Old Moaner Travel
I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list
London Free: Events
Throughout the year:
​
Ceremony Of The Keys
Tower Of London
Tube: Tower Hill,
DLR: Tower Gateway
Bus: 15, 42, 78, 100 & RV1
Frequency: Daily 21:30
The Ceremony of the Keys is the traditional locking up of the Tower of London and has taken place on each and every night, without fail, for at least 700 years. The importance of securing this fortress for the night is still very relevant because, although the Monarch no longer resides at this royal palace, the Crown Jewels and many other valuables still do!
Tickets are issued free of charge but, due to the popularity of the ceremony, it is necessary to book well in advance, tickets are usually sold out 12 months in advance.
It used to be the case that tickets could only be booked in writing, now they have joined the 21st century and tickets can now only be booked online.
Due to the traditional nature of this event, late arrivals will not be admitted. The ceremony will conclude at 22:05 after which all visitors will be escorted to the exit. There are no toilet or refreshment facilities available. Photography is not permitted during any part of the ceremony.
Changing Of The Guard 1
Buckingham Palace
Tube: Green Park, Victoria, Hyde Park Corner
Bus: 11, 211, C1 & C10
​
Frequency: Daily May – July, alternate days the remainder of the year at 11:30
A spectacular display of pageantry held in the courtyard of Buckingham Palace. This event is popular and to get a good view it is advisable to arrive
well before 11:30
The guard is usually provided by Guardsmen in their distinctive red tunics and bearskin hats but due to operational requirements the guard may sometimes be provided by other regiments or even the Royal Navy or Royal Air Force.
Very occasionally units from Commonwealth countries take turn in Guard Mounting. In May 1998, Canadian soldiers from Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry mounted guard at Buckingham Palace for the first time since the Coronation in 1953.
The ceremony is accompanied by a Guards band. The music played ranges from traditional military marches to songs from films and musicals and even familiar pop songs.
+
When The Queen is in residence, there are four sentries at the front of the building. When she is away there are two.
The changing may be cancelled due to severe weather conditions or State Visits
Changing Of The Guard 2
Horseguards Parade, Whitehall
Tube: Charing Cross, Westminster, St. James’s Park
Bus: 11, 211, C1 & C10
Frequency: Daily 11:00 (10:00 Sundays)
The changing of the mounted guard takes about 30 minutes and whilst not as spectacular as the Buckingham Palace guard change it is still well worth watching. Space is much more restricted than at Buckingham Palace.
An alternative to watching the guard changing at Horse Guards is watching the procession of the mounted divisions, which leaves Hyde Park Barracks at 10:28 (09:28 Sundays). The mounted guard processes via Hyde Park Corner and Constitution Hill, although watching them process through Hyde Park is an especially impressive sight.
Horse Guards Parade actually marks the official entrance to Buckingham and St. James' Palaces, which is why the guard is still mounted there.
Two divisions, the Lifeguards in red tunics and the Blues and Royals in blue tunics share the guard duties.
When The Queen is in residence at Buckingham Palace trumpeters also take part in the ceremony.
Annual Events
​
The Parade
​
Central London
Tube: Green Park, Piccadilly Circus, Charing Cross, Westminster
Bus: Many
Frequency: New Year’s Day 11:45 onwards
The New Year’s Day Parade has been taking place for over 25 years and is now the largest New Year’s Day parade in the world with in excess of 10,000 participants from over 20 countries.
Upwards of half a million people line the two mile route which begins on Piccadilly near Brekeley Square, then Piccadilly Circus, Lower Regent Street, Waterloo Place, Pall Mall, Cockspur Street, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall and Parliament Street.
There are grandstands at various points along the route although access to these has to be paid for. The remainder of the route can be lined for free.
Viewing the parade itself is free, there are some associated concerts, which have to be paid for.
​
Chinese New Year
Central London
Tube: Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus, Charing Cross
Bus: 14, 19, 24, 29 38 & 176
Frequency: Sunday before or after the Chinese New Year - late January / early February
Street parades and general jollifications as the Chinese Community celebrate the New Year.
The date of the Chinese New Year is determined by the lunar and solar calendar so the date varies from late January to mid-February.
The highlight of the day is the traditional Chinese Parade which follows a route from Trafalgar Square to Chinatown.
Lion Dances pass through the streets to bring good luck to the households and businesses they visit. The drums, gongs and cymbals that accompany the Lion Dance are used to scare away evil and bad luck these combine to produce a colourful spectacular parade.
Chinatown itself is specially decorated and there are cultural stalls, food and lion dance displays.
​
​
Head Of The River Race / The Boat Race
Putney to Mortlake
Tube: Putney Bridge
Bus: many
Frequency: March / April (exact date and time depends on tides) Head of River in 2020 - 21st March 14:45, Boat Race in 2020 - 29th March 15:45
Most have heard of the University Boat Race staged between Putney and Mortlake, which usually takes place in April. Popular as it is the Boat Race has only two teams, whereas the Head Of The River Race has up to 400 boats competing in an event staged in March.
Due to the large number of competing boats the teams set off at ten second intervals meaning it can take up to an hour and a half for all the boats to set off.
Each boat is timed over the just over four mile course but with the staggered starts the winner will not be clear until the very end.
Vantage points are anywhere along the Thames between Putney and Mortlake but Chiswick Bridge is very popular for the Head Of The River race as it affords a view of all the boats congregating at the start in a very confined area.
​
London Marathon
Central London
Tube: many
Bus: many (although many routes are diverted or stopped)
Frequency: April (26th in 2018)
If the thought of running or even walking 26 miles is too much to bear then why not go along as a spectator.
Up to half a million line the route in what is a great party atmosphere, in a race which attracts not only the top elite athletes but tens of thousands of fun runners. From decent club runners to fun runners, many not content with facing the enduring distance but doing so in often impractical fancy dress outfits.
Bands line the routes and there is a real carnival feeling.
​
Canal Cavalcade
Little Venice
Tube: Warwick Avenue
Bus: 6, 16, 18, 46, 98, 159, 187, 332 & 414
Frequency: Usually May Day Bank Holiday weekend (10:00 – 18:00 plus Sunday evening) but in 2020 it is 2nd & 3rd May
Many boats gather along this stretch of the Grand Union Canal in Little Venice to offer boat trips, stalls, refreshments, live music and children's activities.
Highlights of the event are a boat handling competition, a pageant of decorated boats and a procession of illuminated boats on the Sunday evening (from 8.30pm).
In 2011, 145 boats travelled the waterways system – some from as far away as Ellesmere Port in Cheshire – to join in the fun.
Children had fun floating inside giant bubbles on a pool in ‘Bubble of Fun’ as well as enjoying a traditional Punch and Judy show. The event has expanded to the nearby Rembrandt Gardens
​
​
Trooping The Colour
Horseguards and The Mall
Tube: St James’s Park, Charing Cross, Westminster
Bus: 11, 211, C1 & C10
Frequency: First or second Saturday in June (13th June in 2020)
An annual event where The Queen inspects troops from the Household Division.
There is a charge to watch the event itself from the seating on Horseguards Parade. However seats for the rehearsal, held two or three Saturdays before, are free.
Applications for tickets can be made online click here
On the day, free viewing is possible of the procession as it comes down The Mall.
​
Notting Hill Carnival
​
Notting Hill
Tube: Notting Hill Gate, Ladbroke Grove
Bus: 7, 23, 27, 28, 31, 52, 70, 228, 328 & 452
Frequency: August Bank Holiday weekend
Described as the largest street carnival in Europe with almost a million turning up for a musical celebration of Afro-Caribbean Culture.
The carnival is centred around the northern parts of Portobello Road.
Sunday is Children’s Carnival Day with the main procession taking place on the Monday.
Vibrant colours and music to suit, almost, all tastes.
​
Great River Race
​
River Thames
Tube: many (some areas in Zones 3 & 4)
Frequency: September (date depends on tidal conditions) 5th September in 2020
​
A boating version of the London Marathon with rowing boats of all descriptions(the only rule being racing boats are excluded) set off along a 22 mile course from which will go from the City of London to the Richmond area, or vice versa depending on tidal conditions.
The event attracts all types of boats (including Chinese dragon boats and Hawaiian war canoes) with competitors ranging from the serious to the near incompetent.
It is a great spectacle from anywhere along the banks of the river but the organised chaos at both the start (10:30) and the finish (13:30) is great fun.
​
Thames Festival
River Thames in Central London
Tube: Westminster, Waterloo
Frequency: September
The Thames Festival is London’s largest outdoor arts festival - a spectacular event, free to all, which brings together Londoners of all ages and from all communities to celebrate their city and the River Thames.
The festival commissions new work, and transforms outdoor spaces on and around the River Thames with a mixture of music, dancing, street arts, river races, carnival, pyrotechnics, art installations, massed choirs, food and feasting. The finale is a magical illuminated Night Carnival that winds along the south and north banks of the Thames, followed by a fireworks display fired from the centre of the river itself.
​
State Opening of Parliament
Central London
Tube: Westminster
Bus: 3, 11, 12, 24, 53, 87, 88, 148, 159, 211 & 453
Frequency: Usually October but also after a General Election
The only opportunity, apart from a Coronation, to see The Queen riding in a gilded coach and wearing her crown.
The Queen rides from Buckingham Palace to Westminster and back again afterwards to read the Queens Speech (actually written by the Government) which outlines the Laws the Government plans to introduce in the following year.
Not many people line the route so it offers a great opportunity to get a good view of the Monarch.
There are also gun salutes in both Green Park and at the Tower Of London
​
Lord Mayors Show
Central London
Tube: Bank, St Paul's, Mansion House, Temple, Cannot Street and Blackfriars
Bus: buses are suspended in the City on show day
Frequency: November (14th November in 2020)
The show and procession has been running for 805 years and celebrates the inauguration of the new Lord Mayor Of London.
​
The Show is a joyful and diverse civic parade of over 6000 people, with dozens of marching bands, military detachments, carriages, dance troupes, inflatables, giant contraptions and ceremonial displays. Every year is different and surprising, combining London’s ancient pomp, rowdy patchwork heritage and modern dynamism to create a spectacle unlike anything else in the world.
​
Grandstand seating is available at a cost but the rest of the route can be lined for free.
​
​
Christmas Lights
Oxford Street and Regent Street
Tube: Marble Arch, Bond Street, Oxford Circus and Piccadilly
Frequency: Late November until 6th January
Usually accompanied by a celebrity switch on the lights illuminate Oxford Street and Regent Street although it has to be said the quality of the lights does vary greatly from year to year.
​
They can vary from the stunning and spectacular to the gaudy and tacky.
​
New Year's Eve
Riverside and Trafalgar Square
Tube: Charing Cross, Westminster, Waterloo
Frequency: 31st December
Traditionally London’s New Year Celebrations centred on Trafalgar Square with many people diving into the fountains. Nowadays Trafalgar Square is still popular although the fountains are boarded off to deter revellers.
However since the new millennium the celebrations have focused on the river where there is a spectacular fireworks display at midnight.
It is incredibly popular and you need to be in position by mid-afternoon to grab the best positions but even arriving around nine in the evening you can get spot with a reasonable view.
If you do not like massive crowds it is probably best to stay away and in all honesty if you want to make the most of the fireworks you will probably see more on television. Having said that it is a great atmosphere and one of those events you should experience at least once.
Due to congestion, the area alongside the Thames now has controlled access with a charge of £10 a person.
As a bonus public transport continues running well into the wee small hours and, in recent years at least, it has been free.
​