London visit with 12 week baby- any tips

[ManderleyFan]

I am thinking of going into London to visit a gallery with my baby who will be 12 weeks. I would be going in on the train and then options are tube or bus. Looking at the step free access tube map is pretty confusing and it does seem like the bus might be simpler? I’ve never used public transport with a baby before. Does anyone have any tips or experience on navigating London travel with a pram? I do also have a carrier for him but I’d want the pram so I can lay him down and transport all the baby gear… I’m wondering if doing this trip on my own might be more trouble than it’s worth but I really fancy some culture!

You don’t say where you live or where you are intending ongoing. Some tube stations now have lifts - look at the TFL website. If you want to go to Tate Modern, then Blackfriars Station on Thameslink definitely has a lift.
Provided the bus isn’t crowded it is easy to get a buggy on. There’s room for two but you have to get off if, rarely, a person in a wheelchair wants to get on. Every bus I ever get on , and most tube trains these days, have buggies on them.

Where do you live and where do you need to get to? I live in London so find travelling with a baby very easy. You can always bring the carrier and use it on the tube and just take the empty pram up the escalator if there are no lifts.

Do you have an actual "pram" ie a big one like a bugaboo or a compact stroller/buggy style one?
If it's a pram pram other passengers will think you are a pain. Sorry - but it's true.
Public transport is designed to be "buggy" friendly - not "pram" friendly.

I did London with DD as a baby in a sling and that was ideal. A pram would have made it much more of a pain

It should be relatively easy. If you say where you are coming from and where you are going, someone should be able to tell you the best route to get there. Sometimes walking really is the easiest, if you can't be asked with public transport. I think you'll be fine though. I took my youngest to Barcelona - airport, plane, bus, metro and all around the city - in a pushchair a bit older than that, and all on my own. While I realise that's not London (and actually Barcelona is very child/pushchair-friendly), it was no big deal and I'm sure you could do it with a bit of planning in London. Obviously, Londoners have babies and prams and get around just fine.

We walked a lot or had DD in a carrier for the first couple of months.

I took the bus with a Bugaboo with the carrycot and you just have to be mindful of others. As long as you are outside of rush hour (also on the train), I won‘t worry.

I live in London and did loads of travel around the city when DD was still in the carrycot part of the pram (i have an Uppababy vista v2 so an absolute tank 😅) If you share where exactly you are going from and to, perhaps we can advise better? My knowledge of entirely step free tube stations has grown exponentially since having kids! Buses are fine if you arent in a rush as you might need to wait for a couple if the buggy space is full, or a wheelchair user needs to get on as they rightly have priority.

Thank you everyone for your replies so far, I would be coming into Marylebone and I was thinking of going to the National Gallery. My pram is pretty bulky, icandy peach with the carrycot as my baby is still too little for the other seat. I can see that there’s a bus to Trafalgar Square from Marylebone so it sounds like if I go outside of peak time that would be the best option. I am very conscious of not being a nuisance to everyone around me with my massive pram!

Thank you, I do think this all might be a bit easier when my baby is older and I have a more compact, lighter buggy!

Sling or carrier. I wouldn't take a bulky pram with carrycot, personally. There's a reason most Londoners with babies have Babyzen Yoyos! If you really must take the pram, it'll be much easier to get the bus than the tube.

You’ll be fine with your pram and the carrycot. I lived in London and had a Bugaboo Fox and regularly took the bus and tube. Just avoid travelling outside of peak travel times and it will be okay, especially if you’re using the bus

Personally, if coming from Marylebone, I'd walk down Bond Street, regents street and get to the galleries that way.
m&s on Bond Street has a fab baby changing toilet - little cubicles for feeding and a toilet in there too so you don't have to do the half open door thing.

Get a coffee from outside the station, it'll be a 30-45 mins stroll from Marylebone to Trafalgar Square. I did it myself when my baby was 4 weeks with a flat pram and had a wonderful day, it's one of my favourite memories.

@GoingRoundInOvals Thank you, that is a lovely suggestion and sounds like it would remove the stress of wrangling the pram onto public transport!

I've raised 3 babies in London. Had a Bugaboo Chameleon for them all. Never had an issues with tubes, trains or buses. Although I was quite naughty and used to use the escalators with the pram if I needed to be at a station without a lift.

Even managed to navigate the Clipper and the cable car with the pram (albeit not on a regular basis!)

I did this exact thing when my LO was the same age, I took her in the sling and had a rucksack for all our bits. I had the loveliest day and it is one I will always remember ☺️

We also have an iCandy Peach and I wouldn’t take this personally, it would be far too bulky for getting on/off the tube and you can’t guarantee space on the bus

I'd highly recommend using a carrier not a large pram.

Remember that whilst you can take a pram onboard, you have to fold it or get off if a wheelchair wants to board, or drivers can decide it's too full to take a large pram.

I’d bring baby carrier and backpack, not pram, so much easier.

I'd put baby in a sling. Much easier and then you can still use the escalators or steps.

I would use the buses or walk over the tube

I’ve never thought anyone on the tube with a proper pram is a pain. I think that may be the opinion of that commenter alone.

With a baby that little Id honestly just take baby in a carrier and a backpack. It’d be so much easier. You don’t need to take that much with you, nappies, spare clothes, milk if you bottle feed. You’ll be able to move around much more easily. But do do it! You’ll have a great time. I’d have loved to do this when my first was tiny but Covid prevented it.

Walking would be easier again than bus or tube.

I'm not taking my baby on tube until I have ear defenders that he can wear.

John Lewis Oxford St has a baby feeding/changing room which is nice and calm.

Good luck!

Tate Modern is brilliant for babies, so much so that it used to be one of our regular rainy day activities- so much space, enough loos and changing facilities, cafe is spacious enough that you can take the buggy in, lots of the art is big and bold enough that your baby will actually be able to see it (I always thought the NPG or whatever must have been a load of brownish blurs for him).

To add, I always found the tube easy with a buggy. You can check the map for the best places to change etc or use the Citymapper app which will do it for you. I'd definitely take the buggy- you will be exhausted with the sling and all your clobber.

@BuffaloCauliflower I was the one who said about a big pram being a pain - I learned that from experience 😂
Seriously - the smaller the better with public transport ! One piece and one hand compact fold is best. The really small ones around now weren't around when my one was a baby (15 years ago). I am quite jealous of the current compact buggies.

@Needmorelego they might well be easier for the operator of the buggy (I do trains with a flipping double Nipper these days) but I’ve never thought another mum with her pram was really annoying, wouldn’t even cross my mind