In West London, rain might come out of nowhere, but that doesn’t mean your plans have to fall apart. There are a lot of indoor places in the region where you may stay dry and have fun for a few hours.
Staying In and Playing Games
Some days you just don’t want to go out, and rain is a great reason to stay home. Put on a game, get cosy on the couch, and don’t pay attention to what’s going on outside. Rainy days are great for playing with your Xbox or a mobile game you downloaded a long time ago but haven’t used in a while.
The list of UK online casinos has grown properly massive lately. You can play blackjack with real dealers on camera, have a go at slots with themes ranging from ancient Egypt to football, or watch a roulette wheel spin while you’re sitting in your pants eating cereal.
The tech’s got good enough that it doesn’t feel like you’re staring at some dodgy website from 2005. Live tables have actual people dealing cards, the games load fast on your phone, and you can dip in and out whenever you fancy.
There are also a lot of board game cafés in London currently. Draughts and other board game cafés have hundreds of games, some of which you might not know. If you need help, the staff will explain the rules. You pay a nominal price to use the table, order meals, and play strategy games for hours. It’s a good choice when it’s raining hard.
Museums That Don’t Charge Entry
It takes a lot of time to fully visit the Natural History Museum. It has dinosaur skeletons, preserved specimens, and the famed whale skeleton that draws many people to it. The structure is warm and dry, and you can spend hours looking at the several exhibits on geology and natural history. If you want to see old furniture and elegant gowns instead, the V&A is next door. There are cafés in both sites where you can sit down when your feet are tired.
The Science Museum is better if you want to press buttons and fiddle with things rather than just reading labels. Loads of interactive bits that kids go mental for, but grown-ups end up hogging them too. The space section’s decent if you’re into that sort of thing. Entertainment spending in Britain topped £100 billion this year, and museums have cottoned on that they need to offer more than just glass cases to keep people coming through the door.
Shopping Centres Where You Stay Dry
Westfield Shepherd’s Bush is massive. You could spend an entire day there without seeing all the shops. It contains high street chains, designer boutiques, a cinema, and restaurants offering various international cuisines. The entire complex is indoors and climate-controlled, so the rain outside becomes easy to forget.
Portobello Market has covered sections where antique dealers operate, though you’ll still get wet moving between some stalls. Old vinyl records, vintage clothes, weird ornaments your nan would love. People spent more than £5 billion on home entertainment last year, which explains why half the stalls now flog retro video games and old consoles alongside the usual tat.
Kensington High Street works if you need something specific from Boots or M&S. The shops are close together, so you can run between them without drowning. John Lewis is good for wasting time, even if you’re not buying anything.
Pubs Where You Can Camp Out
Churchill Arms in Kensington looks ridiculous covered in flowers, but inside it’s proper cosy and they do Thai food for some reason. Get a corner spot, order a pint, and watch everyone else getting soaked through the window.
Notting Hill’s full of small cafés where nobody cares if you sit there for three hours nursing one coffee. Most have WiFi, some do proper lunch menus, and they’re warmer than standing outside waiting for the rain to stop. Pick one that looks busy enough that you won’t feel awkward but not so packed you can’t get a seat.
Admiral Codrington in Chelsea is posher if you want somewhere you won’t feel guilty spending the whole afternoon. Decent food, loads of seating, the sort of pub where people read newspapers and nobody’s in a rush to leave.
Things to Do That Aren’t Sitting Down
K1 Speed’s got indoor go-karting on a proper long track. You wear a helmet, get strapped into a kart, and try not to crash into the barriers while your mates take the piss. Good for an hour if you’re bored with walking around shops.
Escape rooms are everywhere now. West London’s got a few where they lock you in a room full of puzzles and you’ve got an hour to get out. Some are horror-themed, others are more detective stories or sci-fi stuff. Works best with three or four people who can actually solve things; otherwise, you just stand there feeling thick for an hour.
There are also climbing walls all around the place. You don’t need any experience; they give you shoes and a safety rope, and you can try it out. If you like jumping about and pretending you’re not tired after five minutes, trampoline parks are the same way.
Leisure centres are no longer only places to swim. There are gyms, saunas, steam rooms, and classes you can join. You could spend an entire afternoon at either the Pavilion or the Kensington Leisure Centre. Even though you were only hiding from the rain, you can feel like you’ve done something useful by swimming, sitting in the sauna, and taking a shower.
