India Lawrence

Want a drink? You've come to the right place. This is Time Out’s list of best bars in London, our curated guide to London’s drinking scene, featuring the buzziest booze dens in the capital right now. If it’s on this list, it’s excellent. These are the 50 places we'd recommend to a friend, because we love drinking in them and have done many times over. From classy cocktail joints to delightful dives, hotel bars, speakeasys, bottle shops, rooftops and wine bars, London's got them all. But what makes a truly good bar? Well, our critieria for inclusion on this list is simple; a menu of genius drinks is important, but so is overall vibe – there’s no point having the perfect paloma if you have to drink it in a bar that smells of bins. To make the Top 50, a bar has to be fun, inclusive, and full of lovely folk as well as looking the part.  April 2025: A rash of great new bars have opened in London over the past year or so and many of them have made the immediate jump to our hallowed Top 50. The latest additions to our list include rowdy sports bar meets 80s horror movie set Bloodsports in Covent Garden, whisky wonderland Dram Bar on Denmark Street, the hypnotic Bar Lotus in Dalston, Below Stone Nest in Chinatown, Rasputin’s by London Fields, and Bar Lina, an Italian aperitivo spot underneath a famous Soho deli. Now go forth and drink. RECOMMENDED: Like bars? Then you'll love London's best pubs.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor, and she'll have a gibson marti

Dreaming of sand between your toes, wind blowing in your hair and sun beating down on your skin? You might just be due a trip to the beach. Here in the UK, we can’t quite guarantee the sunshine, but we can guarantee some seriously stunning beaches which will rival those of Mediterranean (and might even be contenders for the best beaches in the world).  We have white sand beaches, we have pebbles, we have towering chalk cliffs and rock pools galore. We pretty much have a beach for every occassion. Not sure where to go? We’ve rounded up the best beaches in the UK right here, from Scotland to Cornwall, all chosen by Time Out travel writers who have been to visit them IRL. You’ll also find our expert reccs for where to stay, so you can make the most of your beachy getaway. Enjoy.  Where are the UK’s most beautiful beaches? Pretty beaches are dotted all over the UK, but you’ll find some absolute beauties in Scotland, Cornwall and Wales, where the water is often clear, beaches are surrounded by tall cliffs and greenery and you might even find sand between your toes. On our list of the UK’s best beaches, we’ve included the prettiest and most serene stretches of coast out there, but we’ve also included those better for vibes, families and big old picnics. They might not be lookers, but they’re perfect for a seaside day out.  RECOMMENDED:🏖️ The most amazing hidden beaches in the UK🌊 The best outdoor swimmming pools in the UK🏊 The best wild swimming spots in the UK🌤️ The best place

Picture the scene. It’s June in London, it’s properly summer, festival season is in full swing, and you just broke up with the situationship that was weighing you down for the past six months. Feels good, doesn’t it? There are already a load of cracking events announced for June in the city, including the first edition of Lido festival (featuring Charli XCX, Massive Attack and Jamie XX), the return of London Road to the National Theatre, and the inaugural SXSW in London.  Plus, the capital truly comes into its own this month: beer gardens are at their prime, the city parks are at their prettiest, the open-air theatre season gets going and eating alfresco is on the cards at some of London’s best restaurants. Plus, expect to see long queues in south west London as tennis fans line up to bag a place at the epic Wimbledon championships.  RECOMMENDED: Plan a great summer with our guide to London’s best music fests Get ahead of the pack and start planning your perfect July in London. 

Popular with travellers from the UK and from overseas, Cornwall is hands down one of the country’s most visited destinations. It’s enormous and contains a huge variety, from some of the UK’s most impressive beaches nestled between dramatic headlands to ‘gram-worthy seaside villages and even the odd castle or two.  It’d be impossible to pick the most beautiful spot – you’d be better off exploring them all for yourself as there’s just so much worth seeing. We recommend doing so by car: aside from a few trains, its public transport system is famously shoddy, and the hard-to-reach, remote spots and winding country lanes are easiest to access on four wheels (just watch out for locals speeding around those bends). So, whether you’re heading here for the first time or the twentieth time, fire up the engine and fasten your seatbelt – here are the best places to visit in Cornwall. RECOMMENDED:🎭 The best things to do in Cornwall🏕️ The best campsites in Cornwall🥧 The best attractions in Cornwall🏖️ The best beaches in Cornwall🏩 The best Airbnbs in Cornwall🏨 The best hotels in Cornwall This guide was updated by Time Out writer India Lawrence, who is originally from Cornwall. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

There's a lot more to Cornwall than just sandy beaches, windswept coastlines and pasties. As well as the obvious water sports like surfing and kayaking (both very fun), there are also enchanted gardens, mysterious castles and cliffside theatres to explore, all set within Cornwall's magnificent scenery.  Cornwall is big, and you’ll want to drive ideally, so we’d suggest three nights minimum for your stay to try and cram it all in. But it’s important to choose the right area for what you’re after, too. We’ve included bits from all over the county to help you choose where to go. From the kid-friendly to the budget-friendly, here are the best things to do in Cornwall.  RECOMMENDED:📍 The best places to visit in Cornwall🏕️ The best campsites in Cornwall🏘️ The best Airbnbs in Cornwall🏖️ The best beaches in Cornwall

With a bounty of great parties happening in the capital this Easter bank holiday, you can dance till you drop. Here’s our round-up of the long weekend’s best parties from Thursday April 17 to Monday April 21 2025, from (hopefully) sun-soaked daytime soirees to late-night ragers at some of the city’s best clubs.  If you’ve got the stamina, you could turn Easter into a proper bender. Just don’t count on a quick resurrection in time for work on Tuesday. RECOMMENDED:The best Easter events and activities in LondonThe 50 best nights out in London

Peckham locals have always been proud of the area’s brand: a melting pot of cultural vibrancy, eccentric individuals, and an artsy, young DIY crowd thanks to nearby Goldsmiths University and Camberwell College of Arts. It rivals Dalston and all those other East End upstarts as the place to hang out, and it’s the perfect spot for new restaurants to find their feet. Here are some of the best in the area, as well as a host of notable places to eat just down the road in Camberwell, too.  RECOMMENDED: The best 50 restaurants in London. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

Sure, London has got plenty of lidos, the Hamsptead ponds and the River Lea (AKA costa del Hackney), but sometimes a small body of water just doesn’t cut it.  Sometimes, what you need is to feel buffeted by the strong coastal wind, smell the sea salt and hear the squawking of seagulls. So isn’t it great that London is surrounded by quaint and picturesque seaside towns, and many can be reached within an hour or two.  Don’t be fooled by the small stature of these coatsal spots – they’re packed with plenty of things to do, see, eat, drink and explore. Here are the best seaside towns near London: they’re kitsch, cool and perfect for flip-flopping your way through a day of salty, sandy fun. Plus, the coast's arty renaissance means that many of them boast galleries galore for rainy day exploring.  And for adventures further afield, check out our comprehensive guide to the UK’s best and coolest seaside towns. RECOMMENDED: The best beaches near London

Why not enjoy your dinner with a side of strange? London is home to hundreds of amazing restaurants, but sometimes everyone hankers for a talking point with their tapas. We’ve rounded up a serious bunch of entertaining eateries: oddball decor, kooky culinary concepts and – yes – cats. Our list of unusual restaurants will delight animal lovers, garlic fans, and yodellers and more. You’ll find these joints in venues as varied as a boat, a prison and a church crypt. This is dining with a difference.  RECOMMENDED: The best weird bars in London. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

There’s no season more welcome than the start of summer. Brighter days, warmer temperatures and more time outdoors results in an uplifted mood and a general lust for life. It also helps when you have a stellar summer playlist – the kind that draws on golden classics and modern hits alike to really add a healthy dose of that feel-good feeling we all love. Here at Time Out, our team of writers and editors have you covered when it comes to the most essential summer anthems. From a Bill Withers staple to some Sabrina Carpenter sparkle, our playlist of the best summer songs captures all the fun, warmth and mood-lifting magic you want when it comes to soundtracking your summer months. RECOMMENDED: 🎤 The best karaoke songs ❤️ The best love songs🎉 The best party songs🕺 The best albums of 2025 so far

We don’t know about you, but we think we’re pretty damn lucky to have world-class festivals just a tube ride away. Forget trekking across the country to live in a field for five days. When you live in London, you can hop on a tube, and an hour later you’re listening to your favourite artists, tinny to hand, knowing that there’s a hot shower and a cosy bed waiting for you once the day is over. We Londoners love live music, so it’s no surprise that we’re absolutely spoilt for choice when summer rolls around. You’ve got festivals devoted to hip-hop, jazz, leftfield pop, disco, afrobeats, heavy rock ‘n’ roll. Whatever your taste may be, my god does London have a day festival for you. After a flurry of acts announcements in February and March, the line-ups for summer’s festivals have pretty much taken shape by early spring, which means it’s time to make some decisions about which festivals are worth your time and money. Have a scroll through our comprehensive guide – which we keep meticulously updated with all the latest line-up announcements – see what takes your fancy, and start planning a fantastic summer in 2025. But be warned, most London festivals get more expensive the later you leave it, and plenty of them will sell out long before the portaloos are installed and the stages are constructed. Grab your tickets right now if you know what’s good for ya! RECOMMENDED: ⛺ The best UK music festivals🌍 The best festivals in Europe

There’s a lot of talk about the state of London nightlife right now. Naysayers lament the fact that venues are closing at an alarming rate, blame Gen Zs for not going out and claim that it’s impossible to get a drink in central after 1am (it’s really not). With all that negativity and uncertainty, it’s tempting to just stick to what you know – or worse, stay in – rather than get out there and experience what this vast city has to offer after dark.  There are new nights popping up all the time. Heart of Soul, Jungyals and Gays, Club Stamina and Joyride are all relatively new (and totally brilliant) additions to London’s club scene. There’s also the nights that have remained classics for good reason – Rowans, the Palm Tree fridays, K-Hole – as well as more wholesome late-evening activities like life drawing, spoken word nights and supper clubs.  There’s nights out for everyone in this city. Nights for foodies, film buffs, audiophiles. Nights for marathon ravers, old-school movers and for when you need a proper good singalong. Even nights out for when you just want a nice sit down.  We curated this list by asking Time Out staff members for their favourite nights out in the city – and trust us, we know our stuff. Our list features nights in central London, east London, west London, north London and in south London. They all take place frequently, or semi-frequently, throughout the year and each offers something unique. So what are you waiting for? Start planning your next night o

Picture your classic hotel bar. It’s probably got dark wood panelling, a wall of leather-bound books to rival an Oxbridge library, low lighting, squidgy arm chairs, and maybe a jazz band playing smoothly in the background. This is Scarfes Bar, an elite embodiment of the quintessential hotel watering hole. This is the kind of place where you might find Gossip Girl’s Chuck Bass moodily sipping a Scotch alone at the bar. The crowd gives an equally sophisticated vibe; millennial couples on date night, people who look like they have important jobs and cash to spend, and fashionistas dressed all in black. The name is not an ode to having a warm neck, but to the cartoonist Gerald Scarfe, whose jaunty drawings line the walls. They’re probably not to everyone’s taste – think a giant-nosed caricature of King Charles, and an ultra flamboyant David Bowie – but they certainly add a unique flavour to décor that could otherwise be seen as identikit. Order this  The gimlet on the vine was my winner of the evening, a trendy riff on a gimlet, with a base of Bombay Premier Cru. But instead of lime-y sweetness, this savoury delight tastes just like a ripe cherry tomato, and a saltiness is supplied by a pleasingly massive floating caper. Time Out tip Get down earlyish, because after 8pm there was already a line at the door. Plus you’ll want to have ample time to have a bash at the 20-strong list of inventive, complex drinks (hello Smoky Maria, a concoction of tequila, smoked clamato juice and Mar

This is one for fans of Glastonbury’s NYC Downlow. The former Panorama Bar resident and Downlow big cheese Prosumer will bring his house and disco goodness to Phonox for an all-night-long set of pure vibes this Easter Thursday. Expect a night of euphoric house, uplifting soul and disco deep cuts, the perfect start to the bank holiday weekend. 

As anyone who has ever tried to secure a booking at the London Fields Lido on a warm summer day will know, us Londoners love a good dip. So it’s only natural that the capital’s Design Museum should stage an exhibition dedicated to our adoration of swimming.  With more than 200 objects, Splash! presents a whistle-stop tour for water babies taking us all the way from bizarre Victorian bathing carriages, to the present-day mermaidcore TikTok trend. From the politics of the pool (and who gets to learn to swim) to the evolution of swimwear and pool architecture, Splash! covers a lot of ground. The show is split into three sections – the pool, the lido and nature – and perhaps the most fun part, each section is designed to mimic different swimming spaces which feature in the exhibit, including the London Aquatics Centre and the art-deco Penzance Jubilee Pool.  In the first part, ‘the pool’, is quite the collection of stuff, focussing largely on Olympic swimming – a model for the London Aquatics Centre, a swimming cap belonging to Syrian swimmer Yusra Mardini, a jumper knitted by Tom Daley, and a 1984 David Hockney poster for the Los Angeles Olympics are all show. It also wouldn’t be an exhibition about pool design without some pretty Wes Anderson-style photography. The highly controversial LZR racer swimsuit is another gem on display – the suit designed by Speedo and NASA was responsible for 94 percent of swimming gold medals at Beijing 2008, and was subsequently banned for ‘techni

This June, Tate Britain will stage Edward Burra’s first retrospective in over a decade, and the first in London in 40 years. The 20th Century painter is best known for his vivid and surreal scenes of cafés, clubs and cabarets, capturing life in the Roaring Twenties. In more than 80 paintings, the exhibition will look back at Burra’s life, including his time spent in the cultural scenes of Paris and Harlem, and his personal experience of conflicts in Europe. A ticket to Edward Burra will also allow entry to Ithell Colquhoun, also at Tate Britain, as the exhibitions are running in tandem.   

What is a spatial audio festival, you might be wondering? If you go to Polygon Live LDN, you’ll probably find out. The gist is seeing live music in a 360-degree arena surrounded by high-tech lights and loads of crystal-clear speakers – a spectacle which event organisers actually call a ‘spaceship’. Artists on the lineup so far include dreamy Pakistani-American singer Arooj Aftab, electronic legend Jon Hopkins, and composer Cosmo Sheldrake. This is one for audiophiles looking for something a bit more immersive. 

Wake up babe, a new house and techno festival in London just dropped. Legendary house DJ Jamie Jones has announced he is bringing a brand-new festi to the capital this summer, taking over Boston Manor Park with one of his world-famous Paradise parties. Spread across four stages, Paradise in the City promises to have ‘cutting-edge sound and state-of-the-art production’, all produced by partners LWE. The line-up hasn’t been anounnced yet, but it’s going span to a variety of techno and house DJs, all hand-selected by Jones. Expect a day of four-to-the-floor belters with an Ibiza vibe. 

40FT brewery is teaming up with neighbouring ‘live fire’ restaurant Acme Fire Cult for a proper Irish knees-up this St Paddy’s Day. The Dalston brewers will be launching their Nitro Deep Stout for the occasion, with boozy Jameson Boilermaker cocktails also on offer. On the food menu? Spice bags! For anyone unacquainted, these are an Irish takeaway staple, featuring chips, fried chicken and peppers all shaken up in a paper bag with loads of spices. Chef Andrew Clarke’s take on them will feature grilled, herb-fed chicken, chicken fat potatoes, peppers, onions and chicken skin doused in a special Acme Vadouvan curry sauce. And there’ll also be DJs on from 7.30pm. 

There’s a lot going on at Dram Bar. Beneath this cool Denmark Street hangout, bartenders are making their own ferments, cordials, and low ABV wines in a basement lab. They are also whisky specialists, and there’s a vending machine packed with Dram’s homemade, pre-packaged cocktails. Vibe-wise, this 17th century, Grade II-listed building has been converted into a Bauhaus by way of Blade Runner drinking cave. It’s drenched in pink and orange neon and has a cute terrace out the back – a rare find for a venue so close to Tottenham Court Road. For drinks, you’ve got whiskys, the usual suspects of beers and wines, and a small, seasonal menu of superb, innovative cocktails. Also: they serve fantastic pickles, which are the perfect accompaniment to Dram’s well thought-out tipples.  Order this  Do not sleep on the ‘taps’ section of the menu, pre-made on site and available on tap. I started off with the Stone Fruit. Made with seasonal fruit that has been fermented in-house, my peach-y edition was refreshing and light with a hint of natty wine funkiness aka pure catnip for trendy London drinkers.  Time Out tip Dram serves 350 kinds of whisky. If you’re open to trying new things, tell the knowledgeable bartenders what you like and they’ll sort you out with something decent.

Watching Humanhood’s spellbinding new show, ∞ {Infinite}, feels a bit like being hypnotised. For one hour and 15 minutes you get to be mesmerised by dancers moving with liquid limbs; their flow is impeccable as they execute flawless spirals, their spines constantly twisting and arms almost always undulating, as they roll, dive, slide and leap across the space.  Humanhood’s directors Julia Robert and Rudi Cole are known for looking at dance through a spiritual lens, incorporating shamanic practice into their choreography. They call ∞ {Infinite} their first ever ‘dance theatre meditation’, and it certainly delivers on the meditation. There is no story or plot to the piece, Instead it’s a visceral exploration of the human body and its connection to the elements and wider universe. This isn’t just a load of mumbo jumbo – as viewers, we get to go on the spiritual journey too. A serene, echoing voice asks us to close our eyes. Breath. Listen to our bodies. The gentle sound of birdsong and crashing waves takes us deeper into the meditation. The smell of incense fills the auditorium and fog is gently pumped out across the stage, making the room smokey.  Elements of South Asian mysticism are certainly evident here. Many times the dancers sit on the floor cross-legged and stoic, eyes closed. At other times their formations and floor patterns are mapped out like a Buddhist zen garden, all spirals, swirls and perfect circles. Almost in constant flow, Humanhood’s signature fluid choreogra

All of London’s hippest and hottest people will once again be making the pilgrimage to Peckham for the tenth edition of electronic music bonanza GALA. Returning in its usual slot over the late May bank holiday, the festival is celebrating reaching double digits with a stellar three-day line-up curated in partnership with NTS radio, plus some of the city’s most acclaimed music and nightlife brands. Friday’s slightly mellowed line-up features headline sets from Floating Points, Moodymann and Theo Parrish, while Avalon Emerson, Ben UFO and KiNK get top billing on a Saturday line-up that leans towards the heavier end of the dance music spectrum, with curation from Chapter Ten and The Cause. Headlined by Caribou, Floorplan and Hunee & Antal, the festival’s closing day features artists from Rhythm Section, plus several stalwarts from London’s queer party scene. Also on the line-up across the three days are: Anz, Batu, Bradley Zero, Gideön, Heléna Star, Horse Meat Disco, Hudson Mohawke, Michelle Manetti, Surusinghe, Tash LC and many, many more. 

Yes, the landmark exhibition opening Somerset House’s 2025 season is all about soil. Unless you are a pedologist, you might question if SOIL: The World At Our Feet will be worth your while. Can a topic as humdrum as the dirt beneath our feet be interesting? My answer is: sort of.  The exhibition is part science display, part art show, part anti-climate change call to action. If you think it sounds a tad confused, that’s because it is. Other than just ‘soil’, it is hard to sum up exactly what this exhibition is about. ‘Soil abounds with life,’ reads the wall text that begins the exhibition. ‘Look down’ it tells us, hoping to inspire awe at the ground we walk upon. It opens with some quite beautiful up-close images of bacteria, and planet-like photographs of microbes making patterns in earth. Not so pretty are the zoomed-in black and white photos of bugs – including a very scary ant – and grim up-close videos of slime mould. Not for the squeamish, but great if you’re into that stuff. Then there’s a nice immersive installation showing beautiful time lapses of seed germination and roots growing. After this everything gets a bit more random.  Can a topic as humdrum as the dirt beneath our feet be interesting? Sort of.  The bulk of the show is made up of artworks inspired by nature, made with natural materials (sometimes literally made with soil), or pertaining to some wider theme about the natural world. There’s definitely some cool stuff in here, including an Ana Mendieta super-

Most people will know a fair bit about the last French royals: the exuberant wealth, the massive hair, the questionably true confectionary-themed catchphrases. And perhaps the most iconic thing about the late kings and queens of France? The Palace of Versailles.  Versailles: Science and Splendour explores the marvellous scientific research and discoveries that took place at the royals’ fabulous home before all the guillotining took place. Told in chronological order, the exhibit offers up digestible and fascinating bits of information about science, art and design – with treasures of the era to match – spanning the last years of the French monarchy from Louis XIV’s ascension in 1643 to the French Revolution in 1789.  Louis, who liked to call himself the Sun King – because what is more essential to humans than the Sun? – set himself the task of giving Versailles the biggest glow-up it would ever see when he came to the throne. And to do that, he needed technology. We learn about the engineering feats that were needed to create Versailles’ symmetrical gardens (the biggest ever made in the style), and how the royals used hydraulic power to channel more water into their fountains than supplied the whole of Paris.  It does a great job paying homage to under-the-radar figures, especially women Gems on display include gilded astronomical devices, the earliest models of pregnancy, a stunningly detailed moon map and the Breguet No. 160: one of the most intricate and expensive watches

In 2022 Manchester got it’s own answer to the New York City High Line when the Castlefield Viaduct opened – a lush sky garden built on a Victorian-era steel viaduct right through the city centre.  This 120-metre-long National Trust-owned garden was initially a pilot scheme. But now the viaduct is here to stay, and has been given the green light by Manchester City Council to not just become a permanent park but get bigger.  Architects BDP and Twelve Architects have written a proposal to grow the garden on the Grade II-listed viaduct to 330 metres, transforming it into a ‘sky park’ inspired by the Big Apple attraction.  The proposed landscape could see WaterAid’s Gold medal-winning garden from 2024’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show, designed by architect Je Ahn and landscape designer Tom Massey, transported to Manchester. The showstopper of the design is a planted rainwater harvesting pavilion, which filters and stores rainfall for irrigation, while slowing the flow of heavy downpours and providing shade.   Photograph: Twelve Architects The second phase of the scheme will see a second entrance to the park created from Egerton Street on the west side of Mancunian Way. That includes an expansion to Pomona Island in Trafford and several other entrances along the route. The National Trust said the end result would be a space that ‘respects the listed structure, celebrates the nature, beauty and history of the viaduct, and complements existing plans for the city’. However, the trust still

Train links in England are fine, but they could be a lot better. Good news, because plans have just been revealed for a new train line that could link Brighton and Newcastle for the first time.  The new railway route could directly connect the south coast with the northeast, travelling via Birmingham, York and London Gatwick. This means travellers would no longer have to change trains in London.  Arriva’s Grand Central brand has submitted an application to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) for permission to start the new service. Here’s everything we know about the potential new route so far.   How long will it take to get from Newcastle to Gatwick? The travel time hasn’t been revealed yet, but currently the average journey time from Brighton to Newcastle is four hours and 20 minutes. Let’s hope this speeds things up a bit.  Where will the Brighton-Newcastle train stop? Here’s the full list of proposed stops for the route.  Newcastle Durham Darlington Northallerton York Doncaster Sheffield Derby Burton-on-Trent Birmingham New Street Warwick Parkway Banbury Oxford Reading Wokingham Guildford Redhill London Gatwick Haywards Heath Brighton When will the route come into service? If approved, the route is expected to run five services per day in each direction, starting in December 2026. Paul Hutchings, managing director of Arriva UK Trains’ rail services, said: ‘We’re committed to connecting communities and enabling more people to travel in ways that are convenient and sustaina

Just as London has revealed it plans to bid to host the 2040 Olympics, the capital has been crowned as the world’s best city for hosting sporting events.  A new report by City Hall has revealed that major sporting events made £230 million for the capital last year, with more than 500,000 fans attending fixtures in the city, and 200 million viewers tuning in online and on TV. London was also named the world's leading sporting events host in the 2024 Global Cities Report. 2024 was a bumper year for sports in the Big Smoke, with the capital hosting more than 50 major events including the UEFA Champions League Final, the London E-Prix, Major League Baseball and NFL American football games.  Things show no sign of slowing down. This year London will host the Women’s Rugby World Cup and the Grand Sumo Tournament. Meanwhile England, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales have already been confirmed as hosts for Euro 2028, and the UK is set to host the Women’s World Cup in 2035.  For the future, the Mayor has revealed ambitions to host the Superbowl, Olympics, World Athletics Championship, and WrestleMania.  London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: ‘London is the sporting capital of the world and I am proud that we have such a strong track record of staging the biggest and best international events in our great city.’ Two of London’s most unspoiled green spaces could soon host more large-scale events.  Peckham Rye’s 1930s shopping arcade will be knocked down this summer.  Get the lates

Plans to make-over the space outside Peckham Rye station have been in the works for well over a decade now. The proposal to build the snazzy Peckham Rye Station Square was first revealed in 2011, with planning permission granted in 2016.  The project would involve knocking down the dilapidated 1930s arcade outside the station. This was supposed to start last year, but there were a number of delays. This week, the council revealed it had appointed a contractor, BAM Nuttall, to carry out the long-awaited glow up.  Demolition of the arcade is due to begin this summer, once the businesses have all moved out. All going well, the new square will be finished by next summer.  The old arcade will be replaced with an open square, kitted out with plants, seating and lighting, exposing the railway arches that flank the north and south sides of the square. The arches will be refurbished to provide new premises for local and independent businesses to trade. Councillor Helen Dennis, Cabinet Member for New Homes and Sustainable Development said: ‘This is a massively exciting time for the residents of Peckham, and having let their passion be known for the regeneration of the station square, I’m glad we’re taking a step closer to delivering for them.’ Two of London’s most unspoiled green spaces could soon host more large-scale events.  Sadiq Khan is officially backing a London bid for the 2040 Olympic Games.  Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the

Day festivals are part and parcel of summer in London. For a few weeks a year parks all over the city are transformed into hubs of music, culture and revelry. Some locals don’t love it, but for others it’s one of the best things about living in the capital.  Now two mostly untouched green spaces in the capital are being considered for hosting ‘income-generating activities’ and a potential ‘disposal of assets’, although an outright sale of land has been ruled out.  Hampstead Heath and Epping Forest have been marked by the City of London Corporation as spaces that could be good for potential money-making schemes in London. The corporation, which is the sole trustee for a charity that manages eight of London’s green spaces, is assessing the parks in an attempt to make them profitable.  A recent investigation by London Centric revealed leaked plans to make money from the Heath, including ticketed festivals and raised prices for the ponds and lido. The report added that 11,000 acres of historic open spaces including Epping Forest, Highgate Wood, and West Ham Park could all be used in future for generating income.  ‘Each park will be asked to generate the absolute maximum money it can make privately, short of just selling the land,’ an anonymous person who has seen the plans told London Centric.  A spokesperson for the City of London Corporation told Camden New Journal: ‘For over 150 years, the City Corporation has been the proud conservator and corporate trustee for some of the UK

The 2012 Olympics was a special time in London. We got a massive new sports stadium, a Jubilee line glow-up and an iconic opening ceremony featuring Mr Bean, James Bond and Fatboy Slim.  So what if we could do it all again? London Mayor Sadiq Khan has just backed a bid to host the games in 2040, and it’s part of his plan to make the city ‘the sporting capital of the world’.  Khan is on a mission to bring more world-class sports to the Big Smoke as part of a strategy that will boost London’s economy. He said a future Olympic games in the city could be done at a low cost. ‘2040 makes sense for London because we could do it in a brilliant way but also very cheaply. An Olympics in London wouldn’t cost a fortune but the benefits would be humongous,’ Khan told the Times.  ‘We could knock it out of the park in relation to the Olympics, using the assets we already have in the Aquatics Centre, the stadium, the Velodrome. And we could have some events outside of London, too. London could be a hub.’  The Mayor’s office also has its sights set on hosting the Superbowl, and the World Athletics Championship in 2029, which Khan believes could be worth up to £400 million and be the perfect set-up for the Olympic bid.  A report published by the Mayor of London’s office on April 28 revealed that major sporting events held in London last year, including the Champions League final, the London Athletics Meet, the NFL and Major League Baseball games, generated £230million for the capital. It also

Shopping online is convenient and all, but nothing can beat the thrill of finding a proper bargain in real life. That’s why outlet stores are genius, because you get to cop designer gems at seriously slashed prices. So shopaholics, we bring you good news, because a huge new designer outlet shopping centre is opening in Gloucestershire later this year. Credit cards at the ready. The Cotswolds Designer Outlet has confirmed that 98 percent of its stores will be open by July 2025, and the full list of retailers in the mall has finally been released. From summer more than 40 brands including Adidas, Levi’s and Guess will be flogging their garms for cheap in the £30 million shopping complex in Tewkesbury.  Property developer Robert Hitchins is behind the new outlet which is set to rival Bicester Village, with the company planning to extend the space by a further 50,000 square feet in the future.  Simon Tothill, property and development director at Robert Hitchins, said: ‘We have curated the line-up of Cotswolds Designer Outlet to offer the best of British and international fashion brands in a classic Cotswolds setting with an elevated customer-focused environment. ‘To launch a new retail scheme that is nearly fully let is a real message of confidence from retail brands who can see the huge potential for a fresh, modern outlet retail destination that sets a new bar for the industry. We had faith in the demand for a high-quality destination in this location, which is accessible to su

From Brighton to Blackpool, when it comes to piers, Brits know what they are doing. Our country is home to an abundance of picturesque promenades, packed with food vendors, arcade games, and even rollercoasters.  Now the UK’s best pier has been crowned for 2025. Llandudno Pier in North Wales has been named Pier of the Year for 2025, coming ahead of of Swanage in second and Herne Bay pier in third. Llandudno last took the number one spot 20 years ago.  Every year the prestigious award is voted for by members of the National Piers Society (NPS). This year Llandudno clinched the top spot thanks to its outstanding efforts to revive the pier after it was decimated by Storm Darragh in December 2024. During the storm a pier hut was blown across the boardwalk, while major damage was done to slate roofs on other shacks, leading to the jetty being closed for months.  Photograph: jremes84 / Shutterstock.com Chairman of the NPS Tim Wardley said: ‘When I learned of this year’s winner I was thrilled. Llandudno Pier has suffered a torrid time with the storm damage inflicted over the winter and our members were highly impressed with the way the pier owners, staff and public all pulled together to ensure repairs were carried out in record time to get the pier re-opened. ‘It really shows what a valuable and much loved asset the pier is to the community and visitors with messages of support and donations from all over the world. Well done Llandudno – a most worthy winner.’ ICYMI: The UK will

If you live in, or have visited London, chances are you’ve seen one of the many blue plaques that are tacked onto walls around the city. Typically they commemorate famous Londoners who did something of note in the building the plaque is placed on, but how do they actually decide who gets one? In fact, the people represented on London’s blue plaques are all nominated by the public. In 2025, famous Londoners who received plaques included Audrey Hepburn, Marc Bolan and Graham Sutherland.  How to nominate someone for a blue plaque The commemorations might all be from public suggestions, but that doesn’t mean any old person can get one. Members of the public can make nominations by emailing English Heritage with a brief outline of the person and the building they want to nominated. It’s important to make sure they don’t already have a plaque, because only one is allowed per person.  After the initial suggestion English Heritage will be able to let you know if your candidate has already been nominated, or if they have already been turned down before. If they were rejected already, 10 years must pass for the person to be suggested again.  If successful, you’ll be invited to fill out a full application with as much detail as possible. The plaques are finally decided by a panel of experts who meet three times a year. Once a plaque is shortlisted it usually takes two to three years for it to be put up – this is because it must be rigorously researched, and the plaque itself is handmade

To many Londoners, festival season is one of the best parts of the year, and one of the greatest things about living in the capital. For a few months of the year we get to experience world-class music, culture and have a right jolly in many of our wonderful local parks.  But to some Londoners day festivals are a noisy nuisance, damaging parks with large crowds and lots of litter. Now some unhappy locals in south London have launched a legal campaign against Lambeth Council, urging them to review holding large-scale festival events in Brockwell Park.  Every summer Brockwell Live stages a number of day parties in the park, including Wide Awake, City Splash and new for 2025 Field Day (which has moved from its former home in Victoria Park). It also hosts free events including Lambeth Country Show and kid-friendly Brockwell Bounce.  But campaign group Protect Brockwell Park (PBP), including actor Mark Rylance, said that the festivals are ‘destroying’ the park and having an ‘adverse ecological impact’. Rylance complained that large metal walls that are erected around the park for the events are ruining the vibe of the outdoor space, transforming it into a ‘prison camp’.  Photograph: Protect Brockwell Park   The campaign has raised more than £30,000 via Crowdjustice to fund legal proceedings against Lambeth Council. In a case that could change the face of London day festivals, PBP wants the council to have to acquire full planning permission to run events in the park. A Lambeth Co

The UK is filled with all sorts of secret spots and hidden mysteries. Soon, there will be the chance to explore an abandoned mining quarry in Wales that has been submerged in water for the past 20 years, thanks to a new underwater museum.  A new diving centre is opening at the Vivian slate quarry in Gwynedd, north Wales. It’s the first underwater museum that will allow youngsters as young as 10 to visit, making it a ‘world first’.  The flooded Vivian Quarry was once home to the planet’s second largest slate mine, and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site . Divers will be able to explore the abandoned buildings and mining equipment, including a circular blast shelter, that are now covered in 19 metres of water. The quarry closed in 1960 and has been open to experienced divers for the past 12 years. It’s now hoped that it will be accessed without any prior scuba diving training. Diving expeditions are run by Scuba Scape, which said new technology will allow children to be able to dive after 10-minute safety briefing.  ‘Our collaboration [with XPLOR Group] has led to the commercialisation of a unique underwater gaming programme and innovative technology. This enables individuals as young as 10 to dive in as little as 10 minutes after a safety briefing. Over the past eight months, we have implemented intense safety procedures and conducted rigorous testing of every component in some of the harshest underwater conditions,’ Scuba Scape told North Wales Live.  The Eryri slate quarry a

Ever been looking for somewhere to chuck your empty matcha cup in the City of London and wondered, why the heck aren’t there any bins around? In fact, up until 1993 there were loads of places to dump your litter in the Square Mile. So why were all the rubbish bins removed? The answer is, unfortunately, a grim one. Central London’s rubbish receptacles were taken away following an incident in the ’90s when the IRA blew up a stolen truck in Bishopsgate, killing one person and injuring 44 people. The bomb wasn’t actually hidden inside a bin, but the City of London thought it would be safe to get rid of all the receptacles to be safe. More than 2,000 bins were removed from the area after the blast. The Troubles and the IRA are also the reason why there are hardly any bins across the London Underground. In 1991 a bomb that was hidden inside a bin at Victoria station exploded, killing one person and injuring 38.  Photograph: Cristian Storto / Shutterstock.com After 20 years bins have been gradually reintroduced in the City, but there are still not many around. In 2013 the City of London Corporation added just 20 bins to the area where there were once thousands. A MyLondon investigation in 2016 found that the Square Mile had only 46 public litter bins, and 13 recycling bins.  So, next time you’re in the Square Mile you’ll have to take your rubbish home with you.  More London mysteries: what are stinkpipes and why does London still have them? Plus: What are London’s pink Oyster card