7 cheap or free things to do in September
Welcome to September, the first month of the Autumn season. There’s so much to see and do this month, even if you’re on a bit of a budget.
Let’s have a look at some of the things that are happening in the UK over the next few weeks. Don’t miss out!
That ‘Back to School’ time (for grown-ups)
That’s right, going back to school isn’t just for the kids. It’s a popular time of year for starting an evening class or taking a course of some sort. Many of these are low cost, and some are completely free.
From one-hour tutorials and single lectures to one-term or year-long courses, there’s something for every taste and budget. There are plenty that could enhance your career, maybe leading to better paying work, and others could help you start a side hustle or fully fledged business.
Try local education centres for adult learning, your council website, LinkedIn’s courses section, or government-funded Free Courses England.
Jane Austen Festival
The 2025 Jane Austen Festival will take place from Friday 12th to Sunday 21st September 2025, and this year marks the 250th anniversary of the author’s birth. In-person events will be happening in Bath, but you can also attend some online events via Zoom (ticket purchase required for those).
There are over 200 events planned, including a free art trail, talks, theatre and much more. There’s also a Recency-style ball and other costumed events including a Promendade in the gardens if you like to dress up. Check out the 2025 festival programme to find out more.
The Proms 2025, including the Last Night
The Proms is the world’s biggest classical music festival, running from 18th July to 13th September and including over 80 concerts. The final night of the annual Proms festival takes place on Saturday 13th Sept, and will include various musical surprises, star turns and all the traditional favourites. Expect anthems, folk songs and singalongs.
Some reasonably-priced seated tickets are currently still available for many of the other September concerts, and ‘promming’ is still possible for the remaining events. Promming (standing in the Arena or Gallery areas of the Royal Albert Hall, with 1,000 tickets available for each performance) is part of the unique and informal atmosphere of the BBC Proms. You can book for up to two people on the day from 9.30am for world-class performances for just £8 (inc. fees) for most concerts via the Royal Albert Hall website.
Along with the more traditional orchestral composers and operas you’ll always find plenty of diverse and interesting programming, this year including The Great American Songbook, an orchestral mix of Britney Spears’ Toxic, a performance from St Vincent, Star Wars and Classic Thriller Soundtracks. You can watch a selection of recent Proms for free on iPlayer, listen live on BBC Radio 3, watch live on BBC Two and BBC Four, or hear every 2025 Prom performance on BBC Sounds.
London Fashion Week late 2025
Fancy yourself as a bit of a fashionista? The whole crazy London Fashion Week carnival comes to town Thursday 18th – Monday 22nd of September, with designers showcasing their new catwalk collections for Spring and Summer 2026, and various parties, panels, networking events and more goings-on.
Some of it’s physical events (good luck scoring a ‘frow’ invite to most of those!), and there are still some Fashion Week event tickets on Eventbrite that cost under £20. There’ll be plenty taking place online too and you can watch most of that for free. Many shows will end up on Vogue or
Dylon will also be running sustainable fashion events at their pop-up ‘Refresh & Renew Launderette‘ which has free entry, and there are also £7.50 tickets for their masterclasses.
York Food & Drink Festival
This is one of the biggest food festivals in the UK, running for 10 days from 19th to 25th September this year. Much of it’s based in Parliament Street, but there are city-wide events scheduled too. See the full programme here for what’s on each day. Entry is free, but there’s a fee for some ticketed events.
It’s run by a not-for-profit organisation in partnership with City of York Council, focusing mainly on Yorkshire produce and chefs. Expect tastings of food and drinks, education, cookery lessons, demonstrations, and many other events to celebrate Yorkshire food and drink.
Recipe of the month: Chipotle Roasted Sweetcorn
September is the big harvest month, with all kinds of ingredients in abundance. Sweetcorn is one of the best homegrown vegetables to eat right now, and I especially like this tasty recipe by Rukmini Iyer from her fantastic ‘The Green Roasting Tin’ cookbook.
The full title is Chipotle Roasted Sweetcorn with Squash, Black Beans, Feta and Lime, and I’ve made it twice already. It’s perfect for a simple midweek meal, you just throw it all in one baking tin and relax while it cooks.
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Cocktail of the month: Havanatheone
Apple season is in full swing, and some of the best September cocktails with apple in them use a nice quality fresh apple juice. Make your own if you have a juicer, or pick up a reliable brand such as Cawston Press Cloudy Apple Juice.
This is a daiquiri recipe by Simon Difford featuring honey, apple, light rum and mint, adapted from an earlier recipe created at Hush. You could also make a tasty non-alcoholic version using one of the many great light rum substitutes that are now available.
Penny’s Personal Projects
I always love it when the season turns to the beginning of the Autumn, and this year’s no exception. I’m especially looking forward to some more warming foods, the search for the best hot chocolate, and the most interesting fashion. Oooooh, new coat and boots time…
As part of this, I’ll definitely be doing one of my favourite things: planning a capsule wardrobe. That’ll include getting a few choice items out of storage (these Lakeland vaccuum-pack clothes bags are the best around, by the way), and looking for a few new things to keep a contemporary feel. Look out for an article or two about that later in the month.
The other thing I’ll be doing is redrawing my budget for the new season. In the final week of September there’ll be an announcement about a new thrifty Tenner Week challenge, so make sure you get yourself onto the mailing list if you want to hear all about it. Don’t miss that one.
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Do you love the Autumn as much as I do? Will you be trying any of these cheap or free things to do in September?