Free natural ponds, open all year round (check online for varying opening hours according to seasons). Get an absolute get away feeling right in the heart of London, a treat if you enjoy swimming with ducks. Amazing park to enjoy a few games of cards and a walk around afterward too...

Walthamstow Wetlands are London's largest urban wetland nature reserve, home to many wildlife species. Only 15min from central London. The cafe is open daily for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea. 

In terms of materials and form, these galleries offer so much. On an abstract and typographic level, so useful. This is a section of an altar frieze, from the Eye Temple at Tell Brak (N.E. Syria), dated 3300–3000BC. The Egyptian rooms take the tourist weight; these spaces are much quieter and amenable time spent drawing and thinking.

A green oasis in Hackney, offering affordable, beautiful plants. A jungle full of inspiration. (Pic from meltingbutter.com)

This is the stuff nightmares are made of. Good nightmares. A perverse Aladdin's cave of treasure and artefacts.