Rotherhithe / Bermondsey
Surrey Docks Farm · Photo: User:Steven Walling
Feed the goats at a riverside city farm, climb a man-made hill on an old dock for a free view across London, picnic in the woodland strip beside it, then go down the shaft where the Brunels dug the first tunnel under a navigable river. Small, low-cost and away from the crowds.
Farm · 10:00–12:00 (2h)
Free farm with goats, sheep, pigs, cows and beehives; feed bags £1. The Barn coffee shop (9am-5pm) is the place to buy picnic supplies.
An outdoor farm in London.
Photo: User:Steven Walling
Nature & gardens · 12:10–12:45 (35m)
Climb the hill for the view, then explore the ponds and meadow.
A small nature reserve on an infilled dock, with ponds, meadow and scrub, beside a man-made hill you can climb for a free view across London. It joins on to Russia Dock Woodland, a long strip of woods with a playground, so the two make a good free wander.
Photo: tcv.org.uk
Food stop · 12:45–13:30 (45m)
Bring lunch; Stave Hill joins on to Russia Dock Woodland.
Illustrative photo: Tim VanDoren on Unsplash
Museum · 13:45–15:00 (1h15m)
Go down into the original shaft. Under-16s free, adult £10.
An indoor and outdoor museum in Rotherhithe.
Photo: thebrunelmuseum.com
LondonHighgate / Hampstead
Ancient woodland with a big fenced playground in the morning, lunch at a 16th-century house overlooking a hillside park, and an afternoon at Kenwood among Rembrandts and sweeping lawns that run down to the Heath. Free from start to finish.
Highgate Wood → Waterlow Park → Lauderdale House → Kenwood
LondonWalthamstow / Tottenham
Reservoir paths, bird hides and herons in the morning, lunch in the cafe inside an old engine house, then a short walk to Markfield Park where volunteers fire up a huge Victorian beam engine on steaming days. Free all day, and built around the engine's open Sundays.
Walthamstow Wetlands → Markfield Beam Engine and Museum
LondonWestminster / South Bank / West End
A day in the middle of London that costs nothing but your packed lunch: a Thames-themed playground by Parliament, the timber playground behind the London Eye, a picnic in the National Gallery's family space, the Covent Garden street performers and a hidden wildlife garden.
Horseferry Playground → Jubilee Gardens Playground → The National Gallery → Covent Garden Market and Piazza + 1 more
