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Hamilton Spectator

I'm a Bridget Jones superfan. Inspired by her latest movie, I travelled to London to follow in her footsteps

On a recent spring night in London's bustling Borough Market, I gazed in awe at a space I had seen many times before but only on screen: the living room that once belonged to Bridget Jones, one of my all-time favourite movie characters. On the table in front of me sat a coupe of blue 'soup,' a nod to Bridget's revolting first course from the hilariously botched birthday dinner she cooked for her besties. However, the culinary creation I sipped on wasn't soup at all but a frothy, blue cocktail, which, unlike its ill-fated inspiration, tasted downright divine. Sweet, coconutty and irresistible, Bridget's Blue (Soup) is a bestseller at Khao Bird , a Thai food hot spot with a hip yet cosy vibe. But for guests like me, the restaurant is best known as Bridget's beloved flat from her singleton days. Khao Bird is a Thai food hot spot located in Bridget Jones's former living room. I've been a superfan of Helen Fielding's charming, relatable protagonist since she first stumbled into pop culture three decades ago — long before the phrase ' set-jetting ' was coined to describe the current trend of travellers flocking to film locations. So when I learned that Renée Zellweger's fourth reprisal of this iconic character would be released in theatres in only a few countries, including England, London was calling. A Bridget-themed trip was the perfect excuse for a girlfriends' getaway, so I invited my dear friend Silvia, and we set out to follow in the footsteps of the rom-com heroine I've practically grown up with. Toasting to Bridget with a cocktail named in her honour, right in her former living room, was the ideal opening scene for our trip. Named after a hilariously botched dish, Bridget's Blue (Soup) is a bestseller at Khao Bird. On our first morning, Silvia and I caught a showing of 'Mad About the Boy,' expecting a lighthearted chick flick. Instead, I found myself in tears multiple times. The film deftly portrays poignant themes of loss and identity while Bridget navigates a life chapter I'm also enmeshed in: the middle-age challenges of juggling parenting, work and love in a world that sometimes mistakes us for grandparents. But there were plenty of laughs, too, and seeing the London landmarks we were also glimpsing in real life added an extra thrill. After the movie, we returned to Bridget's old neighbourhood for a late lunch at Bedales of Borough . Nowadays, it's an upscale wine bar. But for Bridget fans, it's better known from the first film as the Greek restaurant where the hysterical (and mostly unchoreographed , I later learn) brawl breaks out between her love interests: upstanding lawyer Mark Darcy, played by Colin Firth, and Hugh Grant's Daniel Cleaver, the publishing playboy. In true Bridget style, Silvia and I enjoyed a leisurely, boozy afternoon of girl talk over bubbles and bites, while watching the crowds walk past the window that Mark and Daniel had famously crashed through. (Another fun fact I soon learn: It was sugar glass.) We resumed our Bridget-inspired exploration the next morning, joined by another dear friend, Johanna, who happened to be in town. This time, we enlisted an expert from the award-winning Brit Movie Tours to lead us on a private walking tour of filming locations from all four Bridget Jones movies. (This summer, the company will also launch taxi tours specific to 'Mad About the Boy' locations.) Fiona Johnston, a guide with Brit Movie Tours, will lead travellers to filming locations from all four Bridget Jones movies. Our outstanding guide, Fiona Johnston, a lifelong Londoner, was a fellow superfan, and she and I were soon firing off quotes and cackling like hyenas. Johnston boasted an astounding breadth of knowledge about the films, including those fight-scene tidbits, and the lesser-known history behind certain sites. Outside the Clink Street flat that served as Daniel's sleek bachelor pad, she told us Zellweger's comedic timing helped her land the role over British actors. We also learned that the beautiful St. Clement Danes Church , where the memorial service from 'Bridget Jones's Baby' was filmed, is the central church of the Royal Air Force. Post-tour, two-and-a-half hours and nearly 12,000 steps later, I had a new-found appreciation for the films, the actors and London itself. From past trips (and living in the city's outskirts when I was a kid), I was already well acquainted with the most famous tourist attractions, like Big Ben and Kensington Palace. But this time around, I appreciated getting to know other areas, including Bridget's bustling neighbourhood, plus a few quieter, quirkier corners with their own stories to tell. Seeing it all in the spirit of Bridget — and alongside cherished friends — was the cherry on top. Writer Blane Bachelor, far right, with her friends on their 'set-jetting' getaway to London. On my last day, I took the tube to Hampstead, the tony north London neighbourhood featured prominently in 'Mad About the Boy.' I hailed a cab, and the driver, Kenny, also a fan of the movies after watching them with his girlfriend, whizzed me around to various locations that Johnston had written down, including Bridget's Victorian townhouse, which was being renovated for some lucky inhabitant. In Hampstead Heath , a park with rolling hills and knockout skyline views, I managed to find the 'magical man tree,' as Bridget calls it during a funny scene in which two handsome men magically appear to help her and her kids after they get stuck while climbing it. Instead of hugging it as Bridget did (I already have a magical man at home, thank you very much), I snapped a few photos of this unlikely tourist attraction — a seemingly ordinary, old oak tree — then made a mental note to spend more time in this delightful area on my next trip. The Light Bar, housed in a former Victorian power station, appears in 'The Edge of Reason.' For my final toast to Bridget, I headed that evening to the Light Bar , housed in a former Victorian power station in the trendy Shoreditch neighbourhood. The bar appears in the second film, 'The Edge of Reason,' during a scene when Bridget's friends convince her over drinks to dump Mark because it appears he's cheating on her. When I arrived, the bar was already packed with suited-up blokes clinking pints, and fashionable women laughing over wine. I managed to snag a prime corner table, but no relationship advice would be dispensed across it — I was all by myself. After ordering a cocktail, I peeked at my fellow patrons and felt a twinge of loneliness. Without my own trusty girlfriends, there was only one thing to do. I reached into my purse, pulled out my journal — rather, my diary — and started writing. Blane Bachelor travelled with some trip support from Visit London , which did not review or approve this article.