By Charlotte Cox
Fill your bank holiday with al-fresco cocktails, all-night parties, boutique festivals… and, er, swinging. Golf clubs, that is
FUN: Swingers – The Crazy Golf Club
Crazy golf. As anyone who spent their childhood holidays desperately trying to putt a neon ball through a windmill knows, it is surely one of our nation's finest contributions to the sporting world. Only now it's hipper, wackier and – yes! – even involves booze, at this new permanent venue smack in the centre of London. With two nine-hole courses featuring sand traps, loops, tunnels and hills, you’ll need Tiger Woods-style skills to pull off a hole-in-one. And should that fail, you can always console yourself with street food from the likes of Pizza Pilgrim and Patty & Bun, and cocktails from one of the FIVE bars. Who cares about hitting par when you have shedloads of Prosecco? Swingers, from 27 May; £15 8 Brown’s Buildings, London EC3A 8AL
EVENT: SS Atlantica Party Hello, sailors! It’s all aboard The SS Atlantica, which is setting sail this Saturday from that famous port of, um, London. But this pop-up party isn’t letting a little thing like being landlocked get in the way of its champagne-fuelled voyage, oh no. Taking Thames cruiser The Silver Sturgeon and transforming it into a 1930s art-deco ocean liner, this night promises vintage live bands, floorshows, cabaret acts and dancing as you glide down the river the glamorous way. Expect lavish costumes, even-more-lavish cocktails – and maybe even the chance to find your own Leo on deck. SS Atlantica, 28 May; £35 SS Atlantica, Savoy Pier, Victoria Embankment, WC2N 6ND
FOOD: La Terraza at Number 90
What if we told you it’s possible to be in two places at once? And moreover, what if we told you those two places were London’s coolest canal-side locale, and MEXICO? …Well, we’d be lying, obviously. It’s physically impossible. But it can be done in a far more important, quesadilla-involving way, thanks to this new Mexican-food pop-up at Hackney Wick’s Number 90. Filling the spacious waterside terrace with Latino street eats (think tacos, nachos and superfood salads), DJs and – wait for it – BOTTOMLESS MARGHERITAS, this is the nearest to Cancun you can get with Oyster Card. Ole, indeed.
From 26 May Number 90 Bar Terrace, 90 Main Yard, Wallis Road, E9 5LN
FESTIVAL: Lost Village
And festival season is officially… GO! This summer’s field-based fun gets underway this weekend, and our top pick is this boutique shindig in Lincolnshire. Less festival, more ‘immersive parallel world in the forest’ (uh HUH), here you’ll find wandering performers, four-course banquets by Michelin starred chefs, wood-fired hot tubs and yoga classes. And then there’s the small matter of the music, with a stellar line-up featuring Jack Garratt, Ben Klock, DJ Koze, Floating Points… and a certain little-known DJ called Fatboy Slim. Because any self-respecting parallel world has to have The Rockafella Skank, you know.
Lost Village, 27-29 May; £149 including camping Near Swinderby, Newark, Lincolnshire LN6 9QF
POP-UP: Red Market – Last Days of Shoreditch
As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end – so you may as well get in as many street eats and cocktails as you can. Or something to that effect… And they’re wise words indeed when it comes to Red Market, which is returning for what may be its last ever run at its Old Street site (due to recently granted planning permission). But boy, does it intend to go out with a bang. Foodie highlights include Yeah Burger, Le Bao and Crabbie Shack; parties come care of Norman Jay, Blue Note and Blah; plus there’s street art from the likes of Gavin Turk and Ben Eine. Rumour has it that there’s even a Banksy somewhere. We’ll look for it once we’ve finished our bao…
NIGHTLIFE: Bugged Out: Hot Chip Takeover
If you’re going to hand over the keys to your club (well, access to the decks at least) to anyone, it may as well to be Hot Chip. And Bugged Out, it seems, heartily agree – as they invite Alexis, Felix and co to turn the dance floor at XOYO into eclectic disco mayhem this Friday. How eclectic, you may wonder? Well, HC’s last Bugged Out mix took in everything from left-field techno to Hall & Oates, so which tunes will blast out this Friday is anyone’s guess. But you can guarantee whatever they are, they’ll get you throwing shapes aplenty.
Bugged Out, 29 May; £16.50 XOYO, Cowper Street, London EC2A 4AP
DRINK: Frank’s Cafe
Right then, weather – we don’t care if you’re playing or not. We’re starting summer without you. And it wouldn’t be summer in London without the chance to knock back mojitos atop a Peckham multi-storey, at Frank’s Café. The al-fresco drinking spot became THE hipster hangout of the last two summers and 2016 is set to be no different. Get yourself there for unbeatable city views, cool tunes and more skinny jeans than Russell Brand’s closet. Frank's Cafe, Until September Level 10, Peckham Multi-Storey Car Park, 95a Rye Lane SE15 4ST
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