gay-heritage LGBTQ+ Friendly

London Friend

Name: London Friend
Address: 86 Caledonian Road, Kings Cross, London N1 9DN, UK, London, GB
Telephone: +44 20 7833 1674

Historic Venue 1971 Still active

UK's oldest LGBTQ+ counselling charity — a 1971 Gay Liberation Front splinter, operating continuously from Kings Cross for over 50 years.

Google (21) 4.4

Tripadvisor (1028) 4.4

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What reviewers say

Visitors often praise London Friend as a life-changing, safe, and welcoming place offering support with dignity and compassion. However, some reviewers found the service useless and a waste of time, while others experienced disappointment with events being closed without notice.

/ 100

GayOut Score

G4.4 🦉4.4

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Address

86 Caledonian Road, Kings Cross, London N1 9DN, UK

📞

Phone

+44 20 7833 1674

🌐

Website

londonfriend.org.uk

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About this place London Friend

The London Friend was founded in 1971 as a splinter of the Gay Liberation Front, aiming to provide non-political peer counselling to men and women (and, from the late 1980s, trans people) who were coming out or in distress. It is the oldest LGBTQ+ counselling and support organisation in the UK and one of the oldest anywhere; it has operated continuously for 54 years. The organisation runs face-to-face counselling in Kings Cross, phone and email support lines, drug and alcohol support (the Antidote programme, launched in 1997), women's services (Kite programme), trans peer groups, and a range of social meet-ups. It is fully accredited as a counselling institution and largely funded by NHS commissioning and public donations; all services are free to users. Since 1985 London Friend has occupied a nineteenth-century townhouse at 86 Caledonian Road, five minutes north of Kings Cross station. The building — small, four floors, a garden — hosts twelve counselling rooms and the organisation's modest administrative office. The scale is deliberately domestic; the counselling model is home-scale, not clinical. Open Monday-Friday 09:00-21:00 for drop-in reception; counselling and support-line schedules vary. Full details at londonfriend.org.uk. Not primarily a museum stop but a living LGBTQ+ institution whose 54 years of continuous operation is the heritage. Kings Cross Underground is 400 metres south.

Upcoming events at London Friend

Fri, Oct 23

Open Stage – LGBTQ+ Drama & Storytelling

5:00 PM

Fri, Oct 23

Open Stage – LGBTQ+ Drama & Storytelling 🎃 Halloween Ed 👻

5:00 PM

Features

Gay-friendly (straight venue) LGBTQ+ Safe space Community oriented Multilingual staff Walk-ins welcome

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Community Reviews

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Google Reviews

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4.4

★★★★★

21 reviews

Based on 21 Google reviews.

Sy Pham Nov 2025

★★★★★

Hello, I'm a gay man, I'm currently in England, I'm a victim of modern slavery and human trafficking, I'm lucky to escape and be helped by good people, now I'm very sad and sometimes I want to die, I really need you right now, I'm psychologically unstable, please help me, thank you very much

Sy Pham Nov 2025

★★★★★

Daniel Johnson Aug 2025

★★★★★

Hi my name is Daniel I'm 20 yeas old are from Liberia west Africa

Daniel Johnson Aug 2025

★★★★★

Hi my name is Daniel I'm 20 yeas old are from Liberia west Africa

Karol P. Jul 2024

★☆☆☆☆

Absolutely useless service. Had one counselling session and had to cancel as it was just a waste of time and money. They won't help me. I would be better off talking to a dog and that would probably made me feel better than talking to them.

Karol P. Jul 2024

★☆☆☆☆