Does anybody know London and can help me?

[cloudyrainbow]

I'm taking my 6yo to London on Monday - there are a few things I want to do but I don't know the best order to do them in and can't work out timings etc. So stressful! Everything needs booking because of COVID so can't just go with the flow.

I have ADHD and dyspraxia and I'm bloody terrible at organising things, working out directions and how long things take, so would really appreciate some help if possible!

We'll arrive at London Victoria at 11am.

I've promised we'll go to:

The Science Museum
Terrible Thames boat trip, at Tower Bridge Quay
Hamleys

If there's time and fits in location-wise with the above, we'd be interested in going to any of the following:

Natural History Museum
Diana Memorial Playground
Buckingham Palace (to see the guards)

Would anybody in the know be able to write out a rough itinerary for me, please, so I know what times to book, in which order? Never been to any of the museums so I don't know how much time you'd normally spend there. I have a train ticket that includes both tubes and buses. Also, any recs for lunch? I might need to book this in advance too.

Thanks so much in advance!

[korawick12345]

I am not sure how much fun afternoon tea would be for a 6 year old

[chesirecat99]

It starts at 10.30am at the barracks, 10.45am at Horseguards Parade, 11am at the Palace @52andblue. Changing of the Guard has restarted in Windsor so you might be lucky.

You can still see the guard swap over now, there just isn't the whole ceremony with music at the moment.

www.householddivision.org.uk/queen-life-guard

Why do you want to do a tour of Kings Cross in particular?

[cloudyrainbow]

I am not sure how much fun afternoon tea would be for a 6 year old

It's a kid's one! I just thought it'd be more interesting than pizza express or whatever for lunch.

[52andblue]

@SimonJT
ah, thanks. I'd read that the CotG was cancelled. I was hoping it had got going again.Thanks for info though. We will prob wait till its' going properly again.

[WeKnowFrogsGoShaLaLaLaLa]

@cloudyrainbow

Sorry, will look into a railcard - we just really don't get on a lot of trains so not sure it'd be worth it, but I'll check it out, thank you!

Depending on the ticket cost sometimes you save the cost of it in one journey so totally worth looking at the difference.

[RubyFakeLips]

Seems like lots of useful advice but wanted to suggested the facility of creating a customised Google Map. Maybe not need for this trip but help you in future if you find organising a problem.

I use it to plan city breaks. You can pin everywhere you want to visit, so you can see where places are in relation to each other. Also can see the travel time between two pins and Google helpfully tells you how long is typically spent at the place, when it's busiest and provides a link to the official website.

You can share the map with other people so my DH and teens will all have downloaded the map to their phones and know where to go next if we get separated and what's nearby in case they have other ideas.

I don't work for Google, just love this feature!

[Kentishbear]

We go London to Brighton regularly and book un advance for about £10 for 1 ad 1 child or £20 for 2ad and 2 children with a railcard. We find London Bridge cheaper than vic

[viques]

Do you shop at Tesco’s? You can use Tesco club card points towards the cost of a railcard. I didn’t do it this year because I didn’t go anywhere! But I usually use about £10 of Tesco vouchers to buy a senior railcard. I think of Tesco club points as free money ( I am very naive!) so to me it’s a free railcard. You can get all sorts of different railcards through the scheme. Well worth it if you are planning any more trips out over the summer.

[chesirecat99]

Perfect. Mayfair is the bit between Hyde Park in the west, Piccadilly and Green Park to the South, Oxford Street to the north and Regent Street (Hamleys) in the east. The hotel is about midway between the park and Hamleys (10/15 mins walk).

We had an afternoon tea delivery from the Chesterfield during lockdown. It was good!

I also forgot that there is horse riding in Hyde Park. It isn't cheap though. You could also climb up Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner and look into the Queen's garden. There used to be a tiny police station in the arch.

www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/wellington-arch/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellington_Arch

[ResIpsaLoquiturInterAlia]

I wish you and your little child a fabulous half day trip in effectively my part of central London.

As posters up thread have informed you many of these attractions are within walking or short bus ride distance from Victoria and not far between each other apart from Hamleys in Regents Street West End core central London.

Buckingham Palace is just a short hop from Victoria and the museums and Kensington Garden/Hyde Park being a longer walk or bus ride. You will need a ticket to visit inside. However most tourists used to visit on Saturday mornings pre pandemic for the changing of the guards. There is not much to see apart from the building itself. The Queen has long escaped central London for Windsor and now Edinburgh since the pandemic.

I have done this itinerary repeatedly over the years pre Covid with a similar age child but being local we never try to do all of these on the same day as it would be rushed and you will not be able to enjoy each attraction properly. We live and school in this area!

The three museums can easily take up a day let alone a half day as you are arriving late morning from outside London and the weather may be challenging with much rain forecast.

Hamleys has always been a big attraction for a little child for years but we visited recently when it was reopened earlier this year and we had never seen it so barebones with more bored staff than shoppers and so surreal when compared to pre Covid times being packed and a buzz of excitement and activity with as many locals as tourists etc.

If a big showcase toy shop gin palace is a must do for your child then the Harrods Toy Department is perhaps worth a visit as close to the museums being just a short walk away. However Harrods is as much a tourist attraction as it is a high end department store and in recent years the Toys department is much smaller and less impressive than the former glory years as it’s currently just a few small adjoining rooms and less of the previous wow factor Harrods sold only big ticket items like super sized handmade wooden doll houses, luxury ride on toys and super size soft toys etc. The later especially the Harrods bears in various including larger than life sizes are also dotted around the department store in the other multiple souvenirs departments etc.

In terms of jumping on board the Uber Boat Thames Clipper boat for a Thames river trip - your nearest river boat station to Victoria would be Battersea Power Station/Chelsea Bridge walkable or short bus hop from Victoria. You can then sail east towards West End core central London alighting at Westminster or Charring Cross etc for a walk or bus journey past Parliament, Downing Street, Trafalgar Square and then past Chinatown or Piccadilly walk up to to Regents Street for Hamleys.

We are currently in the country as school holidays for all state and independent schools have truly kicked off. London is still somewhat quieter than pre pandemic normal especially as the usual overseas tourists and luxury goods shoppers are still absent for obvious reasons.

Have fun but I know from repeated and frequent experience with a growing infant over the years that you are doing very well being out of town and so without local knowledge and trying to squeeze this all in within half a day before your child or you become exhausted! Hopefully with Covid pre book restrictions you may have smaller than normal crowds.

I hope this helps! And happy to share local spots for any particular child requirement too, eg best photo spots or simply by necessity most ideal clean child care comfort break facilities.

[erinaceus]

Another option for lunch would be to pack or pick up a picnic and go to the Diana Memorial Playground. It would be possible to walk there from South Kensington — would take about half an hour, through the park. Then from there you should be able to take a bus to Hamleys.

The walk might be a bit much before lunch with a six-year-old though.

(That’s a shame about the Ampersand.)

[WeKnowFrogsGoShaLaLaLaLa]

@viques

Do you shop at Tesco’s? You can use Tesco club card points towards the cost of a railcard. I didn’t do it this year because I didn’t go anywhere! But I usually use about £10 of Tesco vouchers to buy a senior railcard. I think of Tesco club points as free money ( I am very naive!) so to me it’s a free railcard. You can get all sorts of different railcards through the scheme. Well worth it if you are planning any more trips out over the summer.

I didn't know this! Thank you for sharing.

[cloudyrainbow]

So many useful tips and advice. Definitely would have made a pigs ear of it all without your advice & help. Stars!

[viques]

weknowfrogsgoshalalalala you are welcome, not that you deserve it because you have just given me a huge ear worm ....... I will have to do anagrams for about ten minutes to get rid of it!

(Doing anagrams in your head neutralises the ear worm, vole, love, have , veal......)

[Katy75]

You have so much great advice here but would agree that Hamleys is disappointing. It’s very tired IMO and so overpriced that if you are thinking to buy a small toy you will get very little for your money. Have a lovely day

[Hoowhoowho]

Mine like Hamleys for a walk around but we have always been late at night and it’s pretty empty then so they can actually see/play with the display toys like the floor piano. Define save it for the end of the day. An hour or so before closing is always good.

[TSSDNCOP]

Hamleys isn't crap if you're little. I still remember going there age 8 in the summer holidays. We spent forever downstairs where they demo stuff.

[KittenKong]

Maybe it depends on the child - it could be overwhelming if it’s really crowded (and who is used to crowds these days) and there is a lot to see. We had a party in there ages ago (which was fun).

[MayflowerMaisie]

Looking at trains from Brighton, a friends and family travel card would save you £20. You’d cover the cost of the card in two trips!
Another thing is I find it cheaper not to add a travel card on to my ticket. The tube is free for under 11s. And you can tap in and out with your debit card, which makes it as cheap as using an Oyster card.

[HunkyPunk]

The thing about Hamley's is - what 6yr old wouldn't want to see the biggest toy shop in the WORLD!

[ResIpsaLoquiturInterAlia]

Just to share some further thoughts to my above post as a local with child and quite frankly having been there done that etc.

For my little child growing up - the most impressive toy places where Hamleys pre Covid and before it starting to be sold off from one international owner to another. To a little child this large toy emporium expelled a buzz and air of excitement with packed houses with much see and try for yourself new toys not usually available elsewhere apart from online. There used to be sights and sounds with live demonstrations and entertainers at the entrance appealing to families with little children to usher them in. Not sure that buzz is around since the sterile pandemic shopping era of these surreal times where look, touch and feel is no longer a thing.

If toys is big on the shopping trip and in particular Lego then Lego flagship in nearby Leicester Square is worth a visit. Here you will find large Lego installations and possibly the fullest range of Lego toys to see, try and buy. My little one even has a Lego VIP passport as used to be regulars.

Opposite Lego is M&M flagship and another unique to London M&M chocolates and merchandise outlet to see, smell, taste and buy. Very interesting and super colourful even if you don’t like chocolate as unadulterated single brand confectionery factory.

The other toy place worth a detour or for a rainy or another day trip would be the V&A Toy Museum in east London. Visited before as interesting collection of heritage toys from yesteryear as well as all recent significant toy developments etc. This one is as much for mums and dads exploring their own toy history with their child. It’s quite far into east London and very different location to the West End so will require travel by London Underground. Most of us in core central tend to walk and stay local these days and avoid the Tube if at all possible especially as they don’t have masked and unmasked carriages which would satisfy both Covid camps.

On to the Thames and presumably a boat ride to see the sights. Prior to pandemic I was a regular boat commuter from central west London residence to the City and Docklands. The seasonal ticket was a bit more pricey than the TfL standard zones 1&2 Tube, buses and trains - but the river is the way to commute to the office as infinity more civilised and just so much more preferable to being tightly squeezed on a packed Tube or bus with seemingly all the other distance commuters in the city rat race. I would avoid the Tube because of the pandemic if possible.

I recommend you just jump on the regular Uber Boat Thames Clipper and forget about booking a tourist boat trip as it’s the same but more flexible and much cheaper. Some of the boats have more outdoor decking space to enjoy the views especially passing under the various bridges. You can sail all the way past under Tower Bridge and even pass Canary Wharf, O2 Millennium Dome and Greenwich to Canning Town to take an Emirates sun set cable car Thames crossing if time is on your side and not tied by all the excitement of the West End and Kensington & Chelsea etc.

And as many others have suggested London Bridge mainline train station is usually cheaper than Victoria from originating stations which connect to both especially outside peak travel times. However London Bridge is further east from West End unless you want to walk to near by Tower Bridge or along the fun and interesting South Bank with Millennium foot Bridge, Tate Modern, Shakespeare Globe and National Theatre etc to cross over to Trafalgar Square.

And also it is still possibly cheaper to use a regular contactless bank or mobile Apple or Google Pay for bus and Underground journeys as young children normally travel for free and you will pay up to a daily maximum cap (using the same payment card) even if you hop on and off every hour. The bus operates a hoper fare system and is just one bus pricing zone through TfL. Do obviously check with TfL for latest pricing options. I personally drive, cycle or walk.

Oh and here is a decent website with a few other ideals for next time etc:

secretldn.com/things-to-do-in-london-weekend/

secretldn.com/best-things-to-do-london/

[KittenKong]

(Hey neighbour) we always liked the transport museum and to check out the live entertainment in Covent Garden, and a walk over the bridge to the southbank.

[ClaryFairchild]

I went to Hamleys with my sons and they loved it - so many floors of exciting toys. We bought each of the boys one small item, but had our phone at the ready and compared prices of big ticket items online and they quickly accepted that it would be crazy buying other things there. (Their Lego prices were insane!)

Hamleys have some cute soft toys with the Hamleys logo on them which she might like, but they are pricey.

[JoBrodie]

The most useful thing is if you can get the free CityMapper app on your phone, set it to London. Allow it to access your location and then you can choose "From my location" to... "destination" and it will come up with all sorts of options with lots of detail (including how to walk to the right bus stop, or which entrance / exit to use at larger tube stations). It will also let you know of alternatives if a station is closed etc etc. It's ace.

You can bring and eat a packed lunch at the science museum in a couple of places (see the Google Docu for more info, or the map (pdf) and look for the picnic areas on Level 3 or Level -1.

Anyway you've probably got all the info you need already but I have very much enjoyed indulging myself in the creation of this itinerary Google Docs document :)

London journeys

1. Summary of useful links
   
2. Victoria to Science Museum
   
3. Science Museum to Terrible Thames
   
4. Science Museum to Hamleys
   
5. Terrible Thames to Hamleys
   
6. Terrible Thames to Victoria
   
7. Hamleys to Victoria
   
8. Hamleys to Terrible Thames
   

The useful links are

CityMapper (recommend phone app)
citymapper.com/london

What3Words (recommend phone app)
what3words.com/

Map of the Science Museum: www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/sites/default/files/2021-05/Museum-Map-Mar-2021.pdf

Thames Clippers website
www.thamesclippers.com/

ThamesClippers timetable PDF: www.thamesclippers.com/media/0fihwcwi/ubtc-09-jul-21-online-timetable.pdf

Jo

[nancy75]

@cloudyrainbow

I am not sure how much fun afternoon tea would be for a 6 year old

It's a kid's one! I just thought it'd be more interesting than pizza express or whatever for lunch.

Afternoon tea depends on the child, at 6 my dd lived doing ‘posh’ things like afternoon tea! (I think she has delusions of grandeur)