Image: TfL

There is "strong support" for the DLR to be extended to Beckton Riverside and Thamesmead, according to the results of a public consultation.

More than 550 people and organisations responded to TfL's plans in a consultation which ran in June and July 2026, many giving positive feedback on the improved transport links and better access to jobs which the extension would bring.

The planned extension would see two brand new stations built, as well as a new tunnel under the Thames, and would increase connectivity to Thamesmead, an area which has long been under-served by public transport options.

The recent consultation specifically focused on designs for the new stations, with many respondents highlighting the importance of accessibility, safe walking and cycling routes, good bus connections and potential future DLR extensions beyond Thamesmead.

After a glitch, the new trains are now operating on the DLR. Image: TfL

Some respondents also highlight concerns around issues including the traffic, noise and environmental effects of construction.

So what next? The extension is still a few years away: construction could begin in 2029, with a projected opening date of early 2030s (though these things have a tendency to get delayed). The next step will see the plans refined based on the feedback received during the consultation.

Alex Williams, TfL’s Chief Customer and Strategy Officer, said:

The responses we received show continued strong support for the scheme and recognise the important role it could play in improving public transport connections, supporting new homes and jobs, and unlocking growth on both sides of the River Thames. We have carefully considered the feedback received and will use it to help develop the proposals further as we continue working towards submitting an application for permission to build and operate the scheme.

TfL intends to submit a Transport and Works Act Order application in 2027, and will continue working with partners including the Mayor of London, the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Newham to get the project off the ground.

The full results of the 2026 public consultation can be viewed online. And in other DLR glow-up news: its shiny new trains were finally put back into service in September 2026, after being pulled just a few weeks post-launch in autumn 2025 due to an issue with the brakes.

Keep up date with festive happenings in the capital on our Christmas 2026 in London page.

© Battersea Dogs & Cats Home

London's most barking mad festive event is back this Christmas — as dogs are welcomed into church for three very special carol concerts.

As has become tradition, Battersea Dogs Home brings along a congregation of its canine residents to a series of fundraising carol concerts at St Luke's & Christ Church in Chelsea this December. You might say it's the ulti-mutt festive celebration for dog lovers.

© Battersea Dogs & Cats Home

Human visitors are welcomed into the church with an un-fur-gettable canine guard of honour formed by Battersea's four-legged residents.

The dogs then stick around for the duration of the service (perhaps you'll share a pew with a shih tzu) as their humans raise the woof with Christmas carols — to the point they become a little husky.

© Battersea Dogs & Cats Home

This year's programme includes the Collegium Musicum of London Chamber Choir (CML). No confirmation yet on exactly which carols will be sung, but we'd hazard a guess at Bark! The Herald Angels Sing. (And maybe Away in a Mangy?)

After each service you can indulge in a little re-tail therapy, with Christmas gifts from Battersea's fundraising shop on sale. For such a good cause, it's the leashed you could do.

Mulled wine and mince pies are also available for human attendees.

Image: © Battersea Dogs & Cats Home

One thing to note: only Battersea's dogs are allowed at the concert, so please leave Fido and Rover at home.

Battersea's Christmas 2026 carol concerts take place on Thursday 3, Friday 4 and Friday 11 December 2026 at St Luke's & Christ Church in Chelsea. Tickets go on sale in October 2026. They always sell out, so be quick!

Adapted from a feature that first appeared in September 2025 on Londonist: Time Machine, our much-praised history newsletter. To be the first to read new history features like this, sign up for free here.

Image: Matt Brown

“When you get money you get a taste in food as well; instead of eggs and beans and steak, you branch out into the avocado scene. I never dreamed I would like avocado pears. I thought it was like eating bits of wax when I saw people shoving it down.”

George Harrison, there, with an accidental Partridge to the Daily Mirror in 1966. If John Lennon was the self-described Egg Man of the Beatles, then his bandmate favoured a more exotic ovoid.

Here Comes the Pun…? Dodgy Photoshop by Matt Brown.

Lots of people had a thing for avocados in the 1960s. The exotic produce had been a greengrocer’s novelty for decades, but it was the Swinging Sixties that ushered in Britain’s first mass market. Today, of course, it’s ubiquitous, with avocado toast serving as the mushy mascot of the Millennial generation. I just had some for lunch as it happens.

Yet avocados had reached these shores long before Harrison be-slimed his plectrum fingers. They arrived two centuries ago; tentatively, sporadically, with little fanfare. And it was, of course, to London that they came.

The first known reference to an avocado in the English language comes from the pen of a well-known Londoner. You’ve probably heard of him: Mr Hans Sloane (1660-1753). This long-lived gentleman is endlessly notable. He founded the British Museum, and thereby the British Library and Natural History Museum. He’s also credited with bringing drinking chocolate to Britain. Half of Chelsea is named after him (including Sloane Square Tube station). Unfortunately, he was also a slave owner.

Sloane spent 15 months in Jamaica, initially as the personal physician to the Governor, and later gaining possession (through marriage) of lucrative sugar plantations. While there, he developed in interest in the local flora, which culminated in the 1696 publication of a catalogue of Jamaican plants. This included the avocado, whose fruit he described thus:

“The pulp is of a pretty firm consistence, and has a delicate rich flavour: it gains upon the palates of most people, and becomes soon agreeable, even to those who cannot like it at first; but it is so rich and mild, that most people make use of some spice or pungent substance to give it a poignancy; and, for this purpose, some make use of wine, some of sugar, and some of lime juice, but most of pepper and salt. Most sorts of creatures are observed to feed on this fruit with pleasure; and it seems equally agreeable to the horse, the cow, the dog, and the cat, as well as to all sorts of birds”.

Just not my nine-year-old, it seems. Anyway, this was the first time that those four melliferous syllables — a-vo-ca-do — appeared in the English language. Sloane noted that the fruit was also known as the alligator pear, a name that would persist well into the 20th century.

Then, silence. Very little is said about the avocado for many decades. The plant did not travel well, and no accounts of any specimens fruiting in England can be found until the 19th century. Even then, it was grown almost exclusively by elite botanists and wealthy estate owners who had the resources and heated greenhouses to cultivate tropical plants.

One such was he Duke of Northumberland, who was well noted for growing exotic species in his greenhouses at Syon, near Brentford (then in Middlesex, now part of Greater London). His Grace, indeed, had a brand-spanking new conservatory, completed in 1827 by Charles Fowler. It’s still a highlight of the house today:

Syon’s Great Conservatory. Possible site of London’s first home-grown avocado. Image: Matt Brown.

Among the Duke’s first experiments was the avocado plant. He had one flowering by the October of 1829, according to several newspaper accounts. A painting of the plant (which can be seen here) does not include the fruit, so we cannot say for sure whether His Grace ever tasted that rich flesh. But we can be fairly confident that this was London’s first living avocado plant.

The avocado next comes into view in 1867, when the Royal Botanic Society announced its successful cultivation at Kew, along with other tropical specimens. Two years later, the Royal Horticultural Society reported “the first time that such a tree has produced fruit in Europe”, noting that earlier efforts had flowered but not fruited. This apparent success took place in Byfleet, a little south-west of London in Surrey, in the autumn of 1869. If we are to believe this account, then Mr J. Carr, gardener to P.L. Hinds Esq, was the first person to grow an avocado fruit in British soil.

As the century moved on, avocado cultivation was attempted in the warmer parts of continental Europe such as Madeira, which eventually allowed export of the fruit to Britain. Transit would still take several days, and the avocados were sometimes kept fresh with wax seal. The first report I can find of avocados for sale at Covent Garden Market comes from 1884, when they are listed among exotic fruits at the Christmas market. Incidentally, they would have been sold under the glass-roofed market buildings, which had also been designed by Charles Fowler, of Syon House conservatory fame.

By 1896, the avocado was common enough that the Globe was able to run an opinion piece on its merits. We learn that the fruit was sold at ninepence a piece, and usually styled as the ‘alligator pear’. “Some people call it the most delicious fruit in the world,” reported the paper. “Others declare it to be the vilest.” It was most commonly eaten with a little salt, pepper and vinegar.

Avocados remained a rare, seasonal item in London, only available in larger markets and during autumn. A barrier to greater trade, besides the climate, was the problem we’ve all encountered with the fleshy fruit:

Day 1: Too stiff
Day 2: Too stiff
Day 3: Too stiff
Day 4 (2pm): Eat me now!! I’m just right.
Day 4 (5pm): Too late!

Early attempts at mass cultivation found the plant to be equally whimsical in the field, with different plants nearing ripeness at different times. Only from the early 20th century did horticulturalists manage to perfect a budding regime that would grow uniform plants, and thereby unlock mass trade.

Avocado on toast at The Wolseley, which is, of course, how I break my fast every morning. Not. Image: Matt Brown

Improved crop yields and better transportation brought the avocado to a wider audience in the 1910s and 1920s. This was still an expensive indulgence, however. Commentators of the time describe it as “the aristocratic fruit”. By 1927, Scottish paper the Arbroath Herald ran a story called, straightforwardly, “Fruits you can get in London”, in which the avocado was described as “eaten in large quantities”. The paper notes that you will “meet it in many salads”, but that avocados “are seldom seen in the provinces”.

That same year, the Daily Express published a lengthy feature on the immigrant fruit, and in wholly glowing terms. It includes, as far as I can see, the first description of avocado toast in a British publications (the dish is described about a decade earlier in some American newspapers).

“Avocado Toast. -Mash the avocado, season with salt, pepper, lemon juice and, if liked, a little cinnamon, and spread thickly on toast. This makes either a breakfast, tea, or supper dish or hors d’œuvre.”

Imports increased as the decades went on, with the obvious gap during the war years. It was only in the 1960s that we see what might be termed ‘the first great avocado boom’. By now, the fruit was readily stocked in greengrocers, and even chain supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer got the green bug. The latter introduced the more robust Hass cultivar in 1968, which is now the most common around the world. It was, incidentally, discovered by and named after the Californian Rudolph Hass, who most definitely should not to be confused with Deputy Führer of Nazi Germany, Rudolf Hess.

A cute article in the Peterborough Evening Telegraph’s “The Feminine Angle” column (10 March 1965) describes the puzzled looks one shopper got when taking a newly stocked avocado to the till. Neither the staff nor surrounding customers knew what it was, nor what it tasted like. The reporting journalist reassures us that avocados “have a delicious soft and soggy consistency rather like blotting paper, but not in any nasty way”. (I’m not old enough to remember what blotting paper was, exactly, but I’m pretty sure nobody ate it. Perhaps it was a Peterborough thing.)

Avocados were now easier than ever to get hold of, but they retained their “bit posh” reputation — hence George Harrison’s comments about the “avocado scene”. They were still relatively pricey, too. In 1966, cook Ellen Matthews became the first person on record to be arrested on suspicion of avocado theft. Matthews had allegedly swiped two specimens from the Premier Supermarket on King’s Road, Chelsea. Incredibly, the case not only made it to court, but Ms Matthews was tried by jury. Thanks to a lack of evidence, she was found not guilty of the micro-heist.

After the 1960s, avocados pootled along as a readily available if under-appreciated component of the London salad bar. Imports from Israel and South Africa brought the fruit to our shores all year round, and it lost its associations with Christmas. The 1970s saw ‘avocado’ launched as a “brand new colour”. Avocado bathroom suites became unfathomably popular, leveraging a shade that previously (and subsequently) might have been called ‘putrid green’.

The fruit itself remained rare ‘in the provinces’. I never encountered one throughout my entire (80s/90s) childhood in Lincolnshire. It was only on moving to London in 1998 that I gained my first mouthful, at the wonderful Jerusalem basement restaurant in Fitzrovia.

Now, of course, they’re everywhere. The boom here started around 2010, when London’s millennial population became stereotyped as brunch-craving avocado-on-toast addicts. The (debunked) idea set in that young people frittered all their money on green mush, leaving them unable to join the housing ladder. Someone created an avocado Tube map. Avocado ice cream became a thing. A friend of mine even suggested the avocado should become a totem of the anti-Brexit campaign: withdrawing from the EU, he reasoned, could dramatically increase the cost of avocado imports, stymieing brunch and ruining Millennial life. Or something.

Zédel in Soho does a particularly fine poached egg on avo-toast. Image: Matt Brown

Brexit did not have a noticeable effect on avocado consumption. We still meet the curious comestible on every menu. The current worldwide harvest, dominated by Mexico, is around 11 million tonnes per year — enough, in theory, for each and every Londoner to receive over a tonne of avocados each Christmas. It’s a pity George Harrison never lived to see it.

Bonus joke for those who read to the bottom:

Q. Why are George Harrison and the rest of the Beatles like an avocado farmer?
A. They both leave the Stones in the shade.

Looking for all of London's Christmas lights? We've got information about all of the 2026 switch-on dates and events.

Image: Oxford Street

The Oxford Street Christmas lights will have a Harry Potter theme for 2026.

Over 5,000 white stars will once again dangle above the world-famous shopping street — as they have done every Christmas since 2021 — consisting of more than 300,000 LED lights, designed to use less energy than regular lights.

This year though, they'll be joined by a series of specially created illuminated designs to bring the world of Harry Potter to life.

Image: Oxford Street

The wizarding twist to the festive illuminations celebrates the opening of the world's largest Harry Potter store, which comes to Oxford Street on 4 November 2026, as well as the new HBO series Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

It's all change on Oxford Street this Christmas, as the western end goes pedestrianised from late-October 2026. Room for a quidditch pitch, perhaps?

The Oxford Street Christmas lights switch-on date is still being kept under wraps at the moment — though in line with previous years, we'd hazard a guess of around 2 November. We'll update this page as soon as we have more details. We're also promised Harry Potter-inspired celebrations throughout the festive season.

London's panto scene bounds back onto the stage for Christmas 2026, camper and funnier than ever — oh yes it does! Here's our pick of the biggest and best pantomimes happening in London's theatres this season. Most are family friendly, but a handful are strictly for the big kids 😉

Cinderella at Lyric Hammersmith

Image: Lyric Hammersmith

We all know the drill: poor old Cinders is trapped in a crumbling castle, cleaning for her wicked sisters (and someone called Suella, apparently...), looking for a way out. Cue a magical tale of shape-shifting pumpkins, glass slippers and fit princes. Joel Horwood — who penned the West End's The Ocean at the End of the Lane — is behind the Lyric's 2026 adaptation, so it promises to be a good 'un.

Cinderella at Lyric Hammersmith, 14 November 2026-3 January 2027. Relaxed performance 1 December, audio described performance 10 December, signed performance 11 December, open captioned performance 16 December.

Robin Hood and the Merry Mandem at Stratford East

Image: Stratford East

As is its wont, Stratford East rips up the rulebook, putting its unique local twist on the panto format — and this year it's the tale of outlaw Robin Hood, who eschews Sherwood Forest for the mean streets of east London's Maryland. Audiences are all a-quiver for this panto, with tickets flying off the shelves faster than a barrage of arrows fired by Hood himself. Be quick!

Robin Hood and the Merry Mandem, 21 November 2026-2 January 2027. Signed performance 11 December, captioned performance 18 December, audio described performance 19 December, relaxed performance 2 January.

Jack and the Beanstalk at Hackney Empire

Image: Hackney Empire

Long-time panto dame Clive Rowe is back in the double-dutied saddle of panto dame/director, for Hackney Empire's rendition of this plant-scaling classic. The costumes will be extravagant, the music will be rambunctious and — if previous pantos are anything to go by — some poor parent's going to end up being dragged up onto the stage...

Jack and the Beanstalk at Hackney Empire, 21 November-31 December 2026. Signed performances 5 and 17 December, relaxed and dementia-friendly performance 5 December, audio described performance 6 December.

Dick Whittington and His Cat, King's Head Theatre (family and adults-only versions), Islington

Image: King's Head Theatre

RuPaul's Drag Race UK faves River Medway (playing Queen Rat) and Victoria Scone (Dragpuss) star in this London-centric tale of the fame/fortune-seeking Dick who has a cat for a best friend/advisor. Running alongside it is a version of the same panto — with the same stars — and very different, grown-up gags. Double check you're booking the right one, or forever reside on Santa's naughty list.

Dick Whittington and His Cat at King's Head Theatre, 22 November 2026-3 January 2027.

Dick Whittington: Adults Only at King's Head Theatre, 26 November 2026-2 January 2027.

Pulled at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern

Image: Tom Morris, Creative Commons

The RVT returns with another X-rated take on the traditional fairy tale — and this time, the people who brought us Wolfed, Rubbed, Tossed and Growled deliver Pulled (spot a theme there?), a mischievous riff on the legend of King Arthur. Hmm, Camelot? Can't think of any racy puns to be had there...

Pulled at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, 24 November-31 December 2026.

Pirates of the Carabiner: An Adult Panto at Two Brewers, Clapham

Image: Two Brewers

From the folks who brought you Star Whores, The Hunger Gays and Lord of the Rims, Pirates of the Carabiner is (unsurprisingly) a strictly-for-the-grown-ups-only panto, packed with enough double-entendres to make Julian Clary blush. Set on the tiny island of Skull Cove, it's packed with outrageous characters like Lez Goose and Willy Turner, although we've got a sneaking suspicion the plot/character arcs won't prove all that instrumental...

Pirates of the Carabiner: An Adult Panto at Two Brewers, 27 November 2026-3 January 2027.

Jack and the Beanstalk at Greenwich Theatre

Image: Greenwich Theatre

Anthony Spargo — who's written for the Horrible Histories stage shows, so it's fair to say knows his onions/beanstalks — has penned the script for this take on the tale about an out-of-control vegetable vine with a very big/rich person living at the top. Expect gags and songs galore in a panto that promises — oh ho! — fee-fi-fo-FUN!

Jack and the Beanstalk at Greenwich Theatre, 27 November 2026-10 January 2027.

Aladdin at the Arts Centre, Hounslow

Image: Arts Centre

Be whisked away to a whole new world — or a highly fictionalised version of the Middle East, at least — for this panto based on a magical lamp which spouts a wish-granting genie. Can Aladdin prove himself to Princess Jasmin AND defeat the evil Abanazar? Of course he can. Can he do it without his mum, Widow Twankey, realising he's up to mischief? Probably not.

Aladdin at the Arts Centre, Hounslow, 30 November-24 December 2026.

Jack and the Beanstalk at Emerald Theatre, Victoria Embankment

Image: TuckShop

It's the sixth anniversary of TuckShop's all-drag panto, as performed by the fabulous likes of Kyran Thrax, Kitty Scott-Claus and Kate Butch. The rambunctious style is obviously a winner with audiences, as 2026 marks the longest TuckShop panto run to date. By the way, the Giant is played by a roster of 'super special' guests throughout the run. Wonder who you'll get!

Jack and the Beanstalk at Emerald Theatre, Victoria Embankment, 2 December 2026-10 January 2027.

Sleeping Beauty at Churchill Theatre, Bromley

Image: Churchill Theatre

The semi-celebs are out in force for Bromley's big panto, with dazzlingly-dentured DJ Vernon Kay appearing alongside Andrew Agnew as the panto dame (he's better known to your kids as Balamory's PC Plum, although whether they'll recognise him in this getup remains to be seen). "Big laughs, big magic and big family fun" are billed.

Sleeping Beauty at Churchill Theatre, 5 December 2026-3 January 2027. Signed performance 9 December, audio described performance 11 December, relaxed performance 12 December.

Peter Pan at New Wimbledon Theatre

Image: New Wimbledon Theatre

Jessie Wallace — aka EastEnders' Kat Slater — swaps fake nails for a hook, in what is (as far as we can tell) London's only major Peter Pan panto of 2026. If there aren't a few cliff-hanging 'doof-doofs', they've got something horribly wrong (or don't want to pay the BBC royalties). The usual comic relief/magic comes from from panto fave Pete Firman.

Peter Pan at New Wimbledon Theatre, 5 December 2026-3 January 2027. Audio described performance 16 December, signed performance 3 January.

Jack and the Beanstalk at Richmond Theatre

Image: Richmond Theatre

Basil Brush (he's 64 years old don't you know?) returns to the Richmond stage, ably accompanied by Bonnie Langford as Mrs Blunderbore, and Dr Ranj as The Spirit of the Beans. Well, they do say laughter is the best medicine — boom boom!

Jack and the Beanstalk at Richmond Theatre, 5 December 2026-3 January 2027. Signed performance 10 December, audio described performance 30 December.

Cinderella at the Palladium, Oxford Circus

Image: London Palladium

One of the festive highlights of the year is finding out which OTT outfits Julian Clary will flounce out onto the Palladium stage in. The master of the double-entendre is once again ably abetted by some of panto's great veterans, including Nigel Havers and America's Got Talent winner, ventriloquist Paul Zerdin. But stealing the limelight this year is a rare appearance from both French and Saunders as the Ugly Sisters, their first West End appearance together in 17 years. What a treat!

Cinderella at The Palladium, 5 December 2026-10 January 2027. Signed performance 31 December, audio described performance 7 January, captioned performance 8 January.

Dick Whittingberg Gets Into a Pickle at JW3, Finchley Road

Image: JW3

In case the title hadn't flagged it for you, JW3's yearly panto comes with a distinctly Jewish bent, although of course all and sundry are welcome to enjoy this family-friendly show. Dazzling costumes, colourful sets, foot-tapping songs and indiscriminately-thrown Chanukah gelt are promised.

Dick Whittingberg Gets Into a Pickle at JW3, 6 December 2026-3 January 2027.

Potted Panto at Apollo Theatre, West End

Crush multiple pantomimes for the price of one, as Potted Panto sweeps you through Aladdin, Dick Whittington, Cinderella and scores more, in 70 rib-tickling minutes. Sounds like an exhausting job for the cast, and with luck, it'll tire out your hyperactive kids too. Conversely, it might work them up into a catchphrase-yelling frenzy, who knows...

Potted Panto at Apollo Theatre, 6 December 2026-3 January 2027.

Cinderella at Broadway, Catford

Image: Broadway, Catford

Cinderella's a popular choice for 2026 — and that's the fairy tale Catford's plumped for, in this traditional retelling. However, it's not the floor-scrubber-turned-slipper-wearer who's getting all the marketing hype, but Amelle Berrabah, who stars as the Fairy Godmother, and was apparently once one of the 67 members of Sugababes.

Cinderella at Broadway, 9-31 December 2026. Signed and relaxed performance 30 December.

Cinderella at Fairfield Halls, Croydon

Image: Fairfield Halls

Fairfield Halls' second panto of the year — if you count the Reform rally it hosted back in March — Cinderella (yes, another one!) stars Lee Latchford-Evans from Steps as Prince Charming (you're never too old) while comedy duo Luke Attwood and Brandon Nicholson drag up as Melody and Harmony Hard-Up. Great songs, stunning dance routines and plenty of laughter are in the offing. Probably a joke or two at Croydon's expense as well.

Cinderella at Fairfield Halls, 11 December 2026-3 January 2027. Captioned performance 21 December, relaxed performance 30 December.

Jack Off the Beanstalk at Scala, King's Cross

Image: Scala London

Billed as London's 'naughtiest' panto, Jack Off the Beanstalk does away with all that old fashioned double-entendre nonsense, instead naming its characters things like Queen Genitalia, Thick Twatt and Clitty the Cow. You might need one or two stiff ones before watching this.

Jack Off the Beanstalk at Scala, 14 December 2026-3 January 2027.

A rare moment with an empty plinth, between commissions in 2022. Image: Matt Brown

A list of every Fourth Plinth sculpture, and where they are now.

The Fourth Plinth was built in Trafalgar Square in 1841. Of course, it wouldn't then have been known as the Fourth Plinth.

The pedestal was originally intended to display a statue of William IV, but due to insufficient funds, it never happened. The plinth remained bare for over 150 years — no one really knew what to do with it.

And then... a decision was made. The plinth would be occupied by a succession of temporary works. The Fourth Plinth Project began in 1999... but only lasted three years. The plinth was bare once more.

The project was revived as The Fourth Plinth Commission in 2005, and has been going strong ever since. Here is the complete record, from most recent to oldest.

Lady in Blue, Tschabalala Self (2026-2028)

Image: Matt Brown

The shapely form of a bold, purposeful woman. "She is a woman striding forward into our collective future with ambition and purpose. She is a Londoner, who represents the city’s spirit."

Where is it now? Up on the Fourth Plinth.

A Thousand Times in an Instant, Teresa Margolles (2024-2026)

Image: Will Noble

850 "life masks" of trans people from London and further afield, arranged in the form of a tzompantli, or skull rack, from MesoAmerican culture.

Where is it now? The artwork was designed to be ephemeral, with the masks deteriorating in the London weather. Its whereabouts since removal are unknown, presumably with the artist and in storage.

Antelope, Samson Kambalu (2022-2024)

Image: Matt Brown

The sculptural restaging of a 1914 photograph showing Baptist preacher and pan-Africanist John Chilembwe and European missionary John Chorley. Chilembwe is shown wearing a hat, which was forbidden in the presence of white people at the time.

Where is it now? In storage.

The End, Heather Phillipson (2020-2022)

Image: Matt Brown

This playfully macabre confection, featuring an ice cream cone topped with a cherry, a fly and a drone, coincided with the Covid pandemic and so was initially little-seen. The drone recorded footage of passers-by, which was streamed onto a live feed.

Where is it now? In storage, unknown location.

The Invisible Enemy Should not Exist, Michael Rakowitz (2018-2020)

Image: Matt Brown

A protective winged-bull sculpture had guarded the entrance to Nergal Gate of Nineveh from 700 BC, right up until 2015 when ISIS blew it up. This recreation for the Fourth Plinth is made from empty Iraqi date syrup cans.

Where is it now? In storage, but the artist is hoping to donate it to Tate Modern if certain conditions are met.

Really Good, David Shrigley (2016-2018)

Really Good by David Shrigley. Photo: James Beard

Ever felt so good about something, that the thumbs-up emoji just isn't enough? David Shrigley feels you, so decided to create what is essentially a massive emoji statue made of bronze.

Where is it now? On show outside the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, which acquired the work in early 2024.

Gift Horse, Hans Haacke (2015-2016)

Gift Horse by Hans Haacke. Photo: Sarah

Haacke's horse was apparently a "contemporary comment on history, power and money". It is supposedly a tribute to English painter George Stubbs, whose famous painting of Whistlejacket the horse hangs inside the National Gallery. But also a nod to Adam Smith, thanks to a real-time feed of the London Stock Exchange on the ribbon of the "Gift Horse".

Where is it now? In storage, but making regular appearances at temporary exhibitions.

Hahn/Cock, Katharina Fritsch (2013-2015)

Hahn/Cock by Katharina Fritsch. Photo: Darrell Godliman

Yes, the plinth once hosted a massive blue cock, much to the delight of headline writers. The cockerel symbolised "regeneration, awakening and strength." It was also a cheeky swipe at the male-dominated plinths that surrounded it.

Where is it now? On display at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. A second version roosts at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.

Powerless Structures, Fig. 101, Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset (2012-2013)

Powerless Structures, Fig. 101 by Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset. Photo: Guy Tyler

Like Hahn/Cock, this plinth topping references those around it. Trafalgar Square — and central London — is filled with statues of military heroes on horseback, so Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset decided to contrast them by celebrating the heroism of growing up. The bronze boy on a bronze rocking horse stood here during the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Where is it now? On display outside the Arken Museum of Modern Art, Denmark.

Nelson's Ship In A Bottle, Yinka Shonibare (2010-2012)

Nelson's Ship In A Bottle by Yinka Shonibare. Photo: Stephanie Sadler

Seeing as the Fourth Plinth is in Trafalgar Square, it wasn't going to be too long before something related to the Battle of Trafalgar came along. Step right up Yinka Shonibare, who provided a replica of Nelson's ship HMS Victory... in a bottle. We have no idea how he got it in there.

Where is it now? Outside the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.

One & Other, Antony Gormley (2009)

Bright pink bride again, on the fourth plinth for One and Other, 8am, 23 August 2009. Photo: W P Wiles

Probably the most original of the plinth's commissions came in early autumn of 2009. Over 100 consecutive days, members of the public could spend one hour each on the plinth, and do their thang. The project was called One & Other and was the brainchild of sculptor Antony Gormley, who wanted to elevate everyday life into the realm of monumental art. The picture above shows Londonist contributor Hazel, who reenacted her wedding. More touching than all the people who stripped off up there.

Where is it now? Living on in a thousand different bodies all over the world.

Model For A Hotel 2007-2009, Thomas Schütte

Model For A Hotel 2007 by Tomas Schütte. Photo: tezzer57

This was formerly titled Hotel for the Birds. Trafalgar Square is, after all, a famed hangout for pigeons. The problem with pigeons, of course, is birdshit... meaning this installation had to be cleaned rather a lot.

Where is it now? In storage at an unknown location.

Alison Lapper Pregnant, Marc Quinn (2005-2007)

Alison Lapper Pregnant by Marc Quinn. Photo: Wally Gobetz

Marc Quinn created this statue of artist Alison Lapper when she was pregnant. Lapper was born with no arms and shortened legs due to a condition called phocomelia. The plinth's first resident was also the one with the lengthiest stay. This 13 tonne statue was up there from September 2005 until late 2007, getting some rather ugly reviews from some critics.

Where is it now? In storage at an unknown location. An inflatable replica formed part of the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

And, lest we forget the Fourth Plinth Project which saw Rachel Whiteread's Monument (2001), Bill Woodrow's Regardless of History (2000) and Mark Wallinger's Ecce Homo (1999). All were part of a shorter-lived Fourth Plinth Project, arranged by the RSA and Cass Sculpture Foundation. All three remain in storage.

Original article by Harry Rosehill, updated by Matt Brown

"My legs have gone man! I'm a jelly!" Image: Dobby Club

Croydon-based sitcom Peep Show is an embarrassment of comedic riches (or should that be a rich comedy of embarrassments?) But who could ever forget time time a knackered Super Hans called up Jez to inform him: "I've accidentally run to Windsor!"

Fast-forward to 2024, and that 'accidental' run became a real-life event — thanks to the first Peep Show Marathon, as co-organised by Giles, the man also behind the remarkably successful Dobby Club Instagram account.

The event's packed with references to the show. Image: Dobby Club

"The marathon came about three years ago when a TikTok gained popularity after my friend Sophie pointed out that the distance from Croydon to Windsor is precisely a marathon," explains Giles. "This fact had been previously pointed out to me (as is the norm with anything remotely nerdy related to Peep Show lore), but the timing felt right to put on the Peep Show Marathon.

"Sophie had the running knowledge, and I knew how to ensure it was packed with Peep Show hijinks and that the right people were running it. The rest is history."

Comedian Ivo Graham (left), outside Zodiac Court in Croydon, where the marathon starts. Image: Dobby Club

Now an annual fixture, the 'Run to Windsor' returns on Saturday 10 October 2026, with 165 Peep Show fans covering the 26.2 miles from Croydon to Windsor — starting out at Zodiac Court, aka 'Apollo House', where the hapless protagonists Mark and Jez live (and inside which the first two series of Peep Show were filmed).

The marathon route is serious: from Zodiac Court, runners head through Wimbledon, Richmond and Runnymede onto Windsor, up the long walk toward Windsor Castle before finishing at Two Flints Brewery.

As you might imagine, the event is riddled with references to the show. Refreshment stops along the route are stocked with restorative pots of olives — a nod to Super Hans' brief spell of going 'fucking mental' for them, while weening himself off crack.

Many runners cosplay as characters (hats off to the guy who wore fisherman's waterproofs a la Mark in the New Year's special — that must've been sweaty). "My favourite moment so far?" says Giles, "Watching the runner who completed the entire race in a full Mark Corrigan 'clean shirt' suit, complete with two bags of shopping, mimicking the moment Mark is forced to run away from his muggers."

There are olives at the refreshment stations, but be careful, they're addictive. Image: Dobby Club

It's too late to apply to run for 2026's marathon, but anyone can cheer on the participants. The start line at Zodiac Court in west Croydon is open from 10am-12pm, with East Croydon Cool (the very same who put together the Croydon Edit) teaming up with 80 Stone Coffee Roasters to present the Velvet Spoon Coffee pop-up, where anyone can get their hands on a cup of coffee, and special mugs made for the day.

Big Mad Andy selling big mad shandies. Image: Dobby Club

At the finish line in Windsor, from 12pm to late, Two Flints Brewery is serving beers and pizza — with an appearance from Liam Noble — aka 'Big Mad Andy' — behind the bar. There's also a DJ, alongside plenty of Peep Show-related fun and games. There'll even be yards of ale, so you can pretend it's Mark's stag.

Peep Show Marathon, 10 October 2026.

The huge Palm House is undergoing a major refurb. Image: Matt From London, Creative Commons

Kew Gardens has launched a fundraising appeal to restore its historic Palm House, with the aim of raising £1m with help from the public.

The Grade-I listed Victorian glasshouse, which has been in situ since 1848, is in urgent need of repairs to keep it going for future generations. As reported last summer, the Palm House will close for five years from 2027 to allow the restoration to take place. The project will include new glazing for all 16,000 panes of glass, and the installation of renewable heating systems and rainwater harvesting tanks, making it the first carbon neutral glasshouse of its kind.

Image: Andy Li, Creative Commons

All this doesn't come cheap, the project expected to cost an eye-watering £66m. Kew has already raised around half of that, and it's now asking the public to get involved with raising the next £1m.

There are several ways to help, from making a simple donation, to sponsoring a pane of glass (£25 for a small pane; £100 for a large pane), or even a species of plant (from £25 for a traveller's palm, up to £500 for the critically endangered Clay's hibiscus from Hawaii) within the restored Palm House. Your name won't appear at Kew, but you'll receive a personalised digital certificate. And even if it's not for you, what about that awkward-to-buy-for, already-has-everything friend or family member for Christmas?

Why is the Palm House so important? In addition to being an historic structure, it's scientifically crucial — housing a living collection of tropical plants from around the world, many of which are rare, threatened or even extinct in the wild. As well as protecting them, Kew scientists use them for research into preventing biodiversity loss, conservation, food security and how to protect the future of our planet. Two new glasshouses, one temporary and one permanent, have been built at Kew to house the plants while the Palm House is out of action. Sadly, some of the trees were too tall to move and had to be felled.

Until recent years, the Palm House was the backdrop of the Christmas at Kew finale. Image: Londonist

Many of Kew's structures date back to the Victorian period, meaning they now require restorative intervention. The Palm House renovation follows the Temperate House — the largest Victorian glasshouse in the world — reopening in 2018, following a similar five-year refurbishment. The same year, the Great Pagoda was restored and reopened.

Find out more about the Palm House project, and make a donation, on the Kew appeal page.

All weekend

Get your stitch on at Alexandra Palace. Image: Brokentaco, Creative Commons

KNIT & STITCH SHOW: The Knit & Stitch Show is at Ally Pally all weekend, with hundreds of exhibitors selling supplies including yarn, fabric, buttons, fat quarters, sewing machines and more. Get inspired in the galleries, which display works by textile artists and groups. 8-11 October 2026

ART FAIR: October is art fair season in London, bringing members of the art industry from all over the globe back to the capital. Over in east London this weekend, The Other Art Fair takes over the Old Truman Brewery, with a focus on artworks available for all budgets, from over 100 artists. 8-11 October 2026

THE 90S: Former British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful OBE guest curates Tate Britain's newest exhibition The 90s spanning photography, fashion, art and design in what was a decade of optimism, freedom and rebellion. 8 October 2026-14 February 2027

PALACE GARDENS: Hampton Court Palace opens its extensive grounds for free during one of its Garden Open Days weekends, letting visitors explore the Great Fountain Garden, the Privy Garden, Kitchen Garden, Pond Garden and Lower Orangery without buying a palace ticket. Note the palace interior, the Maze and the Magic Garden playground remain paid admission. FREE, 10-11 October 2026

Follow in Winnie the Pooh's footsteps. Image: © 2026 The Trustees of The Pooh Properties and E.H. Shepard LLP Estate of E.H. Shepard

TIM WALKER'S FAIRYLAND: British photographer Tim Walker has spent five years photographing LGBTQ+ trailblazers for major new National Portrait Gallery exhibition, Tim Walker's Fairyland: Love and Legends. Dozens of activists, performers, artists and writers feature in the photos, alongside a book with contributions written by Travis Alabanza, Russell T Davies, Shon Faye, Lisa Power and Joelle Taylor. 9 October 2026-31 January 2027

NEW SCIENTIST LIVE: Wildlife storytelling, dark matter and the evolution of the human species are among the topics at New Scientist Live at Excel London. Experts from all manner of fields give talks on their topics including anthropologist Alice Roberts, astronaut Helen Sharman and astrophysicist Chris Lintott. 10-12 October 2026

BLOOMSBURY FESTIVAL: Local culture celebration Bloomsbury Festival continues throughout this weekend, offering a huge range of theatre, music, exhibitions, literature and science events across several venues. Take a look at our picks, or browse the full programme. Until 31 October 2026

WINNIE THE POOH: Follow Pooh and Eeyore on a new storybook trail around London Zoo, inspired by A Little Boy and His Bear — a new book to mark the centenary of AA Milne's characters. The route links the tale to the Zoo’s animals and its real-life connection to Winnipeg the Bear. Until 1 November 2026

HEATED RIVALRY: An unofficial parody musical of smash hit TV series Heated Rivalry lands at Underbelly Boulevard Soho, following a run at The Other Palace, with a lively score accompanying gentle ribbing of the steamy hockey drama. 7 October-1 November 2026

Saturday 10 October

Join a walking tour of London's sewers. Image: Matt From London, Creative Commons

BOOK HUNT: The B.A.D. (Barking & Dagenham) Fairy hides 100 books around Valence House Museum for adults and children to find and take home. The free event supports the National Literacy Trust's #Take10ToRead campaign, encouraging visitors to pause for a 10-minute reading escape. FREE, 10am-12pm/1pm-4pm

FREE GUIDED WALKS: Local London Guiding Day offers free guided walks from groups including Camden Guides and City of London Guides. Tours cover King's Cross, the City, Old Street/Finsbury, Hoxton, Waterloo and Pimlico, with a theme of 'Back to the Future' — looking at how yesterday's London changed into the capital of tomorrow. FREE, 10am-4pm

WELSH AUTUMN MARKET: The London Welsh Centre hosts its Autumn Market with more than 50 Welsh traders selling handmade gifts, food, drink, jewellery and artwork. The market supports the Centre's fundraising campaign to improve accessibility. 10am-5.30pm

LONDON'S SEWERS: Explore the history of London's sanitation infrastructure on Open City's walking tour, following the southern outfall sewer across the Erith Marshes to Crossness Pumping Station. The route takes in Victorian engineering, Thames Water's sewage treatment works and the future of London's 'Super Sewer', with a look at Tideway exhibition models. 11am-2pm

CLASSICALLY BLACK: Classically Black is a cultural movement redefining classical music with powerful performances and new commissions showcasing talents often overlooked in the industry. Head to Kings Place for a day of live shows and panel discussions. 11.15am-7.30pm

Celebrate harvest season in Walthamstow. Image: Anne Berentsen

HARVESTFEST: 10 venues across Blackhorse Beer Mile come alive for a free, festival-style celebration of the changing seasons. Expect country-themed entertainment ranging from bucking broncos and queer country rodeo to Morris dancers, live music and hook-a-duck — alongside artisan beers, ciders, wines, brandies and cocktails. At Signature Brew Blackhorse Road, Queer Cxntry takes over for the day before a ticketed evening party. From 12pm

STARQUEST: Maya Man’s StarQuest comes to the V&A South Kensington for its London premiere, combining a screening with a performance-lecture about American competitive dance, online self-staging and generative AI. The programme ends with a conversation between Man and curators Laura Herman and Micol Ap. FREE, 12pm-1pm

WORLD ZOMBIE DAY: A free, family-friendly zombie walk takes place across central London, for the second incarnation of World Zombie Day. Hundreds of costumed participants shamble through the city (meeting point is sent when you register to take part). It's a celebration of horror, creativity and community, while raising funds for the Dead Good Club, a not-for-profit promoting AI and digital media literacy while addressing issues of digital overwhelm, doomscrolling and 'brain rot'. 12pm-8pm

Look out for scores of zombies in central London today. Image: Chris Williams/World Zombie Day

WELCOME HOME: Families can design their own front doors with artist Lucy Rainbow at William Morris Gallery's Family Day in Walthamstow, then create a screen-printed souvenir poster. There's also a new permanent collection family trail and an activity booklet for the exhibition Earthly Paradise. Age four+. FREE, 1pm-4pm

DAVID HOCKNEY: Croydon's David Lean Cinema screens Exhibition On Screen: David Hockney, a documentary featuring intimate interviews with the artist alongside a portrait of his restless creativity, fearless experimentation and singular artistic process. 2pm

AFTERNOON OF INDIE: O'Neill's Wardour Street in Soho hosts an afternoon for over-30s, with Feeling Gloomy and Old School Indie DJs playing classics across the decades, from 1970s punk and 1980s new wave to Britpop and early-2000s indie. 3pm-7pm

MOTOWN DAY PARTY: Spend an afternoon at Boxpark Wembley singing and dancing along to Motown classics from Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, The Supremes and Marvin Gaye — alongside soul, funk and disco. 3pm-8pm

THE BILL REUNION: The Cinema Museum (Kennington) hosts The Bill Reunion with Graham Cole, aka PC Tony Stamp, among the guests looking back at the London-based policing drama. The Q&A is followed by a meet-and-greet, with autographs available to purchase. 5pm

CHEMISTRY DEMONSTRATIONS: Chemist Andrew Szydlo returns to the Royal Institution for a spectacular, demo-filled celebration of chemistry pioneers. Expect colour changes, fire, smoke, bangs and surprises across experiments involving topics from explosives and electrochemistry to perfumes and polymers, marking the launch of the book 111 European Chemists. 7pm-8.30pm

GRIME ON CAMERA: The people behind grime's visual archive come together at V&A East for Rewind: Grime on Camera. Hosted by Chantelle Fiddy, the free talk features Roony 'Risky Roadz' Keefe, Chad 'Ratty' Stennett, Troy 'A Plus' Miller and Tim & Barry discussing the footage they made, the scene it documented and material that has never surfaced. FREE, 7pm-9pm

See Jordan Brookes live in Soho. Image: Kit McCarthy

STRICTLY BANGERS: Queen of Hoxton in Shoreditch turns the ground floor into a party zone for club classics and party anthems, with floor-fillers and sing-alongs throughout the night. Entry is free before 9pm, with the party continuing late. 7pm-10pm

THE BEATLES V ELTON JOHN: Logan Paul Murphy brings his one-man songbook show, The Beatles Vs Elton John (With A Little Help From My Friends), to the Camden Club on Chalk Farm Road. The 19-year-old singer and musician performs with one piano, one guitar and a repertoire spanning both music legends. He has also appeared on Britain's Got Talent and Channel 4's The Piano. 7pm-10.30pm

ADAM ROWE: Adam Rowe, host of the Have A Word Podcast and star of Live At The Apollo, brings his stand-up show Fashionism to Hackney Empire. Rowe explores the concept of trying to see everyone's point of view — especially those you hate. 7.30pm

PARANORMAL INVESTIGATION: After dark at Valence House Museum in Dagenham, a guided investigation explores reports of unexplained sounds, movements and apparitions, including the May Dog and the Lady of the House. Specialist equipment — alongside both scientific and spiritual methods — are used. The event is for over-18s only. 8pm-1am

JORDAN BROOKES: The "Elvis of comedy" (that might be his words) Jordan Brookes returns to Soho Theatre Dean Street with a new hour of stand-up inspired by a shocking incident on a train. He performs throughout this week. 9pm

Sunday 11 October

Ogle Harleys in Enfield. Image: Matt From London, Creative Commons

ROYAL PARKS HALF: The Royal Parks Half Marathon takes runners on a route through four of the eight Royal Parks (Hyde Park, Green Park, St James's Park, Kensington Gardens), and other closed roads around central London. Get yourself a place via a charity, or turn up on the day to support the runners. Either way, be aware of road closures in central London. From 8.45am

CARSHALTON HISTORY: Trace the stories behind North and West Streets on a historical walk led by local historian Andrew Skelton. Once among Carshalton's busiest thoroughfares, the ancient streets are lined with historic buildings and tales, with the walk meeting outside Beechwood Court. 10am-11.30am

HARLEY OWNERS GROUP: Whitewebbs Museum of Transport in Enfield welcomes back the Harley Owners Group, with a collection of bikes on display for the public to ogle. The museum is open today too, so leave time to explore it. 10am-4pm

WIGS AND WIGGLES: Handel Hendrix House in Mayfair holds an interactive concert series for under-fives and their families, bringing Baroque music to life through singing, dancing and movement. Put on a favourite wig and explore the world of Handel's music in historic surroundings. 10.15am/11.30am

OLAF FALAFEL: Award-winning comedian and children's author Olaf Falafel brings The Stupidest Super Stupid Show to South London Theatre in Norwood. Expect family-friendly comedy, jokes, poos on pogo sticks, truth-telling cheese, a time-travelling portal and a live draw-along. Suitable for ages three+. 11am-12pm

SURBITON SKI SUNDAY: Watch competitors strap blocks of ice to their feet and attempt to glide down a slippery lino 'slope' at the wacky Surbiton Ski Sunday along Central Parade/St Mark's Hill. There’s a luge, colourful costumes and a community atmosphere with 30-50 competitors taking part. 11am-1pm

Surbiton Ski Sunday skids into town. Image: The Community Brain

MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND: ActOne in Acton marks its fifth anniversary with a family sing-along screening of Muppet Treasure Island, preceded by a pirate hat-making workshop with all materials provided. Dress for the occasion; suitable for ages three+, with parents and guardians supervising throughout. 11am

WILD SIDE: At the Box in Piccadilly, Dr Aidan Michaels explores what unusual animals can teach us about human disease in Lessons from the Wild Side. The talk looks at cancer-resistant naked mole-rats, long-lived bowhead whales and desert-dwelling camels, followed by a Q&A. 12pm-1.45pm

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY: Learn to capture authentic moments, characters and the atmosphere of a bustling market at this beginner-friendly workshop at Forty Hall Farmers Market in Enfield. Practise composition, natural light and camera/smartphone settings through demonstrations and guided shooting exercises; suitable for ages 16+, with no previous experience required. 12pm-2pm

CHELSEA LITERARY SECRETS: London Walks guide Dr Stephen K leads a two-hour guided walk exploring the darker, stranger side of one of London's most elegant neighbourhoods. Sex, Spies & Scandal: The Secret Literary Life of Chelsea pulls back the curtain on the shocking origins of Mary Poppins, the Chelsea beginnings of Winnie-the-Pooh, and the tragic connection between Peter Pan and Sloane Square station. The tour also covers Pre-Raphaelite passions, a graveyard exhumation and the local addresses associated with the world's most famous fictional spies. 1pm

GOSPEL BRUNCH: Award-winning choir director Clive Brown brings Urban Sound to the 606 Club in Chelsea for an uplifting gospel performance. Brown's musical career spans more than 40 years and includes work with Meat Loaf and Mariah Carey. It's family-friendly, with children of all ages welcome. 1.30pm

AFTERNOON POEMS: Escape to Keats House in Hampstead for an hour of famous travel poems, including exotic, strange, wonderful and funny works from the venue's Poetry Ambassadors. This free afternoon marks the 300th anniversary of Gulliver's Travels. FREE, 2.15pm-3.15pm

Enjoy an afternoon of poetry at Keats House. Image: Matt From London, Creative Commons

COMEDY CLUB 4 KIDS: A taste of international stand-up and sketch comedy comes to the Exchange in Twickenham, performed for children aged six+ and their grown-ups. The one-hour show has the rowdy feel of a comedy club, but is suitable for younger audiences. 2.30pm

VAN GOGH SIP AND PAINT: Try your hand at a bold, expressive version of Van Gogh's Mulberry Tree at London Art Bar in Holborn. All art supplies, step-by-step guidance, a canvas to take home and a glass of prosecco are included (non-alcoholic alternatives are available). 3pm-5.30pm

CHARITY FIREWALK: Walk across hot embers at Signature Brew Blackhorse Road in aid of Cabaret Vs Cancer, following a 'Learn or Burn' motivational seminar to ensure you are able to complete the walk safely. Participants must be aged 18 or over. 6pm

EDINBURGH QUARTET: Haydn, Rebecca Clarke, Puccini and Schubert make up Edinburgh Quartet’s programme at Conway Hall in Holborn. Scotland's longest-established quartet pairs shorter works, including Clarke's haunting Poem and Puccini's elegiac Crisantemi, with Schubert's epic G major Quartet. 6.30pm-8.30pm

THE WORST POETS CLUB: Hollie McNish, Nikita Gill, Donna Ashworth and Len Pennie come together at Hackney Empire for two hours of readings, chat and cheerful self-deprecation. The four bestselling poets share work from their latest collections, with 50% of artist fees donated to the National Literacy Trust. 7.30pm

He's back! Image: Matt Crockett

Comedian and actor Rowan Atkinson brings his new theatre show to the West End next spring.

Rowan Live combines nostalgia with new material written for this show; expect to see Atkinson bringing some of his most famous comedy sketches and iconic characters to life, alongside new work crafted with long-time collaborators Richard Curtis, Ben Elton and Howard Goodall.

Prior to a prolific TV career in shows including Mr Bean and Blackadder — both of which he co-created — as well as film series Johnny English, Atkinson's acting life began on stage at Oxford University Dramatic Society, where he met Curtis and Goodall.

Says Atkinson of the new show:

It is forty years since I last did a comedy sketch show in the West End, and I thought it would be fun to perform again the sketches that began it all for myself and Richard Curtis, and in which my most well-known characters originated; alongside some surprise new material written especially for this show.

Rowan Live is at the Gillian Lynne Theatre, 8 February-13 March 2027. Tickets go on sale on Wednesday 7 October — sign up for priority booking from 9am (public booking from 12pm).

Santa's grottos and meet-and-greets with Father Christmas are big business in London. If your children want to meet the man in red, his elves and reindeer in London for Christmas 2026, our advice is get booking — tickets can sell out fast! (Oh, and always be kind to the hardworking elves.)

Santa's grotto 2026 at The Mall, Wood Green

Image: The Mall, Wood Green

Eager youngsters can meet Santa a whole seven weeks before the big day, at Santa's Grotto within The Mall, Wood Green. He's in situ from early November, meeting and greeting children and dishing out gifts. Tickets, priced at £7.50 per child, include a present and a £1 donation to local charity the North London Hospice.

Santa's grotto at The Mall, Wood Green, 1 November-24 December 2026.

Santa's grotto 2026 at Ealing Broadway

We're promised light-up candy canes, glittering stars, snowy mail sacks and friendly snowmen, as Father Christmas sets up shop grotto at Ealing Broadway. Visit the man himself and receive a small gift. Take your own photos, or leave it to the professional on site — their snaps can be bought as a printed photo, keyring, bauble or snow globe.

Santa's grotto at Ealing Broadway, 13 November-24 December 2026.

Santa's grotto 2026 at Fujifilm, Covent Garden

Image: Fujifilm

The Fujifilm House of Photography, unsurprisingly, has a particularly photo-centric grotto experience. The 30-minute experience includes three minutes with Santa himself, alongside an entire floor of festive activities, featuring crafting and games. £37 per child (with two adults free per child) gets you a teddy and a photo print to take home

Santa's grotto at Fujifilm House of Photography, 14 November-24 December 2026.

Santa's grotto 2026 at the Queen's House Greenwich

Image: Royal Museums Greenwich

New for 2026, a magical wonderland inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen opens at the Queen's House Greenwich. Actors lead you through an adventure featuring characters from the classic tale, with a backdrop of towering snowy trees. End up at the Snow Queen's palace, where you can step into Santa's grotto and receive a gift to take home.

The Queen's House also has a Christmas ice rink — combine the two for a full festive day out in this part of town.

Santa's grotto at the Queen's House Greenwich, 14 November-24 December 2026. Relaxed sessions for neurodivergent and SEND visitors are also available.

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Santa's Grotto at The Ideal Christmas Show 2026

Image: Ideal Christmas Show

Meet the man in red in between Christmas shopping, festive food-sampling, seasonal crafting and so much more, at The Ideal Christmas Show 2026. This festive extravaganza presents its most family-friendly edition yet, 26-29 November at Olympia London.

Make magical Christmas memories together with a Family Magic Pass. As well as general admission to The Ideal Christmas Show, little ones can meet Santa in his festive Grotto, share their Christmas wishes and receive a special gift, with a photo to take home and treasure. Little ones will also get hands-on with a 'Choc 'n' Roll' lollipop-making session, creating their very own festive sweet treat.

Other family-friendly activities at The Ideal Christmas Show include a Christmas Slime Studio, a world of gadgets and games to explore in the Entertainment Hub, and — brand new for this year — a Chocolate Wonderland. Now there are two words that'll have your kids out of the house before you can say "Merry Christmas!"

Santa’s Grotto at The Ideal Christmas Show (Olympia London). 26-29 November

Santa's grotto at Hyde Park Winter Wonderland 2026

Image: Joshua Atkins

Winter Wonderland dedicates an entire corner of the Hyde Park extravaganza to Father Christmas. Santa Land bustles with family-friendly rides, attractions and activities, as well as the grotto itself.

The good news for parents: this one's completely free (though there's an entry fee for the Winter Wonderland site as a whole), and all kids get a small gift. The bad news: you just have to turn up and take your chances. Be warned: the queue has been several hours long in past years, and they close it when it gets out of hand.

Winter Wonderland has retained its entry fees and the requirement to book entry to the site in advance. If you can visit on a weekday morning in November or early December, it's cheaper. Alternatively, buy your family a Santa Land Unlimited Ride Pass. It gives families unlimited access to 16 family-friendly rides in Santaland — and also includes free entry to the site, so you don't have to buy a separate entry ticket.

Santa Land at Hyde Park Winter Wonderland. Free, no booking (but book for Winter Wonderland itself). Grotto open daily from 19 November 2026, 10am-6pm. The queue may close earlier than this to make sure everyone is seen.

Santa's Winter Garden at Fulham Palace

Image: Santa's Winter Garden

New for 2026, Fulham Palace promises a white Christmas with the arrival of Santa's Winter Garden. The historic walled garden transforms into a North Pole-inspired wonderland where you can follow the snowy paths — with charming names such as Candy Cane Walk and Lamplight Lane — and wander through the Snow Maze before ending up at North Pole HQ.

Here, inside tented marquees, enjoy hot chocolate (or mulled wine for the grown-ups), play vintage festive games or write your letter to Santa. The experience culminates in your family's private Santa experience where your children can chat to, and take photos with, Father Christmas,

Santa's Winter Garden at Fulham Palace, 20 November-23 December 2026.

Victorian Santa's grotto 2026 at London Museum Docklands

Image: London Museum Docklands

As always, the London Museum Docklands (formerly Museum of London Docklands) runs its charming Victorian Santa's grotto. It's located in the museum's Sailortown area, with festive decorations strewn hither and thither. There might even be a smattering of snow, as children head inside to meet their bearded hero.

Each child receives a Victorian-inspired gift, with minimal plastic used.

Victorian Santa's grotto at London Museum Docklands. Various dates, 20 November-23 December 2026. Quieter and sensory-friendly sessions are available first thing in the morning.

Meet Santa 2026 at London Zoo

Image: ZSL

Santa returns to London Zoo this winter on various dates from 21 November. We're awaiting full 2026 details, but be warned that this one sold out sharpish last year. In previous years, there's been range of experiences to choose from, including relaxed meet-and-greets and — if you're pushing the sleigh out — VIP breakfasts. Sign up to the mailing list for first dibs.

Meet Santa at London Zoo, 21 November-24 December 2026.

Storytelling with Father Christmas 2026 at the Natural History Museum

Well, he's got to park that sleigh somewhere. © Trustees of the Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum promises a fairy-lit wonderland filled with snowy Christmas trees as the setting for Storytelling with Father Christmas. Settle down on cushions to hear him read a festive favourite, and learn how he, his elves and his reindeer get ready for the festive season. Children all receive a T.rex tree decoration and chance to have a photo with Father Christmas.

Storytime with Father Christmas at the Natural History Museum, 1-22 December 2026.

Santa's Grotto 2026 at Battersea Arts Centre

Combine meeting Santa with a festive theatre trip at Battersea Arts Centre. This year's family festive show is an adaptation of Rod Campbell's book, Dear Santa.

Alternatively, book a ticket to the venue's Santa's Grotto for your child to share their Christmas wishes, have their name added to the nice (hopefully!) list and receive a gift to take home.

Santa's Grotto at Battersea Arts Centre, 4-24 December 2026.

Meet Santa at Capel Manor Gardens

Kids can meet Mr Claus as part of the Christmas at Capel Manor Gardens weekend in Enfield. Pick up a trail sheet and follow a festive path through the grounds before ending up at the manor house where Santa and his elves are waiting to meet you.

Christmas at Capel Manor Gardens, 12-13 December 2026.

Noir Kringle London 2026

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Born from a desire for Black families to be represented in Christmas traditions, Noir Kringle is the work of Charlotte Lewis, a mum with children of Jamaican and Nigerian heritage. When she struggled to find a grotto with a Black Santa, she created her own, allowing children to see a reflection of themselves during the holiday season.

Noir Kringle, 'The Black Santa's Grotto Experience', has been running since 2018. At time of writing we're awaiting 2026 details (it was held in Shoreditch last year), but sign up to the mailing list to be the first to hear.

Noir Kringle 2026, dates TBC.

Santa's a busy man, and some of his London appearances — including at Fortnum & Mason — sell out very quickly. Get yourself on the mailing list for any you're keen to go to, for the best chance of scoring tickets.

Our pick of free things to do in London this week. Get earlier access to this article, delivered straight to your inbox for free every week, via our newsletter.

The Bank of England Museum has a new exhibition. Image: Matt From London, Creative Commons

Free Magritte exhibition

Expect apples, pipes, bowler hats and cotton-cloud skies in This is Still Not a Pipe: The Afterlife of Magritte, a free exhibition at Gagosian Grosvenor Hill bristling with the strange/strangely beautiful art of the Belgian surrealist, plus works by over 40 artists inspired by him.

Until 12 December.

Step into London circa 1700

The Insurance Museum and Bank of England Museum team up for immersive exhibition After The Fire: Insurance, Finance and a rebuilt City. A large-scale street scene depicting London around 1700, and a detailed interior reconstruction of Edward Lloyd's Coffee House, take you back to a time when the Great Fire was still within living memory. Be immersed in an era when brick buildings were replacing timber ones, coffee houses were thriving networking hubs and making money was at the forefront of everyone's mind...

5 October-27 November.

24 Hour Party People

It's the 24th anniversary of 24 Hour Party People, and to celebrate, cinemas across London — namely the Castle (Hackney), the Chiswick Cinema, Genesis (Mile End), Phoenix (East Finchley), the Lexi (Kensal Rise), David Lean (Croydon), Lumiere (Romford) and the Castle (Sidcup) — are screening the film, which captures the rise of Factory Records and the birth of Manchester's world-famous Haçienda club. Book your free tickets.

5-6 October.

Free noodles on National Noodle Day

Image: Kung Fu Mama

Tuesday is National Noodle Day, and it's being celebrated at the Covent Garden and Canary Wharf branches of Taiwanese noodle restaurant Kung Fu Mama.

The first 50 customers arriving at each venue between 3pm-4pm on the day can scan a QR code to receive a free portion of the eatery's signature 12-hour beef noodle dish. Chow down on meaty beef, slow-cooked and topped with the tingle of Szechuan pepper.

6 October.

Stunning landscapes

Polar and wildlife photographers Sue Flood OBE and Ian Dawson's new book, Midnight Sun, showcases stunning images of the landscapes, ice, and the people and wildlife of the planet's polar regions. Kensington's Royal Geographical Society hosts a free exhibition of some of the photos, offering an insight into life in these frozen worlds.

6-30 October (weekdays only).

Bayeux background story

Image: Myrabella, Creative Commons

You may have heard, the Bayeux Tapestry is currently on display at the British Museum... but all is not as it seems.

Tune in to the National Archives' free online talk on Tuesday to hear about what the Tapestry can tell us, and more importantly, what it isn't. Professor of Medieval History Tom Licence delves into the political angles being presented in the woven artwork, including which figures are shown, and which were purposely eliminated.

7 October. The National Archives also offers a free online lecture about John Blanke, the Black Tudor trumpeter who served at the courts of Henry VII and Henry VIII, on Friday this week.

Hear from Londonist's art expert

Londonist's art critic Tabish Khan takes part in a panel discussion hosted by the Visual Artists Association delving into what it takes to build a thriving future for contemporary art.

He's joined by other experts including Evelīna Gorbačova (Head of Digital Development at FOLLOW.ART) and Daniela Bianco (Founder, The Blonde Art Dealer) to discuss the power of patronage and how meaningful support can shape artists' careers and influence cultural conversations. The event takes place at the Minster Building on Mincing Lane.

9 October.

Free walking tours

The annual London Local Guiding Day takes place this Saturday, when London's various guiding associations come together to put on free walks for the public. King's Cross, the City, Old Street, Hoxton, Waterloo and Westminster are among the areas you can tour this year, led by the able guides from organisations including Lambeth Guides, Hackney Guides and City of London guides.

The theme this year is 'Back to the Future', so expect plenty of fascinating tidbits on how yesterday’s London changed into the capital of tomorrow.

10 October.

A visual chronology of grime music

Head to V&A East on Saturday evening for a deep-dive into the visual history of the grime music genre, linked to current (paid) exhibition, The Music Is Black. Chantelle Fiddy (UD Music) hosts the event, which brings together Roony 'Risky Roadz' Keefe, Chad 'Ratty' Stennett (Lord of the Mics), Troy 'A Plus' Miller (Practice Hours, Eskimo Dance) and Tim & Barry (Just Jam, Don't Watch That TV) to talk about the footage that shaped grime, and material that has never been seen publicly. The discussion focuses on independent filming, clashes, freestyles and the media networks that circulated early recordings.

10 October.

Palace gardens open weekend

Hampton Court Palace holds one of its semi-regular open garden weekends, when you can get free entry to parts of the grounds which you'd normally have to pay to visit. Visit the Great Fountain Garden, the Kitchen Garden and the Pond Garden without paying a penny.

10-11 October. If that takes your fancy, check out our pick of autumnal walking routes in London.

Young refugees theatre performance

Image: Dreamarts Rep Company

DreamArts Rep, a theatre company of young refugee artists, brings its nationally touring production to Marylebone Theatre for a free finale performance.

What We Do When We Can't Dance fuses theatre, film, original music and lyricism to tell a gripping coming-of-age tale about friendship, courage and the choices that shape who we become.

11 October.

Skiing in south-west London

It's Ski Sunday in Surbiton! What does that mean? Well... people — often in costumes — with blocks of ice strapped to their feet, wooden poles keeping them upright, and a frenzied crowd cheering them on. It's free to watch, or take part (just sign up on the day) and is one of those bizarre London events that's worth experiencing at least once.

11 October.

Amy Winehouse photography exhibition

Image: Alex Sturrock

Time's running out to view Amy Winehouse: In Focus, a free outdoor photography exhibition marking 20 years since the London singer's Back to Black album was released.

Candid photos of the 'Queen of Camden' are on display on benches in King's Cross including in Granary Square and the King's Boulevard, in the London borough she called home.

Until 15 October.

Keep up to date with all things festive on our Christmas 2026 in London page.

Christmas in London is coming sooner than you think. Image: Londonist

Like it or not, Christmas 2026 is coming — very soon. Before October's out, the first seasonal ice rink opens, and there are even a few early stagings of A Christmas Carol! After that it's a slippery (if twinkly) slope into fulon festive mode.

Want to know when the capital's Christmas markets open? When the London Christmas lights are switched on this year? When you can get your skates on? We've put together this calendar of the biggest and best festive happenings in the capital this year, so you can plan your Christmas adventures accordingly.  

🎩 27 October 2026:  The first A Christmas Carol of the season — namely Christmas Carol Goes Wrong — hits the London stage, marking a flurry of Scroogy shows that go on well into January.

❄ 31 October 2026: Skate Leicester Square opens, the first ice rink to freeze over for the festive season.

🛍 2 November 2026: Spirit of Christmas Fair opens at Olympia, for early birds to get their Christmas shopping sorted.

🛍 2 November 2026: Southbank Centre's Winter Market opens, offering twinkling cabins alongside the river.

The Christmas lights are on from early November 2026. Image: David M. Benett

💡 4 November 2026: Carnaby Christmas lights are switched on, the first major festive illuminations of the season.

💡 5 November 2026: Regent Street's Christmas lights are switched on, with the street going traffic-free for a special lighting event.

💫 5 November 2026: Ever After Garden opens in Duke of York Square, raising money for charity while offering somewhere to reflect during the festive season.

❄ 6 November 2026: Glide at Battersea Power Station ice rink opens, for skating in front of those iconic chimneys.

London's ice rinks open in November 2026. Image: Joshua Atkins

🍷 9 November 2026: Miracle on Russell Street festive bar opens — think seasonal cocktails served in extremely covetable drinkware, just for the grown-ups!

❄ 11 November 2026: Skate at Somerset House ice rink opens, for figure-of-eights in the magnificent courtyard.

💡 12 November 2026: Covent Garden Christmas lights are switched on, including the towering tree in the Piazza.

💫 13 November 2026: Christmas at Kew opens, one of our annual favourites — an enchanting light trail through the botanical gardens after dark.

Christmas at Kew gets under way in November. Image: Luke Dyson

🎄 13 November 2026: Wundrful World of Christmas opens at Excel — a family friendly experience with fairground rides and a Christmas village.

🚂 14 November 2026: Epping Ongar Lights Party Express chugs into town, wending through the trees with stunning lights and festive singalongs.

🎭 14 November 2026: Cinderella opens at Lyric Hammersmith, heralding the start of panto season, which is packed with Cinders, Dicks and Jacks galore — oh yes it is!

❄ 18 November 2026: Queen's House ice rink opens, twice as big before, among the historic buildings of Greenwich.

🎄 19 November 2026: Hyde Park Winter Wonderland opens, bringing huge crowds to the area in search of funfair rides.

There are several ice skating options in London at Christmas. Image: Hampton Court Palace Ice Rink

❄ 19 November 2026: Hampton Court Palace ice rink opens, a wonderful riverside rink with a gorgeous palace backdrop.

🎄 20 November 2026: Santa's Winter Garden opens at Fulham Palace: new for 2026, head to the walled garden to stroll through Candy Cane Walk and Lamplight Lane to meet Santa at North Pole HQ.

💫 25 November 2026: Chelsea Winter Village opens, offering festive illuminations and a Christmas market in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea.

🎄 27 November 2026: Christmas at the Tower opens at the Tower of London, showcasing Victorian festive traditions through a series of Christmassy scenes as you explore the historic fortress.

🐸 27 November 2026: It's in the singing of a street corner choir, it's going home and getting warm by the fire... and it's most certainly on the screens of the Prince Charles Cinema, where they're showing The Muppet Christmas Carol every day from 27 November till Christmas Eve — 55 times in all!

See the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea decorated for Christmas. Image: Chelsea Winter Village

🎄 28 November 2026: Winter Palace at Hampton Court Palace opens, taking you into a world of mythical beasts as you wander through the palace, its rooms dressed for Christmas.

🛍 4 December 2026: Hampton Court Palace Festive Fayre, a food-centric market where you can stock up on Christmas gifts and treats while being serenaded by musicians at the bandstand.

🍷 4 December 2026: Humbug Christmas party bar opens, another adults-only boozy night out — this year Santa's landed his sleigh in Greenwich.

🚂 5 December 2026: The Polar Express train ride steams into Euston, scooping up families and taking them on a magical train ride based on the enchanting festive film.

🚂 12 December 2026: More steam trains — this time, the Santa Express, which is doing festive round trips from Victoria station on 12 and 19 December.

These are just the highlights of a packed calendar of Christmas events in London. See also:

🎅🏻 When are London's Christmas lights switched on this year?

🎅🏻 Where to go ice skating in London this Christmas

🎅🏻 Dazzling winter lights trails in London

🎅🏻 London's best Christmas markets and fairs

Your weekly roundup of Londonist news and features.

Halloween 2026 In London: Parties, Events And Things To Do

Get your spook on.

Image: The Haunting

The Top Exhibitions To See In London: October 2026

From Renoir to the French Riviera, via a Great Wave.

Image: © 20th Century Studios

Regent Street's Christmas Lights 2026 Have Been Announced

The glowing angels are back... with new additions for 2026.

Image: Regent Street

Black History Month Events In London 2026

Walks, talks and workshops.

Image: TfL

Things To Do In London In Half Term: October 2026

Family-friendly school holiday activities for all budgets.

Image: Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London

The Pioneer Health Centre: A Glassy 1930s Utopia In Peckham

"An oasis of glass in a desert of brick".

Image: Londonist

Ever After Garden 2026: Glowing Field Of Roses Returns To Chelsea This Christmas

Dedicate a flower in memory of a loved one.

Image: Sam Mellish

London To Brighton Veteran Car Run 2026: When Is It? What's The Route? Which Vehicles Will I See?

What a sight!

Image: iStock/FranJ K2Photographic

Croydonites Festival: Croydon Flexes Its Cultural Credentials This November

Vikings, bears and a special film premiere.

Image: Tony Williams

This Deptford Website Is Both Informative And Beautiful

Deptford.org is a joy.

Image: Matt Brown

The First Flight In England

From an ‘airfield’ in central London that still exists.

Image: Matt Brown

Inside Walthamstow's Magnificent Town Hall

And why it has a basement like a yellow submarine.

Image: Matt Brown

Tales From The Crypt (Museum)

London's historical basements.

Image: Matt Brown

Floating Heads And Scratching Fannies: Five Literary London Ghosts

Do you believe these spooky stories?

Image: public domain

When Venice Was Built In London

Gondolas and all.

Image: public domain

Looking Ahead: Things To Do In London This Week: 5-11 October 2026

Our pick of events for every day of the coming week.

Image: © 2026 The Trustees of The Pooh Properties and E.H. Shepard LLP Estate of E.H. Shepard

Aileen Reid, a senior research fellow on The Survey of London at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, delves into the story of London's White House — built for a great artist, but later demolished.

The White House, seen after Harry Quilter had added an extra floor, destroying the artistry of the design, in Whistler's view. Pennell Collection, Library of Congress, Washington DC

Lovers of architecture will have been following with horror, I imagine, the destruction in Washington of the White House's East Wing to make way for a bloated ballroom set to cost the US taxpayer more than half a billion dollars. But London cannot be too smug.

Within living memory another White House, the home and studio in Chelsea of the painter James McNeill Whistler, was allowed to succumb to the wrecking ball. Whistler was also American, a bohemian aesthete who divided his time between London and Paris from the 1860s till his death in 1903. Most famously he painted his mother, an austere profile study in grey and black seen recently in the blockbuster show at Tate Britain.

A sprinkle of artistic stardust

Edward William Godwin, photographed c. 1865, around the time he first got to know Whistler. Private Collection.

Many of his portraits and paintings of the Thames around Chelsea can be read as studies in pure colour, their titles — Symphony, Harmony — suggesting they are painterly equivalents of music, not just depictions of people and places. In the mid 1870s Whistler's star was in the ascendant, he had just had his first one-man show and for once he had achieved some financial security. So much so he decided to build himself a home and studio in Tite Street, running off the new Chelsea Embankment. That triumph of Victorian engineering allowed what had been a rackety realm of wharves, watermen and the less respectable artists to blossom into the fashionable enclave it has been ever since.

The house he had in mind was to be a home for himself and his lover Maud Franklin, with a private studio and a large atelier where he could have students. He didn't have far to look for an architect, choosing his friend and fellow aesthete, Edward William Godwin for the task. Godwin was a superlative architectural designer, sought out by other architects to add a sprinkle of artistic stardust to their buildings, and an endless stream of designs for furniture, wallpapers, textiles and theatrical costumes flowed from his pen.

Image: Julia Margaret Cameron Details on Google Art Project, Creative Commons

Godwin was also notorious for having run off with the married actress Ellen Terry 10 years earlier, and with her he had two children, one of whom was the theatre designer Gordon Craig. Whistler and Godwin, who had first met in the 1860s, shared a passion for the arts of Japan and one of Whistler's gifts to Ellen Terry were kimonos for her and her little girl, Edy.

By the time Godwin was building a house for Whistler they had separated, and Godwin was married to 18-year-old Beatrice Philip, an artist with 'a delightful devil-may-care look in her eyes'.

"Whistler's response must have been along the lines of 'I think you may have misunderstood my budget'"

Godwin’s drawing of 'Jimmy' Whistler at work, added to one of his drawings for the White House. Private Collection.

Godwin went round to see Whistler and Maud on the evening of 14 August 1877 and drew 'Jimmy' at work, an activity he described on another occasion as 'an almost awful display of nervous power & concentration'. He took Whistler to see two neighbouring artists' houses in Kensington before he set about his design. One was huge, the studio of the painter and illustrator Luke Fildes. The other was the Tower House, the medieval fantasy home of Godwin's closest friend in the 1860s, William Burges, the greatest of the High Victorians. This rich jewel box of a house, finished in precious materials, now belongs to Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, who has been its exemplary custodian for more than 50 years.

Whistler, centre, in the modest studio he moved to after he lost the White House. He is seen here with artist friends including, far right, Frank Miles, who also got Godwin to build him a studio-house in Tite Street, shared for a while with Oscar Wilde. Library of Congress, Washington DC

Whistler's response must have been along the lines of 'I think you may have misunderstood my budget', because the house Godwin designed was much more modest. But it was striking in its pared-back simplicity, a ground-floor studio and top-floor atelier tucked in behind the simplest frontage like nothing that had been built before. Whistler himself was responsible, Godwin reported, for the 'constructive colours', the white brick and sweeping green-slate roof — a symphony in green and white. But the Metropolitan Board of Works, which had the final say on the design, wasn’t having it: 'It looks like a dead-house'. Godwin was obliged to add some fancy carved decoration and raise the parapet to protect the modesty of the roof. It was still a remarkable house.

Whistler's White House, the studio-house designed in 1877 for him in Tite Street Chelsea by E.W. Godwin. This drawing shows what Godwin sarcastically referred to as 'little alterations and perfections' — the additional decoration added to satisfy the planners. Private Collection.

Godwin had similar ill luck soon after with his design for the site opposite the White House, for a studio house for Frank Miles, friend of Oscar Wilde, keen plantsman and painter of pretty women. His design was an almost abstract composition of rectangles, of solids and voids, in which Miles's exotic plants on the balcony were integral to the design. Godwin thought it 'the best thing I ever did', but the Board of Works thought it 'worse than Whistler's'. Once again Godwin had to gussy it up with carved decoration and a curving Dutch gable — features the planners could understand.

Abruptly bankrupt

Frank Miles' studio-house in Chelsea, after Godwin added 'some reminiscences of a visit to Holland' — the gable — to keep the planning authority happy. Photograph by Chris Redgrave © Aileen Reid

Whistler was not to enjoy the White House for long. Shortly before he commissioned Godwin, he had sued the critic John Ruskin for accusing him of 'throwing a pot of paint in the public's face' with his deceptively simple Harmonies and Symphonies. Whistler won his case but the negligible damages awarded saw him bankrupted in May 1879, less than a year after he'd moved in to the White House.

Before he left, he wrote over the door: 'Except the Lord build the house their labour is but lost that built it. E.W. Godwin F.S.A. built this one'. Worse was to come. The house was sold to Harry Quilter, another critic nemesis of Whistler's. After a spell frantically working on etchings in Venice to make some money, Whistler returned to London and, in what seems like an act of masochism, moved into a studio-flat next door to the White House, just in time to see Quilter ruin Godwin's work of art by slapping on an extra storey. Whistler wrote in fury to the press: 'The architectural galbe that was the joy of the few… crumbles beneath the pick, as did the north side of St Mark's. Shall no one interfere?'

"By the early hours even the ceiling had murals"

Whistler showing Godwin into the White House, an illustration from the British Architect of which Godwin was London editor. It's actually a valedictory image, as by the time Godwin published it in November 1879, the house had been sold off. Private Collection.

No one did interfere and things only got worse in the 20th century for the White House. The building had been listed in the 1940s, remarkably early for a Victorian building, a recognition both of its architectural innovation and its association with Whistler. But in 1963 its new owner, Lord Glenconner (owner of the island of Mustique in the Caribbean, part of which he gave to Princess Margaret as a wedding gift), applied successfully to demolish the White House, on the grounds that it was structurally unsound. Before the building finally 'crumbled beneath the pick' one last time, the Glenconners held a 'Beatnik Party' at Christmas 1963 in aid of charity in the White House. The beatniks were given 'very loose rein. One room was set aside for the painting of murals with the necessary pencils and paints. By the early hours even the ceiling had murals'. The house came down soon after.

Its replacement went the same way only 25 years later and today the site is occupied by a grand if unremarkable neo-Georgian mansion with not a whiff of bohemianism about it.

Beatrice 'Trixie' Philip, with 'a delightful devil-may-care look in her eyes', was married successively to E W Godwin and to Whistler. Godwin and Whistler's destinies were entwined in a different way. Godwin died in 1886 at 53 after an operation, and two years later his widow Trixie married Whistler. But she, too, was not destined to make old bones, and some of Whistler’s most poignant prints are of the ailing Trixie, gazing out over the Thames from a room in the Savoy, shortly before she died in 1896. University of Glasgow Archives and Special Collections, Whistler Collection.

There is a final irony in this tale of thwarted genius. Whistler is now a great star in the art historical firmament, his name as widely recognised as almost any 19th century artist, yet his beautiful house was ruined by a philistine and reduced to rubble 60 years ago. Who now except keen Victorians remembers Luke Fildes? Yet his fine studio-house, worth tens of millions, is now home to rock superstar Robbie Williams, who has spent years digging a basement with a swimming pool beneath the house. You might say it's almost on the scale of a ballroom...

E.W. Godwin by Aileen Reid, published by Liverpool University Press/Historic England/The Victorian Society.

Halloween at Kew is back for 2026. Image: Ollie Dixon

Spooky season is almost upon us. Whether you want to spend Halloween 2026 partying to the max, or taking the kids for a creepy day out, here's our pick of the best Halloween events in London this year.

First things first: you'll need a Halloween costume. Whether you're after a traditional ghost, witch, grim reaper — or something a little more unexpected — start combing London's best fancy dress shops, pronto.

Adult Halloween events and parties in London: 2026

See Hogwarts in its Halloween finery. Image: WB Studio Tour

HALLOWEEN FILM SCREENINGS: It wouldn't be Halloween without a scary film. Whether you're into gory slashers, psychological thrillers or hammy classics, there are plenty of spooky movie film screenings in London at this time of year. Don't forget the popcorn!

DARK ARTS: The Warner Bros Studio Tour London — located just north of the capital in Hertfordshire — gets a spooky makeover for Halloween. The Great Hall is festooned with more than 100 floating pumpkins, Dementors appear unexpectedly in The Forbidden Forest (fear not though, you can banish them with a Patronus charm), and you can learn duelling techniques in the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. Special after-hours events run 29-31 October. Dark Arts events are in addition to the usual tour of sets from the Harry Potter film series. 16 September-8 November 2026

MONTH OF THE DEAD: Halloween may not be until the end of October but London Month of the Dead goes on for the whole month. Informative, entertaining — and often pretty creepy — the festival enthuses on the subject of death through talks, cemetery tours, screenings and workshops. Many events have sold out now, but a handful still have spaces — jump to it! 1 October-1 November 20264

Make ours a Clown Pear-anoia. Image: The Haunting

THE HAUNTING HALLOWEEN BAR: The team behind festive extravaganza Miracle turn their attention to Halloween, opening The Haunting in Covent Garden for the entire month of October. The pop-up themed bar is decked out in spooky decor, with costumed hosts dialling up the fear factor, and a menu of drinks with names like Widow's Whisper, and Clown Pear-anoia. 1 October-1 November 2026

HEX IN THE GARDENS: Swing by Chelsea Physic Garden in early October for Hex in the Gardens, a haunting evening of storytelling to get you in the mood for spooky season. After dark, take a wander led by Maria from Herstorical Tours and hear about the lives of women herbalists and cunning folk persecuted during the Witch Craze. 3 October 2026

THE NIGHTMARE REALM: After 17 years in Ireland, Halloween event The Nightmare Realm makes its London debut, taking over the Grade II-listed Avery Hill Mansion and transforming it into a cinematic horror experience. More than 70 live performers bring it to spooky life as you wander through areas including HalloweenTown, an immersive village packed with scares. 9 October-1 November 2026

Immerse yourself in horror in Greenwich. Image: The Nightmare Realm

LEGAL GHOSTS: Play the jury on some of the spookiest cases in English legal history, in a special evening event at the Bow Street Police Museum. Supernatural barrister Naomi Ryan discusses cases where the Fortean meets the forensic, including incidences where people's beliefs in fantastical creatures has led to them doing strange things. 22 October 2026

HALLOWEEN MARKET: Solo Craft Fair pitches up at Between The Bridges on South Bank for a Halloween market, with 60+ independent brands selling their spooky and autumnal creations. 25 October 2026

PHANTOM OF THE OPERA: 1925 cinematic masterpiece The Phantom of the Opera comes to life in a silent film night at St Lawrence Jewry (Guildhall). It's shown with live accompaniment on the church's Klais organ — all very atmopsheric. 27-28 October 2026

LA DAME DE PIQUE: Theatre company Gothic Opera pops up at a different London venue with a fresh production each Halloween. For 2026, it's at Battersea Arts Centre with witty, gritty opéra-comique La Dame de Pique (The Queen of Spades). Loosely based on the Pushkin novella of the same name, it's the first time it's been staged since its premiere in 1850. 29 October-1 November 2026

CLUB DE FROMAGE: Cheesy disco night Club de Fromage hosts a Halloween party special at Dingwalls in Camden. Gruesome and revolting outfits are very much encouraged, with sing-alongs, confetti cannons and themed cocktails all part of the hijinks, as DJs spin Halloween-themed tunes. 31 October 2026

Spend Halloween 2026 with the "ghost with the most". Image: Beetlejuice

CANDLELIGHT CLUB HALLOWEEN BALL: Legendary speakeasy party the Candlelight Club once again holds a clandestine, 1920s-themed Halloween ball. Dress code is 1920s elegance, with an optional Halloween twist: think ghostly flapper or vampish witch. Expect live jazz, cabaret and cocktails, all overseen by host Champagne Charlie, at an historic mansion in south London. 31 October 2026

THE DIVINE COMEDY: Fitzrovia hotel the Mandrake is known for its legendary Halloween parties. This year it opens the gates of hell for an immersive reimagining of Dante's Inferno, taking place throughout the hotel, through installations, opera, live performance, Renaissance-inspired tableaux vivants and theatrical encounters. Choose between general admission, a dinner package, or if you're brave enough to stick it out, an overnight stay. 31 October 2026

Karaoke, spooky style. Image: Organoke/ Kate Hockenhull

ORGANOKE HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR: The organ is a creepy sounding instrument at the best of times, something which unique karaoke show Organoke is embracing for its Halloween special at St Giles in Camberwell. Don your spookiest costume and head to the Grade II* listed church for a night singing along to creepy karaoke classics accompanied by the organ. 31 October 2026

CLAPHAM GRAND: Legendary events venue The Clapham Grand has a whole host of Halloween events. Announced for 2026 so far are a Bongo's Bingo Halloween special, taking the regular fast-paced bingo show up a spooky notch, and the Clapham Grand Halloween Party where costumes are essential. Both 31 October 2026

BEETLEJUICE THE MUSICAL: Though it's been running a few months now, Halloween is as good a time as any to watch Beetlejuice the Musical at the Prince Edward Theatre. The Tim-Burton-film-turned-Broadway-musical-extravaganza tells the tale of Lydia Deetz — a strange teenager sharing her home with a pair of newly-deads and the demonic 'ghost with the most', Beetlejuice. Booking until April 2027

Family-friendly events in London for Halloween 2026

Halloween 2026 coincides with the October half term break for many London schools, so there are plenty of spooky events happening for all ages around the capital.

Halloween at Kew takes place after dark. Image: Ollie Dixon

PUMPKIN PICKING: Embrace all things autumnal and take the kids to one of these farms or pumpkin patches near London where they can pick their own. Some have play areas, tractor rides and other fun activities too — and one will even let you carve your pumpkins on site, to save you making a mess on the kitchen table at home. Don't forget your wellies!

HALLOWEEN AT KEW: Kew Gardens hosts another Halloween trail; as darkness falls, wander through a fiendish fire garden, and illuminated haunted woods filled with neon cobwebs, ghastly ghouls, wicked witches, larger-than life spiders and beastly bats. 16 October-1 November 2026

CURSE OF THE MUMMY: Included with admission to the London Dungeon this half term is Halloween special, Curse of the Mummy. The historical show is based on the true story of the Unlucky Mummy, a cursed artefact delivered to a London museum during the Egyptomania phase of the Victorian era. Call us wimps (we absolutely are) but the Dungeons give us the scares at any time of year, so expect this to dial up the fear a few notches. 17 October-1 November 2026

A Victorian curse comes back to life. Image: The London Dungeon

HALLOWEEN TRAIL: High Street Kensington offers a family Halloween trail to get everyone in a spooky mood. Pick up a map and follow it around local shops and businesses, looking for hidden clues and earning surprise treats. It all culminates in Holland Park transforming into the Playful Park of Peculiar on Halloween itself. 24-31 October 2026

HALLOWEEN AT ELTHAM PALACE: Half term at Eltham Palace has a Halloweeny twist, hosting the Great Pumpkin Party at the art deco mansion. Don your best costume for storytelling, spooky games and devilish disco fun. 24 October-1 November 2026

HALLOWEEN AT HAMPTON COURT: Hampton Court Palace probably has a ghost or two kicking around its gardens. Keep an eye out for them this half term as you brave an eerie outdoor trail, complete with atmospheric projections and creepy sound effects. Finish up with a spooky storytelling session. 24 October-1 November 2026

Holland Park transforms into a Playful Park of Peculiar on Halloween. Image: High Street Kensington

VICTORIAN HALLOWEEN: Explore Halloween, Victorian-style, as lanternists Jeremy and Carolyn Brooker recreate the era's magical lantern shows at the Florence Nightingale Museum. Original glass slides from the 19th and 20th century are paired with more modern versions, combining three projections in a single device and resulting in a fast-moving show with spectacular effects. 26 October 2026

HAIR-RAISING HALLOWEEN: Head along to Hyde Park for one of Royal Parks's hair-raising Halloween discovery days. Learn about some of the creepy crawlies, as well as the bats, which call the park home, via a nature trail, 'feely boxes' and spooky stories. Fancy dress is encouraged, to get into the spirit(s) of things.  FREE, 27-29 October 2026

Hear a ghost story at Charles Dickens' former home. Image: Charles Dickens Museum

DICKENS' HAUNTED HOUSE: Step into the kitchen of Charles Dickens' former home in Bloomsbury and hear a haunted house tale from a ghostly storyteller. The 45-minute session also delves into why the Victorians loved ghost stories so much, and your ticket includes admission to the rest of the museum. Age seven+. 29 October 2026

EARLSFIELD HALLOWEEN HUNT: The south-west London village of Earlsfield invites youngsters and their families to take part in its Halloween hunt. Pick up a special map at the Halfway House and follow it around the local shops, collecting letters and numbers as you go. Once you've cracked the code, head back to the Halfway House to collect your prize. 31 October 2026

Deptford's famous carriage ramp. Image: Matt Brown

Deptford.org is a superb new website, put together by local journalist Elia Kabanov.

In the 22 years Londonist has been running, we've seen countless local website come and go, and some excellent ones stick around (especially in south-east London, for some reason). Few have got our attention quite like Deptford.org, a new-ish website covering news, culture and particularly history from the titular riverside town.

Screenshot from Detford.org's article on the Isle of Dog's name origins.

For starters, it's joyously slick. Click on any link and you get a slidey, scrolly transition-filled story, but done in a way that serves the narrative rather than looking showy-for-the-sake-of-it. The stories themselves are all highly engaging. Case in point is this article, about how the Isle of Dogs might have got its name thanks to some Deptford wordplay. Or this early map of Deptford dockyard.

We spoke to Elia — who has a background in science journalism — about his love of Deptford, and his hopes for the website.

Tell us a bit about your background, and how you came to be writing Deptford.org

My wife and I came to London in September 2022. After a month in glorious Beckton, we ended up in Deptford and have been here ever since. I knew almost nothing about the area beforehand. But once I started looking around, I immediately had questions. Why are there skulls on the gateposts of St Nicholas? Who was Benbow, after whom our street was named? Where did all those grand houses on Albury Street come from?

I started reading a lot, and over time I realised I had accumulated far more stories than I could keep to myself. The obvious way to share them was through guided walks for friends. After about 80 of those, I remembered that I’m actually a writer, not a tour guide. That's how Deptford.org began: as a place to collect what I was finding, share it with other people, and hopefully make them fall in love with Deptford too.

What made you set this up as a website, when most people would these days tell local stories through Instagram or TikTok?

Maybe it's a midlife crisis, but I've become nostalgic for the pre-social-media internet: all those strange independent websites made by people who were obsessed with one small thing. Deptford.org is partly an attempt to make something in that spirit.

A website also gives the stories room to choose their own form. One might work best as an ordinary article, another as a map, an infographic or a game. None of them has to fit whatever format an algorithm currently prefers.

And, more prosaically, most of this can be made at a desk. Researching an archive, writing, coding a map or building a visualisation comes much more naturally to me than scouting locations, filming and worrying about lighting and sound.

Elia Kabanov's site is blossoming. Image courtesy of Elia.

You've got a science writing background. How do you think the skills learnt as a science journalist are transferable to telling local history stories?

As a science writer, I've always thought of myself as a professional dilettante. You can't become an expert in everything happening across science, so you learn how to research new subjects, fact-check them and rely on experts who know far more about these topics than you ever will.

I try to bring the same approach to local history. Every Deptford.org piece starts with research, including primary sources where possible. I try not to repeat colourful urban legends simply because they make good stories. When I'm unsure about something, I find someone who knows the subject properly and ask them.

That matters in a place like Deptford, where centuries of history have produced many wonderful stories, but also plenty that have been repeated so often nobody remembers where they came from. Yes, I'm talking about Peter the Great and the wheelbarrow races.

Which features on Deptford.org are you particularly proud of?

Perhaps it’s cheeky, but one of my favourites is a little game about the birds of Brookmill Park. People have played it thousands of times, and while matching herons, kingfishers and moorhens they hopefully learn a little about the wildlife. I'm also very happy with the recent piece about the origins of the name Isle of Dogs. It takes Laura Wright's research and turns it into a visual story about how a possible shipwrights' joke may have survived on the London map. And I love the interview with Adam Wiseman, who photographed every single shopfront on Deptford High Street. What a way to document Deptford's ever-changing face!

No flashy adds or clickbait headlines, just genuinely intriguing articles. (And games about birds.)

Is it a one-man show or do you have a group of collaborators?

For now, I make the site myself, but many of the stories depend on other people: historians, local councillors, residents who know things I don't. Over time, I'd like more of those voices to appear on the site. There are enough people with a story or 10 about Deptford to keep it going for a very long time.

How would you like to see it develop over time? Live events? More contributors? Taking the concept to other parts of London?

My main goal is simply to publish more. I have features in various stages of development about its industrial past, culture and environment, and I'm collecting datasets of books and songs connected to the area.

And I've recently started a section called Beyond Deptford, where I use data visualisation to explore London more broadly. So the site can occasionally wander across the rest of the city, while Deptford remains its centre of gravity.

Deptford.org can be found here, and I urge you to go have a play. Elia also has a Substack called Hypertextual.org, where he plays around with data journalism.

Vehicles taking part in the run must have been built before 1905. Image: iStock/Kenn Sharp

The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run takes place on Sunday 1 November 2026 — and believe us, it is quite the sight! Here's what you need to know about spectating at this historic event.

What is the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run?

The world's-longest running motoring event — which, as its name suggests, wends its way from central London down to Brighton — started out life in 1896, as the 'Emancipation Run'. This celebrated the Locomotives on Highways Act of that year, which scrapped the need for a person to walk in front of the car with a red flag, and raised the speed limit from 4mph to a G-force-inducing 14mph.

The car run stopped after 1903, but was revived in 1927, and has taken place most years since. Vehicles must have been built pre-1905 in order to take part, so are primitive by today's standards — though quite beautiful to behold.

What kind of vehicles will I see?

All sorts! An incredible array of over 400 vehicles takes part including open-topped Daimlers, Benzs, Darracqs, Peugeots, Napiers... basically anything that looks vaguely like the car Mr Toad drives in The Wind in the Willows. You might also see the odd fire truck, Harrods van ... even a penny farthing or two! Feast your eyes on the entry list.

The first revival run was in 1927. Image: public domain

What time does it start?

Vehicles gather in the paddock in Hyde Park from 6am, on Sunday 1 November 2026, and start to set off from 7am. It takes almost two hours for all of them to get going. (And invariably, some of them don't get going at all.)

From here, the cars head southward, via either the A3 or A23. Among the London locations they pass through are Brixton, Balham, Streatham, Tooting, Mitcham, Croydon, Purley and Coulsdon. A route guide is featured in this online programme.

The participants begin to arrive in Brighton from around 10am, with the paddock closing at 4.30pm.

Should I wave as the cars go past?

That's what it's all about! Bear in mind, it's early in the morning on an (often wet, windy and cold) November morning, so the people driving/riding in these open-topped vehicles — with little more than a blanket to keep them warm — need all the encouragement they can get!

With luck, you'll get hundreds of smiles, waves and a good number of beeps too. If you've got kids, they'll be in their element.

Anything else like this?

Try the London to Brighton Classic Car Run, which sets off from Brooklands Museum (which is, in fact, just outside London) early each summer, and features cars that are still pretty old but not old enough to not have roofs.

See how many beeps you can get by waving at the cars. Image: iStock/FranJ K2Photographic

Anything else I need to know?

🚗 In 1971, Queen Elizabeth II took part in the run (she wasn't driving, however).

🚗 If you're looking for a fun family-friendly film to watch, try Genevieve, a lighthearted comedy from 1953, which features a lot of competitors laughing at other competitors who've broken down at the side of the road (We're sure this doesn't happen IRL.)

London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, Sunday 1 November 2026 from 6am.

Looking for all of London's Christmas lights? We've got information about all of the 2026 switch-on dates and events. Stay up to date with everything happening in London for Christmas 2026.

The Spirit of Christmas angels are back for 2026 - with some new additions. Image: Regent Street

The 'Spirit of Christmas' lights over Regent Street will be back for Christmas 2026 — and we're promised some "sparkling new additions" for this year too.

Switched on from Thursday 5 November 2026, the 30 'spirits', made from 300,000 LED lights, can be seen over Regent Street, Jermyn Street and at St James’s Market, with additional twinkling displays on nearby Glasshouse Street, Swallow Street, and the Quadrant Arcade.

The Regent Street Christmas lights run the length of the thoroughfare. Image: Regent Street

A special Christmas light switch-on event happens from 5pm-9pm on 5 November, with Regent Street going traffic-free for the occasion with family-friendly entertainment, and various special events happening in local shops.

Back for 2026 is the illuminated Wishing Tree on St James's Market. To see the tree come to life with twinkling lights, tap to make a £5 donation to food charity The Felix Project.

Regent Street and St James's Christmas lights are lit from 5 November 2026-5 January 2027. The lights run on a timer system, illuminated from 3pm-midnight daily.

Take the kids to MCM Comic Con. Image: ASV Photography Ltd

October half term 2026 runs Saturday 24 October-Sunday 1 November 2026 for most London schools. We've selected some family-friendly autumnal events and things to do in London — however old your kids are, and whatever your budget. Of course, Halloween 2026 falls within this period, so expect to see plenty of spooky goings-on.

Half term events in London: October 2026

Embrace spooky season at Halloween at Kew. Image: Ollie Dixon

WINNIE THE POOH: AA Milne's Winnie the Pooh was inspired by a bear at London Zoo. This autumn, the zoo marks both 100 years of the ursine character and 200 years of ZSL with a Winnie the Pooh storybook trail, which is included in zoo admission. Retrace Pooh and Eeyore's journey as depicted in new-release book A Boy And His Bear, visiting the zoo's animals and learning about the real Winnie as you go. 2 October-1 November 2026

HALLOWEEN AT KEW: For the third time, Kew Gardens marks spooky season with family-friendly trail Halloween at Kew. Visit the botanical gardens after dark for a wander through the trees past legendary creatures and haunting scenes. Choose between Daylight, Twilight or Moonlight sessions — things get slightly scarier as it gets darker, but all timeslots are suitable for all ages. 16 October-1 November 2026

MCM COMIC CON: Dust off your cape — MCM Comic Con is back at Excel London for a weekend of guest meet-and-greets, costume competitions and hands-on activities. The MCM Comic Con website offers a page of tips for attending the event with children, pointing you towards family-friendly things to see and do.23-25 October 2026

SPOOKY SCIENCE: Take the whole family along to the Royal Institution for a day of spooky science. Tricks and treats are available across the building in the form of interactive shows and demonstrations, and hands-on experiments designed for under-12s and their families. 24 October 2026

ALONG THE PICCADILLY LINE: The London Transport Museum's October half term activities celebrate the 120th anniversary of the Piccadilly line, so look out for family-friendly activities around the museum on that theme. 24 October-1 November 2026

JET & SPACE WEEK: Prepare for lift-off at the RAF Museum in Hendon, which hosts a Jet & Space Week for ages three+. Watch a 45-minute space show inside a mobile planetarium, dodge inflatable obstacles to play laser tag, or search out special characters throughout the museum. 24 October-1 November 2026

PUMPKIN PATCH: Hobbledown Heath is the ultimate autumnal playground right now, thanks to the return of its mega-popular pumpkin patch, which this year is bigger than ever before. Come to choose a pumpkin, stay for the fairground rides, family games, live entertainment and photo installations. There's even marshmallow toasting (plus plenty of incredible street food) to help fuel your half term adventure. (sponsor)

Family-friendly exhibitions in London for October half term

Come face to face with Monsters of the Deep. Image: Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London

WALLACE & GROMIT: We suspect parents will enjoy this one as much as kids: The Young V&A in Bethnal Green celebrates 50 years of stop-motion studio Aardman with an exhibition dedicated to Wallace & Gromit, plus other Aardman characters. Cracking! Until 15 November 2026

VOYAGE TO THE DEEP: The Horniman Museum's current exhibition, Voyage to the Deep, is inspired by Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas, and invites you to command the Nautilus submarine, meet deep-sea creatures and test your submariner skills. Until November 2026

THE JOLLY POSTMAN: Take the kids inside the world of Janet and Allan Ahlberg's children's book The Jolly Postman, at the Postal Museum. The interactive exhibition has visitors following his delivery rounds, through the woods to the Three Bears' cottage, to Cinderella at the palace and the Wicked Witch's gingerbread bungalow. Original artwork from the book is on display too. Until January 2027

JURASSIC OCEANS: Get to know the marine reptiles that once ruled the seas — pliosaurs, ichthyosaurs and the mosasaur — through fossils, hands-on objects and interactive displays at the Natural History Museum's current exhibition, Jurassic Oceans: Monsters of the Deep. Touch a mosasaur tooth, feel a replica shark's skin and explore bite-sized science. Until January 2027

Family-friendly London theatre shows: October 2026

Art, magic and science combine. Image: The Amazing Bubble Man

Have a look at our guide to family-friendly theatre shows in London right now for long-running shows, including beloved musicals for all the family. Otherwise, try one of these:

SPOOKY KIDS' CABARET: Jaw-dropping juggling, bewitching circus skills and plenty of Halloween mischief are promised at Super Spooky Cabaret For Kids at Jacksons Lane in Archway. Aimed at ages four+, the show errs on the side of spooky rather than outright scary, with the audience encouraged to wear their best Halloween costumes for the occasion. 27 October-1 November 2026

SMEDS AND SMOOS: Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's children's book about a pair of star-crossed aliens comes to life on stage at Southbank Centre. The Smeds and the Smoos is set on a far-off planet where the two groups can't be friends, in a show for ages three+. 28 October-1 November 2026

BUBBLE MAN: Louis Pearl, also known as The Amazing Bubble Man, brings his touring show to Artsdepot in Finchley. Watch in amazement as he produces square bubbles, bubbles inside bubbles, fog-filled bubbles, giant bubbles, bubble volcanoes, tornadoes and trampolines... and even people inside bubbles. Probably worth reiterating a "don't try this at home" message to your kids, or you'll be whizzing through bottles of Fairy Liquid like nobody's business. 29 October 2026

Free things to do in London in October 2026 half term

It's free entry at the Big Story Festival. Image: © IWM

FORENSIC SCIENCE: Bloomsbury Festival runs throughout October, with a huge programme of events, predominantly for adults but with a few family treats thrown in. Kickstart half term at St George the Martyr in Holborn where older kids can hone their CSI skills by learning about forensic science, including the story of Eliza Fenning, who suffered a miscarriage of justice in the 19th century. FREE, 24 October 2026

BOOK BUZZ: Kids big into books? Swing by Artsdepot on the first Sunday of October half term for Book Buzz, a book swap event where they can take along their old tomes and come away with new reads. There's also a book stall where you can buy new books. Dressing as your favourite book character is encouraged. FREE, 25 October 2026

BIG STORY FESTIVAL: Lambeth's Imperial War Museum holds its first ever Big Story Festival, with hopes of it becoming an annual event. Explore the Childhood in War literary trail — inspired by the current exhibition of the same name — for  a programme of author talks, creative workshops and interactive family activities. Note that although entry is free, there is a charge for some of the events and activities. FREE ENTRY, 25-26 October 2026

PLAYGROUNDS: If the weather's playing nice, few things bring a smile to children's faces like a playground — and they're usually free, so it's a win for parents and carers too. Check out our map of playgrounds in central London — there are more than you might think, and many are located handily near tourist attractions.

MUSEUMS: Plenty of London's museums are free entry all year round, and while you may have to pay for temporary exhibitions, there's generally plenty to entertain all ages in the permanent collections. Try the Science Museum for aeroplanes, Natural History Museum for animals, and London Museum Docklands for the Mudlarks interactive gallery. Do book ahead in the school holidays though, otherwise you might find yourselves in a very long queue!

FREE MAZE: Ever been to the Brent Lodge Park Millennium Maze? The labyrinth is constructed of 2,000 yew trees, has been around for more than two decades and is free to visit. It's a 10-minute walk from Hanwell station on the Elizabeth line, and there's a free playground, plus Hanwell Zoo (small entry fee) next door.

Family-friendly activities in London in October half term

Find an animal-themed day out near you. Image: Londonist

ICE SKATING: Christmas may still be a little way off, but London has year-round ice skating rinks, including one slap bang in the middle of the Central line.

SWIMMING: London in October could go either way weather-wise, especially given the summer we've had. If the sun's shining, book a slot at one of the capital's magnificent outdoor swimming pools and lidos. If that's too optimistic, there are plenty of excellent indoor pools where you can splash around.

FARMS: City farms, zoos, wildlife reserves, aquariums... London is a great place to see animals, and we've mapped them all, to help you plan your next day out. Come face-to-face with lions, tigers and gorillas; stroke and feed goats, sheep and rabbits; or go looking for native wildlife at a nature reserve.

BEYOND ZONE ONE: Exhausted everything central London has to offer? Fancy exploring a new corner of the capital? Our guide to London's best attractions in the outer boroughs has loads of ideas (plus a handy map). Head north for sprawling gardens, aeroplanes and wetlands; south for caves, palaces and castles; east for Dr Who, David Bowie and neon art; or west for little-known museums (including one with its own railway), a secret underground bunker and a magnificent royal palace.

Venture beyond London this half term. Image: Londonist

DAY TRIPS: Fancy getting out of London for a day or two? Take a gander at our Beyond London section for inspiration. Particularly child-friendly is a visit to the real-life Hundred Acre Wood, as featured in AA Milne's Winnie the Pooh books. Wellington Country Park is also an excellent bet for energetic kids. Otherwise, wear them out by sending them searching for the dozens of frogs hidden down this back street, or the entire solar system within sight of the M25.

AUTISTIC KIDS: Looking for things to do over the school holidays with autistic children? Check out our guide, which includes museums, theatres, sensory rooms and more.

TEENAGERS: Older kids and teenagers can be trickier to entertain, so have a read of our things to do in London with teenagers, covering everything from museums and exhibitions to shopping trips, a little-known neon art gallery, street art and more adventurous days out.