50 Autumn Date Ideas

Autumn.

It’s the perfect time to ahem, fall for someone.

And as your humble advisors regarding the best of London, allow us to take you on a little whirlwind tour of the most date-worthy events and places to visit in this fair city this season, from candlelit gigs in a bombed-out church to secret bars; campfire parties; hidden cinemas; boat trips; fireworks; and the occasional rutting stags.

So without further ado, behold our Autumn date ideas…
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Listen To A Live Orchestra In A Multi-Storey Car Park

Then head up for an Autumnal sunset and a spritz at Frank’s.

Details: 14th & 15th September | Bold Tendencies, Floors 7-10, 95a Rye Lane, SE15 4TG | £10
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Go on a Cosy Cruise with Cocktails Ahoy!

THIS is what floats your boat. READ MORE

Details: Saturdays in September & October | Alfred Le Roy, Canalside Queen’s Yard, E9 5EN | From £19
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Do The Crossword In A Pub With An Open Fire

…These are our favourites.
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Explore A Cinema Hidden Behind A Wardrobe

And book the karaoke booth for after the film. READ MORE

Details: Opens 13th September | 13 Wandsworth Plain, SW18 1ET
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Go Cider Tasting

Here’s a decent place to do that.

Details: 2nd November & 7th December | The Draft House, 206-208 Tower Bridge Road, SE1 2UP | £55
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Go Apple Picking!

With the apple of your eye, of course. VIEW DETAILS

Details: Daily | Garsons, Winterdown Road, West End, Esher, KT10 8LS | Pay per kilo
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Or Pumpkins, If It’s That Time Of Year

Then have a carve-off. VIEW DETAILS

Details: 26th-31st October | Secretts, Hurst Farm, Chapel Lane, Milford, Surrey, GU8 5HU
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Go Deer-Spotting in Richmond Park

It’s surprisingly easy to track them down. VIEW DETAILS

Details: Richmond Park, TW10 5HS | Free Entry
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Go to an Oktoberfest Wearing Lederhosen/Dirndls

Everyone else will look underdressed. Trust us.
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Go to A Museum Late

Learn how awesome museums are with cocktails instead of coach tour groups. READ MORE
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Watch A Film Beneath The Stars (With Blankets)

The Luna Cinema still run past September, amazingly. READ MORE
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Attend A Gothic Masked Ball Beneath Waterloo Station

It involves a ghost orchestra… READ MORE

Details: 24th September – 12th January | The Vaults, Leake Street, Lambeth, SE1 7NN | £15-70
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Toast Marshmallows at the Midnight Apothecary

It’s a rooftop cocktail bar in a garden. With unlimited marshmallows for the fire-pits. What’s not to love? READ MORE

Details: Fridays and Saturdays until the end of September | Brunel Museum, Railway Avenue, SE16 4LF | £5
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Before Going Downstairs to Watch A Theremin Concert In A Victorian Tunnel

It’s an instrument you can play without touching it. READ MORE

Details: 13th October | The Brunel Museum, Tunnel Road, SE16 4LF | £20
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Book In To A Secret Underground Ramen Club

Try it before it goes permanent and becomes an overground ramen club. READ MORE
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Pick Out A Book For Each Other At Daunt

Then read the first chapters to each other over strudel at Fischer’s.

Details: Open daily | 83 Marylebone High Street, W1U 4QW
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Go for the Perfect Roast

Maybe try all of them, just to be sure. READ MORE
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See a Play in a Candlelit Theatre

It’s the Globe’s closed-roof – and sliightly more autumn-friendly – cousin. VIEW DETAILS

Details: 21 New Globe Walk, SE1 9DT | From £10
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Visit One of London’s Cosier Museums

The candlelit tours of Sir John Soane’s house are well worth the queue. READ MORE

Details: Open Wed-Sun; lates on 20th September, 25th October, 8th & 22nd November, 6th December | 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, WC2A 3BP | Ticketed free entry, lates £25
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Go On A Day Trip

Pretty sure two total strangers could end up engaged here. READ MORE
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Cosy Up with Campfire Club

Music, marshmallows and a crackling fire = peak autumn. READ MORE

Details: Several dates | Various (woodland) venues | From £5
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Hole Up In A Wine Bar For The Night

Leave with a bottle to take with you on your next date, at a BYOB restaurant. READ MORE
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Catch Evita at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Book a pitch on the grass, bring blankets and order boozy hot chocolates for the interval. READ MORE

Details: Until 21st September | Regent’s Park, NW1 4NU | From £25
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Go Vintage Shopping Down Camden Passage

Buy each other weird antique spoons and Hokusai prints, then stop for brunch at Brother Marcus. READ MORE

Details: Camden Passage, Angel Islington, N1 8EA
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Go Watch The Fireworks At Alexandra Palace

Unless you already have enough fireworks of your own… READ MORE

Details: 1st & 2nd November | Alexandra Palace, Alexandra Palace Way, N22 7AY | £9.50
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Go Star-Gazing

Not the Leicester Square kind, the Greenwich Observatory kind… READ MORE

Details: Daily, 10am-5pm | Royal Observatory, Blackheath Avenue, Greenwich SE10 8XJ | £9-10
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Go To Emerge Festival

And go to a 60s house party in Jimi Hendrix’s flat, hear lectures beneath a giant moon, listen to music in a Victorian ice cellar, and more… READ MORE

Details: 27th & 28th September | Across London | From £15
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Feel Intellectual At A Talk

Don’t make any jokes about mass debating. READ MORE
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Hold A Board Game Tournament At Draughts

Loser gets the drinks in. READ MORE

Details: Open daily | 337 Acton Mews, E8 4EA | £5pp cover charge
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Test Your Sunday Compatibility At Sunday Papers Live

Comfy sofas, roasts, Bloody Maries and fascinating speakers. It’s not the worst place to start a tradition… READ MORE

Details: 29th September | Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regent’s Park Road, NW1 7AY | From £20
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See The New William Blake Exhibition at Tate Britain

If ‘Satan Smiting Job With Sore Boils’ doesn’t set the mood for romance, we don’t know what will. VIEW DETAILS

Details: Daily until 2nd February 2020 | Tate Britain, Millbank, SW1P 4RG | £18
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Book For London’s Hottest New Restaurant Opening

Accessible, naturally, by its own outdoor lift. READ MORE

Details: Opens 10th October | 10th Floor, The Standard London, 10 Argyle Street, WC1H 8EG
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Have Your Own Ghost Moment In A Pottery Class

Then sip smugly from your slightly off-centre mugs by the fireside later. READ MORE
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Take A Leisurely Dinner Cruise Along London’s Canals

Candlelight, oysters and wine. You literally cannot go wrong. READ MORE

Details: Cruises Tuesday-Sunday | The Prince Regent, Sheldon Square, W2 6DS | £50
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Go For A Midnight Swim (in a heated pool)

They’ll switch on the Christmas lights on the 29th November, too. READ MORE

Details: 13th September, 1st & 29th November, 21st & 27th December | Hampton Pool, High Street, TW12 2ST
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Don Your Tweeds at Mac & Wild

And go on a virtual game hunt through the Highlands in their underground whisky bar. READ MORE

Details: Monday-Saturday | 9a Devonshire Square, EC2M 4YN | £70
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Eat Enough Cheese To Last You Till Christmas

Here are the best places in London to get it. READ MORE
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Head To A TT Liquor Cocktail Masterclass

Then drink your homework. READ MORE

Details: Fridays & Saturdays | TT Liquor, 17b Kingsland Road, E2 8AA | £70
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Hibernate In One Of London’s Hidden Bars

Any of these should do quite nicely. READ MORE
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See The Leaves Changing Colour From Peckham’s New Rooftop Restaurant

And order some negronis and Garibaldis to match. READ MORE
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Go To A Listening Party In The Dark

A spine-tinglingly atmospheric way to listen to music. READ MORE

Details: Throughout Autumn | Across London | From £8
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Attend A Philosophy Festival On Hampstead Heath

Music, comedy, banquets and talks in a set of cosy yurts. READ MORE

Details: 21st & 22nd September | Kenwood House, Hampstead Lane, Highgate, NW3 7JR | £52-114
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Run Around London On A Cryptic Hunt

Solve clues sent to your phone (with pub stops built in)… READ MORE
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Watch Some Comedy Together

Even if the acts are terrible, at least you’ll seem hilarious by comparison. READ MORE
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Watch Acoustic Musicians Play In A Candlelit, Bombed-Out Church

And yes, there’s mulled wine. READ MORE

Details: October 22nd, November 19th, December 10th | The Asylum Chapel, Caroline Gardens, Peckham, SE15 2SQ | £20
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Watch A Shakespearean Romance Beneath Alexandra Palace

A promenade performance in 150 year old basements… READ MORE

Details: Until 28th September | Alexandra Palace, Alexandra Palace Way, N22 7SS | £28.50
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Sip Cocktails In A Victorian Pie & Mash Shop

By night, it becomes a low-lit drinking den with beautiful time-warped surroundings. READ MORE

Details: Fridays & Saturdays from 20th September | L. Manze’s Pie & Mash Shop, 76 High Street, E17 7LD
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Eat Floating Yorkshire Puddings On An Aeroplane

At the immersive dining experience currently taking place in Shoreditch Town Hall… READ MORE

Details: 23rd September – 12th October | Shoreditch Town Hall, 380 Old Street, EC1V 9LT | From £27.50
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Explore The Barbican Conservatory By Night

It’s free, and there’s a wine bar. You’re welcome. READ MORE

Details: Saturday nights | Barbican Centre, Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS | Free entry, but book ahead
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Go For Dinner With A View

One of these ought to fit the bill. READ MORE

 

Last Updated: 11th September 2019 | Main image: London Shell Co.

 

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Want more date ideas? Check out 100 fool-proof year-rounders right here