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South Bank/Borough - that hasn’t been mentioned:
The Clink museum
The Old Operating theatre
elsewhere…
The Sky Garden is free, and consequently always massive queues when I walk past to by my lunch, there’s a better view from a new spot on Bishopsgate - Horizon22.
I always enjoy the aquarium but I haven’t been for ages and I don’t think I’ve been on a weekend, so it might be horrifically busy.
We may be nerds, but we aren’t time travellers.
oops yes the 2024 one might be a better shout
Hidden London tour of abandoned or historic tube stations, the Down street or Baker Street tours are fantastic (gives free admission to London Transport museum as well)
Gods Own junkyard in Walthamstow, neon sign heaven and a cafe, (possibly only open Fri/Sat)
Viktor Wynd museum of curiosities (who doesn’t want to see Russell Brands pubic hair next to a pickled pygmy head)
Horrible Histories river cruise (it’s not just for kids)
Walk through the graffiti tunnel under Waterloo station
Get the commuter river taxi along the river for a great cheap view of many major landmarks.
Build your own hotpot here: http://www.potpotmalatang.com (NB even the least spicy soup base will clean the ear wax from your ears!)
Greenwich is worth a visit, you can get the clipper there along the Thames, it passes under tower bridge, and you might get lucky to see it opening.
In Greenwich you have the Cutty Sark, Greenwich Observatory and National Maritime Museum. You can even walk under the Thames using a pedestrian tunnel. There's plenty of places to eat and a brewery.
Edit: Get the DLR back into town, make sure you sit at the front to get the full effect of a driverless train.
Another shout for the Museum of London, a bit of a hidden gem
Very hidden currently. The main Barbican one closed in 2022. Its going to reopen at the old Smithfields market but not till 2026 (current estimate but its already slipped back. Think the original plan was a short closure to move stuff but they are still waiting for the new one).
The docklands branch is ok but is a lot smaller and reasonable way out. Possibly worth putting together with the Cutty sark/dome but would be lower down my list of places to visit.
Van Gogh Immersive. Beer in the Brick Lane Taproom. Job Jobbed.
Went with my wife last year as somebody bought us tix. Way better than I expected. You can sit in deck chairs watching the paintings materialise and dematerialise around you - good for calming down after a gig. Then have a couple of massively over priced but very nice ales at the tap room.
https://vangoghexpo.com/london/
holdsteadyFull Member
leftfield suggestion – Chislehurst Caves, 30mins on train from London Bridge, fascinating historyand yes, from my username you’ll probably guess I’m a fan of The Hold Steady and will be at the first 2 nights at Electric Ballroom
Thanks for the suggestion, that doesn't sound like it'd take much longer to get to than some stuff in London anyway!
Getting to the Weekender has become something I really look forward to. We've been fortunate enough to make it to the Sunday shows each time too. IIRC some tickets for Sunday might get released quite close to the date so maybe there's still a chance if you want to make it to that one too.
Just back from the Weekender, a trip to London, 3 great gigs and in between them we managed to visit the Transport Museum, the Postal Museum and a relatively short trip to the British Museum (we skipped the Legion exhibition due to time constraints).
Thanks to all who made suggestions!
not visit London…
That whoooshing sound? That’s the point going right over your head…
I’d suggest the Courtaulds Gallery, which is part of Somerset House. Brilliant little gallery, has lots of interesting stuff and is remarkably quiet, so you get to stand and look at things without being disturbed by loads of tourists. One or two might be familiar…
Those are my photos, taken with my phone, and you can clearly see the brushstrokes in the paint because you can stand up close to the paintings.
How nerdy? Visit some post-war bus depots and stations for serious architecture?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockwell_Garage
and Newbury Park station, which is listed too https://historicengland.org.uk/services-skills/education/educational-images/newbury-park-station-bus-shelter-ilford-8350
That Crossness place looks amazing. Thats 100% on the list when i'm next back. Another vote for the John Soames Museum, just so so much stuff!
Chislehurst caves is a weird old spot but if your venturing out of the city, maybe add the Horniman Museum onto the list as well and the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs (Plus Crystal Palace is a decent spot for lunch).
Sorry as I've not read the thread so it MUST have come up.
The Science Museum.
Went there as a kid but didn't appreciate it as I was only about 8.
Went there decades later with my son and his g/f, they were about 14. I hadn't even made it past "Stephenson's Rocket" before they came back down to the entrance and told me they had seen it all".
Little sh*ts. I completely intend going back there and spending at least a full day going round there in the future. I could probably spend a couple of days there in all honesty. Wouldn't mind the Natural History Museum either actually. Best make it a full week.
Just to reiterate, I've now been and gone to London, so any further recommendations are now unlikely to be acted upon this year! I will however try and remember about this thread when planning for next year's Weekender starts. 🙂
A year has passed and another long weekend trip to London is imminent!
Last year we visited the Transport Museum, the Postal Museum and made another trip to the British Museum. I particularly liked the Postal Museum. I think I have realised that I have a nasty combination of having to read all the little info cards you get for museum exhibits but I also get kind of burnt out reading lots and lots of them, so museums that are heavier on the descriptive text (like the Transport Museum and British Museum to some extent) kind of start burning me out after a while.
This year we've been talking about going back to the RAF Museum in Hendon, and maybe going to St Pauls. The Mithraeum isn't too far from St Pauls and the Monument isn't much further along from there so maybe they can be rolled together. However The Hold Steady are playing a 4th night this year so more ideas for filling up the days are welcome!
Seeing as this thread has been bumped, it looks as though the Cabinet War Rooms have not been mentioned. If you are into military stuff I'd say they are a must see.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/events/cabinet-war-rooms
IIRC Northwind (the other middle-aged nerd on this trip) has been to the Cabinet War Rooms and while he recommends them he isn't interested in a return visit at the moment, so they're out for now.
The underground tours sound pretty good!
The Tim Burton exhibition at the Design Museum is good, usually more time slots in the afternoon.
Battersea Power Station is a nice space and you can watch the super rich doing a bit of shopping.
You can also jump on the river boat at Battersea and go down to Greenwich ,it's a great way to see good views of the city at night .
We also had a mooch around the new Kings Cross,which ( I think) is very impressive.
Unless you are one of the super rich,prepare to be ambushed by some ' Howfrikinmuch' moments 😉 😀
Edit: D'oh already been suggested.
Actually I have one that hasn't, RAF museum, Northern line to Collin dale.
Actually I have one that hasn't, RAF museum, Northern line to Collin dale.
I already said we'll probably be going there. 😀
But yeah, it's a good suggestion, definitely right up my alley!
London Transport Museum do tours of some of the closed parts of the underground network I believe.
They also do tours on a vintage Tube train, see if one of those is on. Not many offered these days cos so much of the network has been modernised but there's still a few tracks it can do.
Imperial War Museum. The VC gallery is sadly going to close soon, worth the trip to Lambeth just to see that.
Battersea Power Station is a nice space and you can watch the super rich doing a bit of shopping.
TIL I'm "super rich" 🙂
... although when we visited at Christmas most of the shops were fairly standard shopping centre fare. Nice building, but not somewhere I'd go out of my way to visit again.
Two mega nerdy bridges in Paddington Basin- but limited in 'action times'. Heatherwick's rolling bridge is a little underwhelming, but at the same time a fascinating slightly alien artefact. The Fan bridge is a bit more spectacular, but lacks the magic of Heatherwick's design.
Hire a couple of Santander bikes on a Sunday morning and go for a ride around central London and out to St Pauls and the city then over Tower bridge, you can then head back over the bridge and ride around Whitechapel, Brick lane then head back towards central London, lots to see and its quite quiet on the roads on a Sunday morning
I did it on my own last year and few mates said they want to come next time
more ideas for filling up the days are welcome!
London has a couple of good escape rooms and a bunch of shit ones. Cluequest and Escape Plan come highly recommended. ER-adjacent is Phantom Peak which is supposed to be an amazing experience and a full day of a job.
I haven't been to any of these as a povvy Northerner but "recommend me an escape room in London" in the enthusiasts group is as common as "what tyres" or "what laptop" on here.
Thanks for the suggestion, but escape rooms have never piqued my interest. Maybe one day I'll get dragged along to one and discover that I love them but until and unless that happens I don't think I'll be seeking them out!
The weather forecast for the weekend is looking pretty good so perhaps just being out and about around some of the interesting bits of the city could be something to do.
We did a guided cycling tour which was excellent, and I really enjoyed the National Portrait Gallery which nobody seems to have suggested yet.