Inside Out Festival 2025 – Westminster Abbey

This summer Westminster opens its doors for a season of creativity, reflection, and discovery.

Inside Out Festival 2025 – Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey has announced a summer of creativity with outdoor drawing sessions, workshops, poetry, live music and hidden stories waiting to be uncovered – part of the Inside Out Festival 2025, a season of cultural programming taking place across Westminster this August.

Throughout July and August, visitors are invited to experience Westminster Abbey in new and surprising ways with guided tours, after-hours experiences, creative workshops, poetry, art, music and family events.

This summer season highlights include after hours at the Abbey with live music, storytelling and heritage, or just enjoy the peace of the after-hours experience.

Visitors are invited to take a moment to slow down and sketch in the peaceful surroundings of Westminster Abbey’s historic gardens and cloisters. These evening workshops, open to all levels, are led by a different artist each week, offering fresh perspectives on drawing, architecture, and nature.

And there are poetry workshops when history and poetry meet in inspiring writing workshops led by acclaimed poets Jacob Sam-La Rose and Bella Cox.

Set within the Abbey’s tranquil gardens and historic spaces, each workshop offers a chance to reflect and create, inviting you to explore personal themes of Nature, Faith, and Identity through imaginative prompts and gentle guidance.

There are new hidden history guided walks led by an expert Blue Badge Guide that invites visitors to journey through the streets around Westminster Abbey and hear the fascinating stories of figures who shaped the area’s legacy, from the adventures of T.E. Lawrence to the powerful voice of Ignatius Sancho.

And there are Stories from the Stones Tours too when people can uncover the hidden stories etched into the cloisters of Westminster Abbey during an after-hours tour with storyteller Olivia Armstrong.

Among the other highlights will be Brass on the Grass band concerts on Wednesday lunchtimes; ten-minute Memorial of the Month talks exploring some of the Abbey’s most fascinating monuments; and activities for families and children running on selected dates from 29th July – 28th August with themes including Stars and Planets, Covert and Classified, and Wild Westminster.

Find out more about Summer at the Abbey and how to book tickets here.

Summer at the Abbey events have been made possible through the support of Westminster City Council.

It is part of Inside Out Festival 2025, a season of cultural programming taking place across Westminster in August 2025.

Photo: Brendan Foster Photography