Your definitive list of things to do for an enchanting autumn in leaf-blown London
As the leaves start to fall and the days start to darken, your heart might be sinking as autumn comes calling. But fret not, there are myriad activities to stimulate your senses as the cold sets in.
Midnight Apothecary
If sitting round a fire pit while toasting marshmallows and sipping cocktails tickles your fancy, then the Midnight Apothecary is for you. This hidden wonder was once a neglected rooftop garden above Brunel’s Thames Tunnel Museum. It has been transformed into a community potager garden with vegetables, herbs and flowers. The garden hosts the Midnight Apothecary all year round, which specialises in preparing botanical cocktails. The locally sourced food and drink menus are seasonal and use ingredients grown from the rooftop garden. Don’t forget to gulp down as many free toasted marshmallows as you can! The £5 ticket includes admission to the roof garden, with the opportunity to explore Brunel's cavernous underground Grand Entrance Hall beneath.
The Midnight Apothecary is at the Brunel Museum, Railway Avenue, London, SE16 4LF.
Soane Lates at Sir John Soane’s Museum
If you have never been to the John Soane’s Museum then you're in for a treat. This 19th-century townhouse was owned by eminent architect John Soane and is kept in pristine condition just as he left it almost 180 years ago. The house exhibits his incredible collection of curiosities, artefacts, sculptures, Hogarth paintings and over 30,000 architectural drawings. The museum has curated Soane Lates, a series of events where you can visit the house in the dark of night - sure to be the most atmospheric thing you do this autumn.
Sir John Soane's Museum is at 13 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3BP.
London Transport Museum: Hidden London
You may have heard urban myths about secret pathways, closed off tunnels and dilapidated tube stations hidden within the warren of the London Underground. Now you can discover these little known and rarely seen sites beneath London’s hustle and bustle with London Transport Museum’s guided tours. Each Hidden London expedition explores a different site. Dive down into the Subterranean Shelter in Clapham South where Londoners sought shelter in the Blitz, as did hopeful Caribbean migrants arriving on the Empire Windrush, or wander through the winding narrow tunnels of Churchill’s Secret Station underneath Mayfair, a station integral to winning WW2 when it was covertly transformed into the Railway Executive Committee's bombproof headquarters.
Tickets for the Hidden London tours by the London Transport Museum can be booked here.
Chocolate Meditation and Mindfulness at The Plant Academy
Does just thinking about chocolate relax you? Then head to the Plant Academy for a mind food experience like no other. This workshop will see you learn how to make delicious chocolate hands-on, and using making the chocolate as 'a tool to take time for yourself'. You'll be taught some mindfulness techniques, take part in a chilled-out meditation session, and scoffing some plant-based chocolate-themed snacks. Aaand, breathe.
The Plant Academy, 24th October 2019, London, £45
ROUNDABOUT Festival
Grab a hot chocolate and get yourself to some good theatre shows for pennies this autumn at Roundabout Festival, which is taking place in the Theatre Square in front of Theatre Royal Stratford East this October. Tickets are a steal at £10 for the shows - three Edinburgh transfers from Stratford East and Paines Plough, including On The Other Hand, We're Happy, a touching tale about a dad meeting his adopted daughter and her birth mother for the first time, as well as an additional programme curated by Stratford East including Black Girls Book Club and Queerstory: The Musical.
ROUNDABOUT Festival, Theatre Royal Stratford East, 10 - 26 October 2019