🖼️ 5 things to do in London this weekend with the kids (12–13 July)

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Hey DILFs! 

In news that will marginally excite up to no more than three of you, Finsbury Circus Gardens has reopened after more than a decade!! (Crossrail is mostly to blame for the closure.) If you’re worried that’s too much of a thrill to handle, don’t panic: it’s only partially reopened.

To be fair, this is kind of a big deal for City workers. If you’re not being taken to lunch on someone else’s expense account, you’re probably eating a Pret wrap on a bench next to some roadworks or a homemade sandwich at your desk. This park gives you OPTIONS.

It also happens to be London’s first public park, dating from 1607 – a nice-to-know fact, even if it won’t make your Meal Deal taste any better. And it really does look rather glorious. There’s a new “urban forest”, islands full of bedded plants, lots and lots of benches, and some lovely new walking paths.

Even if you don’t work in the area, there’s a good chance you pass by on the weekends – perhaps on the way to the Barbican, Eataly, Whitechapel Gallery or Spitalfields Market. If that’s the case, pop in. I know I’ve undersold it, but it’s genuinely very peaceful, extremely central, and far more charming than any patch of lawn in Zone 1 has a right to be.

Anyway! Here are lots of other things you can do too. Enjoy! 

Jeff xx

1: Embrace festival chaos with massage, music and magical mist machines

Big Beat Playground Summer Festival
Saturday 12 July, 13:00–19:00
Our Yard at Clitterhouse Farm, Claremont Road Playing Fields, NW2 1AP
Adults £14.50, under-18s £7.50, pre-walking infants free
Age guidance: suitable for all

Benjamin Franklin was wrong about “death and taxes” being the only certainties in life. If he’d spent more time attending summer fetes instead of inventing bifocals and tinkering with kites in thunderstorms, he’d have realised that, actually, “Nothing is certain except death, taxes and face painting at summer festivals.” I’ve done my research. I’ve checked my sources. I’ve interrogated multiple dads in bucket hats over the years. There is always face painting at summer festivals. So you’ll find it at Big Beat Playground.

But there’s also tons of other stuff to do – and not just the usual suspects of henna, hula hoops, a bouncy castle and arts & crafts. I’m most excited about the licensed bar and therapeutic massage because I’ve had a bit of a rough week, but I’m also keen to check out the “willow weaving”, “finger pottery” and “parachute dance” because I have no idea what they are and sometimes it’s healthy to blindly surrender yourself to chaos.

There’s also an inflatable obstacle course – but I’m not going to let myself get too excited because it might be for children only. Ditto the bouncy castle. The gaming station loaded with retro games is bound to have a queue from the start – so I hope you’re in the mood to lie, push or make morally dubious deals with a six-year-old if you ever want to get to the front of that one.

Oh and music! No children’s songs whatsoever (excellent!), but lots of “Uplifting House”, “Club Classics” and “the very best of Reggae, Calypso and Carnival” (less excellent). Plus food. And so many more activities. I’m not saying I’ve drawn up a full-blown operations manual, but I do have a mental flowchart that begins with “Limbo or Inflatable Balls?” and ends with “Collapse quietly next to the soft play”.

Find out more: https://bigbeatplayground.co.uk/ 

While you’re there… 

👍️ I swear Flip Out Brent Cross never used to have an average Google rating of 4.6 (from 10,248 reviews, at the time of writing). By which I mean: I’m almost certain the rating was “service station toilet” terrible at one point. Maybe it’s had a revamp. There’s definitely been an overhaul of staff: Renee, Sayd, Yusuf, Naomi, Abdul and Alishba get multiple shout-outs from happy customers. Whatever the reason(s), it seems like Flip Out Brent Cross is now a decent place for trampolining with the family. 

👍️ If you’re not down for seeing your kid throw up all their festival falafel and ice cream, try a gentle soft play instead. Topsy Turvy World (suitable for under-12s) is a bugger to find (you get to it via a car park inside Brent Cross, and I’ve never been so lost in my life), but the effort is worth it: a HUGE soft play area for your kids, and a nice-ish cafe/seating area for you to relax. 

2: Celebrate pop’s golden age while your kids invent new moves

C’est La Vie – 90s and 00s Family Disco
Sunday 13 July, 12:00–17:00
Big Penny Social, 1 Priestley Way, E17 6AL
£9.92 per person
Age guidance: suitable for all

I am many things, and one of those things is “a big fan of 90s pop music”. One of those things is not “a cool person”. I’m almost certain I can still do all the moves from Backstreet’s Back, and I know for a fact that I’m able to recite Nicole Appleton’s entire spoken‑word intro from Never Ever: I did it the other day in front of my boys, and they looked at me like I was leaking from the brain.

If you too were born with an immunity to trendiness, you'll happily admit that the 90s were the most joyful years in music – and that nothing has come close ever since. Even though Barbie Girl arguably marked the peak, pop was still going strong in the early 00s too: Whenever, Wherever gave us hips with their own sense of direction, Sounds of the Underground was practically pop perfection, and The Ketchup Song came with a dance that lived rent-free in every Year 5 disco.

So it’s with unbelievable heartache, grief and jealousy that I share C’Est La Vie – 90s and 00s Family Disco with you. Because I can’t effing go. Because we have “other plans”. And before you ask, I’ve checked and the answer is no: “our plans can’t be moved this time”.

Apparently, there’ll be Take That, Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, Biggie, TLC, Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince, Eternal, The Vengaboys, En Vogue, Fatboy Slim and East 17, among others. I can’t even think about it without feeling like I’ve lost custody of my own childhood.

So go. Go and dance. Go and have the time of your life. And if they play 5,6,7,8, I hope you stomp so hard you dislodge a filling.

Find out more: https://bigpennysocial.co.uk/whats-on/cest-la-vie 

While you’re there… 

👍️ Walthamstow Wetlands is the main source of water supply for 3.5 million people, as well as an internationally important nature reserve that provides home and shelter to a range of wildlife. It’s a beautiful and peaceful area to visit, with plenty of walking paths and lots of bird-spotting to be had. Check out these photos for an idea of what it’s like.

3: Sail through a sea-themed day of rhythm and movement

Rhythm!
Saturday 12 July, 11:00–17:00
National Maritime Museum, Romney Road, SE10 9NF
Free
Age guidance: suitable for all

I wanted to be cynical. At first glance, Rhythm! looked like someone took a regular family dance festival and reverse-engineered a justification for it using nautical metaphors. “Join in the wave of music washing over the National Maritime Museum,” they said. “There’s plenty to float your boat.” “Dive into dance workshops.” You could practically hear the funding application being typed – water reference, water reference, community engagement, water reference – just enough for the money people to glance at and nod through.

In my concerted effort to call them out for their watery agenda, I even read the museum’s Strategic Vision – and found myself smugly thinking that this blatant excuse to shoehorn a disco onto a map of the Atlantic met none of their criteria.

But annoyingly, it does. The whole day is free, open to everyone, and built around themes of movement, connection and wellbeing – the sort of language the Strategic Vision practically does backflips for. There are ocean-inspired dance performances, a film screening set against the seascapes of Torbay, and movement workshops led by Sara Dos Santos (a choreographer with a strong track record in community-led dance projects). There’s even a family disco with DJs and ocean-themed prizes. 

It’s participatory, inclusive, and rooted – quite literally – in the idea of the sea as a shared space. Which, irritatingly, is more or less exactly what the museum’s Strategic Vision said they were aiming for.

So there you have it. I came ready to sneer at a soggy metaphor parade and ended up impressed by a museum delivering on its grand promises – via a disco, some contemporary dance and a giant floor map. I still think “float your boat” should be punishable by fine, but fair play to them: if this is what maritime outreach looks like now, I’m on board.

Find out more: https://www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/national-maritime-museum/rhythm

While you’re there… 

👍️ Whenever a new, half-decent playground appears in London – one that doesn’t look like “a gated spliff area for the local teens” – there’s usually a lot of excitement, enthusiasm and online chat. For some reason, The Cove playground didn’t generate much hype when it arrived at the National Maritime Museum a couple of years ago – even though it’s such a unique and fun place. Check out some photos here. 

👍️ The Cutty Sark Rig Climb is BACK! If you’re aged 10 or older, you can climb the ship’s famous masts – just like hundreds of sailors did during its time at sea between 1870 and 1954. The view (of both the ship itself and the Thames) is meant to be incredible.

4: Strengthen your dad-daughter bond with rabbinical wisdom and jazz hands

Father & Daughter Drama Workshop
Sunday 13 July, 11:00
Barbican Centre, Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS
Adults £15, under-16s free
Age guidance: 11+

When I was young, I thought being a good parent mostly meant holding onto receipts and owning a file labelled “Wills & Important Stuff”. Turns out it’s more about staying calm during emotional ambushes and pretending you know how to answer big questions about life.

So if someone offers you an afternoon to sit with your child and talk – properly talk (eek!) – you say yes. Even if it’s technically a workshop inspired by Fiddler on the Roof. Even if there’s a risk you’ll have to do a bit of singing.

It’s led by a rabbi and a musical theatre actor, which sounds like the setup to a joke… and maybe it is. Maybe the joke is that you came for a nice afternoon with your offspring and left wondering if you’ve been emotionally available since 1994.

You don’t need to know every lyric or have a fully worked-out stance on the moral arc of Tevye. You just need to turn up with your daughter (11+), keep an open mind, and be willing to spend an afternoon exploring some properly big topics – through creative activities, group discussion, and whatever version of “family” you happen to bring with you. All gently steered by Fiddler. It’s not quite a trip to the trampoline park or a day at the playground– but the emotional somersaults are just as ambitious. (Groan: sorry about that last sentence.)

Find out more: https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2025/event/father-daughter-drama-workshop 

While you’re there… 

👍️ The Barbican’s new Frequencies season is all about interrogating “how we perceive and encounter sound” – with club nights, live sets, workshops and more. At the heart of it all is Feel the Sound, a full-venue exhibition that promises to “rearrange what you think sound is”. It includes various multi-sensory installations that span the length and breadth of the venue – from the car parks to the Lakeside Terrace. 

You’ll “dance to beats from car sound-systems”, “join an ever-expanding choral experience”, “discover your inner symphony” and “feel music without any sound”. It all sounds quite vague, and I have to be honest: I wasn’t quite sure what I was doing most of the time I was there. But it was jolly good fun, and my kids absolutely loved the interactive installations (of which there are tons). 

5: Judge the judges’ favourites at a portrait show with prizes

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2025
Saturday 10:30–21:00 and Sunday, 10:30–18:00 (and daily until 12 October)
National Portrait Gallery, St Martin's Place, WC2H 0HE
Free
Age guidance: suitable for all

Some people are so desperate to see their name on the door that they don’t stop to consider whether it should be. Take Wright Hassall – a perfectly legitimate firm of solicitors that sounds like an angry complaint shouted mid-divorce. Or Womble Bond Dickinson, which sounds like a corporate merger between Wimbledon Common and a movie villain. And Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, where you’d always struggle to recall the correct order of names – even with a printed letterhead in front of you. The only explanation is unchecked egotism: no one involved could bear to be left off the sign.

Which brings us to the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2025 – a name so overloaded with surnames it reads like the board of governors at a prep school in Chipping Norton. The law firm is actually the result of multiple mergers over the years – one of which used to be called, and I shit you not, Nickerson, Kramer, Lowenstein, Nessen & Kamin. Thank goodness it’s not still around to sponsor art exhibitions: the promo would have to continue on the next bus.

But once you’ve made it past the name – possibly stopping for snacks at the halfway point – what lies beyond is great. This year’s exhibition features 46 new portraits, whittled down from over 1,300 entries and judged by a panel that includes two Rosies and lots of job titles that sound appropriately artsy. 

Some of the portraits are traditional, others lean contemporary, and a few feel like they’re about to blink – but all of them show just how much you can do with a paintbrush and a face. There’s £35,000 up for grabs for first prize, plus separate awards for second, third, young artist, and a future commission – which, to be clear, is certainly not why I’ve been Googling “How to paint faces convincingly in under a week”. 

Find out more: https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/2025/hsfk-portrait-award/