Wimbledon, you’ll also have to head to NIAS which feels like a really great old-school charity shop. So if you love a rummage, this is the place to go.
In terms of pricing, the cheapest charity shops in Wimbledon seem to be Cancer Research and Oxfam- I bought a pair of brand new M&S linen trousers for £4.99 last summer.
If you want to know more about what you can find in the charity shops in Wimbledon, check out my guide to the best charity shops in South London where I go into more detail about the brands and prices you can expect to find in the Wimbledon charity shops.
Hampstead
You can really make a day of charity shopping if you head to Hampstead- it’s one of my favourite areas of London! Not only are there great charity shops, but you can also peek into some sweet antique stores and cafes whilst you’re there.
In Hampstead the charity shops are fairly upmarket, so it’s a great area to go and find second hand designer clothing in London.
I’ve spotted Stella McCartney, Mulberry, and Burberry before in the Hampstead charity shops. On the high street you will find a Cancer Research, Mary’s Living and Giving, and Oxfam.
If you head a little further out to enjoy Hampstead Heath, you will also find a Shelter Boutique and Octavia Foundation.
You might also be interested in: The Best Charity Shops in West London
Balham
I had never been to Balham before, and went there with the sole purpose of checking out the charity shops in the area. Am I glad I did!
Balham is home to 6 charity shops which are all situated in close proximity to each other, with the tube station close by.
Balham has a Fara and Fara Kids, which are across the road from one another. But my all-time favourite store that I came across was the Wandsworth Oasis store- I love this chain! This particular store in Balham is large and at the time of visiting had SO much kids’ stuff- furniture, toys, prams- you name it, they had it.
If you want to check out the other stores in Balham and the prices and brands that you might find there you can head to my guide to the best charity shops in south London for more information.
The other benefit of going on a charity shop crawl to Balham, is that Clapham is just a tube journey away- where even more charity shops await. If you wanted to have a full afternoon of charity shopping, you could combine Balham and Clapham together.
You might also be interested in: How To Find Great Vintage Clothes on eBay
Chelsea
Chelsea is another gold mine when it comes to charity shop crawls- with over 6 charity shops dotted around the high street. Chelsea is another brilliant place to go to find designer clothing in charity shops. Being one of the most affluent areas of London, you won’t have to look far to find stunning gowns and even some celebrity cast offs.
My favourite charity shop in Chelsea is the Red Cross- it’s huge as far as London charity shops go, and even has a homeware store right next door.
In the past I have seen Valentino, Christian Louboutin heels, Jimmy Choo and a whole host of other designer labels for sale.
If you want to know more about the charity shops in Chelsea- take a look at my in depth guide to the best charity shops in Chelsea, London.
This guide to the best charity shop crawls in London barely touches the surface of the hundreds of stores that can be found in our capital. My advice to find the best things in the charity shops? When visiting a new area, drag your friend or partner with you to check out the charity shops- it doesn’t take long, and by popping in whilst you’re there- you might find your new favourite place to go charity shopping!
If you prefer to stay closer to home to do your charity shopping, my advice would be to visit the charity shops regularly. Sometimes when I go to the charity shops on my local high street I find absolutely nothing- but when this happens, don’t be disheartened and decide charity shops aren’t for you- just keep visiting regularly! For every time that I find something great, there are handfuls of times where I have left a store emptyhanded. Just try to enjoy the process and the beautiful second hand finds will follow.