Open-air Date Ideas

Despite the apparent rarity of warm weather in the British Summer, it's better to have a portfolio of outdoorsy date options up your sleeve for when the sun does come out, than be left feeling mopey as everyone else enjoys the good weather. Here are a selection of open-air date suggestions so that whether you're spending them with a partner, friend or first date, your summer evenings can be spent more memorably than just outside the pub (although it's fair to say you'll be doing a bit of that, too):

Regent's Park Open Air Theatre

A night at the Regent's Park Theatre is as much the experience as it is the theatre itself - and both are wonderfully unique. Whether you attend a matinee or evening performance, the options for dining are vast. Either bring-your-own or pre-order a reserved seating picnic, grab lunch or dinner from the light menu at their Summer Cafe, have a burger from the BBQ that's set up specifically for performances or even treat yourself to fine dining in the fairy lit, covered restaurant that overlooks the theatre bar. Be sure to bring blankets for the show itself and you won't be disappointed as your entertainment unfolds to a backdrop of fading light and bird calls; a truly brilliant way to spend a summer's day. 

Luna Cinema

Although one of many open air cinemas around this summer, Luna Cinema is made special by its locations and facilities at each screening. They offer blankets, and comfy, sofa-replacement wedges for your back so you literally don't need to haul any kit there with you. Films range from Some Like It Hot to The Theory of Everything, in some of the UK's most beautiful castles and parks catered with wood-fired pizzas, street style BBQ food and cheesy, movie-classic nachos to enjoy during the screenings. 

Festival Of Love

The Southbank Centre is celebrating humankind's most overwhelming (and our personal favourite) emotion in the form of two months' worth of installations, activities, pop-ups and performances this summer. It features food pop-ups such as Bleecker St Burger's shack, which will sell American craft beer and their fantastic NY-style burgers, and Snog frozen yoghurt being sold from a pink routemaster bus. You can even dine on cocktails and oysters from atop a double decker if you're feeling fancy. Some weekends are theme-specific, including Big Wedding Weekend, which involves mass ceremonies in which couples may actually wed, renew their vows or convert their civil partnership into marriage; reckon this is something worth seeing! Even if you just go for the afternoon to look around, there's no doubt your date will appreciate the chance to build a sandcastle Thames-side at the festival's urban beach.

The Nomad

While slightly smaller scale than Luna, The Nomad is another open air cinema destination that is popping up in squares and parks around London this summer. Locations include Brompton Cemetery, Middle Temple Gardens and Hyde Park Lido, where you could be watching classics like West Side Story or The Breakfast Club, or newer hits such as Whiplash. Being a slightly more make-do affair, we'd recommend bringing all your own food, drink and comforts - definitely including blankets to sit on and jumpers to wrap up in. This is England, after all.

Drinks With A View

'Want to grab a drink?' This age old date invite either foreshadows a painfully tedious evening with Mr/Mrs Extremely Wrong, OR signals an opportunity to get to know someone who you could actually really like! Improve the likelihood of making a good impression on that potential love interest by getting high with them. And no, that isn't an endorsement of illegal substances. Get above the masses and the smokey city streets to one of London's rooftop bars. Top recommendations are Queen Elizabeth Roof Garden & Cafe, Queen Of Hoxton, or Dalston Roof Park if you fancy a casual vibe. Head for Kensington Roof Gardens or Radio Roof Bar on the Strand for something a little swankier. Go for Sky Garden for the full panoramic London view experience. You could even book a table for dinner too if you're feeling confident... 

Backyard Cinema

Screening a mixture of blockbusters and lesser-known talent on two screens in Camden Market throughout the summer, Backyard Cinema offers cinema comfort in an unusual setting. It's straightforward; three ticket options give you the choice to include a drink and a burger from renowned pop up turned pro, Honest Burger, with your movie, with a movie ticket alone costing £16.50. Perhaps a little pricey, but considering the cost of Vue these days... For a fun and personal feeling movie-experience, this is certainly worth it. 

Active Date Ideas

Table Tennis

If you’re wondering whether table tennis can be counted as ‘active’, you’re in need of a trip to one of London’s dedicated ping-pong bars. Although it will reveal your carefully masked competitive side that should arguably remain hidden until marriage, it’s worth the risk for the pizza-fuelled fun you can find at locations like Bounce or The Game. Besides, if you make it to the next date after mercilessly defeating your partner in a tournament you’ll know that they must be a keeper.

Pedalo

Pedalo-ing is the perfect activity, placing you side by side with your date as you work together to power your boat up and down the Serpentine. Combining many opportunities for people watching on the riverbanks with the entertaining challenge of syncing your pedalling speed with that of your date’s, it’s an entertaining and romantic way to spend a summer afternoon – especially if your boat has one of those flat bathing platforms (although this is better suited for a picnic than taking a dip). Regent’s Park is another lovely location to rent boats, where you can also choose to do rowing if you reckon your coordination and biceps are up to it!

Punting in Oxbridge

For those of you who want to get out on the water in even more of a rural oasis, take the one hour train ride out to Oxford or Cambridge to go punting. Tours are available to join, such as Cambridge’s 45 minute College Backs Tour, that guides you along a one mile stretch of the Cam past some of the university’s palatial colleges, but you can also take a punt at renting your own punt. Beginners will probably bounce from ‘bank to bank’ through Oxford’s Botanic Gardens, but these gondola-length boats provide an idyllic day out regardless of your captain’s skill. Nab a cheap picnic from a local Sainsbury’s and even take a dip in the water if you’re feeling brave.

Bikram Yoga

Bear with me! This isn’t completely insane. To those in the know, Bikram Yoga is a yoga class in forty-five degree heat that leaves you unimaginably sweaty but (hopefully) feeling pretty amazing. Sharing that experience and the natural high that follows it with your date is a great way to connect and build a positive energy between you. If you’re worried about the red-faced, drenched-in-sweat aspect of it, just think of it as pre-empting the inevitable. Every couple eventually has to reach that ‘this is what I really look like’ milestone; why not get it over with early on? Fierce Grace has studios across London, there’s Hot Bikram Yoga at London Bridge and Sohot Bikram in Victoria.

Bowling

Bowling is another active date idea that’s well worth the risk of revealing your competitive streak. At All Star Lanes, which is in four locations across London, you can settle yourself down on diner booth sofas with chips and a beer between strikes as you smugly watch your date bowl straight down the gutter. Alternatively, hold out for a well-earned meal of BBQ ribs/pizza/burgers after your game. Bloomsbury Bowling even has karaoke rooms… Bowling is fun and (mostly) everyone can do it – what’s not to love?

Mini-golf

Another one with that sweet element of competition… Mini golf can be a hole load of fun, and there are plenty of opportunities for it in the capital. Test your skills at Plonk! In Dalston, where you can drown your sorrows in cocktails if your date wins, or hold out for Swingers London in Shoreditch that’s opening in December. Housed in a two storey clubhouse from December 2015, it will feature two 9-hole crazy golf courses alongside street food outlets, MULTIPLE cocktail bars, a terrace overlooking the golfing mayhem and other games to keep you busy while you’re off the course. Complete your date by taking advantage of the various golfing euphemism opportunities and you’ll be in for a real treat.

Cycling

Cycling in London is a revelation. Especially when you’re central, biking rarely takes longer than the tube and even if you’re a true London local it will reveal secrets of the city that you were previously blind to. Tally Ho! Cycle tours are a lovely way to see the sights, but opt for their Gin & Food Tour to avoid the crowds and get a snack/G&T in during your ride. If you’re looking for a more romantic experience they also offer private tours, but if it’s quality time with you’re date that you’re after just grab a couple of Boris Bikes (although we’re calling them Santander Bikes now…) and seek out a cosy coffee shop or pub at the end of your journey. The Attendant in Fitzrovia, located in a former Victorian toilet (funky not gross), is an interesting choice for coffee, and Hampstead’s Spaniard’s Inn or Brixton’s Grand Union feature just two of London’s many beer gardens for romantic sundown drinks.

Making The Most Of Summer

In anticipation of the sunnier months to come, we’ve compiled a list of ideas for summertime activities that you could share with a date. Make sure you’re really making the most of the good weather while it lasts.

1. Day Trip

If you fancy a change of scene when the weather starts warming up, you don’t need to go far. As well as its beautiful seaside location, Brighton Pier offers carnival rides and fish and chips for your inner child, making for a picturesque and thoroughly enjoyable day out. Blackpool is a similarly charming alternative if you’re based a little further north.

2. Stargazing

On a clear night with a warm blanket and hot drink, stargazing is the perfect date night activity. Several meteor showers are forecast for July and August 2015, so if you time it right you could be lucky enough to see some truly magnificent shooting stars. For the tech savvy among you, there are even downloadable apps, such as Distant Suns that identify the constellations in the sky overhead.  

3. Open-air Cinema

Open-air cinemas are becoming more and more popular, turning this typical rainy day activity into something perfect for summer. Temporary screenings are popping up everywhere; choose The Luna Cinema for light-hearted classics, Backyard Cinema for a more intense and personal viewing experience, or just drop by the The Scoop at London Bridge for Thames-side, free films as summer stretches into September.

4. Theatre

If you’re a bigger fan of theatre than film, there’s no reason to overlook it as a potential summer outing. London’s West End has an endless supply of dramas, comedies and musicals to suit your taste so an early alfresco dinner followed by an evening’s theatrical entertainment is hard to beat. Whether it’s the ABBA soundtrack of Mamma Mia! or modern classic War Horse that takes your fancy, theatre definitely offers something for everyone.

5. Ice cream

This might seem simple, but grabbing an ice cream after dinner could act as the perfect icebreaker for your date. Making you nostalgic about summers past it will make you feel more relaxed and get conversation flowing as you start reminiscing. Be sure to try the ‘breakfast in Turin’ – a milky coffee flavour with fine fragments of dark chocolate - at Covent Garden's Gelatorino, or take your date to Sicily on a budget in the form of Soho's Gelupo.  Gelato Mio is another safe bet for tasty flavours whether you're in Notting Hill, Fulham, St John's Wood or Muswell Hill. 

6. Picnics

Summer picnicking is idyllic regardless of who you’re with, but it’s a particularly good way to spend a date. Complete with lemonade and sausage rolls to make it a truly British affair it’s the perfect way to relax while making the most of a summer’s day. If you’re feeling indulgent you could even buy a hamper instead of making up your own; The Bull and Last in Hampstead does one at £40 for two people, and the Heath is certainly a good location to set up your alfresco dining. 

7. Rooftop bars/Restaurants

There are countless rooftop dining options across London, offering romance with a view. Our top picks are the Millbank Tower’s Sky Bar or the Rooftop Bar at the Trafalgar Hotel, that almost puts you eye to eye with Nelson’s Column (although this one’s very pricey – so make it a real treat!).