Hannah Bentley

This autumn, a West End legend rises again – for one weekend only. From October 10 to 12, Camden’s KOKO will transform into a nostalgic rave time machine as it celebrates 30 years of The End, the iconic West End superclub that defined London nightlife from the late ’90s through to the early 2000s. The three-night takeover will be titled ‘This is The End, 1995–2025: Defining an Era’. Founded in 1995 by DJ Layo Paskin and Mr C, The End quickly became a cornerstone of London club culture. With its drum ’n’ bass Fridays, techno Saturdays, and indie Mondays, the venue helped shape entire subcultures, giving early platforms to acts like Scissor Sisters and LCD Soundsystem, who both played their first UK shows there. Housed in a former postal sorting office on West Central Street, The End was a pioneer in more ways than one – it even had a hydraulic dancefloor designed to give ravers’ knees a break (if only all clubs thought of that). Alongside the venue came End Recordings, a label that championed fresh talent and underground sounds. The party, unfortunately, had to come to an end in 2009. After nearly 15 years, the club was forced to shut down to make way for property development. Its space briefly housed another venue called The Den, but nothing quite matched the magic of The End. On August 19, Paskin took to Instagram to announce the upcoming club night. He wrote: ‘The venue [The End] represented a restoration of acid house’s music integrity, but with an ambition to pull the exp

Summer is coming to an end and the sun is setting earlier and earlier, but worry not: a new sculpture will light up London’s evenings on the South Bank. Named ‘Beacon’, the structure will be placed at the entrance of the Royal Festival Hall and it’ll light up when Big Ben strikes the hour. It’ll be visible from both sides of the Thames and perform in choreographed waves of light.  The installation is by British designer Lee Broom and it is part of the London Design Festival (LDF). This year’s edition of LDF will run from September 13-22.  The piece is inspired by the 1951 Festival of Britain, an event which was described as ‘a beacon of change’ as it came to symbolise a sense of hope and optimism while the nation was still recovering from the economic and psychological effects of World War II.  Broom's structure is made up of repurposed individual light fixtures to form a clustered collection of black lamps made from discarded glass fragments. The sculpture’s repetitive, geometric design acts as a nod to the brutalist style of the surrounding South Bank and the modernist architecture of the Royal Festival Hall.  Photograph: Lee Broom In layman’s terms, the piece looks a bit like an upside-down chandelier. But ‘Beacon’ isn’t just brutalist-inspired: it’s also an ode to the dolphin street lamps that line the South Bank designed by architect George John Villany in the 1870s.  When Big Ben chimes from across the Thames, ‘Beacon’ will light up and slowly start to pulse, kicking

Britain boasts countless breathtaking scenic rail routes: the Riviera Line from Exeter to Paddington, the historic Snowdon Mountain Railway and Lowestoft to Norwich in Norfolk are all counted among the most beautiful train services in the world. Now, another UK rail route has been recognised among the planet’s best.  The West Highland Line in Scotland, perhaps best known for gliding over the iconic Glenfinnan Viaduct featured in the Harry Potter films, has been dubbed the ‘most scenic’ train route in the world by the Express. The newspaper consulted travel experts at the UK travel company Mickledore to come up with its ranking.  Photograph: Shutterstock Starting at Queen Street Station in Glasgow and ending in Mallaig, a town in the west of Scotland, the West Highland Line spans 164 miles of stunning Scottish scenery. Running by Loch Lomond and Loch Etive, and passing through Trossachs National Park, the line splits at Crianlarich, carrying passengers either past Loch Awe to Oban, or high up to the boggy wilderness of Rannoch Moor. According to Mickledore, the train ride provides passengers with ‘a living canvas of Scotland’, passing over more than 100 bridges and offering occasional glimpses of Ben Nevis, the UK’s tallest mountain. In 2009, the West Highland Line was voted the most scenic railway in the world by Wanderlust magazine readers ahead of the Trans-Siberian Railway and the route to Machu Picchu, with the likes of The Telegraph and BBC also praising the route’s be

You’re walking down the street, eyes glued to your phone, headphones blasting – suddenly, out of nowhere, a sinister cyclist swoops in, snatches your pocket-sized screen and vanishes into the traffic. Sadly, that’s hardly a rare scene in London: one phone is stolen every six minutes in the capital.  But it’s not just happening above ground. New data from Transport for London shows crime is creeping up on tube, Overground and bus services – and some lines and stations are sketchier than others. Between January and June 2025, 23,819 crimes were reported across TfL services, up slightly by 300 from the same six-month period last year. More than half of those (12,416) took place on the tube, which has the highest crime rate of all TfL services. Despite fewer people using public transport overall, with passenger numbers dipping by 1.7 percent, crime actually rose by 1.3 percent. Robbery, primarily pickpocketing, remains the biggest issue, making up nearly half of all offences. But thanks to targeted policing, thefts dropped almost 19 percent compared with last year.  So, which lines should you be most wary of? The Central line – the city’s longest line spanning across 46 miles of the city – topped the list with 1,069 offences. Hot on its (train) tracks was the Northern line (1,063), followed by the Piccadilly line (818). After the Victoria, Jubilee and District lines, offences drop down to 335 with the Metropolitan line ranking at number seven for most reported crimes. It’s follow

Londoners, the Vikings are coming! Well, sort of. A 1,027 year old longboat replica is travelling to London this week as part of a voyage across Europe, so don’t be alarmed if you see a group of Nordic sailors floating along the Thames – no one is here to pillage your town or raid your gold.  On Tuesday August 26, a modern reconstruction of a viking ship is sailing up the River Thames. Named Saga Farmann, the 20-metre-long boat went under London Bridge at 10am, having spent the last few years retracing the Vikings’ old trade routes across Europe.  With a capacity of 18 crew members, the boat first set sail in 2023 from its Nordic home in Tønsberg and so far has travelled the Aegean, Adriatic, and Black Seas, stopping at various ports in Greece, Croatia, and Italy. The Saga Farmann crew have already made an appearance on The Seine in Paris and are crossing the English Channel to reach London, the final destination in the Saga Lundenwic voyage.  The Saga Farmann is only swinging by for a short pit stop, spending the day in London before leaving on Wednesday at 4pm. You should be able to spot the impressive longboat from Bankside on the south of the river and Oystergate Walk on the north, as well as from nearby bridges such as Tower Bridge and Southwark Bridge between 3.45pm and 4.15pm.   Photograph: Konstantinos Livadas / Shutterstock.com   Similar to how the Vikings once travelled, the crew has paused its journey at several points to move the boat over land. Instead of dragg

Securing a roof over your head in London is becoming less and less of an easy (or affordable) feat, but new stats demonstrate just how tough it is to rent in the UK’s capital right now.  Across the country, rents have jumped by an average of 6.7 percent since June 2024 – the cost of living is up, wages aren’t keeping pace, and renters are feeling the squeeze. But nowhere is the crisis more acute than in London, where rents have soared by 7.3 percent in just one year.  In the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, it will come as no surprise that London dominates the list of top 10 most expensive places in Britain. The data, collected from June and July 2025, makes the renting woes of Londoners painfully clear by comparing average rent rates across the country. Taking top spot as the most expensive place to call home in the UK is Kensington and Chelsea – when you have the Prince and Princess of Wales as your neighbours in Kensington Palace, this does make some sense. The average rent in the Royal Borough can set you back a hefty £3,601 a month, with it costing renters over 74 per cent of their income last year. Due to its central location, beautiful houses, excellent transport connections and a plethora of green spaces on your door stop, Kensington and Chelsea is incredibly sought after, contributing to a higher demand for homes and, therefore, competitive market prices. Photograph: Shutterstock Ranking in at the second most expensive place to live is Westmi

London’s biggest and boldest street party is almost here: Notting Hill Carnival kicks off this weekend (August 23-25), marking its 57th year celebrating Caribbean culture, heritage and music.  Planning on heading to Carni this weekend? Not sure where to go, who to watch and what soundsystems to head for? To help you navigate it all, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has released the official 2025 Carnival map – and we’ve pored over it to pull out the must-know tips, from the smartest parade viewing spots to the best food stalls. RECOMMENDED: 📍 Time Out’s ultimate guide to Notting Hill Carnival 2025.🎶 Notting Hill Carnival 2025: start times and full schedule.🔎 The history of Notting Hill Carnival.🚇 How to get to Notting Hill Carnival.⛔️ Notting Hill Carnival 2025 road closures. Carnival parade route The Carnival parade snakes through more than three miles of west London streets with three official float entry points: both ends of Ladbroke Grove, Great Western Road, and North Pole Road. It all kicks off near Westbourne Park station on Great Western Road, before winding its way along Westbourne Park Road and Chepstow Road.  From there the route sweeps onto Westbourne Grove, then powers all the way down Ladbroke Grove, the parade’s longest and busiest stretch. The route also takes in Kensal Road and Golborne Road, before finally wrapping up on Elkstone Road. Map Image: Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Find a full interactive map of this year’s Carnival here.

Topshop is officially back from the dead. While it’s not kicking IKEA out of its original flagship store just yet, the fashion brand is setting up shop just down the road at Liberty, one of London’s most famous department stores. Manifesting in physical form for the first time in four years, Topshop and Topman’s new fashion edit, curated by both retailers, will be available in store at the iconic Tudor building in Soho from August 28. It’ll feature an exclusive new clothing line with directional tailoring, cult denim, statement dresses and everyday essentials. Founded in 1964, Topshop became a UK high street fashion favourite thanks to its trendy designs and accessible pricing. But the brand was forced to close all physical stores in 2021 after its parent company Arcadia Group struggled with financial difficulties and ultimately collapsed. Since then, Topshop’s clothes have only been available at online fashion retailer ASOS.  Commenting on Topshop’s IRL retail return, managing director Michelle Wilson said: ‘We’re thrilled to return to UK stores through Liberty. This launch is about reconnecting with our community in real life, and we’re excited to kick things off with a full Liberty atrium takeover.’ Topshop celebrated the brand’s relaunch at a runway event at Trafalgar Square on August 16. Celebs in attendance included supermodel Cara Delevingne, actress and model Adwoa Aboah, and the fashion guru himself, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.  View this post on Instagram