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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Going to London with 5 year old daughter

56 replies

Belle82 · 21/08/2022 13:16

On Thursday I am taking my little girl to London for the day.

I had a baby 8 months ago and so she hasn’t had much 1:1 attention so I have tried to spend one day a week where it’s just me and her.

I have a couple of things planned, a short theatre show & natural history museum (just for the dinosaurs)
is there anything else I could do with her?

hop on / hop off bus tour (but stay on)?
afternoon tea (there are some kids versions) - too young?

I haven’t been to London in so long I’ve forgotten what’s there?

OP posts:
Minesril · 21/08/2022 21:39

Bigchezemakeme · 21/08/2022 21:05

Crystal Palace park is over an hour away from the NHM @MajorCarolDanvers. it’s also an average, albeit pretty, park in Zone 4 - certainly not something to traipse over to for your one day out in London!

It's less than an hour from South Kensington, tube (or walk) to Victoria and then train. I loved it as a child and DS loved it when I took him. I'm not sure I'd want to do it in the same day as NHM and a show though.

BryceQuinlanTheFirst · 21/08/2022 21:50

I've never seen any animals at Coram fields, been going for a year or so. Just FYI I think that was just in the past.

NellyBarney · 21/08/2022 21:53

SoftSheen · Today 13:25

An alternative to the natural history museum is Wonderlab at the Science museum, which is absolutely brilliant.

Absolutely second the Wonderlab! The Clipper is now Uberboat. It's definitely preferable to the tube, but not that close to South Kensington.

GurningGolfer · 21/08/2022 21:58

Belle82 · 21/08/2022 14:12

Thank you so much for all your ideas. I was thinking Hamley's but I will look into the science museum too.

Going into Paddington (I've saved up some money for taxi's) so taxi to NHM, the show is near Covent Garden.

What show are you taking her too? I also have a 5 year old DD and 6 month old DS and we're all going to London soon, would love to take her to a show but she won't sit around for 2-3 hours. Thanks!

EnidSpyton · 21/08/2022 22:00

If you're coming into Paddington, don't take a taxi to South Kensington. You'll be stuck in traffic for ages. It's much quicker and easier to take the tube. A lot of non Londoners make the mistake of thinking getting a taxi will make their life easier, but most of the time it really doesn't unless you have a large family/lots of luggage. With just one DD to take care of, the tube will be a much better option - and she'll have the experience of it.

NHM during the summer holidays is going to be rammed. You can sometimes wait for an hour to get in. I would advise that you pre book and get there bang on opening time. You'll have to queue your way round the dinosaurs - so you'll be in there longer than you think.

I would suggest buying sandwiches in Pret at Paddington and taking them with you as the food in the museum is crap and overpriced - you can then walk up to Hyde Park after the museum and eat your sandwiches while enjoying looking at the Royal Albert Hall/Albert Memorial.

After lunch, get back on the tube at South Ken and get the Piccadilly Line to Covent Garden for your show. Again, much quicker to tube it than taxi.

After the show, you can jump in a taxi for the brief journey to Hamleys (if it's too far for DD to walk - I suspect it would be as it's a 15-20 min walk from Covent Garden to Regent Street) and spend some of the money you've saved for taxis on a treat for DD, then jump on the tube at Oxford Circus back to Paddington.

If you did want to do an afternoon tea at any point, on Regent Street there are a couple of branches of Caffe Concerto, which is a very nice place to stop for tea and cake and doesn't cost a fortune - if I remember rightly there's one pretty close to Hamleys.

I wouldn't try and fit in any more than this. If you're from outside London, it can be very overwhelming for a small child amongst all the crowds, and there's quite a lot of walking to do. When my nephews visit me in London I'm always surprised by how exhausted and stressed they get doing things that are just normal to me. It's nothing to me to walk for half an hour to get from one shop to another, or from a restaurant to somewhere else, but for them that's a huge walk and it's knackering. If your DD is used to mainly doing car journeys, you do have to factor the walking in!

Have fun!

EnidSpyton · 21/08/2022 22:01

BryceQuinlanTheFirst · 21/08/2022 21:50

I've never seen any animals at Coram fields, been going for a year or so. Just FYI I think that was just in the past.

I live right by Coram's. Definitely no animals there anymore and haven't been for years as far as I know!

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