Eight free days out in Islington, from London's smallest nature reserve to a £1 residents' tour, plus the Emirates tour at £34. All prices checked this month.
Islington packs a lot into four square miles, and a surprising amount of it is free. The borough has three nature reserves, two free museums, a free city farm and a street market that has been running since the 1960s, alongside a football stadium tour and a theatre scene that punches far above the borough’s size.
Everything on this page was checked against the venue’s own website on 9 August 2026. Prices and opening hours change, so click through before you set off.
The free ones
Barnsbury Wood, London’s smallest nature reserve
A hidden woodland behind the houses off Huntingdon Street, and the smallest local nature reserve in London. It began as the private garden of George Thornhill, who built the surrounding houses in the 1840s, was abandoned to nature and turned into woodland on its own. Long-tailed tits, lesser stag beetles, common toads and sixteen-spot ladybirds live in it.
The catch is the opening hours, and they are the reason most Islington residents have never been in. It opens on Tuesdays from 2pm to 4pm all year, plus Saturdays from 2pm to 4pm from July to the end of September, the Saturday opening run by local volunteers. Entrance on Crescent Street, off Huntingdon Street; nearest station Caledonian Road & Barnsbury. Dogs are not allowed (Islington Council).
Gillespie Park and the Islington Ecology Centre
The borough’s largest nature reserve, 2.8 hectares of ponds, woodland and meadow behind Arsenal station, with 244 species of plant, 94 species of bird and 24 kinds of butterfly recorded in it. The Ecology Centre at its heart gives advice on wildlife and gardening and runs events.
Open 8am to dusk daily, and closed on Arsenal Emirates Stadium event days, which is the thing to check before you set out on a Saturday. Entrances on Drayton Park, Gillespie Road, Quill Street and Seven Sisters Road; most of the park is dog-free (Islington Council).
Parkland Walk
London’s longest nature reserve, and the best long walk in this part of the city: 4.5 miles of green walkway along the course of the old railway between Finsbury Park and Alexandra Palace, open to walkers and cyclists, always open. On the Islington stretch, look for The Spriggon, a sculpted figure emerging from beneath a bridge arch. The Islington section also holds the borough’s only patch of acidic grassland and the rare plants and insects that go with it. Access from Crouch Hill near Ella Road, and from Blythwood Road (Islington Council).
Islington Museum
Free, no booking, and genuinely good on the borough’s radical and industrial history. 245 St John Street, EC1V 4NB. Open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 10am to 5pm, closed Wednesday and Sunday, and closed between 1pm and 2pm each day for lunch. That lunchtime hour catches people out (Islington Council).
Museum of the Order of St John
Inside St John’s Gate, the Tudor gatehouse that has stood over St John’s Lane in Clerkenwell since 1504, this tells the story of the Knights Hospitaller and of St John Ambulance. Galleries and shop are free, Wednesday to Saturday, 9.30am to 5pm. The Cloister Garden is free Monday to Saturday, 9.30am to dusk. Address: St John’s Gate, St John’s Lane, EC1M 4DA (Museum of the Order of St John).
The Charterhouse
A Carthusian monastery, then a Tudor mansion, then a school, and still an almshouse with residents living on site. The museum is free with no booking, Tuesday to Saturday, 10.30am to 4.30pm, and Charterhouse Square outside is open Tuesday to Sunday from early morning until dusk. Charterhouse Square, EC1M 6AN (The Charterhouse).
Freightliners City Farm
A working farm on a former railway site off Holloway Road, with animals, volunteers and a farm shop. Free at the point of entry, funded by donations and grants. Open Monday and Wednesday to Sunday, 10.30am to 4.30pm, closed Tuesdays, with the closing time moving to 3.30pm from Sunday 26 October. Sheringham Road, N7 8PF, walkable from Caledonian Road or Holloway Road (Freightliners City Farm).
Camden Passage markets
The antiques and vintage lanes off Upper Street, free to browse. There are three market areas: Camden Passage Market, Charlton Place Market and Pierrepont Arcade Market. All three run on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. On Thursdays there are vintage clothing and jewellery stalls at Pierrepont Arcade, and on Fridays stalls in Camden Passage Market and Pierrepont Arcade. Mondays and Tuesdays are closed (Camden Passage Islington).
What you pay for
Emirates Stadium tour
The biggest visitor attraction in the borough, and Arsenal are the current champions of England, so the Premier League trophy is on display. The self-guided tour takes you into the Directors Box, the Diamond Club, both dressing rooms, the players’ tunnel, pitchside and the press conference room, with a handset commentary in seven languages including British Sign Language, and entry to the Arsenal Museum is included.
| Ticket | Price |
|---|---|
| Adult | £34.00 |
| Concession (65+, student, disabled) | £29.00 |
| Child, 4 to 15 | £24.00 |
| Infant, under 4 | Free |
| Guided matchday tour | from £20.00 |
| History walking tour | £25.00 |
| Guided Legend Tour | £55.00 |
Arsenal members get 10% off. Note that the history walking tour at £25 is cheaper than the stadium tour, and the matchday tour from £20 is the cheapest way in, if you can work around the fixture list (Arsenal Direct).
A guided tour of St John’s Gate for £1
The single best-value thing in the borough if you live here. The Museum of the Order of St John runs guided tours of the Tudor gatehouse and the Priory Church, which include rooms you cannot otherwise see. Adults pay £15, concessions with an Art Pass or Blue Light Card pay £11.25, and Islington residents pay £1. St John Ambulance staff and volunteers go free. Tours are booked through the museum’s Eventbrite page, with each month’s tickets released around the middle of the month before, so they need planning (Museum of the Order of St John).
Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art
A Georgian house on Canonbury Square holding Britain’s only museum devoted to modern Italian art, strong on the Futurists. £9.50 adult, £7.50 concession, £4 for full-time students, free for under-18s, members and carers. Open Wednesday to Saturday 11am to 6pm and Sunday 12pm to 5pm, closed Monday and Tuesday, with late opening to 9pm on the last Thursday of each month. 39a Canonbury Square, N1 2AN (Estorick Collection).
The theatres
- Almeida Theatre, Almeida Street, N1 1TA. A small house with a large reputation, and the best young-person’s deal in London theatre: anyone aged 25 or under can get a £5 ticket for every production (Almeida).
- Sadler’s Wells Theatre, Rosebery Avenue, EC1R 4TN. The country’s leading dance house, on a site that has staged performances since 1683 (Sadler’s Wells).
- Union Chapel, Compton Terrace, N1. A Grade I listed Victorian gothic chapel that is still a working church and one of the best-sounding music rooms in London. Its autumn 2026 programme runs through November (Union Chapel).
- Little Angel Theatre, 14 Dagmar Passage, N1 2DN. A puppet theatre tucked behind Cross Street, and the obvious answer to a wet Saturday with small children. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice runs 22 to 30 August 2026 for over-sixes, and Pip and Posy Live on Stage runs 19 September to 22 November for ages 2 to 5 (Little Angel Theatre).
Frequently asked questions
What is there to do in Islington for free?
Eight things on this page cost nothing: Islington Museum, the Museum of the Order of St John, The Charterhouse, Freightliners City Farm, Gillespie Park, Barnsbury Wood, Parkland Walk and browsing the Camden Passage markets.
How much is the Emirates Stadium tour?
£34 for an adult, £29 concession and £24 for a child aged 4 to 15, with under-fours free and entry to the Arsenal Museum included. Arsenal members get 10% off.
What can I do in Islington with kids?
Freightliners City Farm and Gillespie Park are both free and both outdoors. Little Angel Theatre puts on puppet shows for ages 2 and up. The Emirates tour works well from about seven upwards.
When is Barnsbury Wood open?
Tuesdays from 2pm to 4pm all year, plus Saturdays from 2pm to 4pm between July and the end of September. It is closed the rest of the time, when schools and nurseries use it for environmental education.
When is the Camden Passage antiques market on?
Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, when all three market areas open. There are vintage clothing and jewellery stalls at Pierrepont Arcade on Thursdays and partial trading on Fridays. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
Is there a cheap way to see Islington theatre?
Yes. The Almeida sells £5 tickets to anyone aged 25 or under for every production. It is the best standing offer in the borough.
Related
- Islington Tube and train times: every venue on this page is walkable from a station.
- Islington roads and roadworks: parking, match-day restrictions and what is closed.
- Islington house prices: what living near all of it costs.
Sources
All venue details checked against each venue’s own website on 9 August 2026: Arsenal Direct stadium tours, Estorick Collection, Museum of the Order of St John and its guided tours, The Charterhouse, Islington Museum, Freightliners City Farm, Camden Passage markets, Almeida Theatre, Sadler’s Wells, Union Chapel, Little Angel Theatre, and Islington Council’s pages for Barnsbury Wood, Gillespie Park and Parkland Walk.
Opening hours and prices change, particularly over bank holidays. Check the venue’s own page before travelling.
Have your say
We read every message. To comment on this story, email the newsdesk and we may publish a selection of responses: hello@islingtontoday.co.uk.