London is a fascinating place to visit and there’s always a great mix of things going on there. Here are some of the best things to do in the UK’s capital city this summer, pulled together by Gretta Schifano.
Festivals
If festivals are your thing then you really are spoilt for choice in London during the summer. There are many music festivals in the capital including London’s biggest summer opera festival Opera Holland Park (June 2 – August 8 2015), Bushstock (13 June 2015) which showcases new bands, British Summertime(18th to 28th June 2015) with world-class artists such as Kylie and The Who and Wireless (3-5 July 2015) which hosts big-name artists such as Drake and Nicki Minaj as well as DJs and dance acts. Meanwhile Udderbelly (9 April – 19th July 2015) has a programme of comedy, circus and children’s shows, Pride in London (21-28 June 2015) celebrates the LGBT community, Greenwich and Docklands International Festival (26 June – 5 July 2015) showcases street theatre, Archikids (25-26 July 2015) is a programme of free architectural activities in the City of London for kids, and Notting Hill Carnival (29-31 August 2015) is Europe’s biggest street festival and is led by members of the city’s West Indian community.
Parks and gardens
London is one of the world’s greenest city centres. There are eight royal parks covering more than 5,000 acres in London as well as a host of smaller parks and gardens dotted around the city. These green spaces are well worth exploring and each has its own character. Many have beautiful flower gardens or botanical gardens (such as the world-famous Kew Gardens), some offer deckchairs for hire and at some of the parks with ponds you can hire rowing boats or go for a swim. The annual Open Squares Weekend (in 2015 it’s from 13-14 June) is a chance to visit more than 200 private squares and gardens which aren’t usually open to the public.
Outdoor swimming
There are some fantastic outside swimming places in London and summer is the best time to enjoy them. There are various public pools on offer such as Tooting Bec Lido (at 90 metres long it’s the largest freshwater open-air pool in England). There are also natural swimming places such as the three swimming ponds on Hampstead Heath. Oasis sports centre in the West End offers a heated outdoor pool. The most recent addition for swimmers, King’s Cross Pond, is a naturally-filtered man-made 40-metre long bathing pond.
Walking
There are some beautiful walking routes in London which are open to everyone. For example the Capital Ring Walk is a 78-mile orbital walking route around inner London. The walk is signposted and is divided into 15 sections to make it easy to do a bit at a time. Another route is the Thames Path, a 40-mile stretch from Hampton Court Palace to East India Dock. Or you can just explore the city’s historic monuments and green spaces on foot.
Cycling
London has a self-service bike-sharing scheme (commonly known as Boris Bikes) which offers bikes for hire from as little as £2. The scheme is currently sponsored by Santander – look out for bikes and docking stations sporting the bank’s red and white logo. If you’d like to borrow a bike through the scheme you just need a bank card.
Sporting events
There are many sporting events in London during the summer. The annual Wimbledon Championships (29 June – 12 July 2015) is a world-famous tennis tournament. If you can’t get a ticket you can watch the action for free at one of the Great British Summer big screens in the city.
RideLondon (1-2 August 2015) is an annual cycling event where some of the roads in the city centre are closed so that people can explore on two wheels in safety. RideLondon also includes a race for professional cyclists.
Polo in the Park (5-7 June 2015) at Fulham’s Hurlingham Park is the largest polo tournament in Europe. It’s an annual event and the organisers positively encourage newcomers to the sport to come along and watch the action.
Galleries and museums
If it’s raining (it will be at some point) then you can always take shelter in one of London’s world-class galleries or museums, many of which are free to visit. Exhibitions on offer for summer 2015 include Shoes: Pleasure and Pain at the V&A, a Barbara Hepworth retrospective at Tate Britain, photos of Audrey Hepburn at the National Portrait Gallery, and the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, the largest regular contemporary art exhibition in the world. Buckingham Palace, the Queen’s London residence, is open to the public for a limited time every summer.
Gretta Schifano blogs at Mums Do Travel where she will bring you monthly updates on family things to do in London all summer.
