Get outside: what to do in London this autumn

October is London's wettest month, so the trick with autumn outdoors is to pick your days by the forecast and keep the rest for museums. Get the timing right, though, and this is the best season to be outside in the city. September is still warm, October is crisp, and the parks turn.

Deer, leaves and Mayfair squares

Several hundred red and fallow deer have roamed Richmond Park since the 17th century, and from late September into October the stags roar, strut and lock antlers, loudest early in the morning. The Royal Parks asks you to keep well back during the rut and keep dogs on short leads, so bring a long lens rather than edging closer. It's a huge park and worth planning a route; Pembroke Lodge, with its tea rooms, makes a good base.

Closer in, the plane trees and horse chestnuts across Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens turn in October. Santander Cycles docks ring both parks, and you hire through the app or with a bank card at the terminal with no booking needed, from £2 a ride. Most central addresses have a docking station close by. Stick to the paths marked for cycling, as some are for walkers only.

You don't even need to leave Mayfair to see the leaves turn. The old London planes in Grosvenor Square and Berkeley Square go gold and brown through late October, and Mount Street Gardens, the most sheltered of the three, is the best place to sit with a coffee on a cold, bright morning. For a longer walk, head down to St James's Park, where the lake throws back the colour of the trees, then carry on across Horse Guards Parade to the river. It's an easy loop from most Mayfair addresses and needs a coat and not much else.

A Victorian cemetery and a canal boat

One of London's Magnificent Seven Victorian cemeteries, Brompton sits between Earl's Court and Fulham Road and is run by The Royal Parks. The Great Circle colonnades and the lime avenues look their best in autumn light. Emmeline Pankhurst is buried here, as is Dr John Snow, who traced cholera to a contaminated water pump. The gates open 7am to 7pm, volunteers run an information centre, and there's a café at the North Lodge. A weekday afternoon is best, when the low sun comes through the limes, and West Brompton station (District line and Overground) is a few minutes away.

The London Waterbus Company runs between Little Venice and Camden Market in about three-quarters of an hour, with fares from £17. The historic narrowboat has live commentary, while the wider cruiser has a bar and music. There's covered seating, so it's the right outing for a changeable day, and if the sun comes out you can walk the towpath back.

Markets and tea on a heated terrace

Notting Hill Farmers' Market runs every Saturday from 10am to 2pm on Edge Street, just off Kensington Church Street, with seasonal fruit, cheese and flowers from growers round London. Portobello Road is a ten-minute walk away. It trades daily but is at its fullest on Saturdays, when the antique dealers are out, and it's far more pleasant before 10am.

On the first Sunday of every month, Chiswick Flower Market fills Old Market Place on Chiswick High Road from 9.30am to 3.30pm. Early is best for cut flowers and plants.

Dalloway Terrace, at The Bloomsbury hotel, is an all-season garden room that's fully heated in winter and dressed up for each season. Afternoon tea starts at noon on weekdays and 11am at weekends, and they advise booking. By November it's about the most comfortable way to sit outside in central London.

November is damp, with rain on a fair few days, so for anything fixed to a time, like the canal boat or a table at Dalloway Terrace, book the morning and keep the afternoon loose.

London weather by month

July is the warmest month, averaging 23°C by day. July has the fewest wet days (9) and October the most rain (80 mm). For sightseeing on foot, June scores best on our combined warmth-and-dryness measure.

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Rain	Wet days	Chance a 7-day stay sees a washout	Record high / low
January	8°C	2°C	74 mm	13	53%	16°C / -12°C
February	8°C	2°C	51 mm	10	43%	18°C / -8°C
March	11°C	4°C	45 mm	9	44%	23°C / -7°C
April	14°C	5°C	54 mm	10	44%	26°C / -3°C
May	17°C	8°C	54 mm	9	39%	30°C / -1°C
June	20°C	11°C	58 mm	9	35%	34°C / 2°C
July	23°C	13°C	52 mm	9	34%	34°C / 4°C
August	22°C	13°C	68 mm	9	37%	37°C / 4°C
September	19°C	11°C	62 mm	9	39%	29°C / 2°C
October	15°C	8°C	80 mm	11	47%	27°C / -2°C
November	11°C	5°C	76 mm	12	52%	18°C / -6°C
December	8°C	2°C	69 mm	12	50%	16°C / -8°C

Calculated NOAA GHCN-Daily observations at the Hampstead weather station, north London (records 1960–2015; averages from about 25 years per month). A wet day has 1 mm of rain or more.