Summer & Fall in London - What should I see and do?
May 14, 2017 5:52 PM Subscribe
I'm temporarily relocating to London from the States for 3-6 months for work. Since I'll be there for an extended period of time, what are the not-just-the-highlights things that I should do and see while I'm there? Bonus points for seasonal events, weekend trips, and good events listing sources.
I will be staying in central London, but as long as things are public transit accessible, I'm interested.
Some stuff I like to do:
- Rent a bicycle and riding around scenic (but not mountainous) areas
- Visit quirky museums
- Drink excessive quantities of tea
- Eat interesting food and drinking moderately pretentious cocktails
- Listen to experimental music - modern symphony/chamber music, electronic music, anything welcome!
- Hike when the weather is nice
I will be staying in central London, but as long as things are public transit accessible, I'm interested.
Some stuff I like to do:
- Rent a bicycle and riding around scenic (but not mountainous) areas
- Visit quirky museums
- Drink excessive quantities of tea
- Eat interesting food and drinking moderately pretentious cocktails
- Listen to experimental music - modern symphony/chamber music, electronic music, anything welcome!
- Hike when the weather is nice
Lots of walks near London via public transport can be found on this website.
One of my favourite suggestions for a day-trip from London is the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. The HMS Victory (Nelson’s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar) and the Mary Rose (a Tudor warship which sank in 1545 and was raised from the seabed in 1982) are both amazing exhibits on their own, but there are other things to see as well.
posted by Bloxworth Snout at 12:08 AM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
One of my favourite suggestions for a day-trip from London is the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. The HMS Victory (Nelson’s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar) and the Mary Rose (a Tudor warship which sank in 1545 and was raised from the seabed in 1982) are both amazing exhibits on their own, but there are other things to see as well.
posted by Bloxworth Snout at 12:08 AM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
As far as I know Time Out is still the default for events listings, btw.
posted by Bloxworth Snout at 12:12 AM on May 15, 2017
posted by Bloxworth Snout at 12:12 AM on May 15, 2017
If you’re here at the start of October, it might be fun to take in something at the London Film Festival. Lots of weird and wonderful films, no ads or trailers, often a Q&A afterwards.
posted by Bloxworth Snout at 12:26 AM on May 15, 2017
posted by Bloxworth Snout at 12:26 AM on May 15, 2017
IanVisits for event listings. Check out the Barbican for weird music.
posted by corvine at 12:51 AM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by corvine at 12:51 AM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
As a Londoner, Londonist is my favourite source of information on what's happening. Slightly out of mainstream but with loads of quirky information. I find Time Out caters too much for tourists.
BBC Proms occur through the summer. You can queue up on the day for a £5 standing ticket, but you can also buy tickets for seats in advance. Seats vary in prices but range from £25 to £60 for some of the best seats in the house. Hugely popular however you do it, so just be prepared. Booking has opened so some of the best seats/ shows will be gone, but you can still find availability.
There's also a wide canal network IN London and going OUT of London. You can basically ride in a loop around London, and if you're feeling so ever keen, you can ride out into the London Olympic Park and all the way north (Epping Forest, Lee Valley). Then take the train back down. I basically use Strava to plot my routes.
posted by moiraine at 1:15 AM on May 15, 2017 [4 favorites]
BBC Proms occur through the summer. You can queue up on the day for a £5 standing ticket, but you can also buy tickets for seats in advance. Seats vary in prices but range from £25 to £60 for some of the best seats in the house. Hugely popular however you do it, so just be prepared. Booking has opened so some of the best seats/ shows will be gone, but you can still find availability.
There's also a wide canal network IN London and going OUT of London. You can basically ride in a loop around London, and if you're feeling so ever keen, you can ride out into the London Olympic Park and all the way north (Epping Forest, Lee Valley). Then take the train back down. I basically use Strava to plot my routes.
posted by moiraine at 1:15 AM on May 15, 2017 [4 favorites]
The Proms for music. Standing tickets are £6, only available on the door and you have to queue for them (known as Promming). Get there early for popular concerts.
posted by Helga-woo at 1:58 AM on May 15, 2017
posted by Helga-woo at 1:58 AM on May 15, 2017
Definitely the Proms! Late night proms for cheaper tickets and quieter atmosphere.
You can walk sections of the Capital Ring - all accessible by public transport.
Frankly, urban walking in London is amazing. I particularly enjoyed finding the Pergola on Hampstead Heather Extension.
posted by kadia_a at 2:03 AM on May 15, 2017
You can walk sections of the Capital Ring - all accessible by public transport.
Frankly, urban walking in London is amazing. I particularly enjoyed finding the Pergola on Hampstead Heather Extension.
posted by kadia_a at 2:03 AM on May 15, 2017
Summer: Royal Academy Summer Exhibition - the world’s largest open entry exhibition, it has taken place every year since 1769
Autumn: London Open House - get to see inside a lot of buildings that are not normally open to the public. The more popular ones can get booked up very quickly.
posted by crocomancer at 3:12 AM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
Autumn: London Open House - get to see inside a lot of buildings that are not normally open to the public. The more popular ones can get booked up very quickly.
posted by crocomancer at 3:12 AM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
When people ask me this I generally say, since there is so much going on, you can pretty much find whatever you would like to do. The finding is sometimes tricky however. Meetup is actually a good resource for this.
Run Riot is good for unusual listings.
For experimental/electronic music, other than the above, check out:
Cafe Oto
Corsica Studios
Village Underground
I would heartily recommend checking out a Hyperdub or Different Circles (Mumdance et al) night since they are weird but London specific.
Also the way I find out what is going on, hear new artists, and maybe a good immersion into London is listening to the radio (well over the internet). I particularly recommend BBC 6Music, BBC Radio 1 (late night shows at least), Rinse FM and NTS.
It's a bit old but Tired of London, Tired of Life for quirky things to do and see.
You can bike to Paris from London via the Avenue Verte.
posted by Erberus at 3:17 AM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
Run Riot is good for unusual listings.
For experimental/electronic music, other than the above, check out:
Cafe Oto
Corsica Studios
Village Underground
I would heartily recommend checking out a Hyperdub or Different Circles (Mumdance et al) night since they are weird but London specific.
Also the way I find out what is going on, hear new artists, and maybe a good immersion into London is listening to the radio (well over the internet). I particularly recommend BBC 6Music, BBC Radio 1 (late night shows at least), Rinse FM and NTS.
It's a bit old but Tired of London, Tired of Life for quirky things to do and see.
You can bike to Paris from London via the Avenue Verte.
posted by Erberus at 3:17 AM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
Hike when the weather is nice
You could try the Essex Way which starts on the outskirts of London and goes all the way to Harwich. To be done is several stages obviously.
Or Epping Forest.
Or the South Downs.
Many of these hikes are an hour or so from central London by train.
posted by plep at 6:31 AM on May 15, 2017
You could try the Essex Way which starts on the outskirts of London and goes all the way to Harwich. To be done is several stages obviously.
Or Epping Forest.
Or the South Downs.
Many of these hikes are an hour or so from central London by train.
posted by plep at 6:31 AM on May 15, 2017
Also Manningtree <> Flatford, Constable Country. Manningtree is about an hour from Liverpool Street by train and gets you to some of the loveliest countryside in England. If music's your thing, you could combine this with a trip to Aldeburgh over a weekend.
posted by plep at 6:36 AM on May 15, 2017
posted by plep at 6:36 AM on May 15, 2017
Bath is worth the trip. The castle ruins in Wales are a good trip as well. I liked walking the town walls in Conwy. The Lake district is a nice idyllic English weekend break. Be sure and have some fish and chips. Pay no more than 5 quid or your are not getting the real experience. (The full experience requires you to eat it at a bus stop while drinking cider and throw the half you can't eat on the ground even if there is a trash can nearby)
The Soane museum in London is as mono-maniacal English quirky as it gets.
The pitt rivers museum in oxford is like stepping back in time to English explorers in pith helmets encountering head shrinking cannibals and maybe Tarzan.
Make sure and have a good balti curry somewhere.
posted by srboisvert at 9:16 AM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
The Soane museum in London is as mono-maniacal English quirky as it gets.
The pitt rivers museum in oxford is like stepping back in time to English explorers in pith helmets encountering head shrinking cannibals and maybe Tarzan.
Make sure and have a good balti curry somewhere.
posted by srboisvert at 9:16 AM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
You might like getting to know canal culture. Granary Square and the Regent's Canal is a nice and easy place to start, what with all the new parks that have been built canalside recently to match all the other fancy development. Word on the Water is often (always?) moored there, and you can take in a good number of narrow boats. If you like the idea, you can stay in narrow boats and take journeys all over the country.
(I spent a lot of my last long work trip in London doing this sort of thing. I could definitely live on a narrow boat for a few months of any given year)
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 10:31 AM on May 15, 2017
(I spent a lot of my last long work trip in London doing this sort of thing. I could definitely live on a narrow boat for a few months of any given year)
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 10:31 AM on May 15, 2017
Not hiking, but when the weather's okay-to-nice I really love wandering around Abney Park.
For tea, I love going to Yumchaa; the Tottenham Street one is my fave, but the Soho one is nice, & I was recently by the Camden one & it also looked nice.
Not sure how experimental they get in their listings, but I use London in Stereo to find gigs.
Seconding Londonist as sometimes useful.
posted by diffuse at 11:04 AM on May 15, 2017
For tea, I love going to Yumchaa; the Tottenham Street one is my fave, but the Soho one is nice, & I was recently by the Camden one & it also looked nice.
Not sure how experimental they get in their listings, but I use London in Stereo to find gigs.
Seconding Londonist as sometimes useful.
posted by diffuse at 11:04 AM on May 15, 2017
Summer
- Outdoor cinemas, incl Somerset House - a great way to see a variety of London parks and watch films
- Taste of London: for c£30 various great restuarants incl Michelin starred places do a food festival in Regents Park
- various one-day music festivals around London
- South Bank in summer has comed in the Udderbelly, the BFI and the National so well worth a wander, and does loads of food pop-ups and food markets
N-thing Londonist
posted by eyeofthetiger at 1:19 PM on May 15, 2017
- Outdoor cinemas, incl Somerset House - a great way to see a variety of London parks and watch films
- Taste of London: for c£30 various great restuarants incl Michelin starred places do a food festival in Regents Park
- various one-day music festivals around London
- South Bank in summer has comed in the Udderbelly, the BFI and the National so well worth a wander, and does loads of food pop-ups and food markets
N-thing Londonist
posted by eyeofthetiger at 1:19 PM on May 15, 2017
And various museums/zoo does "x lates" when they stay open and do demonstrations/discussions and you can stay overnight too (maybe).
Secret Cinema is good too but pricy.
posted by eyeofthetiger at 1:22 PM on May 15, 2017
Secret Cinema is good too but pricy.
posted by eyeofthetiger at 1:22 PM on May 15, 2017
I forget to add that under no circumstances should you go camping with English people on a bank holiday weekend.
It for sure will rain and you may end up in a farmer's field that had sheep in it just the week before (and has their shit still in it).
Almost all of Britain is accessible by public transit (if you include the train). If you want to take the train book well in advance (otherwise the train is stupid expensive).
posted by srboisvert at 6:00 PM on May 15, 2017
It for sure will rain and you may end up in a farmer's field that had sheep in it just the week before (and has their shit still in it).
Almost all of Britain is accessible by public transit (if you include the train). If you want to take the train book well in advance (otherwise the train is stupid expensive).
posted by srboisvert at 6:00 PM on May 15, 2017
Oh and if you hike in the countryside be sure and wear hiking boots and tuck your trousers into your socks and maybe get some hiking garters. A lot of the trails are through active pastures so there are ticks to be had by the unwary. Also it will help with protecting your pant legs the wet, which it should be unless they are experiencing a drought while you are there.
posted by srboisvert at 6:03 PM on May 15, 2017
posted by srboisvert at 6:03 PM on May 15, 2017
Regarding tea, I asked a previous question that might be helpful.
I'm still in the process of trying all the recommended places, but so far, my two favorite tea shops in London are Postcard Teas and My Cup of Tea. Postcard Teas and the My Cup of Tea branch on Denman Street aren't so much cafes as loose leaf tea shops where you can also sit down and buy a freshly brewed cup. Both places will serve very high quality tea-leaves brewed for the correct length of time in good quality water that has been brewed to the proper temperature. (My Cup of Tea also has a tearoom on Shorts Gardens near Covent Garden, if you want the same quality leaves in a more cafe-like environment.)
posted by yankeefog at 4:04 AM on May 16, 2017 [3 favorites]
I'm still in the process of trying all the recommended places, but so far, my two favorite tea shops in London are Postcard Teas and My Cup of Tea. Postcard Teas and the My Cup of Tea branch on Denman Street aren't so much cafes as loose leaf tea shops where you can also sit down and buy a freshly brewed cup. Both places will serve very high quality tea-leaves brewed for the correct length of time in good quality water that has been brewed to the proper temperature. (My Cup of Tea also has a tearoom on Shorts Gardens near Covent Garden, if you want the same quality leaves in a more cafe-like environment.)
posted by yankeefog at 4:04 AM on May 16, 2017 [3 favorites]
Oh, also, my favorite guide to London is Londonwalks. It is long out of date so it is useless for things like restaurant recommendations and opening hours -- but the historical sights it will lead you around are still there, and it's full of fascinating details and wonderful stories.
posted by yankeefog at 4:08 AM on May 16, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by yankeefog at 4:08 AM on May 16, 2017 [2 favorites]
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