Bits and bobs worth knowing.

☕ Quince bakery in Islington opening new café Clementine on 3 October: Unapologetically British café opening on New North Road. Think porridge, pies, soups, toasties, scones with jam and cream. Run by Scottish chef Anna Higham who previously worked at The River Cafe and under Gordon Ramsay.

🍎 North London volunteers harvesting tonnes of fruit from private gardens before it goes to waste: Kensal to Kilburn Fruit Harvesters collected 3,000kg of fruit last year from 65 harvests across Kilburn gardens. Most goes to local food banks. Rest turned into jams and juices sold at Queens Park Day. Started by Michael Stuart in 2009 after quitting his job and hating waste. Now 550 pickers and 260 gardens on their mailing list. Groups also active in Cricklewood, Harlesden, Islington and Haringey.

Hampstead Photo Walk | 📍Hampstead, NW3 | 23 August | (£)
A photo walk is exactly what it sounds like: you wander somewhere interesting with a camera, stop when something catches your eye and shoot as you go. This one spends two hours around Hampstead and finishes during golden hour, when the evening light is at its softest. The first two walks sold out, with more than 70 people joining the waitlist, so this is the third and final Hampstead date before the group moves elsewhere in September. Bring a film camera, digital camera or just your phone. All levels welcome. Limited to 25 people to keep it small and social. 5.30pm to 7.30pm, with the exact meeting point sent 24 hours before.



Inflatable Family Fun Days | 📍Old Grammarians Rugby Club, N21 | 21-25 August | (£)
For five days, the rugby club is basically becoming a giant pop up inflatable playground. Kids aged 2 to 12 get three hours to bounce their way through huge slides, bouncy castles and obstacle courses as many times as they like, all covered by the £10 entry. There is also a free Minion meet and greet, while bumper cars, trampolines, hook a duck and food are available separately. Adults watching from the sidelines get in free. Choose a 10.30am or 2pm session, no booking needed, and parking is free.

Open House Festival 2026 | 📍Across London | 12-20 September | Mostly free
Open House Festival is back for nine days, unlocking buildings and spaces you would not normally get to wander into. This year you can visit everything from private homes and recording studios to archives, power stations and major landmarks across all 33 boroughs, including Strongroom studios, the Zaha Hadid Foundation archive, the Barbican Conservatory and Wapping Hydraulic Power Station. Tickets and ballots are now open for some of the biggest names too, including 10 Downing Street, BT Tower and BBC Broadcasting House, so this is the week to have a proper look through the programme before the popular ones fill up.

Hackney Flea Market | 📍Abney Public Hall, N16 | 22-23 August | Free
40+ vintage traders take over Abney Public Hall with furniture, records, old clothes, French homeware, lamps, textiles and plenty of things you were not looking for until you saw them. It is free to enter, dog friendly and right by the cafés, pubs and independent shops of Stoke Newington Church Street. Open 10am to 5pm both days.



London Gaming Market | 📍Royal National Hotel, WC1H | 23 August | (£)
Go looking for the game you were obsessed with as a child, or the console you wish you had kept, or something wonderfully unnecessary for the shelf. Traders fill the hotel with retro games, consoles, rare imports, artwork and gaming memorabilia. Entry gets cheaper through the day, from £9 at 10.30am to £4 after 3pm, when it is usually calmer. Under fives go free, and under 16s are free with a paying adult after 3pm. Open until 4.30pm.

TEiP Summer Camp | 📍London woodland, location TBC | 23 August | Free
A one day outdoor retreat from the group behind Thought Experiments in Pubs, where strangers normally meet to discuss imaginative questions without needing to be experts. This time they are taking the idea into the woods for six hours. There will be a central spot to sit, snack and dip into conversation, then smaller activities happening around the trees, with things like improv, poetry, yoga and forest bathing hosted by members of the group. Join as much or as little as you want, or simply come to hang out. 10am to 4pm. The exact London location is still being confirmed.

Marionettes: An Exhibition Celebrating String Puppets | 📍Little Angel Workshop, N1 | 22 August - 6 September | Free
Little Angel Theatre is turning 65, and instead of just looking back at old productions, it is opening up a collection of the string puppets that helped shape its history. You will see marionettes, the puppets controlled by strings from above, made by British makers across six decades, from founders John and Lyndie Wright to artists working today. The exhibition also looks at why the craft has become so rare, with fewer than five people in Britain currently making a living carving marionettes. Free to visit, but you need to book a timed slot.

Junk Journaling Picnic Date | 📍Regent’s Park | 22 August | Free
Junk journaling is basically scrapbooking without the rules. You fill a notebook with things like stickers, tickets, photos, scraps of paper, doodles and whatever else you want to keep. This Saturday, Stickers & Scribbles and Introverts Home are bringing that idea to Regent’s Park for a free picnic, where you can sit on the grass, work on your journal and meet other people who are into the same thing. Bring your own journal and craft supplies, plus food, drinks and a blanket. You can also bring spare stickers, stationery or little trinkets for an optional swap. 11am to 3pm. Free registration required, with the exact meeting spot shared with attendees.

UKCardExpo | 📍The Compton School, North Finchley, N12 | 23 August | (£)
Whether you already have folders full of Pokémon, Yu Gi Oh or other trading cards, or you are just curious about why people collect them, this new North Finchley show is an easy way in. Browse tables of cards, watch people buy, sell and swap, hunt for rare finds or bring your own collection and see what it is worth to other fans. 11am to 4pm, with free and paid entry options. Under 14s must come with an adult and there are 100+ free parking spaces.



Tower Gardens Pavilion Summer Fiesta | 📍Tower Gardens Park Pavilion, N17 | 23 August | Free
Tower Gardens has a new shared community space, and this Sunday they are throwing a fiesta to introduce it properly. Expect food, music, face painting, piñatas and family activities around the pavilion, with the afternoon designed as an easy way to see the new space and meet some of the people using it. It is being organised as part of Tottenham Solidarity Summer, with Wards Corner and Tottenham Family Fight Back involved. 1pm to 6pm.

Fenton House & Pergola Gardens Walk | 📍Hampstead, NW3 | 22 August | (£)
Ever wanted to have a proper look around Fenton House? This Saturday walk starts inside the 17th century National Trust home, where you can explore its ceramics, historic musical instruments and needlework, before heading over to the Pergola Gardens for a wander and some optional sketching. You do not need to be into architecture or drawing to join. Meet outside Hampstead Tube at 10.30am. The walk finishes around 1pm, with the option to bring a picnic for Golders Hill Park afterwards. Fenton House entry is £14, or free for National Trust members.

Click below to see full weekend list.👇

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Upcoming events you should consider booking in advance or planning ahead for. In and out of North London. Events marked with (£) require a ticket in advance.

Quince Bakery’s 3rd Annual Pie Party | 📍Quince Bakery, N1 | 31 August | (£)
Quince Bakery is spending Bank Holiday Monday baking pie on a slightly ridiculous scale. Last year they made almost 500, and this time they are going even bigger, bringing in a line up of guest bakers for tables full of sweet and savoury pies, mini pies, sharing pies and big slab pies to buy by the slice. There will also be coffee, iced tea, ice cream and snacks for the queue. Doors open at 12pm and they keep going until the pies sell out, so this is probably not one to leave until late afternoon.

Well Crafted: Carnival Headdresses | 📍Mason & Fifth, W9 | 28 August | (£) Make your own headpiece to wear to Notting Hill Carnival, in a two-hour workshop the weekend before it kicks off. Alexandra of Well-Crafted takes you through the colours, textures and techniques, and you leave with something bold and ready to wear. Welcome drink included. 6.30pm to 8.30pm.

Barnet Food Festival | 📍RAF Museum London, NW9 | 12 - 13 September | (£)
Street food festival set among the historic aircraft at the RAF Museum, with independent traders cooking Filipino BBQ, Greek, Japanese and Caribbean, plus artisan drinks and handmade cakes. There's a free kids' zone with face painting, circus games and an inflatable obstacle course, and your ticket includes museum entry.



Channel One Sound System: Carnival Warm Up | 📍Village Underground, EC2A | 28 August | (£) Channel One, one of the most respected reggae sound systems in the world, play their Notting Hill Carnival warm-up in Shoreditch. Heavy roots and dub through the small hours, an all-night session the Friday before Carnival. Over 18s, from £18.54, 11pm to 4am.