From chartering your own boat down the leafy Regent’s Canal to channelling your inner viking by *literally* throwing axes, London ain’t exactly short when it comes to stag do ideas. Win brownie points as a best man and plan a stag do or bachelor party that won’t be forgotten – well, at least until a certain point at least – with this roundup of 10 of the best stag do ideas in London:
1. Test your nerve climbing to dizzying heights at the Spurs Stadium
Kicking off this roundup of the best stag do ideas in London is one that’s sure to get the adrenaline pumping. Called ‘The Dare Skywalk’ – yep, really – it gives you the chance to climb to the top of the world-famous Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and enjoy panoramic views of the capital as well as the stadium bowl below.
You’ll get to see many of London’s signature sights – including The Shard, the Sky Garden, Stratford’s Olympic Park and Ally Pally – and will also be able to survey the footie pitch 46.8 metres below you. Not adrenaline-fuelled enough for you and your fellow stags? Why not add on ‘The Edge’ – a thrilling abseil backwards (or forwards!) down to terra firma below. Now that’s something your groom ain’t gonna forget in a hurry…
2. Captain your own ship and sail down the Thames
Ahoy there, matey! The next addition to this roundup of the best stag do ideas in London will have you raising anchor and setting sail aboard your own private boat down some of London’s most famous waterways.
Each GoBoat seats up to eight people, and the best part of all is that you can bring your own picnic with you, so pack as many beers as you can carry! Opt to sail down the Regent’s Canal from Paddington (alas this one is alcohol-free), through leafy Kingston, or past the impressive skyscrapers of Canary Wharf. Anchors away!
3. Go all out and pretend you’re a viking while axe throwing
Guaranteed to get the testosterone flowing, this one is not to be combined with drinking. We really can’t stress that enough. Situated in a railway arch in Vauxhall, South London, the simply-adorned Whistle Punks Urban Axe Throwing venue is London’s first axe-throwing centre.
Here, you and your fellow stags can get to grips with a mighty hand axe, send it whirling down the range, and hopefully bury it in the bullseye with a satisfying THWUNK. Axe-throwing instructors will be on hand if you need any help perfecting your skills, and you’ll be competing against each other tournament-style to see who has the best throw. Loser gets the first round in post-throwing?
4. Step up to the oche and show off your skills throwing some darts
Fancy throwing something, but don’t want to particularly lose a limb in the process? Well then, Flight Club might be more your speed. Situated in four different locations in London – Shoreditch, Bloomsbury, Islington and Victoria – you’ll be able to throw darts to your heart’s content, with cameras picking up accuracy scores so you can compete against your mates.
So, order a round of beers or one of their ludicrously oversized cocktails, grab a lane and take aim. They also put out some spectacularly large pizzas, enough to feed a hungry stag party. They’ve also got private areas and various packages to boot, so this is a great option for a lads day out if there’s a big crowd of rowdy stags.
5. Tackle some of London’s best breweries on a beer crawl
We’re not short of breweries here in London. In fact, as of January 2022, there were over 135 breweries operating with more opening all the time. From vast industrial warehouses and independent breweries to pop-up events and local taprooms, there are plenty of places to get your beer fix in our beloved capital.
So what better plan than to tackle some of them on a London stag do? There’s the legendary Bermondsey beer mile – which has a whopping 17 breweries along its one-and-a-half-mile route – and the new Blackhorse Beer Mile, which takes in Truman’s Social Club and Walthamstow’s Wild Card Brewery.
6. Tuck into a fine plate of steak at one of our city’s best steak restaurants
Tucking into a hearty plate of succulent steak is a classic stag do move for a reason, and luckily for us, London has some of the best steakhouses in the world to choose from.
There are plenty on offer here, but our top three picks would be Hawksmoor, the long-reigning ‘Kings of the Red Meat’, Blacklock – which also does a killer roast – and Flat Iron, where you can grab a slab of juicy steak for just 12 quid. Yep, seriously – 12 quid. More money for the beers then.
7. Raise a glass or two of some of the world’s finest whiskey in celebration
If you’re thinking about stag do ideas in London and are looking for something a bit classy, then look no further than London’s whisky bars. Sophisticated and suave, they’re the perfect alternative to a chain pub where everyone is necking pints and dressed up as…*ahem* (insert here).
The beautiful Shoreditch bar Black Rock is a solid choice, and on top of some excellent whiskey, they also have a fantastic blending experience where you can learn all about the history of whisky and explore how different styles of whisky are made. Another great spot is Bull In A China Shop, which has over 100 Japanese and Scotch whiskies behind the bar and some magnificent cocktails to boot too.
8. Put your pedal to the metal on one of London’s go karting tracks
We’d argue that there’s nothing funner than whizzing around a go kart track, racing a group of mates. From a mighty track which stretches to over a kilometre in length, to a fun, video game-themed interactive course close to Shoreditch High Street – London ain’t exactly lacking when it comes to both indoor and outdoor go karting tracks.
So what better thing to do on a stag do than by racing the groom-to-be and your fellow stags? At a whopping 1,050-metres-long, the indoor go karting track at Capital Karts is easily the UK’s longest – a great choice we’d argue. Other spots in town include TeamSport Go Karting in the Docklands and Karting Nation in Mile End.
9. Sail down the River Thames aboard a literal party cruise
Well, it really wouldn’t be a stag party roundup without the option of a literal booze cruise, would it? And luckily for you, our beloved capital is full to the brim with them. With departure dates all through the year, live DJs, drinks aplenty and plenty of space for a boogie, they promise a bloody good time, and London has everything from 80’s themed extravaganzas to garage-themed parties and craft beer cruises.
Another great option if you’re looking for a stag do in London that you won’t forget is a boat party which takes you on a four-hour journey along the Thames, accompanied by some dance-inducing tunes from top DJs. Once you dock at midnight, you’ll head to either PopWorld or the legendary Ministry of Sound. Rock on.
10. Show a winning hand and see if you can beat the groom-to-be at poker or pool
Rounding off this list of the best stag do ideas in London is another way for you to challenge your groom-to-be. The Grosvenor Victoria Casino is home to the biggest poker room in the city, and plays host to many of London’s top pros as well as well as ordinary punters too. For bigger bets, Forty Five Kesington offers high rollers a chance to show their hand.
Alternatively, you could also make your way to Q Shoreditch, which offers up poker, black jack and roulette as well as pool, prosecco and pizza – three ‘ps’ we can get on board with – and a lively club downstairs. We’ll cheers to that.
Also published on Medium.
