While the leaves turn
Things to do in London this autumn
Autumn is when London stops performing and gets on with it. The parks are the best they will be all year, the deer are rutting in Richmond, there is fungi in Epping Forest, and everything that spent August queuing on a pavement has moved indoors where it is warm.
Here is what is worth doing between the equinox and the first proper cold snap — bonfire night and the Lord Mayor's Show, walks with something at the end of them, and the indoor half of the season: museum lates, supper clubs, life drawing and a pub quiz.
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Walk among 600 free-roaming deer2,500-acre royal park with 600 free-roaming red and fallow deer, Pen Ponds and long open walks.
Supper club (Eatwith etc.)Eat at a host's table - book via platforms like Eatwith. Great for meeting people; prices vary by host (~£40-70pp). Confirm dietary needs when booking.
Pottery wheel taster – Turning EarthTurning Earth: open-access ceramics studios at Hoxton, Leyton & Highgate (Highgate is North London, 5 min from the Tube). Beginner courses, 2-hr private tasters, and gym-style monthly membership once you've done a course. Book online. Hoxton E2 is the original open-access studio; other sites at Leyton E10 (the largest) and Highgate N6.
Ghost / Jack the Ripper walkEvening guided spooky history walks
Get lost in 6,000 acres of ancient forestStarting point for walks in the 6,000-acre ancient forest on London's north-east edge, run by the Epping Forest Heritage Trust.The Comedy StoreUK's most iconic club; book ahead
Draughts board-game cafe100s of games + game gurus; small cover. Original site is Acton Mews E8; second branch at Waterloo SE1.Foraging walk – Epping ForestAncient woodland; mushrooms in autumn
Late-night museum latesAdults-only evening events w/ drinks
Cold-water sauna + dip clubWood-fired sauna then cold dipLife drawing drop-inCheap untutored sessions at pubs & studios citywide (~£8-15); just turn up and draw. Materials sometimes provided.
Pick plums and apples on the edge of London78-acre PYO farm on the Kent edge of London with plums, apples and summer veg.
Sofar Sounds secret gigIntimate gigs in secret venues - you book before knowing the line-up or exact location (revealed ~36 hrs before). ~£25-35. Citywide.
Highgate Cemetery tourVictorian garden cemetery on Swain's Lane; Marx, George Michael, Douglas Adams, Christina Rossetti. Advance tickets needed; guided tours access areas you can't see alone.
Move between hot and cold pools by candlelight under the StrandA Georgian townhouse basement turned into candlelit thermal baths — a circuit of pools at different temperatures, with optional massages.
Cross the stepping stones and climb Box HillNational Trust chalk down above the Mole valley, with the Stepping Stones path and walks from two to eight miles.
Pub quiz circuitMost pubs run weekly quizzes; often free
Lord Mayor's ShowFree historic procession + fireworks
Screen-printing – Print Club LondonPrint Club London (Dalston) runs screen-printing day & 2-day workshops; learn the process & take home prints. Book ahead.
Kew GardensWorld-class botanic gardens; annual pass greatSea Shanty Festival, Greenwich (annual, Nov)All-day festival under the Cutty Sark; learn-a-shanty sessions
Mudlarking foreshore tour (Thames Explorer Trust)Guided foreshore session - no permit needed because you don't keep finds. Family-friendly. Foreshore steps - not step-free. ~2 hrs.Forest bathing (shinrin-yoku)Guided slow sensory woodland walks (shinrin-yoku) in London's woods & big parks. ~1.5-2 hrs; book a session.
Chiltern Hills (Ivinghoe Beacon)Train Euston to Tring (~40 min) or Marylebone to Wendover; walk up to the Beacon on the Ridgeway. Free. Few facilities - bring water.Film Africa (BFI / Royal African Society)Annual festival of African & diaspora cinema (Nov) from the Royal African Society; talks & Q&As. Book ahead.
Stargazing evening sessionAstronomy evenings after dark
Walk a Chiltern hilltop with a Gruffalo in itForestry England woodland in the Chilterns with waymarked walking trails, a Gruffalo sculpture trail, a cycle trail and a Go Ape.
Brompton Cemetery / Magnificent SevenFree atmospheric Victorian cemetery walks. Brompton Cemetery SW10 is the most central of the Magnificent Seven; the others are Highgate N6, Kensal Green W10, Nunhead SE15, Abney Park N16, Tower Hamlets E3 and West Norwood SE27.
Join a Deaf social clubRemark!'s Remarkable Club meets Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2pm–5pm, at the Remark! Lounge, 18 Leather Lane EC1N 7SU. Suggested donation £2.Poker home-game / casual leagueLow-stakes social poker leagues
Acting / drama class for adultsBeginner acting courses; no pressureQuestions people ask
- What's on in London this autumn?
- Bonfire night displays across the first week of November, the Lord Mayor's Show on the second Saturday of the month, Film Africa and the Greenwich Sea Shanty Festival, and museum lates once the evenings draw in.
- Where are the best autumn walks near London?
- Epping Forest for 6,000 acres of ancient woodland, Box Hill and the stepping stones for a chalk ridge with a view, Ivinghoe Beacon in the Chilterns, and Richmond Park for 600 free-roaming deer — the rut runs through September and October, so keep your distance.
- What can you do in London at Halloween?
- Ghost and Jack the Ripper walks through the old City, Highgate Cemetery and the Magnificent Seven graveyards, and stargazing or a night photography walk once it gets properly dark before dinner.
- What is there to do in London when it rains?
- Board-game cafés, museum lates, a pottery wheel taster, life drawing, a pub quiz, or an afternoon moving between hot and cold pools in a candlelit thermal bath.
- Can you still pick your own fruit in autumn?
- Apples and plums, yes — the pick-your-own farms on the edge of London run into October. Strawberries are finished by then, and most farms shut on Mondays, so check the crop list before travelling.
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