Visiting London needn’t all be about museums and indoor attractions as there is plenty going on outdoors too, all well away from the traffic for a more relaxed day out.
If you look a little beyond the usual haunts and join a few mailing lists, it’s amazing what you can find going on, often at a fraction of the price (and sometimes free of charge). This is a roundup inspired by the Guardian of the best places to hang out outdoors this Summer (more linked at the end).
1) Summer of Film is an event run from Somerset House in the Strand, close to the Savoy Hotel amongst other well-to-do attractions. The house was originally built as a private house in 1547, but since the 18th Century has been used mostly to house public offices of various government and private organisations.
Don’t worry, you don’t need to know anything about boring politics to enjoy the Summer of Film which uses the huge open square and a cinema screen which would make most cinema’s green with envy. The films are mostly creatings from the Film4 network, so you might not see Arnie as a futuristic android saving the world, but it’s likely films such as Withnail & I, Four Weddings & a Funeral and the Full Monty might be screened here.
Just a word of caution – you need to book early as this is very popular and ideally bring a cushion as there are no seats, but they do have toilets as this is sophisticated London.
2) Opera in Holland Park offers something for those who prefer their entertainment even more sophisticated, or at least so many try to convince us. If opera is your thing, you need not pay the prices for the Royal Opera House and instead enjoy a more open air performance in one of the most spectacular of the London Parks, at least in your author’s opinion.
One advantage of this over many other venues is they do provide a canopy over the audience and stage, but the sides are fully open so you still get that Wembley type “in the air” feeling, just without getting wet. The Opera’s are full-on usually in Italian or whatever they were written in originally, but subtitles are provided for those who prefer to have some clue what’s going on.
Another big advantage is you don’t need to dress-up and won’t feel out of place if you don’t drive a Jag or Merc. This is opera for the masses and tickets range from around £46 – £64, with around 1000 free tickets for under 18s.
3) Battersea Park Easy Peasy Skate is another event taking place in a London park, but this time it’s free. Whether you’ve never rollerbladed before or just enjoy wandering around on 8 wheels, this is an organised and very informal skating session around Battersea Park with no traffic, hills or anything really big to run into. As this is informal, it is suitable for kids and adults alike and is simply aimed at getting people out and about to enjoy the park, without all that walking nonsense.
Hey, if you want to take your kids in the pushchair then that’s quite acceptable too and is good safe exercise for all ages and entire families. Even if you’ve never rollerbladed before, or perhaps like me you had rollerskates when you were a kid, you’ll probably find rollerblading much easier as eight wheels is most definitely easier to stay upright on than four.
4) Brockwell Lido is one of several London outdoor pools that was built around the time Art-Deco was in fashion, along with a great upsurge in the health benefits of being outdoors. Only a few of the original lido’s remain, but arguably the Brockwell Lido is by far the best from an architecture point of view.
Dating from 1937, the pool was restored in 2007 and now includes a Brockwell poolside cafe which doubles up as a bar at night, next to this Olympic sized swimming pool. Open from April to October, the pool isn’t heated, but that doesn’t seem to put the 1000s of visitors who take advantage of it every year. With opening times as early as 6am, it is also ideal for a very early morning dip….if you like that sortof thing.
5) Parkour in Westminster sounds like a slightly strange mix, but right in the heart of London is one of country’s biggest purpose built Parkour venues.
If you’re still scratching your head – Parkour is sometimes known as “free running” and was invented in France with the aim of getting from A to B by jumping over obsticals such as hand-railings right up to running along the tops of buildings 100 feet above the ground. It has gained a bit of a rebel reputation as most of the really hard Parkour enthusiasts do this without actually asking permission, but it is now becoming much more main stream.
Whether you want to try this out for yourself (a certain level of fitness is required) or just watch some quite spectacular gymnastics that you won’t see at the London Olympics, the Westminster Parkour venue will be open from this Summer.
More outdoor venues in London: These are only a few of the many outdoor venues where you can join in the crowds within central London. For even more, see the Guardian London outdoor activities guide.
More London Resources:
Visitor attractions – indoor and outdoor in London
London hotels
