Eel Pie Island

The lowdown

In the middle of the Thames at Twickenham lies Eel Pie Island, a tiny, ramshackle and gloriously bohemian enclave reached by a single footbridge. Once home to a famous hotel where the Rolling Stones, The Who and a young David Bowie played in the 1960s, it is now a private warren of artists' studios, boatyards and eccentric homes.

For most of the year it is closed to outsiders, but two or three times a year the artists throw open their studios for free open weekends, and you can finally cross the bridge and explore. It is free, wonderfully odd and well worth timing a visit for, a genuine slice of old riverside counterculture.