London insider knowledge!

[Guineapiggiesmalls]

Mums, appealing for your help… we’ve a few days in London with two pre-school girls. We’ve done all the normal touristy stuff before (London eye, open top bus etc) but wondered if some local mums could recommend something we wouldn’t have normally thought of. Indoor or outdoor, I just want to do something different! Thank you :)

Definitely an Uber boat trip - London feels so different from the water. The Horniman is great with lots of bonkers things to look at, and a great garden. Maybe the gardens inside the Barbican?

Someone has mentioned Canary Wharf already but it’s great with little ones as lots of space (and loos!) and few cars. If you go a few stops on the DLR from there (or walkable) is mudchute city farm which is lovely https://www.mudchute.org/

Coram’s Fields. Used to play there as a child as my great gran lived nearby. It was known as The Foundling then.

When mine were little we used to go on the tube to green park and buy a picnic in the marks and Spencer, have a picnic in the park and then walk across to Buck palace to see the soldiers and wave at the queen, then the playpark across the road in St James Park, see the pelicans and then walk across to Westminster, look at big Ben, snack from tesco on Westminster bridge and then home.

Happy children!

There’s an Instagram account called Bablands which has a great overview of London for pre schoolers.

Mine love the Science Museum (Wonderlabs) if you haven’t done that.

Oh and Dopamine Land but it’s £££

Greenwich is a really good shout, as is Battersea Park and Diana Memorial playground.

We are SE so shout out for Horniman Museum and Gardens and Crystal Palace Park dinosaurs.

Kind of depends where you are based and what the weather is doing. Coram's fields is close to Kings Cross which has a lovely area now called Granary Square which has fountains for kids to splash in and lots of places to eat for every budget.

Kew Gardens is nice for that age, with a children's garden and lots of stuff to potter around.

Hampstead Heath and Primrose Hill both good for fresh air and views of London. Primrose Hill can be combined with London Zoo.

At that age we just sought out playgrounds wherever we went to be honest. If you do go to Vauxhall City Farm, the new playground at Vauxhall Park is nice. There is also a park called Archbishop Park, behind St Thomas' Hospital, that we go to whenever we go to the Southbank.

At that age we used to do:

Basement at the science museum, sometimes followed by Princess Diana playground

Boat trip to Greenwich for lunch followed by the cable car across then DLR - sitting at the front pretending to drive

Transport museum followed by watching street performers in Covent Garden

Horniman museum including picnic in the grounds

Mine loved Frameless https://frameless.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjwpayjBhAnEiwA-7enaxiJAb7RGCI3789lLnSN4lv2AIyNubbbsMBuusUDs-mKLW5zKKfLhoCe04QAvDBwE although it's £££. But it's one of those kids' things that is actually super enjoyable for you too! It's near Marble Arch so you could combine with the fountains and/or Diana memorial playground in Hyde Park.

Regents Park is also good, with various different playgrounds and you can hire pedalos to take on the lake.

The fountains at Somerset House are always a hit too; you can have a coffee in the lovely courtyard while they run around (definitely bring spare clothes!).

Also second a walk along the south bank and popping into Tate Modern. I usually let them choose some fruit and veg to take home from Borough Market too, which they love even if they subsequently refuse to eat the veg!

There is a great list of playgrounds here: bablands.com/2022/12/15/londons-coolest-playgrounds-by-area/