Welcome to Between The Bridges, London’s 4,000 sq ft festival of fun – which can most boringly be described as a “really big beer garden” but should more accurately be described as “a massive, free to enter al fresco adult playground which fuses a smorgasbord of bars and street food with DJs, live music, drag brunches and special events; all packed into four different dining areas right by the Thames.”
Luke Dyson
It’s called Between The Bridges – possibly because it’s located between Westminster and Hungerford Bridges, but who knows – and tickets are now on sale for its summer 2024 incarnation, kicking off on 2nd May. We’re talking drag brunches hosted by Ru Paul stars like Baga Chipz; the all-day Father Ted love-in that is TEDFEST; mass karaoke nights with Barry off Eastenders; a 7-hour bank holiday edition of Swiftageddon; Euros screenings; rambunctious gigs from the legendary tweed-clad brass troupe, Old Dirty Brasstards; free DJ sets and late-night parties with Guilty Pleasures; and more. All of which take place in festoon-lit covered tents: this is an English summer, after all.
And the newest member of this eclectic gang? That would be the Crazy Boules course. It’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like: a mashup of crazy golf and boules, with a neon-stripped course that nevertheless has a distinctly unpolished charm. The idea is pretty simple – through a series of custom-built courses, you’ll have to try and hurl your silver boule down ramps, across jumps, and through loops to try and land it as close to the illuminated goal at the end as possible.
Luke Dyson
The food and drink options at Between The Bridges are plentiful too, thanks to pop up bars serving craft beers and cocktails, alongside a sizeable line up of street food traders including Krapow, Lil’Watan, La Cocinita, Meat Head, and Bang Bang Burger.
It’s going to pop off.
NOTE: Between The Bridges reopens 2nd May 2024. It’s free entry, but you can see what’s on and book tickets for special events HERE.
Between The Bridges | Queen’s Walk, South Bank, SE1
Looking for more al fresco hangouts? Check out our guide to London’s best rooftops