Top 5 Rainy Day Options
You don't need us to tell you the Wetland Centre is designed to be best viewed in dour conditions. It's arguably the place to visit when the heavens open. Stick your boots and a raincoat on, pay the entry fee (under fours go free) and off you go. Roam at your leisure or take a guided tour (where the the prices really start to ramp up). Either way, there are several different manmade habitats to discover with pools, lakes and ponds housing species of bird, frog, and newt.
Image credit: Jeremy Floyd
If ever there was an excuse for some devilish indulging, Fortnum & Mason in Piccadilly has to be up there with some of the best. Spread over six floors accessible by a beautiful spiral staircase, F&M provides those after a touch of luxury in their lives with that very thing. Expect vintage cheeses, superior meats from their delicatessen, the finest wines and champagnes, and the most elegant afternoon tea, coffee and ice cream selections from their on-site restaurant. And, that’s before you even lay eyes on the mighty array of picnic hampers and piles of posh accessories.
Image credit: Susan Arnold
An IMAX experience is so much more than the usual cinematic one. The screen overshadows all within the auditorium and, such is its size, causes you to shift in your seat as the movie plays. It’s the ultimate way to see a movie for the full effect, and there are five IMAXes in London: Wimbledon, Swiss Cottage, Kingston, Uxbridge, and Greenwich. Teaming up with Odeon Cinemas, IMAX London showcases all the latest blockbusters, some of which are even in 3D. It’s the closest you’ll come to swinging from Spidy’s web or riding shotgun with the Dark Knight.
Image credit: Guy Arnold
The Greenwich Meridian Line at London’s Royal Observatory divides the world’s eastern and western hemispheres. For a fee you can come and stand on the famous division and be in two different hemispheres at once. You can check out the infinitely interesting time and astronomy galleries, the planetarium, and the curiously beautiful Flamsteed House, designed by Sir Christopher Wren for King Charles II. Take a careful look at Flamsteed House to see one of the world’s earliest time signals in action.
Image credit: © National Maritime Museum, London
With a healthy selection of eight lanes lining the floor of this Bloomsbury bowling hangout, you'll easily be able to squeeze a bunch of mates in for a few games. The more the merrier, actually, because group prices are a more affordable option. There's loads to do here besides pin-smashing and it's definitely not your typical Odeon-style bowling joint, either. There's karoke in a separate room and a bar chock-full of liquor and other booze to keep everyone's spirits in check. They also cater for ping-pong parties, and there are Foosball and pool tables as well.
