It's a great weekend to visit attractions along the Bakerloo line, so long as you're not travelling by tube.
With passengers advised not to travel due to a strike by train operators, queues are certain to be a lot shorter than usual.
Here are eight Bakerloo-dependent attractions that need your custom, so come on down!
Lambeth North:Imperial War Museum Half term is always a busy time at the IWM, but expect the hordes to fade away as the Bakerloo line becomes inaccessible. The multitudinous galleries will be all yours, rather than having to shuffle slowly through the WW1 experience or continually being obstructed by teenage boys taking selfies with torpedoes. The museum certainly feels a lot larger since its 2014 revamp, possibly because the lower ground floor has been stripped of exhibits to make it easier to see the shop, the cafe and the other shop. But there's still plenty to see in the galleries upstairs, apart from all those at the rear which are closed for a transformational upgrade and all those on the third floor where the next season of exhibitions doesn't open until April. If you've not visited recently, here's your chance. Second closest station: Elephant & Castle (except there's no Northern line service on the Bank branch this weekend so the area'll be a ghost town)
Regent's Park:The Broad Walk This is the next station up the line served only by the Bakerloo, so expect Regent's Park to be a lot quieter than normal this weekend. That's the southeastern non-Zoo corner of the park, where the gardeners have been doing splendid things with bedding plants and the cherry blossom is at springlike levels. There's less to see in the Rose Garden, other than savagely-pruned bushes, but fans of crocuses and daffodils will find the occasional display to enjoy. Second closest station: Great Portland Street (except this has no trains this weekend either, so expect tumbleweed)
Regent's Park:Royal Academy of Music Museum This often overlooked museum overlooks the Marylebone Road and is bolted onto practice rooms used by some of London's most talented musical students. You need to visit today if you want to enjoy 'What a Song and Dance', a celebration of musical theatre, because its eight month run ends at 4pm tonight. See the magnificent display of programme covers, admire costumes from Les Mis and Aladdin, and discover how big numbers require different staging to non-musical shows. Upstairs are the excellent permanent galleries, one devoted to strings, the other to a dozen historic pianos. If you've ever wanted to play a ukulele or listen to what a compact disc sounds like, now is the time. Second closest station: Baker Street (except TfL are strongly advising passengers to avoid Baker Street this weekend, so best not)
Marylebone:Bicester Village The Bakerloo is the only tube line serving Marylebone station, which means Bicester Village shopping mall in Oxfordshire will be impossible to reach this weekend. Normally Asian tourists flood up the Chiltern line in search of branded bargains, but without railhead access they'll no doubt be forced to stay in town and queue for Madame Tussauds instead. Fortunately there aren't many Chinese tourists in London at the moment because of coronavirus, so the economic impact in the shire counties will be no worse than it was expected to be, but that's still cold comfort to Bicester's vacant retailers. Second closest station: Bicester North (except that's also accessed via Marylebone so is no better)
Edgware Road:Lisson Gallery When the weather's damp and grey an art gallery is always an excellent hideaway, in this case for at least a couple of minutes. The Lisson Gallery is a smart split-site 60s throwback, instrumental in the emergence of contemporary art, located one street back from the start of the Marylebone flyover. Behind one press-to-enter door is a modern angular space with room for numerous artworks, but currently displaying just five. Expect one of the staff to keep an extra-close eye on you as you peruse Richard Deacon's twisted wood and giant ridged crisp. Tony Cragg's Stacks may be even frostier across Bell Street, should they deign to answer the buzzer and admit you. Second closest station: Edgware Road (except the entire Circle line is suspended this weekend, so access will be limited)
Edgware Road:Church Street Market This is no fancy millennial hangout, this is an authentic street market serving some of Westminster's least prosperous backstreets. That means seriously cut-price clothing, umpteen stalls selling trays of fruit and the spicy whiff of no-frills streetfood. Join the ladies rifling through piles of smalls and pensioners trolleying provisions home, or nip into one of the adjacent bargain bazaars for unbranded cosmetics or some of Alfie's Antiques. As Time Out once recognised, this is what a genuine London market looks like. Alas without the Bakerloo line to bring the punters in this weekend they're going to have to rely on locals only. Second closest station: (see above)
Warwick Avenue:Little Venice What a sylvan spot this canal basin is, a three-way watery junction overlooked by ritzy stucco townhouses. February perhaps isn't the best time to hunker down on a bench to watch hardly any narrowboats coming and going, but you can always hide away aboard the Waterside Cafe with a cheese and onion panini. The other top floating business is the Puppet Theatre Barge, this weekend putting on The Water Babies fresh from a triumphant season at the Corn Hall in Diss. Let's hope their audience can get there somehow, what with all the best transport connections down. Second closest station: Paddington (but Hammersmith & City line only, and no further east than Baker Street, so maybe don't bother)
Maida Vale:Paddington Recreation Ground History comes thick and fast at this extensive greenspace which this year celebrates its 127th anniversary. Believed to be the earliest public athletic ground in London, it's where Roger Bannister trained before delivering his inaugural four minute mile and also where Bradley Wiggins learned to ride a bike. Both are commemorated by plaques on the pavilion, which looks out towards the cricket pitch that now covers the cinder track. Numerous other sports are playable, and "responsible slacklining is welcome here". With the Bakerloo line out of action expect to find space on the tennis courts and spare machines in the gym, so long as you can find a way to get here. Second closest station: Kilburn Park (except that's equally borked, unless it turns out several Bakerloo line trains are running anyway in which case I apologise for wasting your time)
