Free And Cheap Things To Do This Week In London: 20-26 January 2025

Things to do for a fiver or less.

Budget-friendly things to do in London this week for £5 or less.

Looking for more free things to do in London? Here are 102 of em! We've also compiled this epic map of free stuff in London.

Look out for Blue Monday deals

Monday 20 January is Blue Monday, apparently the most depressing day of the year, but really a concept invented by a travel company back in 2005 as a way to sell holidays. Either way, several companies now peddle Blue Monday offers every year. Here are some we're aware of — though you might have to be quick to nab them:

Hummingbird Bakery is offering pink cupcakes for £1 at all six of its London branches on Monday 20 January, while stocks last

Oxygen Activeplay offers free toddler and Open Play sessions all day — you'll need to book in advance for this one

Oysters are priced at £1.50 each all day at The Seafood Bar in Soho.

250 free blueberry cheesecake doughnuts are being given away at each of the Bread Ahead bakeries in Wembley, Battersea and South Kensington. Available from opening time until stock runs out.

Hear from the experts at various free lectures and talks

A selection of the various topics you can swot up on without spending a penny this week:

Dick Whittington: City of London Guide & Lecturer Jill Finch tells the story of one of the Square Mile’s most famous citizens, Dick Whittington, in conjunction with the Whittington Exhibition at Guildhall Library. Free, 20 January

Culture in crisis: Hear about this year's watch list of monuments and cultural heritage sites around the world which are considered to be under threat, from factors such as conflict and the climate crisis. Free, 21 January

Islamic art: More tour than talk, but a chance to find out how William Morris was inspired by art from the Islamic world, led by a curator of the current exhibition on this topic. Free, 22 January

Dark matter: The Royal Observatory's Think Space series has Dr Elizabeth Cunningham talking about the latest research into dark matter, and why we believe there's a lot more to the universe than we've found so far. Free, 23 January

Eric Ravilious: Ella Ravilious, granddaughter of painter Eric Ravilious, discusses his time at the Royal College of Art when it was based at the V&A, and how it influenced his work. Free, 23 January

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Stroll around a trio of free light festivals

Not one, not two but three free light trails open in London this week, giving you ample opportunity to bask in the glow of illuminated artworks (and maybe even enjoy these dark nights).

Canary Wharf Winter Lights sees 11 temporary light artworks dotted around the docks and among the skyscrapers, including a towering stack of bathtubs pulsing with light and sound, and an iridescent mirage. Find a map of all the installations online. Free, 21 January-1 February, 5pm-10pm each evening.

Here We Go brings eight different installations to Westfield London in Shepherd's Bush, including incandescent colourful bubbles, and roaming Inuit-style characters. Free, 23 January-2 March.

A horse on a spring that can be ridden, and a playful neon ball of wool are among the eight large illuminated artworks which together form Battersea Power Station Light Festival. You'll find the lights both inside and outside the Power Station building. Free, 23 January-23 February.

Attend a free concert

Several London venues offer regular, free concerts if you know where to look (which we do, naturally). Two which caught our attention this week are:

Chapel Music at the Charterhouse, a free performance by the Pegasus Choir, held in the beautiful chapel in Clerkenwell. Free, 21 January.

Lunchtime concert at Dulwich Picture Gallery, when talented students from local schools perform in Christ's Chapel. This Wednesday, watch the next generation of musicians from Dulwich College performing in the remarkable setting. Free, 22 January.

... Or art exhibition

Try The Republic — photojournalist and filmmaker Seamus Murphy's humorous but affectionate photo essay on the people of Ireland. Among photos is the one that started it all: one of a man in County Wexford, riding a horse backwards through a hedge. As Murphy puts it: "A glimpse of the comedy we make of life, death, and the rules in Ireland." The exhibition is at Leica Gallery London near Bond Street. Free, until 6 March

Immerse yourself in bodies of water... without getting wet

Coincidentally, two immersive events themed around water come to a close this week, and both are free.

Virtual Worlds: Corals at the Grant Museum of Zoology is a VR experience, immersing you in a coral reef environment by using audio and visual elements from the Pacific Ocean. It's an insight into the significance of coral ecosystems in terms of biodiversity and climate awareness. Free, until 25 January

Meanwhile, over at the Natural History Museum, you can immerse yourself in the depths of the River Thames, via audio installation The River. Sit on a bench or beanbag and listen to recordings from underwater habitats in London's main waterway, and hear how human-made noises can contribute to sound pollution. Free, until 26 January

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Count the birds in your local garden or park

It's that time of year again, when avian charity RSPB asks for the public's help in monitoring the health and distribution of bird species. To take part in the Big Garden Birdwatch, simply spend an hour in an outside space making a note of the types and numbers of birds you see, then report your findings back to the RSPB. Got a garden or balcony? You can do it there. Otherwise, swing by your local park and do it there instead.

The results help the charity to keep an eye on any species which may be in danger, and to get a sense of any overall patterns in bird health.

Free, 24-26 January

Watch a reenactment of Charles I's execution day

If you find yourself in the vicinity of Horse Guards Parade on Sunday morning, you might end up feeling like you've travelled back in time, as scores of volunteers in royalist costumes with mounted troops and weapons retrace the final journey of King Charles I, as he was escorted to the scaffold at Banqueting House.

The annual event by The King's Army, a royalist branch of the English Civil War Society, is free to watch, and quite the spectacle.

Free, 26 January.

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