Late September/early October sights, attractions near London

We love September in London--- we had great weather when we were there at the end of the month last fall.

Check out the "What's On" section on the Totally Thames festival website:

http://totallythames.org/

Many of the event and activities (historical walks, etc.) are free. And many are offered only during this festival.

For WWII sites, the HMS Belfast is fascinating. The ship is moored near the south end of Tower Bridge. You are free to roam, up and down steep stairs and on catwalks In the engine room, with the excellent free audio guide.

I know you said no museums, but the free City of London museum has a nice Roman exhibit.

An Oystercard is convenient and cost-effective for your transport needs around London.

Bletchley Park, less than an hour by train from Euston and nearly across the street from Bletchley station is where the enigma code was broken and you can see actual machines and actual locations. That's a bit WW-II.

Dover Castle is about 90 minutes by train from St Pancras International or Charing Cross stations (fast or slow trains) and is full of tunnels in the chalk where defenses were contemplated, the Germans (and before them the French) were watched, and a hospital in the tunnels operated. That's a bit Napoleonic, WW-I and WW-II.

The Cabinet War Rooms are where dozens of people, including Winston Churchill, lived and worked and ran WW-II.

Duxford - another part of the IWM like HMS Belfast - was the former Duxford air base, home of fighters and bombers, just down the road from Cambridge, with most types of allied (and some axis) aircraft, most of which fly frequently.

All the above are museum-like, however they are museums where the actual activity took place, with video and audio of actual participants, and actual equipment is and was.

What sort of landmarks are you looking for? Such things as shrapnel damage in Great Audley Street, or on the entrance to the V&A Museum?

Agreed, the City of London Museum has a fine exhibit on the Romans, and there are fragments of the Roman wall still standing outside and (last time I was there) inside the museum.

National Geographic magazine recently had a major article on archaeological finds beneath London. If you can get ahold of that, you may find some recently discovered bits of ancient history that are accessible to the public.

A quirky little museum is Sir John Soane's near Lincoln's Inn Fields. It's full of things from the ancient world (statuary etc.). Again, even if you're not generally into museums, Soane's is one that might interest you.

My husband and I enjoyed the Duxford airfield museum outside Cambridge, but I would not call it a typical museum. There are lots of airplanes from early flyers and fighters, to the U-2 spy plane and SST. You can also see many planes in various stages of restoration. My husband also liked the displays with various tanks etc. from both WWI and WWII. We took the bus, as described in Rick Steves book (2013 edition?) but the walk from the bus to the museum was SCARY -- and we are used to walking a lot. The walk was along very busy roads, with cars moving fast, and no shoulder. If we went again, we would look into the train as a possibility.

The Royal Air Force Museum at Hendon is more easily accessible by public transport than Duxford and is also on a WWII airfield. Northern Line to Colindale (NOT the Hendon station which is further away).

This doesn't really fit your parameters, but I thought I'd throw it out there anyway. My husband and mother-in-law really enjoyed their visit to Greenwich, home of the Greenwich Meridian Line, the Cutty Sark (last remaining tea clipper), Maritime Museum, the Old Royal Naval College, etc. And it looks like there is some interesting stuff to do at the O2 as well (Emirates Cable Car, Emirates Aviation Experience, tour that goes on the roof of the O2).

Greenwich is accessible by public transport (tube & Docklands Light Railway) or by boat down the Thames.

Thanks to everyone for sending me useful information to use in my planning process. I also got some input from neighbors down the beach (we live on a MN lake in the summer) and with all that input, plus more Rick Steves videos, I will be having a great time during my travels to the British Isles. Take care and safe travels to you all.