This is the third part of a series looking at Gurdwaras in the UK. London has a sizeable Sikh population, rivalling the Midlands as a centre of both Panjabi culture and the Sikh faith in the UK. Areas like Southall, Hounslow and Ilford all have large Sikh communities, and these towns have several Gurdwaras each. Outside of London, both Slough and Gravesend are well known within Panjabi circles for their Sikh communities. In this article, I explore 5 Gurdwaras in London and the South-East.

You can read part 1 of my series on UK Gurdwaras here (Midlands).
You can read part 2 of my series on UK Gurdwaras here (more Midlands).

There are over 300 Gurdwaras in the UK, but a sizeable proportion of them are in the West Midlands. This second article in the series explores a few more of the larger and well established Gurdwaras in the area. You can read part 1 of the list here.

After 7 years in London, living in zones 1,2 and 3, north and south of the river, and east and west of Charring Cross, I thought it was about time I summed up my experiences of living in the city. It's obscenely expensive, and an echo chamber for metropolitan elitism that bears little to no resemblance to the rest of the UK. It can be cold, grey and miserable - and it is nothing but a giant monopoly board for the privileged few who buy property to launder their money, and then let it sit empty while rent prices go through the roof for everyone else.

But it is also creative, energetic and lively and with something for everyone. It has architecture that will make your jaw drop, history that will immerse you, and open spaces that'll make you forget you're in one of the world's most powerful cities. You could live here all your life, and by the time you figure it out, the city has changed again. It's a city you can love and hate in equal measure - but there is nothing quite like it anywhere else.

Popular culture in the UK seems to distinguish between the 'north' and London, with scarcely a mention of the land in between. However, the Midlands is culturally, historically and economically one of the most important regions in the country. After all, the Midlands is where the Industrial Revolution took birth, the middle-earth of Tolkien, it's the place that gave us league football and the sport of rugby, it's the birthplace of William Shakespeare and is home to the UK's second largest city. This article focuses on the (West) Midlands and I look at 10 reasons why you really should visit it.