Searching for Ted Lasso in Richmond upon Thames, London is a travel post about our day in Richmond upon Thames following in the footsteps of the fictional character Ted Lasso from a very successful comedy TV show Ted Lasso.

As you all very well know, I’m infatuated with London and I try to discover something new on each of my London trips. So, for my 40^th birthday trip to London I decided to book a hotel in Richmond upon Thames which is a lovely London borough known for its rich history and beautiful parks. My inspiration for booking a hotel in Richmond came from a very fun TV show Ted Lasso which actually introduced me to this rather beautiful and posh area of London.

The show follows the optimistic American college football coach, Ted Lasso, who is unexpectedly hired to coach a struggling English football team, despite having little knowledge of the sport. The show has received critical acclaim and won several awards, becoming a cultural phenomenon celebrated for its humor and heartwarming storytelling.

It was fairly easy to reach Richmond from Central London. We just hopped on the train at Waterloo station using our oyster cards and arrived at Richmond station in the early afternoon. We spent the morning walking around the City of London and greeting Big Ben before we reached the Waterloo station. Once we got off the train we chatted with a very pleasant older gentleman at a kind of visitor information kiosk at the entrance of Richmond station. Then, we just walked in the general direction of Richmond Green and the Prince’s Head pub which is the Crown & Anchor pub from Ted Lasso TV show.

I saw many beautiful doors with pretty Christmas wreaths and the streets were adorned with pleasing Christmas decorations. Suddenly, we were at Richmond Green, the picturesque park where many outdoor scenes featuring the Richmond AFC team were filmed. Sadly, we didn’t see any footballers, just families and other passersby. One side of that park is lined with beautiful houses among which is the pub from the TV show. However, I firstly noticed the iconic bench and two red telephone boxes which featured in a number of scenes from Ted Lasso. As usually, these two red telephone boxes were devastated inside and full of trash. It’s a pity that there’s no one to take care of these famous red telephone boxes.

After taking some photos we entered the Prince’s Head aka the Crown & Anchor pub. It was full but after a while a seat was vacated and we found our snugly spot and ordered some drinks. It was fun to see some memorabilia from the TV show such as coasters and Richmond AFC scarf and jersey. I apologize if I’m spoiling the show for you in case you haven’t seen it yet but Richmond football club doesn’t actually exist. It was made up just for the show and the match scenes weren’t filmed in Richmond. The pub was pricey but it was enjoyable to have a drink there even though the real pub scenes were filmed in the studio and not at this location. But the pub’s exterior and the streets around it are featured heavily in the show.

After we warmed up at Ted Lasso’s pub it was time to knock on his door. You can find Ted Lasso’s black front door at 11 A Paved court street. The street is rather charming and full of shops and cafes which have some more Ted Lasso memorabilia. There was a group with a guide in front of the door so we took our photos later. If you’re interested in a guided tour of Richmond you can find plenty of Ted Lasso’s tours online. Bear in mind that our walk around Richmond wasn’t just about Ted Lasso and that we didn’t cover all the locations from the show. Nevertheless, we visited the most important Ted Lasso locations.

Feeling rather hungry we checked out the local chippie and had a very traditional meal of fish & chips. Right next door to it, is a delightful independent bookshop where I bought a postcard. It was high time to go to our hotel. After we checked in and had a short nap we went outside again to explore some more of beautiful Richmond. Since it was December it was already rather dark after 4 PM. We decided to go down to the riverside. But before that we found another Ted Lasso’s location, St. Mary Magdalene church. We peeked inside and saw a carol service rehearsal. We watched briefly and enjoyed their musical singing before we left the church and found our way down to the river Thames. We came across Richmond bridge and saw many beautiful houses along Richmond riverside. It was a pity that it was so dark. Richmond riverside must look wonderful in broad daylight. Moreover, it is also seen in Ted Lasso TV show. I exchanged a few words with Virginia Wolf (there’s her statue at a bench) and we saw a lot of ducks and swans. We finished our riverside walk near the White Cross pub which we couldn’t reach because the road was flooded. Actually, that pub is infamous for the fact that you need to take your wellies there because you never know when the Thames will rise and flood the area.

We had a drink at another pub on the dry land and returned to our hotel. We also got to see Richmond theater but we didn’t go to Richmond Park to see some deer because I’d rather not walk through a park in the dark. I quite liked what I saw of Richmond. I wish I had planned my trip differently because we only spent an afternoon and evening in Richmond. We left our hotel the next day after breakfast to head back to Central London for a full day of sightseeing. If we’d stayed in Richmond, we could have gone to Richmond Park and Ham house for instance. There’s plenty to see in Richmond and it must be absolutely lovely to do a riverside walk on a sunny summer’s day.

Nevertheless, we were happy that we got to see major Ted Lasso’s filming locations and in the process we discovered another gorgeous London borough which I want to explore more on my future London trips.

Key Locations from Ted Lasso that we visited

Richmond Green

bench and two red telephone boxes

The Crown & Anchor pub which is actually Prince’s Head pub

11 A Paved Court street

St. Mary’s Church

Richmond Riverside

For more information about Richmond upon Thames, check out its official website.

We visited Richmond upon Thames in December 2023.

This article is also featured on GPSmyCity. To download this article for offline reading or create a self-guided walking tour to visit the attractions highlighted in this article, go to Walking Tours and Articles in London.