Free Crystal Palace Subway open day and Dracula in the vaults on Saturday, Just Vibez at the Bowl on Sunday, The Vortex at Bromley Little Theatre, and no Charing Cross trains all weekend.

The restored Crystal Palace Subway opens its doors for free on Saturday morning, and a touring company performs Dracula in the vaults that afternoon. On Sunday the Crystal Palace Bowl hosts a free reggae and hip hop afternoon for families. Bromley Little Theatre has Noel Coward’s The Vortex all week and a blues night on Sunday.

The thing to plan around is the railway. No trains run to or from Charing Cross on Saturday or Sunday, and the Bromley North branch has no trains at all on Saturday. Details below.

This weekend in Bromley at a glance: Saturday 10 October, Crystal Palace Subway open day 10am to noon, Beckenham Odeon drop-in 10am to 2pm, Dracula in the Subway 2pm and 3.15pm, The Vortex matinee 2.30pm, Josh James at the Churchill 8pm, no Bromley North trains; Sunday 11 October, Just Vibez at Crystal Palace Bowl noon to 4pm, Martin Harley at Bromley Little Theatre 7.30pm, Queen of the Night at the Churchill 7.30pm, no Charing Cross trains all weekend
Graphic by Bromley Online
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Saturday 10 October

  • Crystal Palace Subway open day, 10am to noon. A free, self-guided visit to the Grade II* listed subway under Crystal Palace Parade, built in 1865 for railway passengers heading to the Crystal Palace. Staff and volunteers are on hand with its history, from air raid shelter to illegal raves. The entrance is at the top of the steps and ramp from Crystal Palace Parade, near the bus station. There is no step-free access: two flights of stairs and uneven floors. The park’s page showed “last tickets” on Friday. (Crystal Palace Park, Subway open day)
  • Dracula in the Subway, 2pm and 3.15pm. British Touring Shakespeare performs extracts from Bram Stoker’s novel in the same vaults, ahead of a Halloween run at Penge’s Bridge House Theatre. Each performance is 30 minutes, free, unreserved seating. Parental discretion is advised for under-12s. Also on “last tickets”. (Crystal Palace Park, Dracula in the Subway)
  • Beckenham Odeon drop-in, 10am to 2pm. Citygate Church, which owns the Grade II cinema and plans to turn it into a church, holds its consultation drop-in at 22 Rectory Road, BR3 1JA. Its survey closes at 5pm on Tuesday 13 October. Our report has the background and the links. (Citygate, drop-in event)
  • The Vortex at Bromley Little Theatre, 2.30pm matinee and 7.45pm. Noel Coward’s 1924 play about a pianist, his mother and a cocaine habit runs from Friday 9 to Saturday 17 October in the main auditorium, North Street, BR1 1SB. Saturday has the only matinee. (Bromley Little Theatre, The Vortex)
  • Josh James Work In Progress at the Churchill, 8pm. The comedian tries new material. Tickets from £20.50, listed as selling fast. (Churchill Theatre, Josh James)
  • High Society finishes its Churchill run. The musical’s Saturday performance is listed as sold out. (Churchill Theatre, High Society)
  • Pumpkins at Hewitts Farm, 9am to 4.30pm. The pick-your-own farm on Court Road, Orpington, listed pumpkins, squashes, sweetcorn and cooking apples as available on 1 October. No booking; last entry 3.30pm on Saturday. Cash and card. (Hewitts Farm, pick your own)
  • Bromley Charter Market. The market trades in the pedestrian part of the High Street every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 9am to 5pm. (London Borough of Bromley, Bromley Charter Market)
  • Orpington parkrun, 9am. Free 5k in Goddington Park. The event passed 100,000 finishes last Saturday.

Sunday 11 October

  • Just Vibez at Crystal Palace Bowl, noon to 4pm. A free, unticketed family afternoon on the concert platform where Bob Marley played in 1980. DJ Shortee Blitz and DJ Sarah Love play hip hop, soul and reggae. There is family karaoke, a graffiti arts and crafts station from 12.30pm to 3.30pm, and a hip hop dance class at 2.30pm. The nearest entrances are Fisherman’s Gate and Westwood Hill Gate. (Crystal Palace Park, Just Vibez)
  • Martin Harley at Bromley Little Theatre, 7.30pm. A Bromley Blues Club night with the slide guitarist and songwriter, in the main auditorium. (Bromley Little Theatre, Martin Harley)
  • Queen of the Night at the Churchill, 7.30pm. A Whitney Houston tribute, tickets from £25.50. (Churchill Theatre, Queen of the Night)
  • Hewitts Farm, 9am to 4pm, last entry 3pm on Sundays.
  • Chislehurst Caves. Lamp-lit guided tours leave on the hour from 10am to 4pm, Wednesday to Sunday. Adults £10, over-64s and children £8. (Chislehurst Caves)

Getting around

Trains. No trains run to or from Charing Cross or Waterloo East on Saturday or Sunday. The Bromley North branch has no trains on Saturday, and Grove Park, Elmstead Woods, Chislehurst, Sundridge Park and Bromley North are closed all weekend. Our roadworks and travel page has what runs instead, taken from Southeastern’s engineering work list.

Roads. Hayes Road at Cameron Road, between Bromley Common and Hayes, is still closed in both directions for emergency gas works. TfL’s record now runs to Monday 12 October. A southbound lane on Cray Avenue in St Mary Cray is closed until 13 November. (TfL road disruptions, read 10 October)

If a Crystal Palace plan involves the train, Crystal Palace station is a 15-minute walk uphill from the Subway. Driving into Bromley town centre, the parking page lists the car parks; Saturday is the busiest market day.

More ideas beyond this weekend are on our things to do in Bromley page.

Sources