< Introducing London

London Through the Year

Family Guide
Vibrant costumes and floats take centre stage at the Notting Hill Carnival.
The best time for a trip to London depends on what your family likes to do. The late spring, summer and early autumn will appeal to families who like being outdoors, while those who are happiest visiting museums and galleries might prefer to come in the winter, when the city is quieter and activities are not so dependent on the weather. Regardless of the elements, every season in London has plenty to recommend it.

Spring

March

Springtime in London, when the blossom is out, can be wonderful for a visit. Although London is among the most temperate parts of the UK and spring is often pleasant, the weather can be unpredictable, chilly and wet, so warm clothes and waterproofs are sensible precautions. From March onwards, outdoor sporting (see Sporting London) and social events are fun for all the family and there is plenty in the calendar around Easter, especially for children.
A charming Oranges and Lemons Service is usually held on the third Thursday in March in St Clement Danes church. Pupils from the local primary school recite the well-known nursery rhyme, and each child is given an orange and a lemon after the service. On 21 March, the Spring Equinox, the first day of the solar New Year, is celebrated at Tower Hill in a historic pagan ceremony with contemporary druids dressed in long white robes.

April

On Good Friday, after an 11am service held at St Bartholomew the Great, Smithfield, hot-cross buns and coins are distributed to local children by the Butterworth Charity. Over the Easter weekend, there are Easter egg hunts at Battersea Park Zoo, Kenwood House, Fenton House, Handel House Museum and Kew Gardens. There is egg painting and rolling at Ham House, and, suitable for older children, the London Bridge Experience stages a gruesome treasure hunt for missing severed heads. There are traditional Easter funfairs on Hampstead Heath and the green opposite Hampton Court, and London Friday Night Skate & Sunday Stroll is a weekly family street-skating event in Hyde Park, aimed at skaters of all levels. Over the May Day bank holiday weekend, Canalway Cavalcade is a colourful occasion in Little Venice, featuring a boat rally, puppet shows and street entertainers. May is traditionally the month of fairs, and on the first Saturday in May, the Punch and Judy Festival is staged in Covent Garden Piazza, with shows from 10:30am–5:30pm. The Covent Garden May Fayre and Puppet Festival is celebrated on the Sunday nearest Punch’s birthday on 9 May. A morning procession is followed by a service in St Paul’s Church, and until 5:30pm there are performances of Punch and Judy shows on the site where, in 1662, Samuel Pepys watched the first ever show staged in England. Over four days at the end of May, gardeners can enjoy the creative gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show at the Royal Hospital Chelsea.
Battersea Park Zoo www.batterseaparkzoo.co.uk
Butterworth Charity www.greatstbarts.com
Chelsea Flower Show www.rhs.org.uk
Covent Garden May Fayre & Puppet Festival www.alternativearts.co.uk
Hampstead Heath funfair www.hampsteadheath.org.uk
Hampton Court funfair www.hamptoncourtfunfair.co.uk
Handel House Museum www.handelhouse.org
Kew Gardens www.kew.org
London Bridge Experience www.thelondonbridgeexperience.com
London Friday Night Skate & Sunday Stroll www.lfns.co.uk
Oranges and Lemons Service www.raf.mod.uk/stclementdanes
Punch & Judy Festival www.thepjf.com

Summer

June

Although never entirely reliable, the weather in summer is usually fine and sunny, with long days and light evenings. People picnic in the parks; restaurants and cafés move their tables outside; and the city takes on an almost Mediterranean feel. There is always plenty to entertain families, from ceremonies (see London’s Ceremonies) and sporting events (see Sporting London to open-air theatre and concerts. The downside is that London can be very hot and crowded during July and August.

July

Summer has arrived when the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition opens in early June. It continues until mid-August and has a reputation as the art world’s most eclectic show. Also on throughout the summer is the City of London Festival, an extensive programme of music, art, films and talks all over the city, and there are open-air plays (some specifically for children) at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre and Shakespeare’s Globe, operas (some for children) in Holland Park, and picnic concerts at Kenwood House. One of the first outdoor events is the London Green Fair in Regent’s Park on the first Sunday in June, with eco-friendly attractions such as a mini farm, willow weaving, sewing classes and wigwam building.
Osterley Weekend, in July, is a village fete featuring a host of activities, including a fun fair, a mini farm, and archery as well as dance and music workshops. There are also a number of stalls to eat and drink at. From mid- to late June, the streets of East London are filled with classical, jazz and contemporary music at the Spitalfields Festival, which includes toddlers’ concerts, guided walks and musical picnics. There is more lively outdoor music, plus dancing and processions at the week-long Greenwich & Docklands International Festival.
In early July, the five-day Hampton Court Flower Show rivals Chelsea for its colour and variety, but is not as crowded. Mid-July sees the start of the ever-popular, two-month-long BBC Promenade Concerts (the “Proms”) at the Royal Albert Hall, founded to bring both classical and modern music to a wider audience. Also in mid-July, Doggett’s Coat and Badge Race dates from 1714 and sees apprentice Watermen of the River Thames in bright costumes rowing single sculls from London Bridge to Chelsea Pier. The summer season culminates with the Caribbean Notting Hill Carnival over August bank-holiday weekend. Europe’s largest carnival, it is musical, vibrant and colourful, with a procession of eye-catching floats and costumes, steel bands and food stalls. Sunday is children’s day.
Family Guide
A colourful and energetic performance of Crazy for You at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
BBC Promenade Concerts www.bbc.co.uk/proms
City of London Festival www.colf.org
Doggett’s Coat and Badge Race www.watermenshall.org
Greenwich & Docklands International Festival www.festival.org
Hampton Court Flower Show www.rhs.org.uk
London Green Fair www.londongreenfair.org
Notting Hill Carnival www.thenottinghillcarnival.com
Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre www.openairtheatre.org
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition www.royalacademy.org.uk
Shakespeare’s Globe www.shakespearesglobe.com
Spitalfields Festival www.spitalfieldsfestival.org.uk

Autumn

September

Once the summer crowds have gone, new shows open in the theatres, the shops restock and autumn days can still be blue-skied and sunny. In early September the Mayor’s Thames Festival combines carnival, street art, music and river events between Westminster and Tower bridges. The highlight is Sunday’s Night Carnival, when performers take to the streets, followed by fireworks on the river. The next Saturday, spectators return to the river to watch as some 300 boats, ranging from Hawaiian canoes to Viking longboats, row the Great River Race. The course is usually from Docklands to Ham in Surrey, and competitors often dress in flamboyant costumes.
In late September, the Pearly Harvest Festival at St Martin-in-the-Fields church is the flagship event of the Pearly calendar, attended by Cockney pearly kings and queens.

October

Visit London between the end of October and the beginning of November and find piles of leaves to kick in the parks and the festivals of Halloween and Bonfire Night.
October Plenty, the autumn harvest festival held in Southwark, has a mix of fun-filled activities on its agenda, ranging from seasonal customs such as apple bobbing and conker fights to festive theatre and delicious food. For Halloween, there are always hair-raising shows at the London Dungeon and London Bridge Experience, and a spine-tingling tunnel ride on a narrowboat, courtesy of the London Canal Museum.

November

Wrap up warm to watch the fireworks celebrating Bonfire Night on or near 5 November. Among the best are those in Bishop’s Park, Ravenscourt Park, Battersea Park and on Blackheath.
If yours is a family of early birds, between sunrise and 8:30am on the first Sunday in November, a splendid collection of vintage, pre-1905 cars leave Hyde Park on the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. Sleepy heads might prefer to catch the cars as they parade down Regent’s Street the day before, from 1–4pm.
As evidence that winter is on its way, mid-November sees the switching on of the Regent Street Christmas Lights and the arrival of Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park (until early Jan), with the city’s largest outdoor ice rink, a circus, toboggan slide and a host of other rides.
Bishop’s Park & Ravenscourt Park www.lbhf.gov.uk
London Bridge Experience www.thelondonbridgeexperience.com
London Canal Museum www.canalmuseum.org.uk
London to Brighton Veteran Car Run www.lbvcr.com
Mayor’s Thames Festival www.thamesfestival.org
Pearly Harvest Festival www.pearlysociety.co.uk
Regent’s Street Christmas Lights www.regentstreetonline.com

Winter

December

From early December, Christmas lights twinkle in the streets, decorations transform shops and public places, and Santa mans his grottoes. Skaters flock to outdoor rinks (see Sporting London) and carol singing and the scent of roasting chestnuts spread through the streets. For families who enjoy culture, there are exhibitions, plays and ballets, and for those who prefer to shop, there are the sales. When it snows, children gather in the parks to toboggan and make snowmen. The downside is that transport tends to grind to a halt, and the snow quickly turns to slush.
If your children are aching for a glimpse of Father Christmas, take them to visit him in one of Santa’s Grottoes in Harrods, Selfridges, Hamleys, Kew Gardens or Canary Wharf. On the first Thursday in December, there is a Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony to switch on the 500 lights that decorate the gigantic Norwegian spruce in Trafalgar Square. The event kicks off at 6pm with carol singing, and the lights are switched on at 6:30pm. Carols are sung beneath the tree most evenings in the run-up to Christmas, and there are also carol concerts at the Royal Albert Hall and the Horniman Museum and carol services at many London churches. Magical candlelit services are held at St Mary-at-Hill, Southwark Cathedral and All Hallows-by-the-Tower.
A pre-Christmas treat for horse and dog lovers, the week-long London International Horse Show is held at Olympia in mid-December. Highlights include show jumping and dressage competitions, a Shetland pony race and dog agility and jumping events. Christmas Day is quiet in London, but there is a tremendous celebration on New Year’s Eve with midnight fireworks at the London Eye (shown on giant screens in Trafalgar and Parliament Squares).

January

The following day, more than 10,000 performers take part in the New Year’s Day Parade from Piccadilly to Parliament Square from noon–3pm. There is a carnival atmosphere, with steel and marching bands, clowns, jugglers and classic cars and motorbikes.
Gasp at the impressive speed and skills of the sculptors at the London Ice Sculpting Festival in Canada Square Park in mid-January. In late January or early February, Chinese New Year is a wonderfully colourful and noisy Chinatown event, accompanied by dancing dragons, lanterns, flags, torches, food and firecrackers.
Family Guide
Performers in lion costumes dance on podiums in Trafalgar Square to celebrate Chinese New Year.
Carol services: All Hallows-by-the-Tower www.ahbtt.org.uk
Horniman Museum www.horniman.ac.uk
Royal Albert Hall www.royalalberthall.com
St Mary-at-Hill www.stmary-at-hill.org
Chinese New Year www.chinatownlondon.org
London Ice Sculpting Festival www.londonicesculptingfestival.co.uk
London International Horse Show www.olympiahorseshow.com
New Year’s Day Parade www.londonparade.co.uk
Santa’s Grottoes: Canary Wharf www.mycanarywharf.com
Kew Gardens www.kew.org

Public holidays

New Year’s Day 1 Jan
Good Friday Mar/Apr
Easter Monday Mar/Apr
May Day first Mon in May
Spring Bank Holiday last Mon in May
August Bank Holiday last Mon in Aug
Christmas Day 25 Dec
Boxing Day 26 Dec