🦊 London's Golden Hour

Morning, London! Happy Thursday. Autumn’s easing in like a polite guest. Mild weather, golden light and just enough breeze to make you reconsider your jacket on the school run. London, you’re being very gentle with us this year.

All this while trees start turning orange, pumpkin patches open up and Halloween starts getting ready. Supermarkets are going all-in and I’ve already spotted a few early trendsetters in the neighbourhood getting their decorations up. As promised, there’s a big Halloween special further down with events, pumpkin spots, and general spooky chaos. Perfect timing for the upcoming half-term.

Also, for those who asked, yes, I did make it to Oasis in the end! Very good fun. Took me right back. Eardrums still recovering.

Let’s dive in.

. LONDON SNIPPETS .
Bits that caught our eye

🌿 Tate Britain Is Getting a Garden Glow Up. Tate Britain is trading grey paving for green vibes with a big new makeover. The Millbank entrance will soon feature Mediterranean and East Asian inspired gardens, a pond, more café seating and a brand new garden classroom for school groups and community workshops. Basically, art and nature are teaming up and it might be the most peaceful way to enter a London museum since ever. Full story

🧪 Breaking Bad Meets the Diplodocus. Bryan Cranston is heading to the Natural History Museum for one night only to chat science, storytelling and the chemistry behind Walter White. He’ll be joined by mineralogist Alan Hart on 24 November for Sing for Science: The Chemistry of Breaking Bad. Fossils, meth labs and Emmy-winning TV; name a more unexpected trio. Full story

🍴 Tower Bridge Gets a Tasty New Neighbour. Another food hall is landing in London, this time just steps from Tower Bridge. TBC London will host 13 vendors under one very sustainable roof. Full story

. CASUAL EINSTEIN .
2 for 1: Wow your kid, and outsmart the other parents

Fun Fact: You can smell fear. Well, kind of. 👃😨 Sweat from stressed people carries chemical signals that others can subconsciously pick up. Your nose knows more than you think.

London Fact: The London Eye skips capsule number 13. 🎡🔢 It jumps straight from 12 to 14, because apparently even a 135-metre-high glass pod has limits when it comes to superstition. Not ideal vibes for a slow spin above the Thames.

. EVENTS SCOOP .
What’s on this week?

🎸 The Strings Club Half Term camp @ Various locations
Date & Loc: Oct 27-31, across London
Five-star rated holiday camps. Packed with music, creativity, and proper screen-free fun. Tip: Use Code NEWCUS10
Age: 4–11yo | Info

🤼 Dweeb-A-Mania @ Polka Theatre
Date & Loc: Oct 8–Nov 9, Wimbledon SW19
Mega-nerds Kemi and Norah crash a wrestling-themed party by becoming champion wrestlers themselves. Expect flying kicks, fake blood and big laughs in this punchy new comedy about being proudly different.
Age: 8–13yo | Price: from £11 | Info

🧛 Dracula: The Bloody Truth @ Lyric Hammersmith
Date & Loc: Oct 9-11, Hammersmith W6
A chaotic comedy take on Bram Stoker’s classic, as Professor Van Helsing desperately attempts to set the record straight with the help of an unprepared amateur cast.
Age: 13+ | Price: £10 | Info

🐻 Paddington at Westfield @ Westfield London
Date & Loc: Oct 9-11, Shepherd’s Bush W12
Paddington Bear comes to Westfield with live appearances, themed activities and plenty of photo ops. A family shopping trip just got much cuddlier.
Age: Everyone | Price: no cost | Info

🎶 Singing & Story Sessions @ London Transport Museum
Date & Loc: Oct 10 (Fri), Covent Garden WC2E
Combine song, stories and a short craft in a transport-themed setting.
Age: Under 5s | Price: no cost (with museum adm.) | Info

🎨 Mini Play for Babies @ Young V&A
Date & Loc: Oct 10 (Fri), Bethnal Green E2
A sensory play session just for babies and caregivers, with soft textures, gentle sound and creative play inspired by the Play Gallery.
Age: Under 1 | Price: £15 | Info

🏡 Evim (My Home) @ Half Moon Theatre
Date & Loc: Oct 10–11, Limehouse E1
A magical non-verbal dance theatre inspired by Rumi and the whirling dervishes. Three wanderers twirl and whirl in search of a place to call home, followed by a stay-and-play session.
Age: 2–7yo | Price: £9 | Info

⛴️ Hats Ahoy! @ Tower Bridge
Date & Loc: Oct 11 (Sat), Tower Hill SE1
Make your own sailor’s hat in this drop-in craft session, inspired by the 800 ships that pass under Tower Bridge each year. Family activities are free with entry and come with a six-month pass for future sessions.
Age: 6–10yo (all welcome) | Price: no cost (with adm.) | Info

🦖 Dawnosaurs @ Natural History Museum
Date & Loc: Oct 11 (Sat), South Kensington SW7
A relaxed early-morning opening of the museum for children with autism and other sensory needs. Explore the galleries with fewer visitors, softer lighting and plenty of support.
Age: 5–15yo | Price: no cost (book. req) | Info

🎭 Baby Broadway Concert @ Woolwich Works
Date & Loc: Oct 11 (Sat), Woolwich SE18
Sing along to West End hits and film favourites in this interactive family concert. Expect bubbles, puppets and plenty of tunes for little ones and grown-ups alike.
Age: 0–7yo | Price: from £11 | Info

🕸️ Anansi & The Lost Sun @ Puppet Theatre Barge
Date & Loc: Oct 11 (Sat), Little Venice W9
A West African tale retold with puppetry, spoken word and traditional music. Anansi the trickster takes on Lion, Monkey and Eagle in the quest to bring back the sun.
Age: 3+ | Price: from £12 | Info

✨ Water Lantern Festival @ Clapham Common
Date & Loc: Oct 11-12, Clapham Common
An enchanting evening where families decorate and release lanterns across the water. Food trucks, live music and a glowing, communal night to remember.
Age: Everyone | Price: £24 | Info

🎨 Minny Stynker @ Lyric Theatre
Date & Loc: Oct 11 (Sat), Hammersmith W6
When Kit moves to a strange new city, his doodles come to life and lead him on a wild adventure. A mix of live theatre and magical projection mapping where bedrooms turn to forests and schools into solar systems.
Age: 3–8yo | Price: £10 | Info

🎶 Storytelling & Music @ Royal Albert Hall
Date & Loc: Oct 14 (Tue), South Kensington SW7
Interactive sessions blending music and storytelling in the iconic Elgar Room. Designed for young children to sing, move and join in the fun.
Age: 0–4yo | Price: from £6 | Info

🎶 Peter Doig: House of Music @ Serpentine South Gallery
Date & Loc: Oct 10–Feb 8, Hyde Park W2
A multi-sensory exhibition exploring the connection between painting, music and memory. Step into a gallery transformed into a listening space with rare analogue sound systems, vinyl from Doig’s personal archive and live Sunday sessions featuring special guests like Brian Eno and Linton Kwesi Johnson.
Age: Everyone | Price: no cost (book. rec) | Info

💪 Grand Sumo Tournament @ Royal Albert Hall
Date & Loc: Oct 15-19, South Kensington SW7
Ok obviously not for everyone and very expensive, but might be useful for someone. The drama of Japanese sumo returns to the Royal Albert Hall. Witness traditional rituals, thundering bouts and incredible athletic skill up close.
Age: 8+ | Price: from £250 | Info

🦢 The Ugly Duckling @ Jacksons Lane
Date & Loc: Oct 19 (Sun), Highgate N6
Let’s All Dance Ballet Company brings the classic tale to life through colourful costumes and expressive movement. A gentle, funny story about self-acceptance and finding where you belong.
Age: 2–12yo | Price: £14 | Info

🩰 Family Sundays @ Royal Opera House
Date & Loc: Sundays from Oct 26, Covent Garden WC2E
Discover opera, ballet and backstage magic through hands-on creative activities, workshops and themed fun in the heart of the Royal Opera House. A great intro for curious kids and their grown-ups.
Age: Everyone | Price: from £10 | Info

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. HALLOWEEN SPECIAL .
October turns Orange

🌲 Halloween Trail @ Priory Farm Discovery Land
Date & Loc: Oct 9–Nov 2, Redhill RH1
Follow a spooky woodland trail, ride tractors to the pumpkin fields and meet cheeky scarecrows along the way.
Price: from £9.50 | Info

🦇 Howl’o’ween @ Chessington World of Adventures
Date & Loc: Oct 9–Nov 2, Chessington KT9
Rides at dusk, scare zones, spooky shows and the Enchanted Hollow trick-or-treat trail. All the fun of Halloween with a side of Haribo.
Price: from £34 | Info

🪄 Dark Arts @ Warner Bros. Studio Tour
Date & Loc: Oct 9–Nov 9, Watford WD25
Enter the wizarding world with floating pumpkins in the Great Hall, wand-duelling classes, and eerie encounters in the Forbidden Forest. A Halloween highlight for Potter fans.
Price: from £50 | Info

🎢 Brick or Treat @ LEGOLAND Windsor
Date & Loc: Oct 9–Nov 1, Windsor SL4
Lord Vampyre’s House Party returns with trick-or-treat stops, spooky LEGO® builds and dance parties for little ghouls.
Price: from £34 | Info

🎃 Pumpkin Festival @ Willows Activity Farm
Date & Loc: Oct 11–31, St Albans AL4
Pumpkin picking, trails and photo ops in the colourful Gourds Grotto.
Price: from £20 | Info

🎃 Halloween @ Kew Gardens
Date & Loc: Oct 17–Nov 2, Richmond TW9
Kew Gardens transforms after dark into a ghostly, glowing adventure with haunted woods, flickering pumpkins, and eerie fairgrounds. Toast marshmallows and wander through neon cobwebs and beastly bats.
Price: from £16.50 | Info

💀 Bones & Giggles Trail @ Hever Castle
Date & Loc: Oct 18–26, Edenbridge TN8
Spot skeletons around the castle, craft creepy keepsakes and join storytellers for spooky tales.
Price: from £12 | Info

👻 Halloween @ Kenwood House
Date & Loc: Oct 25–Nov 2, Hampstead NW3
Explore Kenwood’s picturesque grounds on a spine-tingling Halloween trail. Follow clues, uncover ghostly stories, and discover the mansion’s haunting past in this family-friendly adventure.
Price: from £10 | Info

👻 Hobble’ween @ Hobbledown Heath
Date & Loc: Oct 25–Nov 2, Hounslow TW14
A week of Halloween-themed performances, trails, crafts and a monster parade at the adventure park. Pumpkin Patch too.
Price: from £17.50 | Info

🏰 Halloween @ Hampton Court Palace
Date & Loc: Oct 25–Nov 2, East Molesey KT8
Haunted trails, ghostly projections and eerie soundscapes fill Henry VIII’s palace. Keep an eye out for spirits in the Great Hall.
Price: | Info

🎩 Witches & Wizards Week @ Bocketts Farm Park
Date & Loc: Oct 25–Nov 2, Leatherhead KT22
Reptile shows, scavenger hunts, creepy crafts and hundreds of pumpkins grown on site.
Price: from £15 | Info

🏰 Halloween Half-Term @ Eltham Palace
Date & Loc: Oct 25–Nov 2, Eltham SE9
Follow creepy clues, play gruesome games and enjoy storytelling in the gardens of this historic palace.
Price: from £10 | Info

🕷️ Hair-Raising Halloween @ Hyde Park Learning Centre
Date & Loc: Oct 28–30, Hyde Park W2
Drop in for free creepy-crawly fun: mystery “feely boxes”, bat hunts and spooky nature trails for little explorers.
Price: no cost | Info

🧙 Super Natural Halloween @ London Wetland Centre
Date & Loc: Oct 25–Nov 2, Barnes SW13
Brew potions, make willow wands and meet marshland creatures in this wild, family-friendly Halloween week.
Price: from £10 | Info

🕸️ Spooktacular @ Capel Manor Gardens
Date & Loc: Oct 25–27, Enfield EN1
A haunted garden trail, creepy creature encounters, crafts and face painting, plus a costume competition.
Price: from £9 | Info

🎃 Pumpkin Trail @ Headstone Manor Museum
Date & Loc: Oct 25–Nov 2, Harrow HA2
Solve clues and spot pumpkins hidden around the historic manor grounds.
Price: no cost | Info

🦇 Halloween Family Fun @ London Zoo
Date & Loc: Oct 25–Nov 2, Regent’s Park NW1
Meet the Zoo’s creepiest creatures, craft a flapping bat, and pick a pumpkin at Boo at the Zoo.
Price: from £20 | Info

🧟 Meet the Monsters! @ Museum of Water & Steam
Date & Loc: Oct 25–Nov 2, Brentford TW8
Steam engines become monsters in this playful half-term takeover. Join the Monster Hunt and Halloween crafts.
Price: from £4 | Info

🎃 Pumpkin Patch & Trick-or-Treat Lane @ Parsons Green
Date & Loc: Oct 25–31, Fulham SW6
Thousands of pumpkins, a haunted house and London’s biggest Trick-or-Treat adventure for kids.
Price: from £6 | Info

🎧 Family Rave @ Big Fish Little Fish
Date & Loc: Oct 26 (Sun), Hackney Wick E3
Foam, bubbles, balloons and disco-house beats with DJ HiFi Sean. Fancy dress encouraged.
Price: from £9.75 | Info

🎟️ Family Bingo: Heroes vs Villains @ Dabbers Social Bingo
Date & Loc: Oct 26 (Sun), Hackney E8
Halloween-themed brunch bingo with drag hosts, silly prizes and fancy-dress fun.
Price: from £17 | Info

🕯️ Halloween Adventure @ Knebworth House
Date & Loc: Oct 28–30, Knebworth SG3
Brave the Terror Tunnel, Hook-a-Pumpkin and mystery challenges to fill your Pumpkin Passport and win a prize.
Price: from £4.50 | Info

🎉 Spooktacular Party @ Chiswick House & Gardens
Date & Loc: Oct 31–Nov 1, Chiswick W4
Face painting, crafts and a disco for mini monsters at this lively half-term party.
Price: £18 (child) / £6 (adult) | Info

💀 Halloween Spectacular @ Chiltern Open Air Museum
Date & Loc: Oct 31 (Fri), Chalfont St Giles HP8
Lantern-lit buildings, woodland walks, fire shows and marshmallow toasting. A perfect Halloween night out.
Price: from £16 | Info

🍬 Trick-or-Treat Trail @ Covent Garden
Date & Loc: Oct (dates TBA), Covent Garden WC2
Follow the spooky trail through Covent Garden collecting treats and uncovering surprises at every stop.
Price: | Info TBA

👉 A few more pumpkin patches:

🎃 Tulleys Pumpkin Farm @ Turners Hill
Date & Loc: Oct 9–Oct 31 (selected dates), Crawley RH10
One of the UK’s biggest pumpkin festivals, growing over a million pumpkins and gourds across 100 acres. Expect photo-ready displays, live roaming entertainment and the evening Pumpkin Nights experience. Info

🎃 Pumpkin Parade @ Garsons Farm
Date & Loc: Oct 9–31, Esher KT10
Pick your perfect pumpkin among enchanting storybook scenes at this covered patch, with games, photo ops and a Children’s Corner for crafts. Info

🎃 Malice in Lavenderland @ Mayfield Secret Lavender Garden
Date & Loc: Oct 9–31, Epsom KT17
A whimsical mix of spooky trail and pumpkin adventure through 15 eerie garden scenes. Includes entry to the Secret Lavender Garden and pumpkin patch. Info

🎃 Pumpkin Picking @ The Pop-Up Farm
Date & Loc: Oct 9–31 (selected dates), Flamstead AL3
Explore 12 acres of pumpkin fields near Whipsnade Zoo, with hay bales to climb, photo spots and snacks from the Pit Stop Café. Info

🎃 Pumpkin Patch @ Stanhill Farm
Date & Loc: Oct 9–30 (selected dates), Dartford DA2
Wheelbarrows at the ready for this huge patch filled with pumpkins of all sizes. Pay per pumpkin or by wheelbarrow — and expect plenty of autumn photo moments. Info

🎃 Pumpkin Week @ Secretts of Milford
Date & Loc: Oct 18–30, Milford GU8
Pick from a colourful patch, decorate biscuits, hop on mini pedal tractors and enjoy BBQ and pumpkin-themed treats at this Surrey farm favourite. Info

. SPREAD THE LOVE .
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