Popular Gardens in Enfield Lock

"Less than an hour from central London, Kew Gardens provides the perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of the city – and of course some Instagram gems. Set over 300 acres and comprised of over 50,000 living plants, this UNESCO World Heritage Site will take you on a captivating journey through a variety of ecosystems. There’s plenty of things to do in Kew Gardens, so set aside at least a few hours, although you could easily turn it into a full day trip from London!"

"Alternatively, if you are not interested in visiting Camden, you could try visiting two of the recommended morning attractions (e.g., Windsor Castle and Kew Gardens). You’ll need to use public transit to reach the morning attractions and to get to Camden but the attractions in Camden are all within walking distance."

"Enjoy the huge outdoor space – 330 acres (134 hectares) – at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. See the peaceful Japanese garden, the amazing trees of the arboretum and explore the stunning glass conservatories. Pack a picnic (or pick up food from one of the restaurants) for the perfect relaxing day out in London."

"What: Sky Garden may be known for its lush greenery (the perfect backdrop for an impromptu photoshoot), but its sprawling views of the capital are also worth a mention. The Sky Pod bar, which isn’t separated from the rest of the space, allows guests to stand around admiring the views or pull up a chair to rest their legs. All the usual drinks can be found here (including a selection of signature cocktails), while the food menu features sharing platters of charcuterie, seafood or dessert."

"Sky Garden pairs epic views with tasty cocktails and an indoors garden, how can you not love that?. Sky Garden has a 360° view all around London and a number of different bars and restaurants inside it. Access to Sky Garden is free but you have to book in advance if you want to skip the queues, don’t worry if you forget about booking, you can still access Sky Garden but you will have to wait a little longer before taking your perfect Instagram shots."

"Frederick John Horniman was quite the hoarder, but with his eclectic collection of natural history specimens, anthropology artefacts and, er, musical instruments now on display, we’ll let him off for that. Among the natural science galleries you’ll find taxidermied animals aplenty – including a hilariously overstuffed walrus – alongside living exhibits in the form of the inhabitants of an aquarium and a butterfly house. 100 London Road, Forest Hill, SE23 3PQ, horniman.ac.uk"

"This eclectic collection of anthropological curios was put together by Frederick Horniman, the son of a successful businessman, who had plenty of money to play with. The museum hosts a fascinating natural history exhibit and a collection of musical instruments from around the world. Horniman Museum © Flickr Neil Turner"

"Hampton Court Palace (fee*) is a former royal palace, originally built in the 16th century for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, a powerful person during the time of King Henry VIII. However, Wolsey would fall out of favor with the king (as most people did) and Henry would confiscate his house and use it as his own palace. The huge Tudor and Baroque style royal palace was used by British monarchs until the 18th century and is now a popular tourist destination. The palace is huge and you could spend all day exploring its many rooms, but luckily the self-guided tours are broken up by themes so you can decide which parts of the palace are of most interest to you. The gardens, the tennis court, and hedge maze are also definitely worth exploring here."

"I’m thinking Windsor Castle, or Hampton Court Palace – both eminently explorable, and easy to reach with a car. If you want to save money on the above attractions, and will be visiting a few, then you should definitely consider investing in a London Pass. Available in 1, 3 and 6 day versions, the savings can really be quite impressive if you plan on visiting a few locations. You can read a full break down on if the London Pass is worth buying here, and buy one yourself here."

"Download the Hampton Court Map to easily navigate around the palace. It is highly recommended to download this Hampton Court Palace Map as it will be handy if you’re doing a self-guided/audio tour of the Palace."

"Built on an old railway line, this garden is yet another community endeavour—filled with trees, shrubs, butterfly bushes and raised beds for growing food!. COVID-19 UPDATE: Dalston Eastern Curve Garden is currently closed to the public. For the latest information, head to their website."

"St Ethelburga, entirely destroyed by an IRA bomb in 1993, is the smallest of the City churches at 56 feet long and 30 feet wide. The parish covered just three acres, an acre more petite than the area covered by the Bank of England. The church had survived since 1390, having been outside the area destroyed by the Great Fire."

"Summer is the best time of year to stop by the Waterlily House, a small, square glasshouse by the Palm House, to see the amazing Santa Cruz waterlilies, lotus flowers and other aquatic plants. The lily pads of the Santa Cruz waterlilies grow up to two metres wide!. Fun fact: the circular pond spans over 10 metres and is dyed black (using a harmless food dye) weekly to stop algae growth"

"The Waterlily House is the hottest and most humid of the houses at Kew and contains a large pond with varieties of water lily, surrounded by a display of economically important heat-loving plants. It closes during the winter months. It was built to house Victoria amazonica, the largest of the water lily family Nymphaeaceae."

"Between Waterloo and Hungerford bridges you can retreat to the landscaped Victoria Embankment Gardens, where you will find an unmatched tranquillity in this tourist area. In the summer recline on deckchairs and take in a bandstand performance."

"This farm is little further out of London, but a whole day of adventure and fun can be enjoyed here, thanks to a huge array of facilities, besides the friendly animals. There’s indoor soft play at the Bundle Barn, an alpine toboggan run, Dino Dig and Splash play area and an adventure playground. Unlike most of the other city farms in London listed, there is a small entry price for this one (£10) but this includes entry to all indoor and outdoor play areas, activities, animals, bird shows and a tractor ride to the dairy farm."

"A post shared by Georgiebd (@georgie.bd) on May 26, 2018 at 10:23am PDT. Cycle along the paths or take a stroll at Lee Valley Regional Park. Stretching 42km (26 miles) along the river Lee, past Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and up to Ware in Hertfordshire, there is plenty of opportunity to spot wildlife, relax or play."

"Another of the top things to do in London at night for free is heading for a night of free laughs at the Top Secret Comedy Club in London’s West End. Top Secret Comedy Clubhosts stand up comedy performances by some of the worlds top comedians. But for those looking for a free night out in London, the unique Comedy Club also offers completely free performances by up and coming comedians or those sampling out new material."

"Thursdays and Saturdays are laughter days at the Comedy Tree. If you happen to be a student, you'll get in for the bargain price of £6 on Thursday too — not bad when you might end up watching the likes of Scott Capurro or Patrick Monahan. One thing we'd like to see more of from these guys though — female comics!"

"The Top Secret Comedy Club attracts the kind of crowd that makes people want to become comedians in the first place. The room is regularly packed to the rafters with a raucous group of joke-lovers… and it’s always a hell of a laugh being amongst them. Find out what’s lined up in the next few months here."

"A unique evening awaits at The Boat Show Comedy Club because it’s not often you’ll spend time watching comedians on the Thames. Located inside a refurbished paddle steamer, the 300-capacity club is located at The Tattershall Castle on Victoria Embankment and sees acts perform every Friday and Saturday night as well as on Tuesdays. Four comedians feature on each bill but you’re unlikely to see the same thing with comics performing no more than around three times a year."

"London's finest floating comedy club has been running for about 12 years now. The venue is a beautifully refurbished paddle steamer, moored permanently opposite the London Eye, on the Embankment near Westminster. The Tattershall Castle is its name, and each show boasts four top comics plus special guests."

"Restaurants Bakeries Dalston. It may be little more than a hole-in-the-wall behind Ridley Road market in Dalston, but Ararat’s Middle Eastern-style flatbreads (they call them ‘naans’) are the stuff of legend and find their way into countless restaurants and shops across town – as well serving the needs of hungry local boozehounds. The action centres around a huge rotating oven and a trestle table where the naans are bagged up (hot ones are wrapped in paper, cold ones come in environmentally friendly plastic bags)."

"This poky bakery on Ridley Road Market does some of the best flatbreads in the whole of London. This is the spot to visit if you’re in the market for a bread that’s wonderfully chewy, easy to tear-and-share, and practically begging to be dragged through a pool of hummus. Affable owner Chaudhry Zafar Iqbal has perfected each and every blistered bread that comes out of Ararat’s intimidating naan oven."

"This tiny operation on Dalston’s thrumming Ridley Road Market serves London’s most outstanding flatbread. Blistered, pillowy, light, soft — the run of adjectives could go on and on — and wrapped with egg, garlic, or finely-minced meat if a quick lunch is needed, nothing else is needed."

"Restaurants Bakeries St James’s. Ole & Steen is legit-Scandi (chef-patrons Ole Kristoffersen and Steen Skallebaek already have 50 outlets back home in Denmark) but the look here is sophisticated, not simple. As for the food, think open sandwiches, blueberry swirls, cinnamon buns, an unmissable cinnamon slice and more."

"If your baked goods style errs more on the side of Scandi, be sure to check out Ole & Steen. The Danish bakers have been serving breads and pastries for over 20 years, starting off with a small bakery in Copenhagen’s bohemian quarter. Head to their various London outposts which span the city, from Canary Wharf to Richmond, to pick up a quintessentially Danish treat."

"Ole & Steen are a Danish bakery that has opened up various locations around Central London. The windows and shelves of the cafe are adorned with tons of Scandinavian pastries, cakes and loaves of rye bread but what you’ll see most people scoffing is their famous cinnamon social. Their cafes have an industrial-inspired interior and are pretty spacious."

"If you've ever opened one of Yotam Ottolenghi's cookbooks, you'll have an idea of what you're in for here. Food is full of color and spices, rooted in the Middle East but open to new ideas, and wines are natural-leaning and sourced from small producers. And of course the most important items: the decadent cakes (one isn't enough. Before you leave, pick up some supplies from the deli: jars of fragrant dukkah and za’atar, plus the lemon and vanilla marmalade."

"The array of cakes and desserts displayed in the windows of Ottolenghi delis across town is awe-inspiring. You can’t really go wrong with the cakes, which change daily, but if you can get it go for a passion fruit meringue tart and the cheesecakes are perfection – we enjoyed a salted caramel and hazelnut one. The Spitalfields location is the biggest Ottolenghi venue."

"If you fancy something a little less sweet (no sprinkles here, thank you very much), make a trip to one of Yotam's four delis around London. They're just as good at homemade jams and chutneys there as they are at swirly-strawberry meringues."