ALFRESCO LONDON
Everybody loves the sunshine. And open spaces. And alfresco events. And calm cool gardens. Throw in summer evening walks, terrace, dining, outdoor festivals, pleasure cruises, picnics or lingering over a pint by the canal and you may be wondering where we are talking about. The English countryside? Somewhere in the Mediterranean? No, we are talking about London. In summer, London relaxes into sparkling mornings and languid balmy evenings and gets out of the house to make the most of a hopefully glorious English summer. London is many cities all rolled into one and my favourite incarnation is right here, right now. Whether it is classical music or massive rock concerts, theatre festivals or dining out, London and Londoners are doing it alfresco. We all love the sunshine and you’d be crazy not to join us.
One of the wonderful things about this metropolis is that wherever you are, you are only minutes away from a beautiful park, garden, heath or common. That could be the city’s famous Royal Parks, once the private preserve of kings, queens and nobleman but now verdant sun drenched garden playgrounds for you and I. London is almost a third green with 98 nature reserves and 39 public parks. Just one of them, Richmond, could swallow the green spaces of New York and Paris without even noticing. Having just come back from a holiday in the Big Apple, I can reliably confirm there are no herds of wild deer roaming round Central Park. London has its perennial A-list of attractions that no one should miss and the same goes for its parks but you can still check out our less well-known green spaces further afield. My personal favourite is Hampstead Heath, home to outdoor swimming and arguably the best view over the whole city without hiring a helicopter. Or try Greenwich Park’s imperious overview of the Thames and the gleaming spires of Docklands. This is undoubtedly the season to spread your wings beyond Central London and explore the whole city. There is Dulwich Park in south London, Alexandra Park in the north, the fabulous Kew Gardens in the west, Battersea Park across the river from Chelsea or Victoria Park in the East, home to this month’s bumper free RISE festival.
Which reminds me, a London summer is a truly democratic one. You don’t have to book in advance or splash out on tickets to lounge around in the sunshine. You don’t have to have the right outfit or know the right people to wander down the riverbank. Everyone is welcome. Speaking of democracy, why not take a break at one of London’s lidos or bathing pools where anyone and everyone is welcome? Hampstead has both, there is The Serpentine in Hyde Park and travel south to little known Tooting and you’ll find the largest outdoor pool in Europe. On a less egalitarian level, The Berkeley Hotel’s top floor pool has a retractable roof for luxury high-rise swimming with amazing views across the city.
The Thames is an occasionally overlooked London attraction. Far from being an obstacle you cross, it is the thread that binds much of London together and, with the creation of the Thames path, you can walk its banks to your heart’s content. It is home to many of London’s most beautiful buildings and most famous institutions, with everything from The London Eye to The Tower of London, Somerset House to Hampton Court Palace to be found along its picturesque route.
A walk along the South Bank for example passes Shakespeare’s Globe, Tate Modern, The Royal Festival Hall and The Design Museum and on a summer evening is thronged with visitors. It also goes to prove that in summer you don’t have to find what to do, it finds you. The National Theatre takes drama outdoors with its annual explosion of music, theatre and alfresco cabaret, Watch This Space while literally minutes away, Coin Street celebrates its cultural festival. Even our parks and gardens occasionally lose their serene peace and quiet with massive summer rock concert, outdoor theatre and dance celebrations while stately grounds such as Kew or Kenwood host a variety of live music evenings. Even the Tower of London is joining in, hosting the likes of James Brown and Jamie Cullum in the grounds where once walked kings and queens. Upriver in Docklands, Dock Rock brings international superstars such as Van Morrison to the river’s edge.
Maybe it is the onset of global warming but we Londoners came late to the joys of alfresco dining. London was all about steamed puddings and roast dinners, fish and chips or pie and mash, not continental cuisine and chilled white wines as the sun sets. That was then and this is now. Take Terence Conran’s empire at Butler’s Wharf in the shadow of Tower Bridge. Here, his various eateries including Cantina, Pont De La Tour and Butler’s Wharf Chop House, spill out onto riverside summer terraces and offer suitably refreshing fare. Ruth Rogers’ River Café didn’t get its name by accident and Oxo Tower’s excellent top floor restaurant is a panoramic bird’s eye accompaniment to dinner or cocktails.
Summer is also a time to slow down. London is one of the world’s finest but also most hectic cities. We are always rushing around whether that’s to work and back or cramming in as many museums or attractions as we can while we are here. If you don’t stop for a minute you miss much of the personality and pleasure of London and there are few better ways than to dine out literally. There is a brasserie, café or restaurant waiting for you right now around any corner. Chez Gerard’s Opera Terrace overlooks Covent Garden piazza and is a great spot for moules or steak frites, especially when Covent Garden hosts one of its live opera screenings from the neighbouring Royal Opera House. One of my favourite summer spots is the top of the former Barkers of Kensington building which houses an amazing rooftop garden and an excellent restaurant Babylon. Or step off The King’s Road and take a time out at The Bluebird, a former garage forecourt. Heddon Street, a little cobbled oasis of Regent Street goes the whole hog and practically closes the road to dining tables from its various establishments. Since so many London pubs have gone ‘gastro’, beer gardens have become outdoor dining spots or barbecue spaces. The Gun in Docklands, for example, has transformed itself into a Portuguese gastronomic outdoor terrazzo this summer and, across London the days of ‘pub grub’ are but a distant memory.
Any big city’s inhabitants tend to avoid what could be called overly ‘touristy’ trips but I can tell you one thing, if you want the greatest hits of London in an entertaining nutshell, get on one of the open top sightseeing buses as you can’t discover London’s premier highlights any more quickly. The trick is then to decide which of them to explore more thoroughly.
Cliché it may be but this is also true. Walk around London. Take in the sights and sounds. I discovered a totally different New York by walking almost the length of Broadway as I did in its museums and galleries. I think I found something beyond the veneer of its famous attractions and dug a little deeper into the other layers of metropolis. When the sun shines, there is no excuse but to do the same in London and let’s face it, efficient it may be but what view of London do you get on The Underground?
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