If you’ve read my previous blogs you’ll know there heaps of free things to do in London we’ve already tried out!
- London Take Two… First 90 Days!
- London, 90 Days On
- 15 Things to Do in Winter Londonland
- Ted the Dog Has a Sleepover In London
But on this particular week in March/April 2016, we felt so proud of our efforts we had to share them! Here are 6 free things you can do in London.
Charles Bradley Album Launch
This man is incredible. Soul music is not my number one go-to but I was so engaged! Being in the front-row helped and Charles has a way of staring into your soul to get the message across!
The gig was at Rough Trade Sessions in East London. How did we, along with only around 100 others, get tickets? Harry, my partner bought Charles Bradley’s new album which meant we could attend the gig for free.
Graham Norton Show
Again, thanks to Harry we had another free activity for the week lined up! We were audience members for the Graham Norton Show at ITV studios near Waterloo. And to make the experience better, Harry had submitted a red chair story that had been chosen for filming!
The benefits of red chair story selection:
- Getting into the studio before everyone else – and those lines were lonnnnnng!
- A practice and the real thing in the red chair
- Interaction with Graham Norton and the guests (which included Chris Hemsworth and Kirsten Dunst) during the storytelling
Harry was one of seven people invited to tell a red chair story, and then one of four people actually invited into the red chair during filming. Unfortunately only two stories were aired the following night which did not include Harry’s story! Comment on my post if you want to know what the story was!
If you’re interested in being an audience member for the Graham Norton show, go to SRO Audiences
Another Ted the Dog sleepover
Ted is actually Ned. The truth is out! But you’d already know this if you’ve been following my social media on Facebook or Instagram
Who is Ned? He’s an intelligent 3 year old cockapoo full of personality. I wrote about our first meeting and sleepover from his point of view here
How did we meet Ned? Borrowmydoggy brought us together! As a borrower you pay 10 pounds per year for a profile. Worth – every – pound.
We enjoyed breakfast (not free) at a local dog friendly cafe, Cinnamon Village before walking Ned around Hampstead Heath for close to 3 hours (free)! Ned still had energy but we were exhausted! It was a beautiful spring day in London with blue sky but sadly still the need for a warm coat.
We got lucky with Ned, literally the first dog we met from the site! And his owner is a dog trainer! You can watch Nedsta as a puppy two years ago, and some of his tricks here
Live Album Recording – Beardyman and the DreamTeam
Beardyman is a genius. The range of ages in the audience of a place like Electric Brixton said it all really.
Beardyman brought some of his favourite artists together including one of my favourites Bellatrix (an amazing beat boxer) to record an album over a matter of hours! In front of a live audience! Oh and it gets better. They had a red bucket you could put song suggestions in and from that they worked their magic!
Tickets on the door were 20 pounds. While not technically free, there were competitions to win free tickets and cheaper last minute tickets available on the Electric Brixton Facebook page.
Our names were on the guest list so we were lucky enough to attend for free. How? Because Harry was attending as press on behalf of Stimulate Your Soul.
London Palladium
SRO Audiences are currently offering free audience tickets in the London Palladium. The show is a mix of music, comedy and more, and you might even get to see one of your favourite celebrities. Tip – get there early! We got there around 5:15pm and didn’t get in. The show itself wasn’t due to start until around 7:30pm. On the up side if you don’t make it in, you are given priority tickets for another show. It’s very popular so must be good!
Open-Mic Night at Abbey Tavern
Instead of our evening at the London Palladium, we visited our new favourite local pub and by chance it was their open-mic night. So many talented musicians! They had a beat boxer there too! This pub is ahead of the game with a group Cards Against Humanity game every Thursday for 1 pound. Guess where we’ll be next week!
What are your suggestions for free things to do in London?
Great itinerary list you have there! 🙂
If given the opportunity to visit London, I would really go back to this blog link and try to follow what you have done 🙂
If ever I will get a chance to visit london, ill take note of these free things that I could do. Specifically with tye dog. I think that’s awesome. Thanks for sharing:)
Defiantly need a list of free things to do in london as it can get real expensive- ill be checking out the rest of your blog! The Graham Norton show would be amazing!
My sister is going to be studying at LSE in the fall so I am loving every single post about London I see! London is known for being expensive so I can definitely appreciate free things to do 🙂
I’ll be honest, I really dislike London. However, I end up there way more than I want to lol… definitely may have to do some of these free activities next time!
I thought London city is very expensive and nothing comes for free and now its great to hear that there lot to do in London city without spending a penny.And its a really a great list you shared
I love it ! With the prices you have to pay for every cultural activity in London some free ideas are great! I will remember them when I’ll be back to London!
Great free things included in this article! And, indeed, who does not love to hear about free things to do in the world? London is an expensive city, but it also provides numerous free attractions/opportunities. Great list!
I’ve never been to London, but these free things to do certainly seem like a lot of fun. Would definitely love to check out that borrowmydoggy website! So cool. 🙂
Fun ideas! I’ve always wanted to get in to a tv studio audience but have been unsuccessful thus far.
Damn! I wish I’d read this a couple of years ago. I was in London for like 2-3 days, but my friends were living all the way up in Crystal Palace, so I ended up spending more time on the tube than actually exploring the good-old city! I really wanted to do some of the night walking tours. Maybe I have to go to London one more time.
Yes I think so! There are plenty of free activities like walking tours or cheap activity options on Groupon, Wowcher, LivingSocial and other such sites!
Nothing better than a free show. I love SRO audience’s I got to see 8 out of 10 cats being filmed a couple of years ago!
Who doesnt like doing free things, being a budget traveler I really appreciate the efforts you have put in to put together this list1
Thanks Shivansh! I will happily put together more lists for you during my time living in London!
I’ve never been to London, and I am so up to visiting this fantastic city!
This makes me want to go back to London so badly! How fun to be a guest on the Graham Norton Show! I’m very intrigued by borrowmydoggy…
Really funny thing with “borrowmydog”. I have no idea about it! And thank you for your amazing tips, I think I will finally visit London this year.
Yes you definitely should! Especially with summer around the corner!
Loved this post! London is a great place to visit, but I always hesitate to go back since it’s just so expensive. Especially having to change currency when traveling from the rest of Europe. Side note – I can’t believe you can borrow a dog!
Borrowmydog!!! I love it! ahahaha. That is such an awesome concept. I’ve never been to London but the open mic night sounds like something up my alley!
I don’t really understand what is borrowmydoggy?
It is also great that you have dog friendly places, we don’t really have any in Kiev.
Hi Siniciliya! Borrowmydoggy is a website that brings dog owners and dog lovers together to help care for the dog at no cost to the owner. We are so grateful for it!
You can borrow a dog? How weird is that? Yet a really great idea and obviously an enjoyable one! I learned something new today.
The rest of the info is interesting, too and it’s definitely great to have free stuff to do when you’re in London. Thanks for sharing!
Haha wow I’ve never heard of borrowmydoggy that is truly hilarious and brilliant.
London is a very expensive place, its always good to know that you can experience the city with free staff to do. I have never been in an audience for a show. Would love to try it. Its like front row seats for TV behind the scenes.