I love this little spot on the Southbank between HMS Belfast and Tower Bridge. It's a modern day…read moreamphitheatre where they host a lot of independent events. I've been to the London Penguin Walk: Where we broke the world record for the number of people in penguin suits. Water Stories: a photography exhibition and most recently The Globes Complete Walk of Shakespeare films. Such a lovely place to have events.

The Scoop is a unique space: a little amphitheatre basically carved into the sidewalk. They…read moreroutinely put on free theatre, and that's what drew me here. Right now they are playing a 4.5-hour long adaptation of Wagner's "The Ring of the Nibelung" cycle. The original is a very intense, 15-hour-long German operatic epic that is performed over four nights. This is a much more digestible and family-friendly version of that, and it was done very well -- good writing, pacing, acting, production, all the more impressive because it's outdoor theatre where you inherently have less control of the environment. It's a very well-designed space. Acoustically, its below-street-level placement is an advantage because most of the noise from the street is drowned out, but it's not a very loud area anyway because there are no pubs/bars/restaurants in the immediate vicinity - you'll just occasionally be interrupted by an airplane overhead. The theatre can accommodate quite a lot of people, but the seats are stacked high enough as they go back, so that your view is never obscured by the person in front of you. They let you bring food and drinks (just no glass bottles) into the theatre, so pack a picnic and a few beers! It's not protected at all from the elements though, so if it rains you're kind of screwed. Also, at night it gets chilly, so bring a blanket and layers to put on.

Stow Maries Aerodrome - Airmens' Mess is a great place to go for tea / coffee, breakfasts,…read moreafternoon tea and lunches from sandwiches to changing soups and hot meals. Dine inside or outside. Entry to the site is free with plenty of free car parking. You will turn off of the main road and go along a seamingly never ending single track farm road, but it is worth the ride. Ask for a pink wristband in the museum shop, on the right as you enter the site for free access to the Airmes' Mess. Afterwards why not walk around the conservation area or peep into some of the exhibitions about the 1900's in the huts? Alternatively just sit on one of the many benches around the site and enjoy the peace and quiet. (Turn your phone to silent / off to enjoy the experience even more!) Check website (stowmaries.org.u k) for opening days and times. Enjoy your visit.

Great place with tons of history. The new visitor's center and gift shop are coming along quite…read morewell.

The Almeida is one of the best producing theatres in London. Some of their shows go to the West End…read moreand Broadway. They champion new work as well as bringing fresh perspectives to revivals. The space is very flexible and can be a proscenium, of thrust, or even in the round, whatever is best for that particular play. They don't shy away from controversial plays and musicals, so this is the place to go if you want to be challenged as well as entertained. Tip: When you book seats downstairs it may say restricted view. That's because this is an old venue with poles holding up the balcony. As you can see in the picture there small and in my experience they don't really get in the way. If that bothers you the seats upstairs are excellent.

It was exciting to see that the Almeida is still going strong, and perhaps entering an even more…read moreadventurous phase, when I returned here during a recent re-visit to London. I attended the theatre several times between 2004 and 2007, and the plays offered strong casts (Eileen Atkins and Imelda Staunton were probably the most notable names I saw live) but not especially challenging dramatic fare. This time around in early 2015, the theatre had been transformed into a would-be video game arcade for Mike Bartlett's provocative new play "Game". The audience was seated on specially constructed benches in a square area around the main "stage" (totally reconfigured into a would-be private living room) and voyeuristically urged to follow the plot of the show, which alternated between onstage and a live video feed that was broadcast simultaneously from different areas of the seats. This performance also pushed the boundaries of more traditional theatregoing in that it was offered twice in one night - a great way for the theatre to make some extra money and for the actors and technical staff to flex their muscles. It's clear that other recent Almeida productions have been more dramatically adventurous. Looking forward to keeping an eye on their future output!

We headed here to watch a production of "The Importance of Being Earnest"…read more You book tickets online and when you get to the counter, you are given tokens that "admit one". Seating for our show wasn't numbered. It looks like the seating arrangements can be moved around depending on the production. It's a small theatre, so sound wasn't an issue and great views all around. We were front centre, so we had a brilliant experience. There's a bar downstairs and they have washrooms. (Didn't use either) A word of warning, if your show ends late (10:15 on a Friday night), there's no place in walking distance to grab dinner later. So plan accordingly.

You're unlikely to find this theatre by accident given it's entrance is down an ally-way just off…read morefrom Fleet street/New Bridge street. Uninspiring to look at from the outside, the inside, too, holds back on the glitz and glamour. A couple of soulless corridors link the box office to the bar and the auditorium. The Bridewell doesn't put on large scale productions, it's a small theatre largely used for am-dram performances and the shows of small theatre groups. The auditorium seats around 130 and is quite adaptable. Depending on what performance is being staged at the time the setup is versatile, the seating can be changed and moved around so as the "stage" can be more easily manipulated and configured to suit the director's desires. The problem with this performance space is that the stage/seating areas are separated from the 'backstage' area by curtains only. This means you'll often hear the theatre staff and stagehands shuffling about and working away. Not dreadful but still a distraction. The bar is downstairs and isn't altogether impressive. The air in the bar has a feel and smell to it as that of a damp, concrete storage basement - which is exactly what it is/was. Other events are held down here and a small number of artworks from numerous small-scale temporary exhibits are displayed too. As well as some larger agricultural equipment/furniture. I imagine this is because there just isn't anywhere else to put it, though. All in all, the Bridewell Theatre probably won't impress you but it's theatre's like this that are necessary for grassroots production and, depending on the particular production you see, of course, I'm sure you will find some enjoyment from your visit. TTFN, Ian

Churchill Gardens are gorgeous. You can get to them from off the high street, by the Churchill…read moreTheatre, or from the entrance located near Bromley Parish Church. The gardens are basin shaped with a rabbit warren of paths leading you down to the ponds where you can find duck, geese and some tame but neurotic squirrels. I really enjoy the views from higher up near the entrances; you can see over into the Shortlands area of Bromley. There's a whole load of benches dotted around the gardens and a kind of roman patio area too. This isn't really a picnic place; more of a ramble around spot. Really quaint and pretty.

For a local theatre, this is a great venue. Although ticket prices aren't cheap, you can get a…read morecultured night out and save on train fares and the expense of drinks in London. A huge variety of shows play here, from Christmas pantomimes to the comedy to opera. The seats are comfortable and spacious and the quality of the performances is usually high. Unfortunately, shows aren't on all year round but the website is kept up to date so it's always worth a look when planning a night out. Get on the mailing list for regular updates. Discounts are available for friends of the theatre.

I didn't stay here for long, as I was heading down to the Mela in Croydon, but it was very nice,…read morehot, lovely little plant stall selling lots of strange herbs I'd not encountered (what is grapefruit mint please?) free Supermalt from the malty drinks stand, which is like liquid sweet bovril/horlicks for those not familiar, and free cans of drink at teh entrance as well. Bit gutted i missed out on Jimmy Cliff, but I did see him at the Croydon Festival last year. Worth attending. However it was so loud that I could only stand about ten minutes of music, so I don't know what condition your hearing would be in after eight hours.

If I new anything about web design and hacking I would attempt to add another couple of stars to…read morethis review. Other things I've given five stars are no where near as good as the Rise Festival was. The parks in London make it a city worth living in. They are free and very well kept and I just love them. A place where the alcoholic and the athlete, the child, the gangster and the elderly can all find a bit of room and do their thing. Summer is welcomed into London with a series of free festivals accross its parks, with perhaps the biggest being the Rise festival. The web site states that well over 100,000 people attended and I can well believe it. Having said that it felt much more spacious than Clissold parks' Stokefest a month of so earlier. You could move around at the Rise festival, making it much easier to sample more than one music show - or to go and get beer or food. My favourite barometer for the quality of a festivals organisation is the length of time you have to queue for the toilet. I wasn't so pedantic as to time it, but I would have to say that the wait was always less than ten minutes. Admirable!! Especially compared to the likes of The Notting Hill Carnival (an important part of the London music scene seems to be the ability to keep drinking and dancing whilst your bladder explodes.) Now a free concert like this is never going to attract the likes of Radiohead or Fatboy slim so direct comparisons with music between The Rise Festival and say Hyde Park the week earlier are probably unfair. None of these acts, which I list below, had appeared on my Ipod. CSS Jimmy Cliff Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings Dub Pistols featuring Terry Hall and Rodney P Kitty, Daisy and Lewis Trojan Sound System TY Bassekou Kouyate Yaaba Funk The Aliens But the music I heard, particularly The Aliens and some African dance music on a smaller stage, was excellent stuff. Add to this quality music the fact that you can carry in your own drinks and food, that I was able to walk to the venue, that there were rides and food and interesting cultural things going on - AND IT WAS FREE! - this was just a spectacular day out. Another great thing about this festival was the atmosphere and the general crowd behaviour. People were just friendly and happy. I didn't witness any crowd misbehaviour and I felt that the police were really restrained and respectful in their presence. Unfortunately, I have to delcare that if this event happened in Australia - there would be a lot more drunken idiots. Especially teenagers. The Rise Festival made the headlines because Boris, our Mayor, removed the specific focus of Anti - Racism, with a little last minute meddling. It was apparantly the biggest Anti Racism festival in europe. He changed it to the Celebrate Diversity festival. Now I don't disagree with it neccessarily but I don't see any reason why he would have done that except as a little statement that he can do whatever he wants. First he gets rid of drinking on public transport, then he starts mucking about with festivals. I bet next he will extend areas on the streets where you can't drink and then he will ban drinking in parks, and the free festivals and their special nature will go out with. Londons park festivals, especially The Rise, are wonderful events that bring the community together and reinforce everything that is good about living in the capital.

This place is so cute. It looks tiny from the outside but is packed full of artwork, downstairs and…read moreupstairs. They stock paintings and limited edition prints of book illustrations and have some really nice ones from children's books too. The price range is really varied, the cheapest one was £275 and they went up to £14,000 but most were around £500 mark. If you had some money to invest I'd spend it here. They we're all so beautiful.

It's a small theatre. The setting is initmate. I saw the "All the things you said you never said…read morebefore you thought you could ever say" performance. There is a small cafe at the entrance of the cafe and very affordable. This is a great hang out spot for starving artists or people part of the underground art movement.

I went to this theatre a few days ago for the first time to watch a play. It wasn't easy to find at…read morefirst as it kept being shown further down in a long road on the map, but we managed to find it in the end. The staff at the ticket office couldn't find our booked tickets on the system but they were nice and patient about it until they found it. The cafe area offers good value Caribbean food. I cannot comment on the quality of the food as I only had plantain, which was nice but it always is ;) Then when the play was about to start a person came to the cafe, where we were all waiting, to announce it, and we were scorted through the doors and corridor that took us to the seating area. The theatre as such was two lines of chairs all around a big room, with the stage being the middle part of it all. It had a nice feeling about it, very underground. It probably contributed the fact that I watched a surreal play that day, with interesting drawings on the big walls all around where we were seating. I like this kind of theatres, not the usual ones with the big productions. It all felt very casual and relaxing and I enjoyed it. However, I don't give it any more stars as it also felt that the facilities could be improved a bit. Having said that, I would go back anytime for the right play.