The Time Out London blog team

From towns filled with cosy pubs to luxurious spas and quaint countryside trails, there are tonnes of escape options for weary Londoners in need of a countryside fix during the colder months. Winter doesn’t all have to be about drinking zero percent beer, going to the gym and staying inside watching Traitors.  And if you’re feeling so over the London crowds this January, why not head to a bucolic village in the Cotswolds for a frosty day out? We have named it as one of the best day trips from the city for winter 2026, after all.  Time Out crowned Broadway in the Worcestershire as the seventh best day visit outside the capital this cold season. Often referred to as the ‘jewel of the Cotswolds’, this historic village has ample open space for strolling across frosty fields, as well as an abundance of honey-coloured cottages, sweet shopfronts, independent art galleries, country inns and rustic pubs to hunker down in with a hot toddy. For a day well spent, we suggest strolling up to the grand turrets of Broadway Tower and admiring the view or, if you’re feeling energetic, hike part of the idyllic Cotswolds Way from Broadway to pretty market town Chipping Campden.  Photograph: Ed Cunningham for Time Out Broadway can be reached in one hour 35 minutes by train from London Paddington to Moreton-in-Marsh then bus to Broadway, or in around two hours by car. For more pastoral day trips out of the capital this winter, here’s our guide to the best things to do in the Cotswolds. Plus,...

The UK is packed full of fabulous destinations worth visiting, but every year new openings and cultural events make some places more worth the trip others. That’s why Time Out has just revealed its annual list of the best places to visit in Britain in 2026 – and, excitingly, one of them is in London.  We named Strand in central London as one of Britain’s must-see destinations this year, ranking it in 11th place on the list. Why now? You might be thinking about this street that has literally been there since the Roman times. Well, as well as being one of the capital’s most ancient and historic streets, it’s also absolutely stacked with culture, restaurants, hotels and sites to see. And 2026 is looking to be an even more stellar year than most for the Strand.  In 2026, art and theatre fanatics will be able to get their fix at Somerset House, The Courtauld and the Strand’s several theatres. Things to look out for include exhibitions about marine ecosystems, music fandoms and edible earth at Somerset House; retrospectives on artists Barbara Hepworth, Salman Toor and Georges Seurat at the Courtauld; and of course, the production that won everybody’s hearts in 2025: Paddington the Musical at the Savoy Theatre, which is set to run all the way through to 2027. Photograph: Shutterstock Foodies will want to know about the relaunch of the legendary restaurant Simpson’s In the Strand, headed up by famed restauranteur Jeremy King and expected to open in February. Other eateries to...

Camden’s Odeon cinema is closing for good next month. After nearly 90 years of screenings, dating back to 1937, the Parkway picture house will shut its doors for the final time on February 24. Beloved of Edgar Wright, Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, the cinema is currently operating as a 5-screen multiplex but is earmarked for demolition to make way for a new property development.‘Following talks with our landlord, we have come to a mutual agreement to close our Camden cinema,’ an Odeon spokesperson told the Camden New Journal. ‘Supporting our local cinema team is our number one priority and we will be looking to secure jobs for as many of them as possible at our other cinema locations.’ 17 years ago, on April 9th 2004, 'Shaun Of The Dead' was released in UK/IRE cinemas. I went to see it at Odeon Camden with Simon Pegg, Nira Park, my editor Chris Dickens and our production manager Karen Beever. We sat at the back because we were nervous. Here are Nira's tickets. pic.twitter.com/sM8uAl9PL1 — edgarwright (@edgarwright) April 9, 2021 According to Camden New Journal, the Secret Cinema Group had explored using the convert the adjacent Mecca Bingo hall – also being demolished and redeveloped – into a space for interactive events, before opting against the plan. Instead, the wider site will be transformed into student housing and under the name Camden Town Xchange. On the plans are 244 student bedrooms and a further 49 affordable homes. Photograph: Camden Town...