Damn, September already. Back to work, back to school, back to routine, back to run of the mill, back to overcoats, back to mist, back to disturbingly early sunsets, back to the preliminary fringes of bloody Christmas. But never fear, because September's a great month for getting out and joining in with events in London. It's like the capital's Chief Scheduler has decreed a last flurry of activities and happenings before the frost rolls in for October, and we're all invited. Here's my weekend by weekend guide to free September delights, because it's never too soon to plan ahead.
Weekend 1: September 6/7 » West London Literary Festival (Sat, Sun): Andrew Motion, Richard Briers and some other authory types talk about books. In Acton. » Bikejam (Sun, 10:30-3:30): Kicking off the Tour of Britain with a cyclingfest in Tower Gardens. » Regent's Street Festival (Sun, noon-8): A pedestrianised day with street performers and food stalls, for those who like their sponsored entertainment to be very close to some expensive shops.
Weekend 2: September 13/14 » Heritage Open Days (Sat, Sun): 100s of buildings that aren't usually open, are open. Most of them are outside London - the Home Counties are swarming - but there are plenty open in Kingston (which is spending the weekend pretending it's in Surrey). » East London Heritage Trails Weekend (Sat, Sun): Explore a wealth of interesting historic buildings in Tower Hamlets, many of them little known and rarely open to the public. A brand new free 74-page colour guidebook is now available from libraries (or downloadable here). » Bermondsey Street Festival (Sat, noon-5): Food, Fashion, Film and Fun (plus Zandra Rhodes and a dog show). » The Great River Race (Sat, 2-5): A spectacular paddle down the Thames from Richmond to Greenwich. » The Mayor's Thames Festival (Sat & Sun, noon-10): I can't see Boris sponsoring this expensive South Bank shindig next year, so get along and enjoy the extensive programme of rammed riverside entertainment while you still can. » Green Chain Walking Festival (continues until next weekend): Ten guided walks along the ten sections of the Green Chain (for all those of you who've always wanted to walk to Erith). » London Design Festival (continues until next weekend): Hundreds of design-ish events across the capital, which might be fascinating but quite frankly the website is an unmanageable database of highlight-free information and I'm not sure I can be bothered to plough through it.
Weekend 3: September 20/21 » Open House London (Sat, Sun): The grand-daddy of architectural festivals, with hundreds of weird and wonderful buildings throwing open their doors across the capital. Alas, no Gherkin this year (and most of the really special events are already fully booked). Be there, or regret it for the next 52 weeks. » New Designers Selection (Sat, Sun): 50 bright young things exhibit their finest new wares (ho hum) at Village Underground (the tube carriages on a Shoreditch rooftop, woo hoo!). » London Freewheel (Sun): Family friendly cycling event, aimed at the less confident rider, as all four-wheeled traffic evacuates the roads between Buckingham Palace and the Tower.
Weekend 4: September 27/28 » Hackney Wick Festival (Sat, noon-5): Arts-inspired fete celebrating local produce. » Great Gorilla Run (Sat): Dress up as a gorilla and run 7km to raise money for charity (or just come along and watch sweaty apes knackering themselves out). » 2012 Open Weekend (Sat, Sun): An weekend of arty activities to kick off London 2012's four year Cultural Olympiad (good luck trying to unearth some events from their online database). » Dig for Victory Harvest Fair (Sat, Sun, 11-4): End-of-season harvest-based arts and crafts (and a petting zoo) at the allotment in St James' Park. » Autumn Ambles (Sat, Sun): Guided walks around London's strategic footpath network. Enjoy peripheral bits of the capital you'd never normally dream of visiting. Recommended. » Open Rehearsal (Sat, Sun): Go behind the scenes at a variety of top quality cultural venues. A bit of class, this. » Thames Barrier Closure (Sun, 7-5): Annual all-day maintenance closure (peaking around high tide at 1:30pm). Come and see water piled up on one side only... while it's only a practice.
