The Time Out London blog team

From Back to the Future to Futurama, in pop culture flying cars have to come represent the ultimate vision of tomorrow. Now that reality could be about to come true, because an aerospace company has claimed that London could actually have flying taxis in the next few years. The British flight honchos at Vertical Aerospace have alleged that London could see flying taxis transporting passengers to and from London airports by as soon as 2028. They’ve created the electric Valo aircraft, which can fly up to 100 miles at speeds of up to 150 miles per hour, and carry up to six passengers. The aircraft is currently undergoing testing, but the aim is for the Valo to secure regulatory approval within the next three years.  The initial routes proposed for these terribly modern taxis would be between Canary Wharf and London airports. Planned destinations for flying taxis include London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Cambridge, Oxford and Bicester.  Photograph: Vertical Aerospace Vertical Aerospace revealed their prototype to the public at an event in Canary Wharf earlier this week (Wednesday 10). The company plans to build seven aircrafts for UK use.  Vertical Aerospace chief executive Stuart Simpson said in a statement: ‘Valo is the aircraft that turns electric flight into a commercial reality – clean, quiet, fast and engineered for everyday service. It marks a new dawn in transport, one that will connect people in minutes, not hours.’ It remains to be revealed how much a trip in one of...

By now we already know that Londoners can’t get enough of e-bikes. In fact, one in 10 cycle journeys in the capital was made on a dockless electric bike in 2025, with cycling in general rising by 12.7 percent in the past year. If you’re one of those two-wheeled citizens, we bring you good news, because TfL has announced that major upgrades are coming to Santander Cycles in 2026.  Transport for London has just extended its contract with Serco, the company that looks after the TfL bicycles. Serco will now operate Santander Cycles until 2031, with an opportunity to extend for a further five years. Serco promises to bring a range of improvements to the TfL bike rental service, which saw its record number of monthly member hires in October 2025, with more than 728,000 hires.  Among the upgrades, TfL said it wanted to launch a new cycling app and introduce a QR code bike release system, similar to what Lime already uses. TfL will also bring in the UK’s first in-dock charging system for e-bikes across terminals in the capital, meaning you’ll never have to find a bike without charge again. The terminals will also be modernised to become more accessible and user-friendly.  TfL added that it is also working with boroughs and operators to manage and grow dockless e-bike schemes (that’s your Lime and Forest bikes) in a safe and sustainable way across the city, including the introduction of designated parking bays and clear standards for operators.  Will Norman, London’s walking and...

Every year, Historic England grants protection to remarkable and unusual buildings and sites of note across the country. For 2025, a mega 14 London sites have been given a special status by the organisation, meaning they will be looked after and preserved for years to come.  One of the more notable sites in the capital given protected status in 2025 was the rare dockside equipment found at Enderby’s Wharf in Greenwich. This strange-looking contraption is linked to the first transatlantic telephone call between us Brits and the Yanks across the pond. It marked an important technological advancement in undersea communication, which laid the foundations for today’s subsea optical cables that transmit internet traffic worldwide. It has been protected as a Scheduled Monument, which means it is classed as a nationally important archaeological site.  Photograph: Historic England Archive   Also given protection was the 1980s-built workshop of architect Sir David Chipperfield. The brutalist concrete structure known as Cobham Mews Studios is a pair of studio offices built in 1987 to 1989 by the architects, and acts as a good example for the firm’s style. Found just north of Camden Town, the studios were occupied by the architects until 2011 and are now Grade II-listed.  Photograph: Historic England Archive Photograph: Historic England Archive Southwark tube station, built between 1994 and 1999 for the Jubilee line, was was also granted listed status. Seven buildings at the...