In the in one of the rooms at the Emery Walker House in Hammersmith, which is right on the Thames. And it's the best preserved arts and crafts interior in Britain. It's a genuine time capsule packed with original William Morris wallpaper, and the former home of William Morris's great friend and collaborator, the printer Emery Walker. My enormous thanks to the Emery Walker House Trust and to Lucinda MacPherson for so kindly letting me set up and record here today.

After we've just actually recorded a special podcast about this place. So that will come out later So you have that to look forward to a special tour of this lovely house in Hammersmith. so if you like the sound of this place and you should, if you're like me and you like old museums and you like history and culture about Britain, do look out for that episode I filmed here earlier, which is a proper tour of this house and everything. So

as usual, welcome back to the Anglotopia podcast where we explore British history, travel, and culture. And I'm your host Jonathan Thomas. And today we're devoting this whole episode to September in London, which is, I don't say this lightly, might be the single best month of the year to come to London. I love London in September. I've been here a few times in September and and there's so much going on. The weather is cooling and it's you've got that tinge of autumn coming. So

everything I'm going to talk about is pulled from our Londontopia events calendar. so first I'm gonna talk about why September is great to visit London, and then we're gonna talk about what's on and what I plan to do while I'm here, and we'll talk about some practical realities of traveling September because it's also a very popular one to travel to London, but it's less popular than say August or July.

why is September the secret sweet spot for exploring London? So l let me start with the big idea because it's the thread that's gonna run through this whole episode. September is the month that locals quietly know it's perfect and visitors often overlook purely because the calendar says summer's over.

and in September the weather turns gorgeous. So the oppressive heat and humidity of July and August can give way to to warm days, but crisp and clear air and and much milder weather. It might be a little rainier. It's gonna be a little cooler. Definitely will be cooler at night. And so hopefully you've you've kind of said goodbye to the to the oppressive heat of summer. And then the prices drop because they're notoriously prices go up in the summer for

holiday time because people take advantage of traveling and so hotels will be cheaper. right now the great British summer I believe is still the British government is sponsoring is still going on where there's a they cut VAT on admissions to tourist attractions. So you're gonna save 20% I believe on admissions tickets anyway right now. And then September is a peak culture month for London. It isn't a you're not trading anything off by waiting

for September. There's a lot going on this month that we that we're gonna talk about. London pours some of its very best events into exactly this window and you lose the crowds and gain the culture. So

The big the first thing I want to talk about is one of the biggest events happening in September. And it's something I actually haven't had a chance to do and I'm dying to do. And unfortunately, I have to I have to go home. So I'm gonna miss this one. But Open House London is September's real big calendar event. And so if you plan a trip around one thing while you're in London in September, plan around Open House London. So for about two weeks in the middle of the month.

a remarkable amount of London that's normally locked and closed to the public becomes free and open for the public to enjoy. So it this year the Open House Festival is taking place from September 12th to the 20th, and it's free. This is the 35th year they're doing it, and it's reportedly its biggest yet. So what do what can you see during Open House London? You can see private offices, livery halls, Georgian houses, Brutalist Towers, Working Studios, Hidden Roof Gardens across all 33 London boroughs.

opening their doors at no charge. my tip straight from the piece is some venues are ballot only and the popular ones queue from early in the morning. So pick two or three in one area that rather than trying to crisscross the city to try and cram a few in. So a few weeks so it it this is a one piece of advice I would give is to sign up for the Open House London email list. Because when you do that you'll get you'll be notified when the ballots open for various things that are normally close to the public. So like

To give you an example, they will open up 10 Downing Street, the the home and office of the Prime Minister on Open House London, but you have to apply for the ballot a few weeks in advance, and there's a ballot and there's it's a kind of a random draw, but you're not gonna get in there if you don't even apply for the ballot. So it's things like that. So watch out for those ballots, apply for the things you want to go in. But there's plenty of things to see in Open House London that that won't require a ballot. You can just turn up and see it. So

the Open House London website will have a a directory of all the things you can see and do during Open House London. So it's really easy to go in there and just pick and go through everything and plan the things you want to see and do. Like I said, two or three things a day is probably the most you're gonna want to cram in and try to try to do something really special that is never usually open the rest of the year, like 10 Downing Street. So coinciding almost to the day.

with Open House Festival is Heritage Open Days. And it's England's much bigger national cousin to Open House with over 25 participating organizations and places. And check the web, we'll put and again we'll put links in the show notes for all this. And if you're outside of London, this is a great chance to explore heritage places that would normally be closed to off of the public or are open for free for the day. So also happening

Is Totally Thames with all month across the 20 boroughs that border the Thames. And it's a river festival that runs the whole length of the Thames from Richmond to Barking, over 100 events, boat trips, foreshore archaeology, art installation, walks and talks. Much of it's free. And the best excuse you'll get to see London from the water. So check that out. Also happening is the London Design Festival in its 24th year. Scattering installations, open studios, and talks and luncheons across the whole city.

Much of your free with that you're free to wander into. The VA and South Kensington is usually the traditional hub for this. Even if design isn't your thing, there's a lot of events that might appeal to you. So check it out. a few other things to check out going on in September. Made Made X at the Barbican, a 20 23-piece interiors collection from the Barbican's original 1960 show flats. So if you want to see the

Brutalist architecture's original interiors, you can see that. Black on the square, the mayor's celebration of black London is September 5th, and that's free. You've also got Luke Jerram's Pulinarium on September 12th and Barking, where you can stand inside a six-meter pollen grain rigged as a giant camera obscura. And the Concours of Excellence on September 4th at the 6th, which is 60 of the rarest cars in the world on the lawns of Hampton Court Palace.

And also the Greenwich and Docklands Festival runs to September 6th. Summer by the River runs September 27th. So that's a lot there.

Another major event that goes on in September in the in the cultural calendar in the yearly season. It's because actually traditionally this is it's called the last night of the proms, and this is the last night of the traditional cultural season. you may have seen The Last Night of the Proms on on television, and it's a big it's the culmination of a festival of music that's actually been happening all summer, put on by the BBC that's been going on for like I think almost a hundred years.

And it all different kinds of concerts and topics happen usually at Royal Albert Hall. And then famously the last one is the last night of the proms where it's kind of it's almost like two concerts. There's a classical music concert and then the second part is the big bombastic patriotic concert where they play British patriotic classics like Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory and all those wonderful songs and then

The crowd gets real real energetic and activity and it's supposed to be a lot of fun. I've never actually been able to go to the last night, but I've seen it several I watch it every year on TV. So so this year the proms are finishing on September 12th. And the last night of the proms is one of those things that you that's worth planning a a holiday to London around. It sells out every year because for many people might not know this, the Royal Albert Hall is actually the seats.

Are owned by people. They're when they built Royal Albert Hall, the seats were sold basically as pieces of real estate so that that to fund its construction. So those seats get passed down to families or they get sold and they're worth several hundred thousand pounds now. So that's they're hard to come by. So that those people usually get first dibs on last night of the proms tickets. But they so if you if you're not able to get a ticket back in the spring when they when they announce it.

You haven't missed your chance. There are more chances to get into this. So you can get on the last day, there's 1000 standing tickets, which is in the arena in front of the stage. And those are held back for every single prom concert. And they're sold on the day for eight pounds or about eleven dollars. They go online at 9 30 in the morning on the day of the concert, with the further further allocation sold in person at the box office at door twelve. So if

It if you're canny and you're quick, you can get into the last nine of the proms for just eight pounds and and experience the glory of it. It's like to stand in line, but it should be a lot of fun. So

Let's see. So definitely check out The Last Night of the Proms if you can. But if if the last night doesn't appeal to you, there are still plenty of other concerts happening. And like I said, if the tickets are sold out, you should be able to get tickets on the day just by staying in line or reserving those tickets online. So so as far as openings go this month, there is a lot of blockbuster exhibitions opening in September twenty twenty six for London.

It's an unusually strong month for new openings. So a lot of the summer exhibitions have closed, and now the museums are switching over for these autumnal and winter ones. but there's a big one that we need to talk about first. That's the blockbuster exhibition of of the year. And so the you may not have heard that the Bayeux tapestry, the the very, very long tapestry that

Is the historical record of the the Battle of Hastings when the Normans invaded Britain. It's a priceless artifact, but it actually belongs to the French and it and it normally lives in Bayeux in France. And due to a cultural treaty between France and Britain, the French agreed to lend the Bayeux Tapestry and move it from France to the British Museum for almost a year. And so this is

A watershed event in culture in London and the British Museum. It's the biggest cultural event in London this year. it's the first time that the tapestry has ever left Normandy and it's 900 years of existence. but before you try and book a ticket for it in September, I will warn you now that if you haven't already booked a ticket, you're not gonna see it this September. Actually, you're not gonna see it this autumn at all.

So when tickets went on sale in July, there were hours-long virtual queues and all of the tickets until I believe December basically sold out. So they're gonna release, but they're gonna release some the tranche of tickets for January onwards, I believe in November or late October. So keep an eye out on Anglotopia or Londotopia for the announcement when that happens.

When that happens, you're gonna wanna and you have a trip planned for any time between now and next July, you're gonna wanna get in that virtual queue and get tickets to this because you're gonna wanna see this. yeah, they sold two and a half million tickets on open when they released tickets in July. So yeah, the next release comes in October. yeah, so

If however you still want to see it and the tickets are sold out, there is a workaround. If you join the British Museum as a member, each membership gets two tickets. So there's a hack there. If you are still going to be there this autumn, buy a membership immediately and reserve those membership tickets, and you can still see it. So

Let's see. The Natural History Museum has a new exhibition called Nature and Us. The museum reopens a full waterhouse gallery that has been closed to the public since 1943 when bomb damage turned it into the herbarium. The original wooden cabinets are still in place. Fifty objects fill the room from a Crystal Palace dinosaur model to a Star Wars toy encrusted in marine life. So that that'd be cool to see this room that's been closed off for so many years.

Or some the V&A is getting secret treasures from Kyiv. It opens September 14th. It's free. It's gonna be there for a full year. Seven 18th century objects from Kyiv, Petersk, Lavra on loan from Ukraine and shown in Britain for the first time, marking 975 years since the monastery's founding. and then a new exhibition coming to the Imperial War Museum starting September 4th is a chronicle of the 9-11 terrorist attacks 25 years on.

How has it been twenty five years? it features photographs on the day taken by Bill Biggart, the only journalist killed in the attacks, shown outside the US for the first time around a recovered section of the World Trade Center steel. So this'll be a poignant one for our American audience to to take a visit. It's free, it's at the Imperial War Museum,

So also starting this month, real quickly, the Burberry Trench at the V&A. It's a special exhibition about the history of the famous Burberry Trench coat. that starts September 21st. E. Devlin is getting a his first big retrospective at the design museum. How We Lost America is coming to Hogarth House on September 22nd.

It's that's free. The American Revolution and Satirical Prints sold from the British side. It's actually put on by Lucinda here at the who we we interviewed today. You're gonna want to check this out. Emma Reese at the White Cube and Jenkin Van Ziel's immersive film comes to Somerset House on September 24th. So that's those are the big blockbuster exhibitions starting in September. like I said, you want to see Bayeux.

Join British Museum, get those two membership tickets. Otherwise, if you're gonna be in London any other time after December to then pay attention in October for the on-sale date for tickets for them, be prepared to wait in the virtual queue and get your tickets. So, blockbuster exhibitions that are already running.

That you may want to check out if you're in London in September. so Frida Kahlo at the Tate Modern, that runs till January 3rd. This is one of the biggest art retrospectives of the year. And you can get tickets to this. Tickets are tight. I managed to get tickets, so I'm actually seeing this later today. So that's gonna be worth seeing. Schiparelli Fashion Becomes Art at the V&A till November 8th. Surrealism and Couture and a genuine spectacle, and the VA is always worth visiting.

you've got Jurassic Oceans, the Natural History Museum. That's running till January 3rd. That's the best family exhibition in London right now. and then at the Royal Academy, you've got Richard Dadd Beyond Bedlam, the Victorian painter who made his extraordinary work while confined in the Bethlem and Broadmoor asylums. and it ends October 25th. Also running.

Henry Moore's Bronzes Among the Trees at Kew Gardens till January 31st. You've got Ana Mendieta at Tate Modern till January. You've got Declaring Independence, USA in 250 at the British Museum, going till November 29th. so that's another example of the American story of of the American Revolution told from the British side. They've got some interesting artifacts on display that they discovered in the archives. it's free and that's worth seeing. And then you've got

Churchill the Painter at the Wallace Collection. That's till November 29th. That's free. Actually, that's not free. I don't know why that says it's free. The Wallace Collection is free, but the exhibition is not free. and I'm actually seeing that tomorrow. So I can't wait to see that.

So, what's closing soon? So, September is when the summer season clears out. In several cases, it's the first week of the month. So, here are some exhibitions that are closing. So, these are like your last chance to see these. Monet and Renoir painting side by side at the National Gallery. That closes September 15th. The two painters' canvases of the same scenes hung together genuinely now or never. Marilyn Monroe, a portrait of the National Gallery, that closes September 6th.

Hepworth in Color at the Courtuald, that closes September 6th. The Banquet House summer opening, that closes September 20th. Inigo Jones' Hall with Rubens' ceiling, the building Charles the first stepped out of to the scaffold to be beheaded. Only open in the summer. I've actually booked into this tomorrow. So I'm looking forward to seeing that. And then the Buckingham Palace State Rooms close September 27th. this is the

There's only one window in the year when you can get inside Buckingham Palace, and it's usually in July, August, and September. you always book ahead. you may be able to get tickets still get tickets. I've actually booked in for tomorrow. I booked back in February, so I'm looking forward to seeing the staterooms for the first time. But also the Queen's Fashion Exhibition is also going on. And I'm afraid that's sold out to the end of the year, but they've extended that another six months so you can get tickets next year. So

if you're gonna be in Britain next year, book those tickets now. also closing James McNeil Whistler at the Tate Britain, the famous American artist who painted a lot of subjects in Britain. that's closing the 27th. the free Star Trek at 60 Trail, the Science Museum closes the 30th. I might try and swing by and do that today. And project A Black Planet at the Barbican until September 6th.

So a few live music and big gigs happening in September. We've got the BBC Proms, like I mentioned, at Royal Albert Hall. You can still get walk-up tickets and cheap tickets. We've got Vikinger Ullofson at Wigmore Hall, September 11th and 12th, Three Nights from the Icelandic Pianist in London's finest small music hall. San Francisco Ballet, Mirror Mortals at Sadler Wells, September 9th to the 12th, a rare London from The American Company.

And Good Kid at the Roundhouse on September 26th. Now, as far as theater and the opera goes, the autumn season starts in earnest. The second half of the month is thick with press nights. We've got Man to Man, Tilda Swinton at the Royal Court, September 5th to October 24th. Swinton returns to the stage in Manfred Carge's one-woman play, the hottest theater ticket this autumn. Unfortunately, it's been sold out for months.

But you may be able to get tickets on the day because they do release tickets on the day. Bloodsport, After Helen of Troy, Stratford East, September 3rd to the October 10th. Michelle Dockery from Downton Abbey and Laura Aikman are in a world premiere about the woman whose face started a war. So it's like a it's a twist on the Odyssey and the Iliad. And they were actually on BBC Breakfast talking about this. And this actually looks really interesting. So you might want to check that out.

The Last Ship at Drury Lane, Stings Shipyard Musical at London's Grandes Theatre from September 22nd to October 3rd. And then you've got Hay Fever at Wyndham's and Into the Woods at Noel Cowards from September 22nd, Golden Boy at the Alameda, children at the Lyric Hammersmith and fittingly a short walk from where I'm sitting. Don Giovanni at the Royal Opera House, September.

some family events that you might want to check out if you're happening to be in London with the kids. You've got the Museum Depot Open Days, the London Transport Museum, Depot at Acton, which is basically their storehouse of all the stuff they can't fit into the museum itself in Covent Garden. it opens occasionally for open days. That's open September 25th and 27th. And that's a great one of the best weekends of the year if you love the tube. Lots to see and do there. Those we on that weekend.

the London Museum Docklands is having mudlarking weekend that's September 26th to the 27th. The Thames for Shore Finds Handled and Explained, Books Up Fast, and the Lovely Tie to Totally Thames. And then also free Saturday Live Poetry at the Serpentine Pavilion September 5th, the Astronomy Photographer of the Year Awards at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich on September 17th, and the Horniman Plant Fair at Forest Hill on September 5th. Again, this is just a curated slice of everything happening.

if you want a more thorough guide to things happening in September or this autumn while you're in London, we will put links in the show notes to our what's on in London guides that we have been putting together that show you what to do while you're in London. So let's talk about the weather. So

I can talk about the weather because I'm here right now. And the weather is actually very pleasant. It's a little warm. but it's cooling. It's getting cool at night. So as I record this, London's been warm and bright up to the high seventies Fahrenheit. That's the mid-20s Celsius, easing back to toward around seventy degrees as we tip into September and turning a bit more changeable with the real chance of rain creeping in and they desperately need the rain.

I I don't know if you've seen the pictures of the video of London right now, but everything is brown and dead. So it's it they need the rain desperately. but there's rain coming, and that squares exactly with the meta office's outlook for early September. Changeable rather than subtle. Rainfall likely a bit above average, temperatures close to normal, but with the odd warm spell in the south of England. now a

Typical September in London looks like it it's gonna be pleasant, it's gonna be cool, and it might rain. So bring your umbrella. but it's usually I and I've experienced this a lot on this trip while I've been here. If it rains, it's not gonna usually not gonna rain all day. It's gonna rain for a little bit and then the rain's gonna be done. So don't feel put off by the rain.

So what to pack for this kind of weather? layers, comfortable walking shoes, a light rain jacket, an umbrella. Still bring sunscreen and sunglasses because that's when the sun is shining and it's bright, it's intense. And be off bring a few long sleeve shirts and yeah, just basically pack for all weathers because it could either be really warm and it'll be too warm, or you could be really cold and not have a coat. And so always be prepared. Is September a good time to visit?

Yes, I love it in September. London's a little quieter, tourist attractions are a little quieter. you can sometimes it's easier to get into the big blockbuster exhibitions and it's yeah, it's it's a great month. I mean, I advocate visiting London in any month, but September, great month to visit London. So here's so here's your case for September. It's

The secret best month in London, fewer crowds, kinder prices, glorious light, and a cultural calendar with the open house, totally thames the design festival, last night of the proms that rivals any month of the year. Plan around the open buildings weekends in the middle of the month. Sort your Buckingham Palace and big exhibition tickets before you fly. And remember that the Bayeux Tapestry is a lovely reason to start planning a 2027 return trip so you can actually get tickets to it. Book a little ahead because word about September is getting out.

Don't tell too many people. So my thanks once more to Emery Walker's House Trust for letting me record in this remarkable house today and its beautiful surroundings. And do look out for the full tour episode coming in a few weeks. And if you're ever in Hammersmith, book yourself onto a tour and see this arts and crafts treasure for yourself for the full and constantly updated program of what's to see and do in London. Head to our London events calendar on Londontopia. The link is in the show notes.

And if you find this useful, please subscribe, like, or leave a comment. And tell me what you'd most want to see in London this autumn over on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. And if you love what we do, consider joining the Friends of Anglotopia Club for early access to new episodes and a wonderful community of fellow British enthusiasts. Until next time.

See you later.

So this is Jonathan from Anglotopia signing off from London, and we hope you have a lovely September on your visits to London. Thank you.