SUPERCHARGE YOUR VALENTINE'S
Date nights that are guaranteed to get you in the good books this Valentine's
If the impending arrival of Valentine's Day has got you hot under the collar for all the wrong reasons, fear not! We're here to take the stress out of date night so you can concentrate on getting that hair cut and picking up the flowers. Oh, you did order the flowers, didn't you?
Well, we can't help with that, but we CAN direct you straight to the best Valentine's experiences this year. Just click the link and bag yourself a date night that'll put you straight into the good books...
DINE 450FT IN THE SKY
If you’ve a head for heights and fancy treating your Valentine to a meal with a difference this year, Brighton’s i360 Tower is offering couples the chance to dine 450ft above the waves.
As the sun sets over the English Channel, love-up romantics will take in the sights with a welcome glass of prosecco, before taking their seats for a four-course meal.
After each course, the pod will return to ground level to pick up the next round of grub, meaning you get three ‘pod journeys’ and a total of three hours in the sky, watching Brighton turn into a glittering, nighttime playground. And when you’re done, you’ll step off the i360 and into one of the most awesome coastal towns in the UK, with pubs and bars aplenty, where you can party into the early hours.
If you’re a stickler for the rules, book a spot on Valentine’s Day itself, or alternatively had to the beach on Saturday 11th Feb for a weekend date night. Tickets cost £125pp and include prosecco, four-course meal, half bottle of wine and tea and coffee.
Price £125 (£100 for members), Sat 11th February and Tue 14th February.
Brighton i360, Lower Kings Road, Brighton BN1 2LN
DINNER IN THE PAINTED HALL
Greenwich’s Painted Hall is a hidden gem in our great capital; a Sistine Chapel tucked away on the banks of the River Thames that never seems to get the attention it deserves. This Valentine’s, they’re offering the chance to bask in the unrivalled beauty of Sir James Thornhill’s masterpiece while chowing down on a three course meal.
Each guest can pore over the 300 year-old artwork with a printed Valentine’s guide, which details the stories and symbols from some of the romantic scenes depicted on the intricate ceiling. You’ll get a glass of champagne on arrival and dishes include roast sirloin of beef, Beetroot tartare and Dark chocolate sphere with white chocolate mousse with frozen Irish cream.
Price £125, Doors open 7pm
The Painted Hall, Old Royal Naval College, King William Walk, London, SE10 9NN
MAKE SWEET MUSIC TOGETHER
If music is the food of love, you can stuff yourselves silly at London's new rockstar experience, WeJam.
This Valentine's week (13-19 Feb) the world's first, immersive recording studio experience invites couples for a deliciously quirky date, working together and playing their favourite, romantic hits, from Stand By Me, Marry You and Crazy Little Thing Called Love to Friday, I’m in Love on drums, keyboard/synths, keytar or mic.
Your roadie will be on hand to make sure everything goes smoothly, using cutting edge technology. Each instrument's difficulty level can be dialled up according to its player; those with less musical prowess can be assisted by a colour coded system, showing which note they need to play, and when to play it. And as they improve, more complicated note or beat combinations are unlocked. Experienced musicians can play in ‘freestyle’ mode, where all computer assistance is switched off, leaving them free to shred to their heart’s content.
And each couple leaves with red roses and a recording of their rockstar session, to remember their burning musical chemistry forever.
WeJam, Tickets from £30 per person. 13-19 Feb. 23 Chalk Farm Road, London, NW1 8AG
A CONCERT THAT'S LIT
There’s nowt more romantic than candles, so why not treat your date to an evening surrounded by thousands of ‘em? There’s more to it than that, of course - the candles are the backdrop for a string quartet, which will play two, hour-long classical performances packed full of romantic tunes.
Expect a bit of My Heart Will Go On, a slice of Love Theme from Romeo & Juliet and even a helping of Moon River from Breakfast at Tiffany’s in an hour-long set that’ll fill your heart to the brim with love.
It all takes place in the Glaziers Hall, which is the Georgian building nestled beside London Bridge on the southern bank of the River Thames. Arrive early for a pre-drink in the beautiful brick arches beneath London Bridge before basking in the beautiful glow of hundreds of candles for en evening of culture with your date.
Tickets from £25, Tuesday Feb 14, performances at 6pm and 8pm.
Glaziers Hall, 9 Montague Close, London Bridge, London, SE1 9DD
DANCE UNDER A BLUE WHALE
No need to worry about awkward silences at the Natural History Museum, as they’re throwing a silent disco beneath the world famous blue whale in the Hintze Hall.
You’ll be handed a free drink on arrival and can enjoy the new-look Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition with your date until the doors to the dance floor are flung open at 9pm.
Then, you’ll get to explore the museum in a completely different light, sup cocktails in the presence of extinct animals and boogie beneath old bluey until midnight.
If arrivals drinks and photography aren’t your thing, a cheaper, £30 ticket gets you entry to the disco at 9pm.
Tickets £30/£45. Doors open 7:30 on February 16
Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD
DRINK COCKTAILS IN SPACE
There’s never been a decent bar in space. The drinks are good, but there’s no atmosphere. Wahey! We’re here all night.
If you fancy treating your better half to a cocktail masterclass in space, then you’re in luck! AVORA - A New World Cocktail Experience will welcome you into the immersive world of Roscorp Laboratories, where a cast of talented actors and a movie-like set design will transport you into another world.
Inside, you’ll be kitted out win a special jumpsuit and feed cocktails that change colour before your eyes. Then you’ll step on to the planet of Avora itself - a magical, alien world you can explore while sipping another alcoholic concoction. And as the sun sets on your intergalactic beer garden, bioluminescent lights will twinkle all around you as you sip yet another cocktail with your newfound friends.
Sounds pretty good, huh? And if you don’t get brownie points for taking them to space for Valentine’s, then it ain’t gonna last…
Tickets from £49.95, 6pm - 7:45pm Unit 5c, Rosewood Building, Hackney Road, London, London, E2 8GY
SUP & PUTT AT CRAZY GOLF
Celebrating a fantastic bogey isn’t everyone’s idea of a perfect date, but Birdies’ special Valentine’s package is not one to be sniffed at.
Heard along to their Angel or Battersea Power Station venues between Feb 13 - 17 and you can play a round of crazy golf, lubricated by the brand new, Love Bug cocktail, for just £30 per couple.
For the uninitiated, Birdies serves up futuristic, colourful crazy golf that feels like you’ve dropped acid and walked into the year 3050. But there's no comedown here, as you’ll step off the 9th hole into a bar where cocktails and burgers by resident munch-providers, Cheeky Burger, are on the menu.
Price £30 per couple, February 13-17
Battersea Power Station, 6 Arches Lane, Battersea, SW8 4NR
Floor 1 Angel Central Shopping Centre, 21 Parkfield Street, N1 0PS
WATCH A MOVIE IN A 50s CINEMA
The resplendent Rivoli Ballroom is bringing back its pop-up cinema this February, with screenings of Baz Luhrman’s Romeo & Juliet Valentine’s Day and Audrey Hepburn romcom, Roman Holiday on Feb 13th.
The venue - one of London’s last remaining ballrooms - is the perfect backdrop for a night of romance, with its gilt-framed red walls and beautiful, domed ceiling, and there’ll be food and drink available from the bar and food stalls on the night.
Tickets from £11. Screenings start at 7:30pm, February 13 and 14. Rivoli Ballroom, 350 Brockley Road, Crofton Park, SE4 2BY
PLAY IT COOL ON THE ICE
Slip-sliding around a slab of ice below the twinkling lights of the iconic Canary Wharf skyline is either a date night from heaven or a recipe for disaster, depending on how proficient you are on a pair of ice skates.
The rink in Canada Square Park is a whopping 1,275 square metres - plenty of room for you to show off that Torvill and Dean routine - but there’s plenty to keep you occupied once you hand back the skates, too.
A new viewing platform allows you to revel in the misfortune of others as they tumble to the cold stuff, like a live-action You’ve Been Framed, and you can fill up on light bites and cocktails at the Off Piste rink-side bar.
Tickets £19.95 for 50 minute session
Canary Wharf Ice Rink, Canada Square, London E14 5AB
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