Looking Forward to London Open House week-end

I was away last week and very busy before that so have not had a chance to blog for a couple of weeks but now I'm back and focused on what's coming up in London in the next month or so. This includes one of my favourite annual events on 17/18 September - London Open House week-end.

The event is always a great opportunity to see inside some of the many buildings in London that aren't usually open to the public and to marvel at amazing architecture and impressive interiors. In previous years I've visited many of London's historic buildings such as the Foreign Office, and the art deco Daily Express building in Fleet Street (which doesn't seem to be opening this year). I've also visited some less obvious London landmarks such as the SELCHP Energy Recovery Centre in Lewisham, a familiar site for anyone who catches the train into London Bridge from south-east London but not somewhere you often get to see inside.

It's great to see these sorts of places but it is often even more fascinating to visit some of the many smaller buildings that are open, including private homes which have been sensitively restored or have had architect designed renovations and extensions. Often the owner and/or architect are on hand to chat to you which always adds to the experience.

A few places require pre-booking (this opened last week and most places seem to be fully booked already) and if you want to visit the BT tower you'll have to try your luck in the ballot which opened at 10am yesterday and closes on 12 September. There can be long queues at some of the other more popular venues (the website and programme indicate where this is likely to be the case) but there are so many places open (over 700 according to the organisers) that you'll always find somewhere to explore. Best of all it is all absolutely free.

One way to avoid the queues is to volunteer as a steward or guide for half a day during the week-end which then gives you priority access for the rest of the week-end allowing you to jump the queue at busy buildings. I've volunteered in previous years - it's a good way of getting a detailed insight into a particular building as well as the other benefits and there's also a party for all the volunteers at the end of the week-end. It's probably too late to volunteer now for this year but you can find out more about doing it in future years here.