The Time Out London blog team

More than a decade after plans were first put forward, the Silvertown Tunnel (London’s first sub-Thames road tunnel in 30 years) finally opened last April. In order to pay for the upkeep of the structure, drivers have to pay a toll every time they go through the tunnel, but for anyone taking the bus, it’s completely free.  To entice more people to use the Superloop route between Grove Park and Canary Wharf (SL4) and encourage drivers to swap their cars for public transport, TfL made three local bus routes completely free to use along any part of their routes.  The free rides were only meant to last for 12 months, but now TfL has announced that it’ll be extending them by another seven weeks.  Photograph: TfL That means that everyone will continue to be able to take the SL4 and 129, which both go through Silvertown, and the 108, which uses the Blackwell Tunnel, without paying a thing until Tuesday, May 26. The bike shuttle that safely takes cyclists from one side of the tunnel to the other will also remain free for the foreseeable future.  According to TfL, 10,400 bus journeys are now made on Silvertown and Blackwall tunnels every day, compared to 2,700 prior to the opening of Silvertown Tunnel. Opponents to the tunnel argued that it would create more congestion and pollution in the area, but a few months after it tunnel opened, City Hall said that Silvertown had reduced journey times on approach roads by as much as 70 percent during morning rush hour and had seen a...

Ever since it held its first edition in 2021, Waterworks has been an unmissable event for London’s electronic and dance musos. Following the fest’s fifth birthday celebrations last year, in 2026 there will be even more for the heads to tuck into: Waterworks has announced that it is expanding to two days – and has revealed a fittingly huge lineup to boot. The sixth Waterworks will see the event return to Gunnersbury Park, taking place on the weekend of September 12-13. Across the festival’s five stages will be a whopping 83 sets which, as usual, will explore all sorts of progressive forces within house, techno, bass, breaks and club music. Waterworks is set to remain a who’s who of the most exciting names in dance: those 83 slots will cover DJ sets, B2Bs and live shows, with djrum, Midland and Sofia Kourtesis among the many notable names. As before, it’s the B2Bs that are the most tantalising. Saturday alone will have joint sets from Bradley Zero and Erol Alkan, Christian AB and Craig Richards, Raresh and Sonja Moonea, and OK Williams and Skee Mask, while Sunday will have back-to-back slots from Call Super and Objekt, and Sully and Special Request (among others). RECOMMENDED: The best music festivals in London to book for 2026. Photograph: Angelina Nikolayeva Festival booker and co-founder Simon Denby commented on the two-day expansion: ‘By expanding to two days, we have been excited to dig deeper and go further into the incredible breadth of talent that makes up London’s...

Two years ago, Sadiq Khan announced that he would be putting a whopping £2bn over the next five years into giving the Royal Docks in east London a new lease of life. That has involved building a ‘thriving new high street’ along Silvertown Way and making the area the new home of City Hall. Now, there are plans to create a huge new floating hub on the docks.  Plans for Royal Victoria Dock West, drawn up by Royal Docks Waterways, envision it as ‘a distinctive new water-based destination’. It would take up a 12-hectare stretch of water and include creating new floating homes, a floating park and a floating wellness centre with a lido, sauna and spa experiences alongside free water access and open water swimming. Current designs for the floating park, which would surround the IFS Cloud Cable Car terminal on the Royal Docks, propose biodiverse planting and space for art installations. The plans also point out that there’s opportunity for events programmes, art trails and cafes, kiosks or pop-ups.  Image: Royal Docks Waterways As for the floating wellness hub, the centrepiece will be a lido. That will either be one heated 25m-long pool or two pools – one smaller pool heated to a higher temperature and one 25m at a lower temperature for lane swimmers. Around that pool, there would be amenities that could include a spa/sauna, wellness provision and food and drink providers.  The regeneration will also involve creating a ‘new waterside community’ through residential moorings and...