What to bring

Tap in and tap out on every Tube, Overground, Elizabeth line, DLR, and bus journey. TfL applies a daily fare cap, so you'll never pay more than the equivalent of two off-peak single fares per zone in a day — no need to work it out. Contactless bank cards and phones work exactly like an Oyster. If you're visiting, top up an Oyster at any station. If you live here, you already know this.

London's bus and Tube network is vast and the journey planning is genuinely complex. Citymapper knows about engineering works, line closures, and live departures in a way that Google Maps still doesn't. Free. Worth having for any episode that involves more than one mode of transport.

The red hire bikes (Londoners still call them Boris Bikes) are docked at stations across inner London. A £2 day pass covers unlimited journeys under 30 minutes — enough for most Tube-distance hops. Useful for canal towpath episodes where bikes are faster than walking and more interesting than the train. Not available in all outer London locations.

London is largely cashless. Tubes, buses, most cafés, markets, and shops take contactless without question. Keep a small amount of cash — around £10 — for the handful of market stallholders and very small local shops that are cash-only. You won't need a cash machine very often.

London tap water is perfectly drinkable. Most cafés will refill a bottle if you ask. The Refill app shows free refill points across the city. Buying bottled water at London prices is one of the more expensive things you can do on a tight budget.

Buy ingredients the evening before from a corner shop or supermarket. The meal prep recipes in this guide are built around this habit. A park bench by a canal, a viewpoint in the woods, a wall overlooking the city — eating somewhere you've never been tastes better than any sandwich from a Pret.

Some nature episodes in Greater London are genuinely remote — no café for two hours. A flask of coffee or tea keeps you going without spending money and tastes considerably better at the top of a hill or on a canal bank than it does at your desk.

London's terrain is more varied than people expect. The City has ancient cobblestones. Canal towpaths and riverside paths can be muddy after rain. Parks in Greater London include genuine woodland with uneven ground and roots. Don't wear new shoes on an episode day. Trainers are fine for urban episodes; something with grip is better for nature ones.

English weather does not negotiate. A dry morning in October means nothing by 2pm. Pack a lightweight waterproof that fits in your bag, not a forecast you checked at 7am. For Greater London nature episodes from October to April, treat the forecast as optimistic and add a mid-layer. The episodes are better in the rain anyway — no one else is there.

Just big enough for a water bottle, packed lunch, a waterproof, and your laptop if you're doing a workability day. The less weight you carry, the further you'll walk without thinking about it.

Essential for any day involving Tube navigation, photos, and a workability café session. Underground stations kill your phone signal and therefore your battery. A small 10,000mAh powerbank costs around £15 and lasts for years.

You will see things worth photographing. London's outer districts — the old industrial waterways, the pre-war terraces, the parks that barely anyone uses — are consistently more interesting than the centre. Have something ready.

The best moments are the ones you write down. The name above the sealed-up pub door. The plaque nobody reads. The person who's lived on the same street for forty years and tells you what was there before. These details are gone by the time you get home if you don't catch them.