10 Free Things to do in London
- A Taste of Spain 2008
This is a gourmet festival which happens to be going on in Borough market, near London Bridge. You'll find an abundance of free food samples and the most sparkling Spanish personalities - in the market on June 4 and June 5, 2008. This expose is part of something much bigger which goes by the name of A Taste of Spain 2008. Expect saliva inducing culinary showcases, live cooking demonstrations from top chefs and top notch advice on recipes to take away. The nearest tube stations are London Bridge and Borough.
- London Free Film Festival
The London Free Festival is a great, ongoing, wallet friendly campaign and in June it's bringing you a free outdoor film. If you head to The Scoop outdoor amphitheatre on June 12, 2008 you can watch James McAvoy and Keira Knightly do their thing for free in the film adaptation of Ian McEwan's Atonement. Tickets are given out on a first come, first serve basis, the feature starts at 9.30pm and you need to be in your seats by 9.15pm. The closest tubes stations are London Bridge and Tower Hill.
- Trooping The Colour
We Brits love our Queen so much that we give her two birthdays! One of these party-tastic events will be going on around Buckingham Palace on June 14, 2008. One thousand soldiers, hundreds of musicians and two hundred horses will parade past the monarch – to be inspected and to bring a few patriotic, pomp and circumstance tears to the eyes of the patriotic locals. The whole thing leaves Wellington Barracks at 10am, passes Buckingham Palace and focuses on the Horse Guards Parade at 11pm. You need tickets for that bit but it's free to watch the to and from part, and the RAF are set to do a fly over at 1pm. Check out this month's London Events Guide for more.
- Stoke Fest
Glastonbury tickets cost more than two hundred English pounds but you lucky things can save money, avoid getting muddy and see a whole bunch of great acts for free without having to leave London. Ladies and Gents I give you Stoke Fest on June 8, 2008, between 12pm and 8pm. This gathering of up to 30,000 partiers is set to happen in Clissold Park – Hackney. Expect top international DJs, big name acts, shiny happy famous people, circus troops and the token craft stalls. To get there catch the tube to Angel and jump on the number 73 bus - from just across the road. If you're coming from London Bridge you can hop on the number 141 bus and ride it all the way to the park in about 40 minutes.
- West London Greenfest
This is a little ‘something something' for the environmentally aware in the backpacking crowd. Greenfest is going down on June 15, 2008 and you can find it in Furnival Gardens - in Hammersmith. Present will be fifty environmental groups and Transport for London's superb Sustainable Travel Roadshow. Sustainability is the order of the day and this will be celebrated with great music and fun things for all ages. In other words if you're into eco-living, recycling, cycling and solar powered good times, you'll be into this.
- Carnival De Cuba
From personal experience I can say this is a corker of an event. As a cash strapped Londoner I can also say it's that much sweeter for being free! This bad boy is going on for two days – starting on Saturday June 28, 2008. With enough beer and creative license you can almost imagine you're in Latin America and not Southwark Park. Brace yourself for heated dancing, great music and an all inclusive vibe that permeates everything in a one mile radius. Stars booked for this year include Ricardo Levya and there are dancing and drumming workshops galore! At the end of each day there's a great conga procession - climax too! Bermondsey tube station is your nearest public transport, drop off point.
- West End Live
If you head to the theatrically famous West End of London on June 21 and June 22, 2008, you can sample the best bits of the best shows – without paying a penny. This is the fourth year of West End Live and you can look forward to samples of shows like Chicago, Avenue Q, Dirty Dancing and the Yodel friendly Sound of Music. These thespian fuelled freebies will be happening in Leicester Square and should most certainly not be missed.
- World Naked Bike Ride
I couldn't miss the opportunity to throw this one in there. It's like the dissection part of your high school science class. You know you shouldn't look and that it's kind of gross, but there's a morbid curiosity that somehow ‘over-rides’ your better judgement. You can see this concept in action for your very self on June 14 – when this naked ‘chain’ reaction sets itself in motion from the south-east side of Hyde Park at 3.30pm. Thousands of wobbly bits can then be seen passing Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Bridge, the London Eye, Oxford Street and Park lane before the big finish at Hyde Park Corner. Bodies will be decorated with various statements of protest. Whether people drag their attention to these bits of the bodies is another matter entirely. The nearest tube station is Hyde Park Corner.
- The Cans Festival Tunnel
This almost clever play on words refers to something rather spectacular. International stencil spraying superstar Bansky has gone and done it again. This time however his artistic masterpiece involved a big bunch of other artists, a tunnel that used to smell of urine and fear, and a lot of creativity. Head to Waterloo train and tube station and then make for the tunnel near Leake Street. Nearly every inch of the brickwork in here is now covered in unique art and you can enjoy this for free until September 30, 2008. The temporary floor installations might have gone now but the rest is still worth a look in.
- Save Money By Getting Out of London!
This point might seem like a misfit but allow me to explain. Many of the best budget airlines in the world fly in and out of London's many airports. A certain airline involving the name Ryan is currently offering FREE flights as part of a crazy, positive PR generating sale. You might pay £10 in tax for each free flight, but when you consider how expensive it is to eat, drink and party in the British capital, a £20 flight to Ireland and most of the big cities on the European continent, might well save you money in the long run. Sales like this start and stop all the time so why not give it a look in when you can?
- Rob Savage
