AIBU to ask if Clapham is a good place for a day trip?.

[fourandahalfkids]

So we are taking a day trip to Clapham on Saturday. I say day trip but we are from Cornwall so most of it will be spent travelling. Dh has to be there for a couple of hours and we (dd3 14 and myself) are tagging along for the ride.
We are thinking about getting lunch and going to the common after dh has finished but we will have a couple of hours to spare so what would you recommend?
Are there any good shops/malls/markets worth visiting? Or any sightseeing?
Thank you

Posting here for traffic.

As someone who lives by the common my first reaction was ... is this for real?

PP have some good suggestions, Battersea park is nice, get the train into Waterloo and do the London eye etc or Battersea park then catch the boat from the power station into town etc

Northcote Road is normally closed to traffic on the weekends so the restaurants / pubs sprawl out on the road

There is an Oliver Bonas and a bookshop near the Common.

Some nice deli/bakery type places for a coffee and pastry.

Usually a small street market with food (cheese/veg/bread etc) on a Saturday morning.

Lots of nice places for lunch, and a great ice cream place.

That’s about it for a 14yr old.

Agree with others about hopping on tube to somewhere more central if that’s not enough.

Battersea Park might be a bit too far/fiddly to get there and back on the bus IMO but not impossible.

If you want to look at the 2 tube stations or walk across the common... that’s all there is to do

If I was your dh I'd travel to Clapham Junction by train - change either to Waterloo line at Exeter or at Reading to Waterloo line. I live an hour by train to Plymouth. Saturday traffic can be horrendous on a Saturday

Could possibly book in to get nails done somewhere but might need to do in advance?!?

Well if you do stay around Clapham then St John's Road and Northcote Road is a nice spot for shopping. Nearest station is Clapham Junction.

And trains for Victoria and Waterloo go regularly from C Junction if you fancy going into the centre. The river walk from Westminster to Embankment station is beautiful.

Thank you all. Yes I admit my first instinct was to jump on the tube and get off at Waterloo but I just wanted to see if Clapham had anything to offer first. Being from Cornwall I know nothing about London really. Visited Central London many years ago but that's about it. Always good to have a bit of local knowledge. Thanx again.

Posted too soon, Saturday traffic is horrific and you won't have time to go far. Hence as someone who lived in Clapham definitely recommends your dh goes by train.

If you’re genuinely stuck in Clapham for a Saturday afternoon with a teen then Nardullis ice cream shop is lovely, you can get a nice picnic from the Venn Street market or have a restaurant lunch, and check out the rather good charity shops if that’s your thing, but like everyone else says you’d be much better advised to get a tube/bus to Waterloo/London Bridge/Battersea Park.

I know Clapham and Cornwall well. It’s a bit like going to Cornwall and spending the day on Camborne. Perfectly decent place to live or have a bite to eat. But nothing at all to do, or see, or interest teenagers really. Unless it’s essential you go, or you can spend time enough fo get into the city, I’d stay home.

Hmm I don't think there's much to hold the interest of a 14 year old really. Some nice cafes and the common is nice for a picnic but it's all more geared towards families with small children, or young adults who like a drink...

Personally, I would get the 37 to Brixton and have some lunch in the market, or Pop Brixton (behind the leisure centre) as it's a bit different and fun to explore. There's also h&m/tkmaxx/Morley's department store for a bit of clothes shopping, or very easy tube into town if you do run out of things to do.

Hundreds of overland trains two stops to Waterloo. Go to the Southbank !!

I live in north London and wouldn't really make a special effort to visit Clapham, let alone come up from Cornwall. As PPs have said, Battersea is probably the nearest 'attraction' in the form of the park. The Common is literally a big bit of grass which you must have plenty of in Cornwall?

I agree that Brixton (15 minute walk or 5 minute bus) would be quite exciting for a rural teen, but lacks the wow factor of Actual Central London which you’d get from going to Waterloo/London Bridge and walking down the Thames.

By the way, if your DH’s appointment is actually at the US Embassy in Nine Elms then tell us and we’ll start our advice again.

Just to reiterate traffic really is awful in this part of London on a Saturday... I really wouldn’t advise driving up for an interview, very tiring and stressful. Clapham Common can get crowded too whenever the suns out, with visitors leaving their rubbish strewn around it loses what charm it has when it’s less busy. But only short tube trip to London Bridge to walk up to Tate Mod and Globe or down to Tower Bridge when you are up!

A 10 plus-hour round trip just to go to Clapham is a bit bonkers. Can’t he get the train? What if the traffic is awful?

If you're in to food, then I'd recommend going Central and hitting Borough Market and mercato Metropolitano. Both lovely places. But they're busy busy busy...
If you really only have a few hours, boat ride in battersea Park. The zoo is nice but not for a 14yo.
From there wouldn't take you long to wander to Westminster and sightsee on the Southbank.
If it's really hot I'd just have a picnic at Clapham Common, but I'm not a tourist so that might just be a bit shit.

There's not much to do in Clapham and the shops aren't very exciting either. I would head to Waterloo/London Bridge/Borough as PPs suggested and go to the (food) market, Shard, HMS Belfast, Old Operating Theatre, Tate Modern, Southbank or whatever takes your fancy. There isn't much in the way of shops though, at least, not that will thrill a 14YO. There is a good chocolatier/chocolate restaurant in Borough Market that she might like or you can grab an exotic zebra, ostrich or crocodile burger there normal food is also available. I would save the shopping for your next trip.

You could get the riverbus from Battersea Power station and do a round trip past the riverbank sites (Houses of Parliament, London Eye, Shard, Canary Wharf, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, HMS Belfast etc) all the way to Greenwich and back, or you could stop off at London Bridge/Waterloo to meet your DH for lunch by the river. They have just rebranded as Uber boats. It's advisable to book at the moment because there are limited seats for social distancing regulations.

www.thamesclippers.com/plan-your-journey/route-map

OP, we have driven from London to Cornwall a few times and it’s a nightmare! 6-8 hours. The traffic will be hellish once you hit London. I would come by train if you can.

Clapham is one of many suburbs if London. It’s not normally a destination in its own right, but I guess, if yours only here for a few hours it might be fine. Battersea Rise has some nice restaurants. I mean there’s loads if cafes / restaurants if that’s what you’re thinking. But if you want to see the Thames and come “sights,” a stroll down the Southbank would be mire memorable for your daughter I think? If parking is tricky or you’re not sure where you’re going, get an Uber to save time.

Oh god yes don’t drive especially not this Saturday

Everyone from London/SE who has booked half term Sat to Sat in a holiday cottage in the SW will be heading back home on the same road

I used to live in Clapham Jct, it was a lovely place to have a young baby. Used to spend ages wondering up Northcote Road. Buying a sausage roll off the bread stall. It was all very ‘yummy mummy’.

It’s not the sort of place I’d go to spend a day out though.

Battersea Park is nice as it’s the Zoo. Catch the train to Waterloo or go the other way to Richmond and walk along the river. Is Petersham nurseries still open? Or go to Kew gardens.

Nothing to see in Clapham - just carry on into the centre / or a more interesting bit

If you’re coming in from m4 and you have so little time then literally if it were me I’d drop car at Hampton court palace station parking. Dh on train (25 mins to Clapham junction/Vauxhall). You and kids go to the palace on the river. Meet dh on his return. Places to eat are plentiful. Obviously not a day in London but with a car to find parking for and so little time why not avoid driving in etc ?? Leave London to a time you come by train and have some time? Aware this seems odd but no way would I add to that drive (I do I a lot) driving right in with so little time and no parking sorted.
Book a parking space somewhere if you drive in.