Jonathan Thomas (00:21)
Welcome to the Anglotopia Podcast, the podcast for people who love British travel history and culture. I'm your host, Jonathan Thomas, and today we're devoting episode to one of the biggest, most dazzling, busiest months in London, July. And so last month we did a what's on in London in June, and it was really popular, and we released it as a bonus episode.

So we're gonna do that again this month, and we'll keep doing it as long as people keep listening to it. And the general reaction from ⁓ the last episode was that people found this information useful. So ⁓ we're gonna talk about July. So here's the plan. We're gonna I'm gonna start with talking about what's actually going on, the major exhibitions opening this month, the blockbusters that are already running, the theater spilling out into the open air, the huge summer gigs and the family stuff, and then we'll get practical.

we'll talk about the weather in July, which can either be very hot or very cold. And actually right now Britain is under a red warning heat wave, which we'll talk about. ⁓ and so we'll give you some tips on how to stay cool, what will be open, what isn't, the truth about crowds and prices, what to pack, and finally my honest take on whether July is actually a good time for you to visit. ⁓ the answer is it depends.

By the by the end, you'll know exactly what you're walking into and how to make the most of it. And let's so let's get into it. If you've got a trip coming up in London in July, you will want to listen to this because it will have everything that you will want to see and do in July on your precious time in London. So there are always exhibitions opening, ⁓ and there are quite a few major exhibitions opening in July. ⁓ first up.

Is Richard Dad at the Royal Academy of Arts, which opens on July 1st. Dad was the brilliant Victorian painter who created these hauntingly intricate fairy scenes like the Fairy Feller's Master Stroke, which ⁓ conf he and he did this while he was con confined to an asylum until after he killed his father in a psychotic episode. So that's like this guy's already sounds really interesting.

A rare chance to see the obsessive jewel like work of one of the strangest and most singular talents in British art. So that's at the Royal Academy of Arts from July first. and they're the the Royal Academy also will be having its summer exhibition, I believe, soon. ⁓ if it hasn't started already, it will be starting very soon. So you'll wanna check that out as well. And it gives you a chance to see ⁓ lots of up and coming artists or established artists and see their see their work and to be exhibited by the Royal Academy is a great honor. So

⁓ next up we have Anna Mendieta at Tate Modern. ⁓ Mendietta, and I'm probably pronouncing that incorrectly, was a Cuban American artist whose raw elemental earth body works pressed her own silhouette into the mud, sand, flowers, and fire, pioneering performance and land art before her death in 1985. And this exhibition is a retrospective of that work. ⁓ let's see, and then coming up at the Barbican.

you're not familiar with the Barbican, it's that brutalist ⁓ complex that was built in the city of London after World War II when when the Nazis destroyed large portions of the city of London during the Blitz. This was built in its place. And if you've never been there, it's actually really cool. ⁓ it's a great example of modern architecture done well. ⁓ brutalism is very ⁓ unpopular and very out of vogue, but

The Barbican does it well. It's actually a desirable place to live now because of it. And well, and one of the one of the legacies of the Barbican is that it's got a thriving arts community and scene there that was established when they built it. And so there's a theater, there's there's all kinds of cool stuff. So one thing you're gonna want to see is In Other Worlds by Liam Young. Young is a speculative architect and filmmaker whose immersive installation imagines possible future worlds.

So as a science fiction nerd, it sounds really interesting. I wish I I might I might see this when I'm around in August. paired with Mindietta opening the same day. ⁓ actually it's not opening the same day. ⁓ this opens July 15th. It's a strike, but if you can see both of these, it's a striking double bill, deeply personal, and you can visions of the far future. So ⁓ starting July 9th at the Welcome Collection is ⁓ Audrey Amis.

she was a British artist who lived with schizophrenia and spent decades obsessively documenting her daily life, famously saving and annotating everyday food wrappers and packaging across thousands of scrapbook pages. The Welcome, which explores where art, medicine, and the human mind meet is the perfect home for this interesting ⁓ archive of ephemera.

drinking my Yorkshire tea this morning with my trusty Emma Ridgewater Oxford mug.

for fans of the Queen, ⁓ now the big thing going on London for the Royal Family and the Queen is the the fashion exhibition going on at the Royal Collection Trust at the King's Gallery. Unfortunately, ⁓ that's sold out until the end of the year. So you're not gonna get to see that unless you already booked the tickets months ago.

That exhibition has been extended another six months into next year. So if you're gonna be in London next spring, book your tickets now and you will be guaranteed to have it.

but there's plenty of other royal things going on that are once in a lifetime that are worth doing. And one of them is ⁓ at Westminster Hall, which is part of the houses of of Parliament Complex. It's the one of the oldest buildings in London, dates back to William the Conqueror, I believe. ⁓ so you can see a historic farewell, art as witness to the line and state of Queen Elizabeth II from July thirteenth. ⁓

This gathers the official artworks made to record the late Queen's line in state in September 2022, when hundreds of thousands queued through the night to file past her coffin. It's a quietly moving look at a moment of national mourning. Many of us remember watching unfold on on TV and streaming. So that'll be worth seeing. I believe you can see this without having without booking tickets for a tour of parliament. Like it's open to the public to see this.

So check, I'll I'll put a link in the show notes with the details on how to get in. but if you are there, and Westminster Hall is incredible. Like I it's one of the oldest buildings in London. The vaulted ⁓ wooden ceiling is a sight to behold. ⁓ when US presidents get to speak to Parliament, usually it's in Westminster Hall. ⁓ I highly recommend booking a tour of the Houses of Parliament when it if it's Parliament is not in session in July and August usually.

So it's a great chance to tour parliament. So I would do both of these things if if you were happened to be there, because you have to go through security to get into the complex either way. You might as well see everything while you're there. So the National Gallery ⁓ is also ⁓ they is launching a new exhibition. ⁓ Waldmuller landscapes ⁓ at the National Gallery starts July 2nd. And this is a free exhibition, so it's not one of the paid ones. Ferdinand Georg Waldmuller.

Was a 19th century Austrian painter of luminous, almost photographically sharp alpine landscapes. And this is a chance to to experience some art you may have never seen before. So ⁓ if again, even if you don't want if you've been to the National Gallery many times, pop in, see this, pop out. That's that's the nice thing about the National Gallery. Although there will be a line to get because they do do a security check now because of all the vandalism that's happened to paintings in recent years. So you can sort of pop in and then pop out.

So ⁓ like I said, I mentioned earlier, the Young Artist Summer Show at the Royal Academy starts July 14th. this is free, and you get to see work by students aged five to nineteen from across the UK. And ⁓ it's not far from the National Gallery. So if you want to do this on a hot afternoon and some air conditioning, there you go. And then ⁓ the next three things are kind of special and kind of a once in a lifetime opportunity, especially for our American listeners.

but I know most of you are Americans according to the podcast analytics that use to track this. ⁓ obviously we're celebrating our two hundred and fiftieth birthday, or the really the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary since the declaration of independence. We're saying that's our birthday. Okay. Even though constitutional government didn't begin until much later. But either way, seventeen seventy six is at psychological two hundred and fiftieth anniversary point. And I'm not gonna get into the celebrations here because they've been very muted and

I I honestly think people aren't really that interested in celebrating. However, it's also a great time to to explore a history. Like I'd highly recommend watching the Ken Burn's American Revolution documentary series on PBS. It's free, it's streaming on PBS Passport. It's fantastic, great overview of the revolution. ⁓ but that's I'm getting off topic. the British have ⁓

have decided to come to the anniversary party to celebrate their their famous imperial divorce from us. And there are three so far exhibitions launching ⁓ in late June and July about America's 250th birthday. and what's what's interesting about these is you're gonna be seeing this historical event from the British perspective, which we don't really get to see a whole lot.

When we cover it here in the US, because we think of it very much as a thing happening here. Well, it was also a thing happening in Britain as well. And there's a whole different government fighting a war across the ocean. And I find this stuff super interesting. So, first up, the big one is ⁓ at at the National Archives, ⁓ Revolution 250, America's independence story, which opened actually two days ago. And here the National Archive has gone.

And if you're not familiar with the National Archive, it is literally Britain's National Archive. They store everything from census data to important government papers through basically the entire British history, which is thousands of years. So ⁓ they have gone through their own archives to find key documents that they have related to the revolution. So ⁓ one thing they have is a handwritten letter signed by George Washington accepting the British surrender at Yorktown.

⁓ I also have ⁓ the the the Dunlap copies of the Declaration of Independence. They have an actual copy of the seventeen eighty three Treaty of Paris, which gave us our actual independence. ⁓ this is a a great way to see some of the most famous documents that are really founding documents for us and their foundational documents for the British as as as they went on their imperial direction without more without their southern and

Yankee North American colonies. They stayed in Canada though. So ⁓ super worth seeing the National Archives are in queue, so you ⁓ they're kind of a little bit outside of London, but it's pretty easy to get to via public transport. And this exhibition's free. ⁓ again, we have a couple articles on the website about this. We will link to all this in the show notes. ⁓ next up is declaring independence, USA 250 at the British Museum. And this is from June 30th, which

Once this is released, this will it will already be out. this is also a free exhibition. And the British Museum is free too, so you don't have to pay to see this exhibition. and they've got four objects tracing the American Revolution. ⁓ they've got the Paul Revere and Grave Washington Peace Medal, the Rare Sussex Declaration, joining the loan. they've got all kinds of interesting little things that they're gonna be sharing about. it's a small exhibition, so it's not huge, but if you're gonna be at the British Museum, you'll wanna see this.

⁓ and then many people may not know this, but Benjamin Franklin spent a large chunk of his later life living in London because he was America's ⁓ representative in in Europe. And while during the war he was in France,

He spent a big chunk of his of his life in London, something like 20, 30 years. And ⁓ his only remaining house that he's lived in is in London. And so that house, Benjamin Franklin House, which is just around the corner from Trafalgar Square, ⁓ has been turned into a museum called Benjamin Franklin House. And they've kind of decorated it and kept it minimalist in a way it would have been when he lived there. And normally there it's a great way to see that history of Franklin living there in a representative America.

But in ⁓ in celebration of America two fifty, they are hosting an exhibition starting from July third called How We Lost America. And it's a British perspective on the American Revolution. ⁓ it's staged in Franklin's only surviving house anywhere in the world, which is on Craven Street, around the corner from Trafalgar Square. And it'll be a a witty and thought-provoking take on how Britain came to lose its American colonies, told from the London end in the very house where Franklin spent years.

as a diplomat trying to hold both sides together. So you'll want to check that out. ⁓ I'll put a link in the show notes to that. The Franklin House is only open, it's not open every day. The in fact I wanted to visit it a few a couple years ago and it was closed on the day I was there. So you make sure it's open. I will link to it in the show notes so you can check it out. So the next section we'll talk one more sip of tea. It's early morning here as I'm recording this.

I'll run quickly through ⁓ the exhibitions that opened last month and that have already been running in case you didn't listen to last month or you need a need a friendly reminder. So and the timestamps will helpfully let you figure out how to skip past this section if you're not interested. So at the Tate Modern, there's two exhibitions going on, Farita Frida Kahlo and Tracy Emin Frida Kahlo needs a little introduction, the Mexican icon whose unflinching self-portraits turned her pain politics.

identity in some of the most recognized images of all of her of all of art. If you enjoy the movie Frida, this is going to be worth seeing. ⁓ pair her with Tracy Emin, who was a a more modern artist who's famous for her raw confessional autobiographical work. It's a kind of a great double feature of of of too fearless of an artist. So check this check those out. ⁓ Tate Modern's worth seeing anyway because of the power that's a restored power station and a beautiful building.

⁓ at the Hayward Gallery, you've got Anish Kapoor. Kapoor is the British Indian sculptor behind the monumental mind-bending works that play with color, scale, and void from mirrored curves to his famously light swallowing black pigment. And ⁓ we've got an Anish Kapoor of Chicago, the famous bean was designed by a Brit. So ⁓ you wanna want to check that out? That's at the Hayward Gallery.

yeah, I mentioned this earlier. The summer exhibition is going on at the Royal Academy, so it's the world's largest open submission ⁓ art show. A gloriously crowded salon hangs thousands of works by everyone. The Royal Academy thinks is worthy of being on display. So at the VA, ⁓ you've got and forgive me if I pronounce this wrong Skiparelli. Fashion becomes art. The VA celebrates Elsa Sciparelli, the surrealist influence.

courtier who collaborated with Salvador Dali and turned high fashion into genuinely wearable art. ⁓ the VA always does great fashion and design exhibitions. So this this is something worth seeing. ⁓ at the National Gallery you've got another exhibition on ⁓ Zubaran. ⁓ it's a spotlight on Francisco de Zubaran, a Spanish golden age painter renowned for his austere, dramatically lit saints, monks, and still life. ⁓

And then at Tate Britain, another American ⁓ themed exhibition to see. You've got James McNeil Whistler. ⁓ this is one of their Blockbuster exhibitions this year. ⁓ he was American-born artist behind a portrait that we all know as Whistler's mother. And he's a great champion for art for our sake. ⁓ you'll want to check this one out, especially if you're an American. ⁓ and then the big blockbuster exhibition that I am super excited about seeing next month.

And we've done we've actually done a whole we actually interviewed ⁓ the cure one of the curators on our pot podcast last month, is the Winston Churchill the Painter exhibition at the Wallace Collection. ⁓ many people don't know that Winston Churchill was an avid painter. It was his passionate hobby he picked up at 40 years old. And he produced more than 500 canvases in his lifetime. ⁓ mostly beautiful landscapes, but some still life and some self-portraits, and it's it was escaped for him during his hardest times. ⁓ and

they've got a great lineup of his paintings. They brought together private ⁓ paintings that have been stuck in private collections. So they're on a lot of them are on display for the first time. So you will want to see this if you are a Churchillian or even if you like, you know, early twentieth century landscape art because he was a very talented talent painter. So check that out.

Marilyn Monroe, a portrait at the National Gallery. They explore one of the most photographed women of the 20th century through the images that built and complicated the myth around her. That'll be worth seeing. And then at Q Gardens, which, if you're going to be at the National Archive, go to Q as well. You've got Monumental Nature, Henry Moore. The great British sculptor's monumental bronze bronzes are set out among the trees and lawns of Titanic Gardens, where his organic body like forms feel completely.

Completely at home in the beautiful landscape there. So that's what's already going on. a few other things for families. You're there's a couple things worth seeing. So if you've brought your kids with, you want to go to the young VA and go to the inside Ardman, Wallace and Grommet, and friends at the Young VA. And you can see behind the scenes of Ardman, the Bristol studio behind Wallace and Gromet and Sean the Sheep and Chicken Run, you can see original models, see the sets and the secrets of stop motion animation production.

Really interesting. ⁓ at the Natural History Museum, a temple of science, always worth visiting. You've got Jurassic Oceans, monsters of the deep, and you can take you can dive beneath the prehistoric seas to meet the giant marine reptiles that ruled the water while the dinosaurs walked the land.

And then there's a couple exhibitions closing ⁓ in July. So this is kind of your last chance to see them if you happen to be in London. Wildlife Photographer of the Year ends July 12th. This is the National History Natural History Museum's annual showcase of the most beautiful landscape photography from around the world. they usually set up the pictures and you can walk amongst them. It's really cool. ⁓ that ends July 12th and it's free. So just you can yeah, highly recommend seeing that. Sufi Life and Art at the British Museum ends.

July 26th. It's this explores the art and devotion of Islamic mysticism. So if you want to see some ancient history, check that out. And then at the Design Museum, when the Wes Anderson exhibition is going on, and that ends July 26th. You can see props, costumes, and sets from the director's meticulously symmetrical pastel hued film world. So if you're a fan of Wes Anderson films, you won't want to miss that. And then your last chance is July 26th.

So next we're gonna talk about theater and open air drama.

summer is when a lot of when London stages move outdoors and Shakespeare comes into its own because it should be Shakespeare should not be read. It should be watched and performed. at the Ro Regents Park Open Air Theater, one of the most famous open air theaters, they're doing a Midsummer Night's Dream this summer. No better setting for Shakespeare's woodland comedy of feuding fairies and metal lovers than a real open air stage under the trees of Regents Park on a warm July evening.

Bring a picnic and a light layer for when the sun finally goes down. Catch it before it closes on July 18th. Next up, ⁓ Shakespeare's Globe is doing ⁓ as you like it and Loves Labor's Lost, both from July 17th. And they're also doing Much Ado About Nothing. So you can enjoy ⁓ plays in a an environment in the Reconstructive Globe Theater, which is a replica of the one that the Shakespeare plays would originally been performed on.

And you can enjoy them as the way Elizabethan saw open to the sky with five pound standing tickets in the yard and you could see these sun soaked comedies in the summer as as Shakespeare intended. ⁓

Orestia at the Bridge Theater ⁓ from July second. ⁓ Asiclit ⁓ I can't I can't pronounce this Greek name. ⁓ Asacliss's I don't know. Blood soaked Greek tragedy of murder and revenge cascading through a single curse and royal family. There you go, from July second. Cleanse at the Almeda.

Sarah Kane's Brutal Poetic Study of Love and Cruelty. Be warned. It's intense and boundary-pushing theater, exactly the kind of work Al Media is known for. That's from July 21st. ⁓ new in the West End, we've got Kill a Mockingbird. So Aaron Sorkin has written a new adaptation of Harper Lee's classic Depression era courtroom drama, Abaticus Finch. That's coming to the London stage. that's selling out. So if you want to see that, ⁓ book your tickets. Also new is Cyruno de Bergerac.

the swashboggling tale of the big nosed poet swordsman too insecure to declare his love, one of theater's most romantic cloud pleasers. and long running favorites still going strong this summer. You've got Lion King, Hamilton, Wicked, Le Miserat, Phantom of the Opera, Matilda, Mamma Mia, and Six. if you only have one Weston night, you can't go wrong with Disney's Pride Rock spectacle to Lynn Manuel Miranda's hip hop founding fathers, to the Tudor.

Queens pop concert at the sixth. They usually sell out for a reason. So book ahead in peak season. But they've also been wrong long running, so it might be a lot easier to get tickets. If you want to keep the American theme going with all the exhibitions, see Hamilton. And then closing this month. So this is your last chance to see these shows. ⁓ O Mary ends July 18th. Glenn Glary, Glenn Ross at the Old Vic ends July 31st.

So if you want to see those, you better book in and see them because they are closing. ⁓ let's see. Live music and big gigs. What do we got here?

July is stadium season with Wembley hosting a run of huge names in Somerset House, turning its courtyard into a summer concert venue. My Chemical Romance at Wembley, the reunited Emo Titans bring back their theatrical all black spectacle to Wembley for a run of nights that'll have a whole generation roar along. Welcome to the Black Parade. Bruno Mars is also at Wembley, all retro soul showmanship and wall to wall hits in his own multi night stand at the National Stadium.

Luke Combs is at also at Wembley on July 31st to the August 2nd. ⁓ the chart chopping American Country Star headlines Wembley as part of Country Music's Fast Growing UK Takeover. I had no idea country music was so popular in the UK. So you're gonna expect country boots and union jacks in equal measure. So and then ⁓ Somerset House Concert Series with American Express, July 16th to 26th.

Every July, the grand 18th century courtyard turns into one of London's most atmospheric open-air gig venues with intimate evening concerts from rising established artists, the Thames just outside, and the fountains lit after dark make it as much of an occasion as any other show. So that's live music. And then for the family, summer holidays bring away the family-friendly shows and tutor antics for the kids.

The Grufflow from July 17th. Julie Donaldson's beloved Mouse Outwits the Monster Picture Book comes to life as a fun, song-filled show pitched right at the little ones. The enormous crocodile at the lyric Hammersmith from July twenty-ninth. Roll Doll's Tale of a Very Hungry, Very Sneaky Crocodile gets a colorful new musical staging. Dogman, the musical at the South Bake Center from July 30th.

⁓ based on Dev Pilke's wildly popular kids' comic, it's a fast and very silly musical following the half-dog, half-cop hero against the scheming cat PD aimed squarely at under twelves and their grown up grown-ups who have been dragged along for fun. Boleyn is back at the Tower of London from July twenty-fifth. The tower revisits the dramatic story of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's second queen, executed within its walls through live performances and costume interpretation across the summer.

And then the official Paddington Bear Experience Summer Special on the South Bank, a marmalade themed seasonal twist on the immersive, interactive walk through the world of London's favorite bear. So you can't visit London without doing Paddington. And I should mention, ⁓ the Paddington musical is also currently playing. And if you can snag tickets to that, it's a lot of fun.

So the weather. Let's talk about the weather. What's the weather going to be like in July? And I've I've talked about this before how it can be very hot, but it could be so cold you might get hypothermia because that has happened to me in July in England. So ⁓ but that's probably not going to be your experience this July. ⁓ as of this recording, which is I'm recording this on June 26th, London is in the middle of an exceptional early summer heat wave.

the Met office has issued rare red extreme heat warnings with temperatures reaching almost 100 degrees Fahrenheit. And we Americans are very used to 100 degree Fahrenheit temperatures, but the British are not used to that. that is extremely hot for England. and it's too hot because what have we talked about before?

⁓ old buildings are not air conditioned, new buildings might be air conditioned, some public transport might not be air conditioned, so it can be very difficult to cool off in this kind of heat. So, and if you're even if you're just out and about and going from air conditioned to air conditioned, ⁓ it's can be really hard to stay cool. So initiate ⁓ heat protocols in your travel. Stay hydrated, dress in layers so you can stay cool, ⁓ stay out of the direct sunlight, wear a hat.

Wear sunglasses, try to stay in air conditioning, ⁓ museums, movie theaters, ⁓ regular theaters, a lot of them will have air conditioning. And if you really want to cool down, ride the Elizabeth line from end to end. You can stay cool in the fresh modern train that is super air conditioned. ⁓ but even though it's one of the hottest Junes on record, forecasts in Britain can ship fast thanks to its maritime climate.

So our followers and we recommend just checking the weather forecast, check with the Met Office, get the MetOffice app on your phone. ⁓ you can download that in the US, you can keep up with the I guess I should explain what the Met Office is. The Med Office is the official British meteorological organization that that manages the weather. So get their app. You can't get any more official and you'll get the warnings. So you can keep up to date on that. So ⁓

Now that's this extreme heat and we'll talk about in a little bit how to

how to how to manage that in a sec, but what does a normal July look like? ⁓ even though the July's are getting hotter than usual because of climate change. ⁓ in an average year, London is warm rather than punishingly hot. So you can expect 70s, ⁓ maybe 80s, eight to nine hours of sunshine a day. We've passed we're now past the longest day of the year. So the days are getting shorter. ⁓

But you can also expect rain in July. And ⁓ even with the famously long days, you know, it it sun rises before 5 a.m. but still sets after 9 p.m. you get a lot of daylight and even if there is rain, they're usually brief showers that will pass and then you can get on with your day. So, you know, just plan ⁓ alternatives in your schedule so that if it does rain, you can be inside and then you can go back outside when it stops raining. So

a few things to note, like I mentioned the amount of daylight is just nuts. I mean, ⁓ sun up before 5 a.m., down after 9 p.m. It's glorious if you love long evenings, maddening if you try to sleep, you know, if you want to sleep in. but you know, you're in London. Why waste time sleeping? So the rain is real but mild. This is Britain, but July is one of the drier months when the rain, it's often brief.

Even mid in in if there's a heat wave going on, the rain is genuinely welcome. So you will see people dancing in the rain, quite literally.

humidity gets that's the thing is the humidity in Britain is so much worse than we have here in the US. It gets sticky and the tube is a sauna, especially in dense spots where tourists are gonna be like Leicester Square, Oxford Street. The older lines largely lack air conditioning. The central and northern lines are notorious for being hot because of the also because the clay in London holds heat and then doesn't release it. So it makes the underground an oven. ⁓ so the newer lines, like the Elizabeth line, will have air conditioning.

⁓ your the light is a secret superpower of July travel in London. That long golden evening light makes every gray building glow. Yes, it's hot. Yes, it's crowded, but the city looks absolutely beautiful at 8 p.m. with a cold glass of something in your hand. ⁓ so we luckily this month, I actually got a firsthand report from an Anglotopia ⁓ friend ⁓ who was in London a few weeks ago. And she so I wanted to share her firsthand account.

⁓ who she was in London for two weeks right in the middle of all this ⁓ this heat wave. ⁓ she they'd expected warm days, but they did not expect was the heat related red alerts, which is ⁓ which is abnormal. ⁓ she said the temperature climbed steadily th th through to about ninety eight degrees on their last day and it genuinely curtailed their plans. ⁓ she said they, you know,

Walking the sun drenched payments and riding the crowded tube in their words became a bit debilitating, especially as they were senior travelers. So they were older, and so the heat is a lot harder for them. ⁓ that's the real takeaway here. In an extreme heat event, the heat doesn't just make you uncomfortable. It it can quietly eat your itinerary and it can be dangerous for you. So if you're like me and you're in your forties, you'll probably be fine. But if you're in your sixties or seventies, this heat is deadly. So

it be warned that you need to have a plan to stay cool and stay hydrated. ⁓ one thing worth flagging is ⁓ with extreme heat, ⁓ venues or parts of venues might actually close. for example, even though the British Museum has air conditioning, some of the galleries ⁓ had to shut because they couldn't bring the temperature down even with the air conditioning and industrial fans. So they mentioned that they had visitors fainting from the heat and so

If you're building a trip around a specific thing you want to see, and during a heat wave, have a backup because you may not be able to see it. And just be flexible because be have alternatives to do because you may have to change your plans. ⁓ and their their the overall advice from the Singletopia friend who visited was that the right mindset for July trip and you're like this one, prepare for the worst, hope for the best. You'll probably still have a great time. So

⁓ so let's let's talk about how to stay cool in London. ⁓

I touched upon a a little upon this last month, but you know, most homes, smaller hotels and pubs, and even some museums won't have air conditioning. Older tube lines turn into an oven. So a heat wave catches a lot of visitors out. Here's a s few simple things that make all the difference. First, ⁓ which I mentioned in my last episode, the first thing you should do when you land and you've checked into your hotel is go to a local ironmonger or hardware store and get a fan.

Buy a fan. You will need a fan. Buy two fans. You'll have two fans. Be in a wind tunnel. even though sometimes it seems like the fans only move around hot air, ⁓ it does cool down at night. Those fans will be indispensable to help you sleep. I forgot to mention some people asked, well, what do you do with the fan when your trip is over? ⁓ oftentimes we'll just leave it in the hotel room and then the hotels will have them for future visitors. So ⁓ or you could also donate them to a charity shop if you wanted to.

don't try and pack them and bring them home because you can't use them because they all have bridge plugs. ⁓ you could also buy a handheld or battery-powered fan. I noticed a lot of people have these fans that they are like a collar that goes around your neck that has that blows that blows right into your face. ⁓ those are really cheap and those are worth getting. Yeah. Our our reader who visited, she had they had two rechargeable fans that clipped on to like their hat. And she said that the one that was handheld, they were especially

⁓ a godson on the tube when there was no AC. ⁓ boots, super drugs, supermarkets, Marks and Spencer, corner shops, they'll all sell fans or cooling water sprays. they sell out in the heat wave, so you may you may have to look around for one. ⁓ carry a refillable water bottle. And this is something I've actually recently started doing. even though I never leave the house, I just carry a water bottle wherever and London tap water is is

Famously delicious. But there's also public fountains around the city and there are new water refill spots that the city of London ha or that not the city of London because that's the city that the mayor of London has invested in. So you can refill those water bottles in multiple places. and there's even ⁓ there's even an app that tells you where you can refill water for free. ⁓ so carry water bottle, fill it up, keep it full. ⁓

So dodge the hottest tube lines, a deep level line, Central, Bakerloo, Northern, and Piccadilly. Those are the hottest, have little or no air conditioning. ⁓ the subsurface lines, district circle, Hammersmiths and City, Metropolitan and the Elizabeth line are air conditioned. for short hops, buses, and even walking just might be more comfortable because it can get really hot on a bus or in a train.

build-in air conditioned stops, big museums, British Museum, Tate Modern, National Gallery, department stores like Selfridges and John Lewis. And most cinemas will have air conditioning. ⁓ and besides cinemas, they're usually free. So have a walk around John Lewis and cool off for a bit. ⁓ chase shade and water. The parks and tree-lined squares are great places to relax. The Serpentine in Hyde Park along the water is having on a hot day. You know, those there's outdoor pools and lights.

So there's there's ways to stay cool. And if your hotel has a pool bonus, stay just stay in the water. ⁓ time your sightseeing, ⁓ walk and queue in the cooler early morning or the long golden evening. So save the middle of the day for indoor air conditioned attractions. ⁓ pack light, washable and breathable clothing, hat, sunglasses, sun cream, light loose clothing. ⁓ the UV index is higher. That

Than many visitors expect that far north. So just ⁓ our reader who wrote in s suggested wear lightweight wearable summer dresses and a wide brimmed hat and sticky heat. It's indispensable. Men wear shorts. ⁓ you don't see a lot of British people wearing shorts, but it's that's changed in recent years. Just wear shorts. Stay cool. And I I always wear t shirts, so or a polo. ⁓ and you can get ⁓ thinner polos that are that'll keep you cooler.

no long sleeve shirts, guys. You're gonna you're gonna kill yourselves. keep your room cool. so a lot of hotels, especially in Europe these days, like the power or the AC turns off when you leave the room because you take the key out of it, out of the thing. So it might be sweltering in your room when you get back and you didn't you didn't have a choice. Keep your curtains closed, keep it dark in there, and keep the fans on if if you can't figure out how to keep the fan on, even with the lights off. ⁓ above all.

Keep an eye on anyone who may be vulnerable to heat. Young travelers, young children, older travelers, and anyone with a health condition, don't push through if you don't feel if you feel dizzy or unwell. A London heat wave is very manageable, but you just have to maybe move a little slower, stay hydrated, and stay cool. So good luck.

let's talk about big seasonal events. So what is going on in July l London wide that everyone is coming to London for? well Wimbledon. ⁓ the the first two weeks of July are everything Wimbledon. So even if you couldn't get a ticket, excitement ripples through the city, strawberry pop-ups are everywhere, louder sports bars. There's a particular attention in the air if everyone's getting excited. It captures something deep in the London psyche.

⁓ so Wimbledon's going on. and while the World Cup is going on in the US, Mexico and Canada right now, it's will still be going on in the first part of July and you can expect ⁓ the pubs and and outdoor viewings and

especially if England makes it to the final rounds, you can expect big public spectacles for viewing parties. So keep an eye on the ground. I suspect Trafalgar Square will be a viewing area. So also going on is the BBC Proms, ⁓ which opens at the Royal Albert Hall in the middle of July and runs straight through August. the proms is extraordinary. It's just

Affordable classical music concerts spanning from Bach to brand new compositions. The last night in September is a British cornerstone. ⁓ but you know, there's plenty to see see in July. ⁓ tickets went on sale earlier this year, but you might still be able to snag tickets. So it's worth doing some great classical music, some great symphonies. It's worth doing. and this I should note that ⁓ in from late July to and early August.

Buckingham Palace will finally open to the public, the state rooms. So Buckingham Palace is normally not open to the public throughout the year, except for the summer opening when the when the royal family isn't using it. And so, ⁓ I I'm sorry, but if you haven't booked your tickets yet, you probably won't be able to get tickets. ⁓ but it's worth looking as well. Link in the show notes. ⁓ it's always I I'm actually really excited. I haven't

In 20 years, 25 years of travel to London, I haven't been to the Buckingham Palace State Rooms, and I'm finally going in August. So I booked my tickets back in February. So I cannot wait. ⁓ there are open air cinemas across London, but Somerset House, the Rooftop Film Club, Regents Park. That's just that that sounds fun. Nice, relaxing film, especially if it's not too hot. and then British Summertime is going on at Hyde Park. So that's a big music festival. it's a big ticket.

festival without the camping. but the big chunk of Hyde Park is gonna be given over to this concert as well as to proms. So ⁓ if you want to go for a stroll in Hyde Park, large parts of it might be closed off. So you've been warned.

All right. So what's open or closed this time of year? Virtually everything is open. It's the summer, peak tourist season. longer hours than the rest of the year. Museums sometimes stay open late on certain nights. The National Gallery and British Museum offer evening hours, which is nice. ⁓ gardens are in full blooms, so queue in the Chelsea physic garden and the parks are at their absolute peak. ⁓ some restaurants and attractions close for specific weeks as owners take their August holidays. It's a very London European thing.

But nothing significant shuts for a whole month. The tube will run lighter than usual. And some lines now run twenty four hours, but only some of them. ⁓ I'll link in the show notes to which ones do.

So this is already going on far longer than the previous episode, so I'm gonna start wrapping things up. so is July a good time to visit London? it depends. if you were going next week, I'd say expect it to be hot and crowded. you know, I'm I'm of two minds. Britain in the summer is beautiful, all the things going on is wonderful.

But I prefer Britain when it's quieter. I prefer the bumper seasons. I've been to Britain in winter more times than I've been to Britain in the summer. but if if July is great, if you love outdoor events, you want maximum daylight, you love seeing multiple attractions in in a day, you're okay with higher prices because it's peak tourist season, you enjoy museums and galleries that have longer evening hours, you want to see the social scene and do the

Big set piece British events, you can handle queues and crowds, and you want to see somebody like Wimbledon, then July is for you. Do go and go in July and enjoy yourself. Just remember, you could be hot, you could be cold, be prepared for all weather eventualities and be prepared for crowds. ⁓ but July is challenging if you want quieter museums and you want a more con contemplative London, you're budget conscious. I mean

The hotels are going to be the most expensive in July. You dislike crowds or long queues, you have mobility issues, you're heat sensitive or bothered by the tube line with no air conditioning. You want more relaxed meals without having to have booked them months in advance or even exhibitions months in advance. And you have children who are hoping for slightly fewer screaming humans at attractions. So my honest assessment is July is l is London at its most extroverted, most expensive, and most crowded, and honestly.

It's most beautiful. The city is showing off, and you can either love that or find it exhausting. There really is no middle ground. The weather will almost certainly be lovely, even if it if if it's a little warm. The events will be world-class, the prices will hurt, and the crowds will occasionally make you question your life choices. But will it have been worth it? London is worth it any other any time of the year. So yes, it would have been worth it. So so if you do come to London in July, make peace with the crowds now. Find the corners of the city that tourists haven't touched.

They'll still be there, tucked beneath, tucked between the major attractions. Walk slowly, sit in the parks, go to the pub early before the evening rush. The city is jammed with people, but it's also jammed with possibility. July is London sane. I'm giving you my absolute best. Here it is, take it or leave it. And most people will take it, which is exactly why it's so crowded. So take that's your complete guide to July in London for the full, constantly updated program, dozens more exhibitions, walks, talks, family events.

Head to our London events calendar over on Londontopia and we'll put the link in the show notes. If you find this useful, please subscribe, leave a comment, or tell me what you're most excited to see in London this summer over on YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook. And if you love what we do, please consider joining the Friends of Anglotopia Club for early access to episodes and a brilliant community of fellow Brita enthusiasts. Until next time, see you later.