The ianVisits guide to May's unusual events, tours, lectures and exhibitions happening around London.
Coronavirus: Events may be cancelled and venues closed at short notice, you are advised to check on their websites before making a trip.
Saturday 21st May
During the weekend visitors will be able to tour the house, enjoy music and theatre productions in the gardens and take part in family-friendly activities.
10am to 5pm
Twickenham
The Rickmansworth Festival celebrates canals with at least 100 boats attending, the community and the environment.
10:30am to 10:30pm
Rickmansworth
Admission to Kempton Steam Museum. See an array of petrol engines and model steam engines from across the ages.
10:30am to 4pm
Feltham
Annual open day at the cemetery with visits to the chapel and crypt – not usually open – guidance on family history.
11am to 5pm
Peckham
Watch teams of watermen who will steer huge barges up the Thames from Greenwich to Westminster.
12:30pm to 4pm
Acclaimed artist Brian Bolland will be signing Judge Dredd By Brian Bolland: Apex Edition at Forbidden Planet London
1pm to 2pm
Soho
More London events on Saturday 21st May
Sunday 22nd May
Weather permitting, there could be up to 50 hot air balloons drifting over Central London just after sunrise.
Starts at 6:30am
During the weekend visitors will be able to tour the house, enjoy music and theatre productions in the gardens and take part in family-friendly activities.
10am to 5pm
Twickenham
The Rickmansworth Festival celebrates canals with at least 100 boats attending, the community and the environment.
10:30am to 5:30pm
Rickmansworth
Admission to Kempton Steam Museum. See an array of petrol engines and model steam engines from across the ages.
10:30am to 4pm
Feltham
£10.00
Visitors are able to explore both the Gardens and parts of the Mansion, including the Stables and cellars, at their leisure.
11am to 4pm
North Weald
This steeply, sloping garden comprises woodland walks, filled with flowering shrubs and ferns.
2pm to 6pm
Wimbledon
Visit a series of seven floating barge gardens connected by walkways and bridges.
2pm to 5pm
Southwark
What impact has two decades’ worth of policing and counterterrorism had on the state of mind of Muslims in Britain?
3pm to 4:30pm
Holborn
More London events on Sunday 22nd May
Monday 23rd May
An evening highlighting and celebrating the rich diversity of LGBTQIA+ spaces featured in the new book, Queer Spaces by RIBA Publishing.
7pm to 8:30pm
Regent Street
Be ready for some mind-bending magic and deceptions as magician and historian Ian Keable details some of the biggest hoaxes of the 18th century.
7pm to 8:30pm
Camden
Drawing on decades of observing our closest living relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos, world-renowned primatologist and New York Times bestselling author Frans de Waal explores what we know of biological sex differences and of the role of culture and socialisation.
7pm to 8:30pm
Hanover Square
More London events on Monday 23rd May
Tuesday 24th May
Join Prokar Dasgupta as he discusses the Dasgupta technique, where Botox is injected into the bladder under local anaesthetic, calming the bladder nerves down.
7pm to 8:30pm
Hanover Square
Design Museum Director Tim Marlow discusses the illustrious career of one of the biggest names in football, Gary Lineker.
7pm to 8pm
Kensington
Online events / webinars
£7.00
This talk will use Lettsom’s landscape as a key example to explore how medical practitioners used their botanical training to capitalize on the growing fashion for botanical collecting and agricultural experimentation.
6:30pm to :
More London events on Tuesday 24th May
Wednesday 25th May
A rare opportunity to see behind the gates of this hidden gem, gifted to local residents during the construction of the Tate Modern.
10am to 5pm
Southwark
Taking a look at gyroscopes, this lecture explores the common threads that link all spinning things.
6pm to 7pm
Barbican
Science Museum Lates are adults-only, after-hours theme nights that take place in the museum on the last Wednesday of every month.
6:15pm to 8pm
South Kensington
Visit the St Sepulchre Chapel, currently undergoing conservation, and hear experts and enthusiasts discuss Comper’s work on the chapel.
6:30pm to :
Paddington
Global Expert in Facial Expressions, Emotions and Behaviour, Adrianne Carter, The Face Whisperer will be taking a look at the Royals and what they reveal about how they’re really feeling.
7pm to :
Notting Hill
Online events / webinars
This Fresh Concrete event focuses on innovative technology that has the potential to transform the performance and uses for concrete.
1pm to 2pm
More London events on Wednesday 25th May
Thursday 26th May
The Beefeaters of the Tower will parade around the Tower of London to beat the bounds before a "battle" with the neighbouring church.
6pm to 8pm
Tower Hill
While the Privy Council has deep colonial and imperial roots, it has sometimes been an important safeguard for fundamental rights: what are the pros and cons?
6pm to 7pm
Holborn
In this talk, Dr Elinor Cleghorn races through the early history of male-dominated medicine from the antiquity to the late 19th century,
6:15pm to 8pm
Southwark
Curator Jen Kavanagh will give an insight into the Museum’s development and how the content was brought together.
7pm to 8:15pm
Covent Garden
More London events on Thursday 26th May
Friday 27th May
Join Professor David Welch as he explores the role of propaganda in shaping the myth of Dunkirk.
12pm to 1pm
Chelsea
More London events on Friday 27th May
Saturday 28th May
Over 100 vehicles on display, alongside a village fete.
9am to 7pm
Enfield
On a day where the past comes alive, learn about the local connections of past Kings and Queens, and get an insight into the medieval period as part of events marking the Queen’s Jubilee.
9:30am to 5pm
Epsom
Visitors will have a chance to learn about 87 Hackford Road and its most famous tenant through a guided tour which includes a short walk to set the context and a longer tour of the house itself
Starts at 10am
Stockwell
£26.49
Europe's biggest independent annual motorcycle show celebrates the creativity of the new-wave and cafe-racer custom motorcycle culture.
10am to 8pm
Wapping
Many surprises, unusual trees and shrubs are hidden behind the railings of this large London square.
10am to 4pm
Belgravia
Southbank will transform into a hub of scientific learning and discussion, as some of London’s leading scientists take to their soapboxes to showcase their science to the general public.
2pm to 5pm
Southwark
Watch the 1958 Hammer Horror classic starring Christopher Lee in a graveyard chapel
8pm to 9:30pm
Ham
More London events on Saturday 28th May
Sunday 29th May
Free
A defunct holiday to mark the return of the Monarchy, by slapping people with nettles.
All Day
A family friendly festival where you can take to the water, enjoy live music and dance, and take part in a variety of fun activities.
All Day
Hayes
Over 100 vehicles on display, alongside a village fete.
9am to 5pm
Enfield
Visitors will have a chance to learn about 87 Hackford Road and its most famous tenant through a guided tour which includes a short walk to set the context and a longer tour of the house itself
Starts at 10am
Stockwell
£26.49
Europe's biggest independent annual motorcycle show celebrates the creativity of the new-wave and cafe-racer custom motorcycle culture.
10am to 6pm
Wapping
Once a month, the oldest building in Hackney, St Augustine's Tower is open, so you can climb up to the top.
2pm to 4:30pm
Hackney
More London events on Sunday 29th May
Monday 30th May
Governments, corporations and defence establishments need to take it into account. Should we recognise it as a new global power?
6pm to 7pm
Holborn
More London events on Monday 30th May
Tuesday 31st May
This lecture shows that in reality, running a computer OS is a supreme juggling act.
6pm to 7pm
Barbican
Explore how the female animal has been misunderstood and misrepresented by the scientific patriarchy.
6:30pm to 9:30pm
South Kensington
