What To Do in August – Sustainably Influenced

What's On In August

In Partnership With In Good Company

August here and it seems like the sun finally got the memo that it needs to put in an appearance for summer in London! And that’s not the only reason to be excited…. Away from the usual over-hyped and over-visited spots, there’s a wealth of good stuff happening across the city, as long as you know where to look. And luckily for you, we do!

So if you’re after inspiration for activities to do and places to go that will not only make you feel good, but also mean you’re doing some good too, then look no further. From craft beer and canoeing, to sustainable cocktail bars and wild food walks, here’s our round-up of the top the capital has to offer in August, all with a sustainable, ethical or positive impact twist.

Cheers to Beer that’s doing Better at the Craft Beer Festival

When Friday 9th – Saturday 10th August Where Tobacco Dock Details Here

London’s biggest beer festival is back with a stand-out line-up of some of the best ethical brewers around, including In Good Company favourites 40FT Brewery, (a Living Wage Employer), B-Corp certified Toast Brewing (who co-own the Good Company taproom in Euston) and Bermondsey bee protectors and mead brewers, Gosnells.

Also on tap are Pretty Decent Beer (who donate to good causes with every beer sold), Five Points Brewing (Living Wage Employer) and Beerblefish (social enterprise and vegan brewery).

While tickets are pricer (£59.50 per person, dropping to £54.50 if you book for a group of 4 or more) this includes all the beer you want with over 800 on offer in total, and your festival glass to take home.

Drink responsibly and remember to raise a toast to these brewers doing beer better!

Greenwich+Docklands International Festival

When 🗓️ Friday 23rd August – Monday 8th September Where 📍Various across Greenwich and nearby area Details 💻 Here

London’s leading FREE festival of free outdoor theatre and performing arts is back with a packed line-up, including many which take inspiration from the climate and refugee crises, to inspire change.

We’re planning to take in THAW, a colossal aerial production performed on a 2.5 tonne block ice suspended on a crane which gradually melts away, over 8 hours. Created by world-renowned Australian physical theatre company LEGS ON THE WALL in response to the devastating bushfires of 2019/20, THAW aims to bring Londoners face to face with the urgent need for global climate action.

There’s also Bodies of Water staged on the banks of the Thames, mixes poetry, music and live performance, to share the stories of refugees who have travelled across land and water, Crap at Animals, where one man tries heroically and fails epically to do impressions of 48,000 extinct and endangered species, and From Here On, championing children’s right to safe passage, wherever they are from.

Catch the Olympics Sporting stars on a big screen

When Friday 26th July – Sunday 11th August Where Lewis Cubbit’s Square, King’s Cross Details Here

After a pretty poor showing for the Euros, London is back with a ton of big free outdoor screening spots to watch the Olympics in Paris until August 11. Our pick is the free-to-enter Here in Lewis Cubbit’s Square making the visit part of a susty day out in King’s Cross. It’s open daily from 12pm.

Scavenge in style at Peckham Salvage Yard

When 🗓️ Saturday 3rd August – Sunday 4th August, 11am – 5pm Where 📍Copeland Park & Bussey Building, Peckham Details 💻 Here

South London’s go-to destination for vintage gems, Peckham Salvage Yard, is back at Copeland Park for the first weekend in August. You’ll find 20th Century furniture, salvaged French homeware, vintage clothes, curiosities & collectables, kitchenalia, reclaimed industrial lighting, and unexpected oddities. In their own words, it’s a veritable “flea-topia” of unexpected treasures, and home decor gems – and a much more sustainable way to spruce up your living space this summer.

It’s £1.50 on the door (card payments accpeted so no need to dig around for coins).

And once you’ve rummaged up an appetite, take a stroll around the multitude of good companies that Peckham is home to. We’ve rounded up a few here and you can find even more on ingood.app.

Discover the unseen side of London

Before you write off walking tours as being for tourists only, let us introduce you to Unseen Tours. These are not your usual walking tours. Instead, they are exclusively curated and led by people affected by homelessness who know the London streets intimately.

Covering areas like London Bridge, Soho and Brick Lane, you’ll discover the real London through their stories and unmatched knowledge of the area’s history. We’ll bet that even long-time Londoners will come away feeling like they’ve discovered a new side of the city.

Not only does your ticket help them to earn a living doing something that they love, it also provides the space to challenge perceptions about homelessness and spark social change.

Tickets are £18 with concessions at £15. Various dates and times are available.

Charter a Canoe and Then Chill out canal-side

You might feel like summer is meant for mooching, but if you’re tempted to try some movement instead then Moo Canoes is definitely for you! Offering canoe hire from Hackney Wick, (or Kayaks at Limehouse and Paddleboards at Popular Union) this is a great way to take in London’s waterways and see the city from a completely different perspective.

As well as being lots of fun, Moo Canoes works closely with other local orgs to enhance and protect London’s waterways. They run free volunteer canal clean-ups each month (think litter-picking but whilst riding the river!) which IMHO sounds like the ultimate virtuous city adventure.

Moo Canoes is also situated right next to In Good Company faves Barge East so swing by their canalside gardens afterwards for a cold drink and bite to eat. You’ll have earnt it!

Check out this new pop-up from Pexmas in Brixton

When 🗓️ Wednesdays – Sundays, 11am – 5pm Where 📍Market Row, Brixton Village Details 💻 Here

Every Christmas without fail, we head to Pexmas who host the most beautiful Christmas market stuffed full of good company traders. But it seems like Santa came early this year because they have just opened a brand spanking new permanent space on Market Row in Brixton Village!

And even better, the first small business traders to take up residence at Stall to Store are three incredible female founded sustainable small brands, presenting stunning design led products. Blackmarket (who offer eco concentrated and vegan personal care products without the plastic), Leiho (stylish and super fun socks and accessories, donating a proportion of their profits to support vulnerable communities across London) and fashion designer Dorota Bojanowska (using reclaimed fabrics and upcycling vintage pieces).

PS While you’re down there, it would be rude not to swing by their neighbour Little Sister Brixton, offering handpicked vintage fashion.

Grab cocktails at one of these limited-run summer specials

If you’re full vegan or just partial to a bit of plant-based food, then you’ll no doubt know Mildreds, the London OG in the plant-based scene and firm devotee of root to tip dining (where nothing goes to waste). Well this summer they have teamed up with the Social Eating House to launch Madame Mildreds, an 80’s style pop-up transporting us back to 1988 when the first Mildreds opened in Greek Street. Details are scarce but they’re promising sexy Soho vibes, a glamorous soundtrack with a brand new cocktail menu to match.

Meanwhile, Midnight Apothecary, the secret wild botanical cocktail garden in Rotherhithe is still serving up summer campfire cocktails on their candle-lit roof garden at the Brunel Museum. Drinks are made using their own homegrown or locally foraged ingredients, changing according to what’s in season. This is the place to enjoy a unique, nature-filled atmosphere on summer nights, enhanced by a delicious drinks menu, firepits and s’more kits. Open Fridays and Saturdays throughout August, until the end of September, booking (with an £8 charge) required.

Try City Foraging on a Wild Food Walk in Tower Hamlets

When 🗓️ Saturday 3 August 10 am – 12.30pm Where 📍Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park Details 💻 Here

You might think that you need to get out of the city to really connect with nature, but charity Made in Hackney are busting that myth with their foraging Wild Food Walks this Saturday August 3.

Taking place in the award-winning Towler Hamlets Cemetery Park, the walk is ded by wild food enthusiast and site manager Ken Greenway (who is also a Come Dine With Me winner BTW!). You’ll be introduced to everyday plants you can eat, learn all about seasonal wild foods and where and when to pick them. Starting with wild tea made from plants collected in the park, you’ll sample others along the way and leave with a collection to turn into your own creations.

All proceeds go to funding Made in Hackney, a plant-based cookery school tackling hunger in the community. Tickets are £40 and there are just 15 spots available.

Unwind in one of London’s urban parks

London boasts some incredible parks, but, like us, you might be surprised to learn that around a fifth of London is actually public green space. On a hot summer’s day there’s nothing better than grabbing a blanket and a book and heading out to enjoy a bit of urban nature (and perhaps even pretend that the ‘urban’ is far away!)

We’re big fans of Victoria Park in East London where at weekends you’ll find the (street)food market with good company fixtures like Amala Chai (traditional masala chai, always sustainably sourced), Five Points Brewing and Breadwinners (supporting young refugees into work via delicious bread and baked goods).

The other thing we’ll be trying this summer is a Too Good to Go picnic – just find a place near your park of choice that has food which needs rescuing and pick that up en route. With slashed prices of at least 50%, it’s a great way to save a few pennies and help save the planet too.

Share This Story