The ianVisits guide to October's unusual events, tours, lectures and exhibitions happening around London.
Wednesday 1st October
Watch the procession of judges in full regalia heading into Westminster Abbey for their annual service.
Starts at 11:30am
More London events on Wednesday 1st October
Thursday 2nd October
A talk about trials of segregated cycle lanes.
12:45pm to 2pm
An exhibition of letters by a Royal Navy submariner.
6pm to 8pm
Free
What role do literature, science and policy play in protecting the planet?
6:30pm to 7:30pm
More London events on Thursday 2nd October
Friday 3rd October
This 90 mins walk follows the footsteps of Oliver Twist and the Artful Dodger on their final leg of their journey into London
All Day
Islington
Displays from Clowns International's Archive are on show in and around the Grimaldi corner of Holy Trinity Church.
12pm to 5pm
Hackney
Hour long tour of the legal Inns of Court includes visits to the Old Hall, Great Hall and Chapel,
2pm to 9pm
Holborn
A talk about the witchcraft trials of 16th- and 17th-century Germany.
Starts at 6:30pm
A film that documents Turner Prize-winning artist Mark Wallinger’s vast, permanent art work across the tube network.
7pm to 8pm
More London events on Friday 3rd October
Saturday 4th October
Over 100 artists will open their houses and studios around the borough of Wandsworth to showcase and sell their work.
All Day
Work with Barn of Barn the Spoon to try your hand at this age old craft and walk away with your very own kitchen spoon.
tba
Olympic Park
£8.50
Annual celebration of all things apple in Fenton's walled gardens and 300 year-old orchard.
11am to 5pm
A site specific art event taking place inside Stratford tube station.
1pm to 4pm
Stratford
Monthly open day at one of London's more unusual, and delightful museums.
2pm to 5pm
Visit one of the Geffrye's 18th-century almshouses which has been fully restored to its original condition,
4pm to 5pm
Bethnal Green
A guided beer tasting and history talk in the surroundings of a Victorian music hall.
7:30pm to 9pm
Louise will be talking about Doctor Who, Eastenders and her theatre roles to MC Chris Collins.
7:30pm to 10pm
Soho North
More London events on Saturday 4th October
Sunday 5th October
Monthly opening of the museum inside the remains of Croydon Airport control tower
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Over 100 artists will open their houses and studios around the borough of Wandsworth to showcase and sell their work.
All Day
A monthly opening at the threatened museum of testing machines -- which includes the original massive machine designed by Kirkaldy.
10am to 4pm
From a secret passage, to a hidden garden, there is much the public doesn't usually see.
Starts at 12:16pm
Islington
More London events on Sunday 5th October
Monday 6th October
Free
The most extensive excavation within the City of London for 20 years revealed internationally significant evidence.
1pm to 2pm
£9.50
Poet in the City presents the finale of a yearlong project celebrating some of the UK's leading poets through fine art.
7pm to 9pm
More London events on Monday 6th October
Tuesday 7th October
The Museum is lit by candlelight on the first Tuesday of each month, from 6 until 9pm.
6pm to 9pm
A general lecture on explosive chemistry, with a focus on fireworks.
Starts at 6:15pm
A talk about how scientific limits constrain what we can know, in everything from astronomy, to particle physics, to our day-to-day activities.
6:30pm to 8pm
Jonathan Manns will shine a spotlight on the increasing pressure on the Green Belt, followed by a presentation.
Starts at 6:30pm
A moderated talk by the former Archbishop and the poet, Wendy Cope.
Starts at 6:30pm
More London events on Tuesday 7th October
Wednesday 8th October
Join Carla to learn the realities of working in mortuaries in the UK & find out how Barts and Sherlock Holmes are connected.
6:30pm to 9pm
How should historians speak truth to power - and why does it matter?
6:30pm to 8pm
£32.00
Cat Vincent takes a look at the origins, evolution and implications of this most modern of monsters.
7:45pm to 10:30am
More London events on Wednesday 8th October
Thursday 9th October
Potential Mayor of London candidate, Christian Wolmar lays out his vision for a truly liveable London.
Starts at 6:30pm
£20.00
An expert panel of the world’s top mountaineers discuss the events leading up to the recent avalanche that claimed the lives of 16 climbing Sherpas.
7pm to 9pm
South Kensington
Two feminist firebrands will discuss the evolution of 21st Century feminist campaigning.
7:30pm to 9pm
Professor Rosemary Ashton will talk about George Eliot’s changing religious views as reflected in her writings.
Starts at 7:30pm
More London events on Thursday 9th October
Friday 10th October
No events are listed for today. Sorry.
More London events on Friday 10th October
Saturday 11th October
Over 100 artists will open their houses and studios around the borough of Wandsworth to showcase and sell their work.
All Day
A weekend of music, talks, arts, crafts and old fashioned family entertainment
All Day
An exhibition looking at changes to the city and the lives of Londoners as the country went to war.
9:30am to 4:45pm
Tours of the church, and chance to climb to the top of the clock tower.
10am to 4pm
Dartford
Free
There'll be classic model railways, experts from the world of steam, food and drink, as well as games, story telling and mini-workshops.
11am to 4pm
Kings Cross
A 75 minute guided walk around the area looking at the history of Brixton market.
Starts at 2:30pm
Stockwell
More London events on Saturday 11th October
Sunday 12th October
Over 100 artists will open their houses and studios around the borough of Wandsworth to showcase and sell their work.
All Day
A weekend of music, talks, arts, crafts and old fashioned family entertainment
All Day
Occasional open day at the Great Barn, once described as the Cathedral of Middlesex.
11am to 4pm
West Drayton
Annual church service held on behalf of the fish traders, and the church is usually decorated with fish nets and displays.
11am to 9pm
City of London
Free
There'll be classic model railways, experts from the world of steam, food and drink, as well as games, story telling and mini-workshops.
11am to 4pm
Kings Cross
Whispers of advertising past are the focus of this walking tour through Stoke Newington, taking in some of London's best ghostsigns
1:20pm to 3:30pm
Stoke Newington
£10.00
A guided walk in the footsteps of Anthony Trollope, one of the greatest novelists of the 19th century,
2pm to 4pm
Strand
More London events on Sunday 12th October
Monday 13th October
A talk about the revolutionaries who lived in the equally revolutionary Isokon Building.
6:30pm to 8pm
More London events on Monday 13th October
Tuesday 14th October
This talk will introduce the work of the National Gallery Scientific Department.
Starts at 6:15pm
Kate Adie reveals the ways in which women's lives changed during World War One
6:30pm to 8pm
John Goldsmith, will bring you up to date on current progress of this, the biggest civil engineering project in Europe.
Starts at 6:30pm
West Drayton
This talk by Thomas Weber will discuss his book Hitler's First War, a radical revision of the period of Hitler's life that is said to have made him.
6:30pm to 8pm
Free
Join pharmacologists from the British Pharmacological Society to find out and discuss the future of drugs.
Starts at 7pm
More London events on Tuesday 14th October
Wednesday 15th October
A talk about the development of rail links to London's airports and their future impact.
Starts at 6:30pm
Holloway
Talk on Henry Muoria, a Kenyan activist involved in anti-colonial campaigns.
8pm to 9pm
Islington
More London events on Wednesday 15th October
Thursday 16th October
A note that The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh will visit the Tower of London.
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A tal;k about the design of the National Theatre's poster advertising campaigns.
2:30pm to 4pm
Southwark
Free
Visit the Royal Veterinary College in Camden for an evening of activities about health in animals and how it relates to our own diets.
4pm to 8pm
Camden
Historian Martyn Cornell will discuss the sources for this event, and how we need to read them in order to reliably describe how and why it happened.
Starts at 6pm
Bloomsbury
A lecture about the war memorials found in churches.
6:15pm to 10pm
£8.00
Guided walk around Westminster on the anniversary of the burning down of Parliament.
6:30pm to 8:15pm
Whitehall
£9.00
Victorian enthusiast Lee Jackson explores the secret life of the Victorian metropolis.
Starts at 7:30pm
More London events on Thursday 16th October
Friday 17th October
Four speakers on the allure of Dracula on the big screen, followed by a screening of a 1958 movie about the vampire lord.
Starts at 6:30pm
This event brings together three historians who have played important parts in the recent investigation of the history of such places.
6:30pm to 8pm
More London events on Friday 17th October
Saturday 18th October
A one day conference about the red bus, their social history, economic impact and cultural significance.
All Day
Free
This walking tour will follow the surviving traces and ghostly outlines of the 17th century palace under King's College.
tba
The Museum tells the story of the mansion house, as it was used as the Headquarters for Fighter Command during WW2.
10am to 5pm
Stanmore
Free
Occupy London takes a look at the hedge funds that operate in Mayfair.
2pm to 5pm
More London events on Saturday 18th October
Sunday 19th October
Craft activities, story telling, baking competition, live music, food and drink stalls and more.
11am to 3pm
Annual tour around London visiting locations associated with The Prisoner TV series.
Starts at 2pm
More London events on Sunday 19th October
Monday 20th October
Coronation music on the 300th anniversary of the Coronation of George I
Starts at 6pm
City of London
More London events on Monday 20th October
Tuesday 21st October
Take a journey through underground medieval London on a walking tour through the hidden medieval sights of central London.
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A site specific art performance within the 13th century crypt underneath St Etheldreda's Church.
10am to 12pm
A talk and music about the Mexican tradition of the Day of the Dead.
6pm to 8pm
A talk that focuses on Oliver Twist, and draws together the topography of the novel and of the street.
6pm to 7:30pm
Strand
A talk focusing on objects from the Cuming Museum collection and how they have been conserved and treated after the fire in 2013.
6:30pm to 7:30pm
Southwark
Medical speakers on the topic of reconstructive surgery for military service personnel.
7pm to 9pm
A panel debate by an artist and experts on the medieval past of London.
Starts at 7:30pm
Strand
More London events on Tuesday 21st October
Wednesday 22nd October
A talk about the discovery of electricity in animals, and how that affected popular literature.
6:30pm to 9pm
Barbican
More London events on Wednesday 22nd October
Thursday 23rd October
A talk by William Hague MP.
Starts at 6:30pm
Vigils have been held on the 23rd of every month since June 2004. They are inclusive, secular events, open 'to all faiths and none'.
Starts at 7pm
Southwark
Two authors talk about the wonders and mysteries of the English language.
Starts at 7pm
Picadilly
More London events on Thursday 23rd October
Friday 24th October
A debate about the Mayor's 2050 infrastructure plans for London.
8:30am to 10am
Some of the world's leading thinkers and entrepreneurs share their experience of where technology has come from and discuss where it's going next.
2pm to 3pm
Storytellers Jan Blake and TUUP lure us into an untamed world of sorcery, bloodsucking, and shape-shifting.
Starts at 6:30pm
More London events on Friday 24th October
Saturday 25th October
Visitors to ZSL London Zoo are invited to take a step back in time and embark on a historical tour of the world’s oldest scientific Zoo.
10am to 11am
Camden
£3.00
Discover three halls packed with working Meccano models of trains, planes, cranes, fairground rides and much more,
10:30am to 4:30pm
Eltham
Join former lock keeper Jeremy Batch to learn more about the daily life as a keeper of the canals and waterways.
2pm to 3:30pm
Olympic Park
More London events on Saturday 25th October
Sunday 26th October
Usually closed nature reserve next to a railway line in Harringay, is open for the day.
10am to 4pm
Finsbury Park
Free
October Plenty is an Autumn harvest celebration held annually in Southwark.
Starts at 12pm
Southwark
Borough will bring together the biggest ever collection of the nation’s favourite fruit in the exhibition of 1000 apples.
12pm to 4pm
Southwark
Musician Brian May shows off his collection of victorian 3D images.
2:30pm to 4pm
More London events on Sunday 26th October
Monday 27th October
£5.95
Maritime genealogist, Simon Wills, launches his latest book by exploring three and a half centuries of passenger travel by sea.
6pm to 8pm
Professor Bayvel will describe the challenges and limits of communicating with light
6:30pm to 7:30pm
Join BAFTA-winning writer Anthony Horowitz O.B.E as he talks about his newly released book, Moriarty.
7pm to 8:30pm
More London events on Monday 27th October
Tuesday 28th October
The talk will look at the world of lesser-known Victorian inventions and the historical context which gave rise to them.
Starts at 2pm
In this talk we will explore some of the principles used by magicians to distort your perception.
Starts at 6:15pm
More London events on Tuesday 28th October
Wednesday 29th October
2pm to 4pm
Jamie Bartlett will explore dark internet subcultures, hidden encrypted websites and the people behind them.
5:30pm to 7:30pm
Free
Monthly late night adults only opening at the Science Museum.
6:45pm to 10pm
More London events on Wednesday 29th October
Thursday 30th October
£20.00
Sample the virtues of porter, IPA and stout while hearing the story of England’s most popular and convivial alcoholic drink.
Starts at 7pm
More London events on Thursday 30th October
Friday 31st October
Free
Celebrate Mexico’s favourite festival, Day of the Dead, on South Bank. With art installations, family workshops and a mexican market.
11am to 6pm
Southwark
£15.00
Rooms evocatively lit with an array of candles will transport guests back into the gothic Victorian era at a Halloween opening.
Starts at 6:30pm
£5.00
A special late opening and discover the Museum after-dark, enjoy a drink and uncover some ghoulish animal facts.
6:30pm to 9pm
For 3 nights, Punchdrunk Enrichment transforms Eastbury Manor House into a fun and festive Hallowtide Fair.
6:30pm to 10pm
Barking
Late night opening at the Transport Museum with a Halloween theme.
6:45pm to 10pm
