Calling Londoners

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

Hi. Planning some time in London over the summer and hoping to find new places/things. We've done all the obvious stuff.

If I tell you what we like, I'm hoping people might be able to come up with some lovely ideas for us! No kids.

Museums - favourites are the Wellcome, the Hunterian (sadly still closed, iirc), John Soanes, Maritime. Would visit Tate/National/V&A etc but only for special exhibitions. Will probably do the Royal Academy summer exhibition with maybe afternoon tea at The Wolseley or F&M on one afternoon. Or maybe Sketch???

Walks - love Highgate cemetery. Really enjoyed a walk from St Katherine's Docks, along through Wapping, Limehouse Basin etc as far as the cable cars. Greenwich park and river also a favourite, as is Richmond Park and river (the latter we've done as far as Ham House previously). Enjoyed a Fleet Street/Lincolns Inn etc walk previously, and also the canal walks from Kings Cross to Camden and to Islington. Love Primrose Hill. Wondering about a Rotherhithe walk maybe? I'm a big fan of old brick/warehouses etc!

Maybe somewhere like Leighton House, or Strawberry Hill or Hampton Court?

Beaches - we often go to Brighton on the train if we're staying in London. Is there anywhere else we might consider?

Theatre - the summer doesn't tend to be the best time for theatre, I know. Any gems we should be looking out for?

Food - thinking of trying The Gate on this trip. Anybody been? Also maybe either the Cinnamon Club, Trishna or Quilon. We'll probably go to Zedel because it's fun and the prices are relatively sensible. Any recs for great restaurants with really good set menus or lunch deals, maybe? Or low-key, small nice restaurants for casual dinners?

Chilled bars and old pubs - we usually go to Spiritland because we tend to stay in Kings Cross. Love a historical old pub though, especially if relatively quiet.

Thanks in advance to anybody who can help! :)

The Old Operating Theatee would probably appeal to you. Ditto the Grant Museum (zoological specimens, jar of moles, etc).

Other Magnificent Seven cemeteries?

The Hardy tree at St Pancras Church is worth a detour if you are in the area.

You have to go and see Mad House (play with Bill Pullman and David Harbour (Hopper in Stranger Things)) - they are both AMAZING

I've seen a dozen plays a year for 30 years and this is in my top 3

I only saw it on Thursday and I'm still blown away !

Other Magnificent Seven cemeteries

You could easily walk from Nunhead Cemetery to West Norwood Cemetery via the Horniman Museum using the Green chain walk.

Start from Nunhead to the Horniman and then on to Crystal Palace as well before going to West Norwood.

if you want a beach day head to Margate or broadstairs

I've been to The Gate. It was nice and quite reasonably priced. Quite small and crowded though. I live to the West too - it isn't very central.

Art walk? https://the-line.org

Definitely visit The Old Operating Theatre.

Have a look at openhouselondon.open-city.org.uk. It's in September, but worth trying to fit a visit in. In we have visited areas of buildings that are not generally accessible to the public in the Royal Courts of Justice and in Canary Wharf Crossrail station while it was still being built, as well as an arts business park made of decommissioned Tube carriages on a disused viaduct.

This is a nice walk en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkland_Walk, and unusual because you get to see streets and houses from the train point of view when crossing bridges. Also walking through disused stations at track level. (Disclaimer: I last walked this nearly 20y ago, just before I moved out of London, so I don't know how much it has been 'improved'.)

Another nice walk I used to take was to follow the route of the River Brent in North London, especially on a hot day. Not on the streets, but actually by the river, heading upstream from one of the branches of the reservoir. IIRC we preferred the east branch walk over the north branch walk. You seemed to fall out of the city into hidden countryside. But, again, this was 20y ago and I don't know how much of it will have been developed since then.

If you want a day at the seaside various towns in Kent are easily accessible. You can get to Folkestone (Folkstone has an art festival on every summer) in less than an hour from Kins Cross or Stratford. Places like Margate, Broadstairs, Deal are also easy to get to in about 1.30 hour. Cheaper if you book your tickets in advance.

The Time Out London website usually has a good listing of activities, events, restaurants and you can see what is going on in the city each week that way.

Can really recommend Iris theatre - a company that stages open-air Shakespeare in the lovely walled gardens St Paul's Church in the centre of Covent Garden. It's A Midsummer Night's Dream this year.

Not sure if cocktails are your thing, but Reverend J W Simpson in Fitzrovia is great. In the basement of an old rectory, where they've semi-restored the mid twentieth century living quarters of the former reverend, it is really committed to inventive and properly delicious drinks.

I know you said you're not really wanting the big galleries, but the Cornelia Parker exhibition currently showing at the Tate Britain is excellent. And you could combine it with a visit to Capital Carboot if you go on a Sunday, which is absolutely brilliant.

If you want museums, you could do the Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities (insane but brilliant, and they have a fun cocktail bar) and Sutton House (soothing National Trust lovliness) on the same day in Hackney.

I know you're done the obvious stuff, but on case you haven't visited Denis Sever's House yet, it really is worth a visit and unlike almost anything else. You need to book ages in advance though, and they have really limited visiting times.

This is great. Thank you!

Done Old Operating Theatre, Grant and Hardy tree - all very much my kind of scene!

Would love to do more of the Magnificent Seven. Which are people's favourites?

Dennis Severs and Curiosities place have been on my list for a while, but never managed to time it right before. Will check them both now.

Googling other stuff on here now too.

The Gate now have a couple of branches - I think Marylebone might be the one we'd go for.

Alternative museum / exhibitions ideas:

London Mithraeum - Roman remains exhibition (there's also Roman ruin walks you can do if you google it)
Saatchi gallery - Tiffany exhibition til August

Restaurant - CORD (new fine-dining restaurant opened by le Cordon Bleu cookery school) - has a cafe too which is a cheaper version but looks a good menu.

Theatre - National Theatre is always work checking out plus Regent's Park Open Air theatre

Tiffany exhibition is already on my list too. Hoping to combine it with a blue plaque walk and a trip to VW.

Done the Mithraeum already - cute.

CORD sounds worth a look. Thanks.

National no good for our dates, unfortunately.

South East Horniman Museum - a bit of everything
Dulwich Picture Gallery and Dulwich park
Wallace Collection
Chelsea Physic Garden.
Vietnamese food in Kingsland road, close by to the Museum of the home (renamed formerly the Geoffrye museum)
William Morris museum in Walthamstow.
Kew Gardens
Hampstead Heath, Keats’ House, Kenwood House, tearooms in Hampstead

Most of my favourites have already been mentioned, but if you enjoy walking along the Thames I’d recommend also doing the stretch going east from tower bridge on the south bank. If you want you could hire bikes to cover more distance - it‘s all low traffic or traffic free, and usually not too many people on that stretch (at least from about Rotherhithe, you might have to push occasionally). Especially lovely to do of an evening when the sun sets in the west behind tower bridge and turns the towers of Canary Wharf orange. Also maybe check out the Thames Clipper as an alternative route back. You used to be able to take bikes on them but I’ve not tried since the pandemic.

Someone mentioned Crystal Palace park - a bit off the beaten track but it has life size Victorian dinosaur sculptures set in a vaguely „prehistoric“ landscape, which should appeal to your sense of the curious!

it's probably too obvious, but how about attending a prom if the timing is right?

Have a look at Southside House Wimbledon. There's also the Common to explore.
Favourite restaurant is Murano.
Another recommendation here for the Chelsea Physic Garden and Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
Avoid Wimbleon/Hampton Court if coming in the next fortnight - they will be full of visitors.
Summer Exhibition
Not sure if the Walter Sickert exhibition is still on.
Check out drama and jazz in London pubs
If you want a day at the beach forget Margate & Broadstairs and go instead to Birchington - Minnis Bay; there's also the Powell Cotton Museum at the other end of the little town.

Oh and there's nothing prettier than the bridges over the Thames at night. It's lovely to wander along from Embankment up to Albert Bridge and just watch the lights twinkling.

For dinner or lunch try the Coal Office in King's Cross. Amazing food.

Rangers House at Blackheath is great. Strawberry Hill too. And the Red House, and Eltham Palace. Also, I'd buy a walks book (well, I'd buy the one I have which is by Andrew Duncan) and do a couple of walks in the City/West End - you see so much that you wouldn't normally notice.

It's worth subscribing to the IanVisits emails, because there are loads of quirky things to do mentioned in them - or just visit the website www.ianvisits.co.uk/

If there's a tour of a closed Tube station those are usually great fun. Thames Rib (high speed boat down to the Thames barrier) is also excellent.

Bermondsey Beer Mile if you like craft beer

Hackney Wick for cool bars by the canal, close to the Queen Elizabeth Park

Chislehurst caves

The Postal Museum and Mail Rail train

Thames Barrier (museum)

If staying in KX, Camley Street nature reserve is open again now

Beach wise agree with PP about Folkestone