The Time Out London blog team

Calling all animal-loving Londoners! Soon you’ll be able to spot more than just pigeons, seagulls and the odd rat in the capital, as a new rewilding project is bringing back two rare animal species to the city. The project is called Rewilding East London, and it’s taking place in Eastbrookend Country Park in Dagenham. After going extinct as breeding birds in the 1400s due to overhunting and habitat loss, white storks are coming back to the capital – but that isn’t all. The Mayor of London-backed scheme will also reintroduce beavers to the area. White storks are distinguished by their lanky legs, monochrome feathers and large stature (standing up to 1.5m tall). The birds’ return to the capital will be quite the occasion – and not just for bird-nerds. While white storks are native to the British Isles, up until now they have mostly been breeding across central and southern Europe.  Beavers aren’t so unheard of in London. The creatures, famed for building dams and lodges all with their teeth, already feature at Paradise Fields in Ealing, which is the UK’s only publicly accessible urban beaver site.  Photography: Nick Upton Cornwall Wildlife Trust The goal of Rewilding East London is to boost biodiversity and improve access to nature and green spaces in Dagenham. But how will these animals be looked after in the capital? Well, as well as restoring wetland habitats, the project will boast a purpose-built aviary – or in layman's terms, a ‘bird house’ – for the storks (and...

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...