Free steel orchestra at Crystal Palace Bowl on Sunday, The Vortex's last nights, Tubular Bells at the Churchill, and no Bromley North trains Saturday.

A full steelpan orchestra plays a free afternoon at the Crystal Palace Bowl on Sunday. Noel Coward’s The Vortex has its last two nights at Bromley Little Theatre. The Churchill has an 80s night on Friday and Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells on Saturday.

The thing to plan around is Saturday’s railway. The Bromley North branch has no trains all day, and replacement buses run between Lewisham and Orpington on both days. Details below.

Friday 16 October

  • 80s Live! at the Churchill, 7.30pm. A concert of 1980s hits in the main auditorium. Tickets from £33. (Churchill Theatre, 80s Live!)
  • Soul Night Out in the Churchill Lounge. A soul night for over-21s, listed as running four hours. Tickets from £14.75. (Churchill Theatre, Soul Night Out UK)
  • The Vortex at Bromley Little Theatre, 7.45pm. Coward’s 1924 dark comedy about a pianist, his mother and a cocaine habit, in the main auditorium on North Street, BR1 1SB. The run ends on Saturday. (Bromley Little Theatre, The Vortex)
  • Crystal Palace Museum, 10am to 4pm. Free. Models, photographs and objects telling the story of the two Crystal Palaces, on Anerley Hill near St Katherine’s Gate. It opens on Fridays and Sundays only, and the entrance is up a steep flight of stairs, so it is not suitable for wheelchair users. (Crystal Palace Park, museum)

Saturday 17 October

  • No Bromley North trains. See getting around, below.
  • The Best of Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells I, II and III at the Churchill, 7.30pm. Tickets from £26.50. (Churchill Theatre, Tubular Bells)
  • The Vortex, last night, 7.45pm, at Bromley Little Theatre.
  • Pick your own at Hewitts Farm, 9am to 4.30pm. The farm on Court Road, Orpington, listed pumpkins, squashes, sweetcorn, cooking apples, beetroot and chard on its latest update. No booking. Last entry is strictly 3.30pm on Saturdays. (Hewitts Farm, pick your own)
  • Bromley Charter Market, 9am to 5pm, in the pedestrian part of the High Street. It trades every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. (London Borough of Bromley, Bromley Charter Market)
  • Orpington parkrun, 9am. A free 5k in Goddington Park, which passed 100,000 finishes this month.

Sunday 18 October

  • Endurance Steel Orchestra at Crystal Palace Bowl, 2pm to 4pm. The south-east London steelpan group brings its full orchestra to the Concert Platform for the park’s Sunday Sounds series. Free and unticketed. (Crystal Palace Park, Endurance Steel Orchestra)
  • The Passing of Mrs Nelson at the Churchill Studio, 4pm. A one-hour play, recommended for ages 11 and over. Tickets from £15, listed as selling fast. (Churchill Theatre, The Passing of Mrs Nelson)
  • Crystal Palace Museum, 10am to 4pm, free.
  • Hewitts Farm, 9am to 4pm, last entry 3pm on Sundays.
  • Chislehurst Caves. Guided tours leave on the hour from 10am to 4pm, Wednesday to Sunday, and last 45 to 50 minutes. Adults £10, over-64s and children aged 3 to 15 £8. (Chislehurst Caves)

Getting around

Trains on Saturday. There are no trains between Grove Park and Bromley North. Bus routes 126 and 261 can be used between Grove Park and Bromley North at no extra cost. Grove Park, Elmstead Woods, Chislehurst and Sundridge Park are closed, with buses between Lewisham and Orpington. Charing Cross to Hayes trains run every 30 minutes.

Trains on Sunday. Buses still replace trains between Lewisham and Orpington, and between Lewisham and Sidcup.

Our roadworks and travel page has the full list from Southeastern, including the following weekend, 24 and 25 October, when buses replace trains between Bromley South and Orpington.

Roads. Lane one of the A21 northbound is closed at Rookery Lane, Bromley Common, until 23 October for emergency Thames Water works. A southbound lane on Cray Avenue in St Mary Cray stays closed until 13 November. (TfL road disruptions, read 16 October)

Driving into Bromley town centre on market day, the parking page lists the car parks.

Coming up at half term

  • Irvin’s Funfair at Crystal Palace Park opens on Palace Terrace on Friday 23 October, 4pm to 10pm, then daily from 1pm to 10pm until Sunday 1 November. Entry is free; ride tokens are sold online and at the fair. (Crystal Palace Park, Irvin’s Funfair)
  • Swimmers Jackson at the Bowl, Sunday 25 October, 2pm to 4pm, free, celebrating the release of a third album recorded in Crystal Palace. (Crystal Palace Park, Swimmers Jackson)

Our October half term page has more for the week, and things to do in Bromley has ideas for any weekend.

Sources