9 Free and Cheap Things to Do in Battersea

Battersea has changed more than almost anywhere in London. The Power Station is now a free-to-enter landmark with its own Underground station, and next door Battersea Park offers a riverside pagoda, Victorian gardens and sculptures by Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, all without a ticket.

Almost everything on this route is free. Choose the one-hour version for the Power Station and the river, the half-day loop through the park, or add a half-price dinner near Clapham Junction to make an evening of it.

Things to do in Battersea for the time you have

The times are estimates. The park is big: allow 20 minutes to walk from one end to the other, more with children.

Stop 7, the playgrounds, has no single pin: Battersea Park has two playgrounds and a trim trail, so pick whichever is nearest when you need it.

The main free Battersea walk

1. Battersea Power Station

The Power Station has been turned into shops, restaurants, offices and homes, but it is free to enter and the building itself is the attraction. Walk through the two Turbine Halls to see the scale of the old brick structure, then step outside to look up at the four chimneys.

Shops open from 10am to 8pm Monday to Saturday and 12pm to 6pm on Sunday, with restaurants and bars often open later. Browsing costs nothing; treat it as an architecture visit rather than a shopping trip.

Allow: 30–45 minutes. Cost: Free. Nearest station: Battersea Power Station (Northern line, Zone 1).

2. Battersea Power Supplies Museum

Under the railway arches on Arches Lane, the Battersea Power Supplies Museum and Gift Shop tells the story of the building, from pioneering electricity supplier to its long years as a ruin and its redevelopment. It shares the space with a shop, and no entry charge is listed.

It opens from 10am to 6.30pm Monday to Saturday and 11am to 6pm on Sunday.

Allow: 15–20 minutes. Cost: No entry charge listed.

3. Walk the river to Chelsea Bridge

From the Power Station, follow the riverside west towards Chelsea Bridge. The Thames path here gives you the best view back to the chimneys, and boats from the Battersea Power Station pier head into central London.

Past Chelsea Bridge, the riverside path leads into Battersea Park.

Allow: 10–15 minutes. Cost: Free.

4. The Peace Pagoda

Follow the riverside path inside the park to the London Peace Pagoda. Monks, nuns and volunteers from the Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist order built it, and it was completed in 1985. Its riverside setting, looking across to Chelsea, makes it one of the calmest spots in the area.

The upper level is closed to the public. If you are in the park at sunrise, you may hear the drum of the monk who walks from the nearby temple to the pagoda each morning.

Allow: 10–15 minutes. Cost: Free.

5. Battersea Park’s gardens

Battersea Park has eight gardens. The best for a short visit are:

• Sub-Tropical Garden: created in 1863 by John Gibson, with large-leaved plants that feel unexpected in south London.
• Old English Garden: a sheltered, quieter spot between North Carriage Drive and the cricket pitches.
• Winter Garden: planted to look its best from leaf-fall to bud-burst, so worth a look in the colder months.
• Promontory Garden: a place to sit with views over the river.

The park gates open at about 6.30am and close by 10.30pm, but come in daylight for the gardens.

Allow: 30–60 minutes. Cost: Free.

6. Sculptures by Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth

The park has a small outdoor collection of major sculptures, including Henry Moore’s Three Standing Figures, Barbara Hepworth’s Single Form and Nicola Hicks’s Brown Dog. Seeing work by Moore and Hepworth normally means a gallery visit; here they stand in the open.

Allow: 15–20 minutes. Cost: Free.

7. Playgrounds, parkrun and open space

For families, the park has two playgrounds and a trim trail, plus plenty of lawn for picnics. Bring your own food and the whole afternoon can cost nothing.

If you’re in London on a Saturday, Battersea parkrun is a free, timed 5k every week at 9am, starting on Carriage Drive West. You can walk, jog or run. Register once on the parkrun site before your first visit and bring your barcode, or you won’t get a time. Check the page for cancellations: the run on 7 November 2026 is cancelled.

Cost: Free.

A rainy-day plan

Start with the Power Station’s Turbine Halls and the Power Supplies Museum, which are both indoors. Then take the train or bus to Clapham Junction for the Battersea Arts Centre, a short walk up Lavender Hill.

8. Battersea Arts Centre

The Battersea Arts Centre is a theatre and arts venue in the old Battersea Town Hall on Lavender Hill. Its Tom’s Café is open from 9.30am to 4.30pm on weekdays, and later on show evenings, with books and board games to borrow. You only need to buy a drink to spend an hour there. The café, toilets and lift are all step-free.

Cost: The price of a drink. Nearest station: Clapham Junction, about 7 minutes’ walk.

Cheap food in Battersea

The Power Station has plenty of restaurants, but few cheap ones. Two options stand out:

9. Indian Moment: half-price food from 5pm

Indian Moment on Battersea Rise takes 50% off the food bill from 5pm to 6.30pm every day. Food only, and not with other offers. It doesn’t sell alcohol: bring your own for £1.50 corkage per person. After 6.30pm, Sunday to Thursday, the discount is 25%.

It is near Clapham Junction, so it pairs well with an afternoon in the park and the Battersea Arts Centre.

Cinnamon Kitchen Battersea: bottomless dhal

Under the arches at the Power Station, Cinnamon Kitchen offers unlimited dhal and naan when everyone orders two courses, until 21 November 2026. Book online and mention Hot Dinners. This one is a treat rather than a budget meal, but it makes a two-course dinner go further.

For more deals across London, see our food deals by day.

Paid extras worth knowing about

These are not free, but you will walk past them:

• The Chimney Lift (Lift 109): a glass lift up one of the chimneys to 109 metres. Adult tickets start from £16 online, against a standard price of £24, so booking ahead saves money.
• In Battersea Park: the children’s zoo, Go Ape, boat hire and Putt in the Park all charge. Check prices on their own sites before promising them to children.
• Battersea Park Fireworks: Wandsworth Council’s ticketed display runs on 7 and 8 November 2026, with free entry for under-5s. Compare it with every other display in our Bonfire Night fireworks guide.
• Glide at Battersea Power Station: the riverside ice rink runs from 6 November 2026 to 3 January 2027. See every rink compared in our London ice skating guide.

Toilets, water and getting there

• Toilets in Battersea Park: three toilet blocks, by the zoo (Pierpoint), by the fountains and near Sun Gate (Beechmore). They open from 8am to 5pm in winter, 6pm in spring and autumn, and 10pm in summer, and can close at short notice.
• Toilets at the Power Station: toilets and baby changing throughout the building. Accessible toilets use a RADAR key; Guest Services can unlock one if you don’t have a key.
• Water: there is a drinking fountain in Battersea Park near Carriage Drive East. See our free water refill map for others.
• Getting there: Battersea Power Station station is on the Northern line in Zone 1. Battersea Park and Queenstown Road rail stations are about 10 and 15 minutes’ walk from the park. Uber Boat by Thames Clippers stops at Battersea Power Station.

Battersea questions

Sources and last check

Checked on 29 October 2026 against Battersea parkrun, Battersea Power Station’s guest services and getting here pages, The Chimney Lift tickets, Enable’s Battersea Park page for the council, the Friends of Battersea Park, Battersea Arts Centre and Indian Moment’s offers. Prices, hours and offers can change, so check before you travel.