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Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

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Original poster

Day Trip to London tomorrow - Ideas please :)

10 replies

glencoe · 21/04/2011 08:49

Hi Mumsnetters,

I have booked train tickets for a trip to London tomorrow, taking advantage of this beautiful weather :)

I will be going with hubby and our two children, aged 8 and 5. The children have never been to London before, and it's 10 years and pre-kids since hubby and I did, so I would really appreciate your advice on the essential things to do to make it a great day.

There are some things that kids and hubby have already said they really want to do, and in addition I would love the kids to see lots of the London landmarks. I thought they would like this so when they watch the Royal Wedding they recognise them :)

More importantly, I want us to have a great day and not to try and fit in so much that the kids get worn out, tired and cranky. Am I expecting too much? :o

We will have 8/9 hours in London. The kids really want to go on the London Eye, and hubby really, really wants to go round HMS Belfast.

I was also thinking whether it would be worth booking a Sightseeing hop on / hop off bus trip or River Cruise. Anyone got any experience of these - are they worth it?

Many thanks everyone.

OP posts:

Original poster

glencoe · 21/04/2011 08:53

Forgot to also ask, the train will arrive in Euston. Will we have to get the underground anyway to get to anywhere as a starting point, even if we book a sightseeing tour?

OP posts:

CHUNKYMUNKEY · 21/04/2011 21:01

Hi Glencoe, me and dd1 are also going to London tomorrow, I think out of your options i would do the London eye which is by Westminster, and then from Westminster you can get on the River cruise to see all the sites.

From Euston i think you can get the Victoria line from Euston and then get off at Victoria station and then walk to westminster, but im not sure about that, perhaps check online where the River cruise goes.

Last year me, dd1 and dd2, my mum and neice went on the open bus tour and we loved it, dd2 who was almost 3 then still talks about it, bless her, enjoy your day. I have never been to HMS Belfast so i couldn't advise

Original poster

glencoe · 21/04/2011 22:11

Thanks ChunkyMonkey. Great advice :)

OP posts:

haggis01 · 21/04/2011 22:35

Try and book your London Eye tickets before you go as you have to queue (often for quite a long time) even with the pre booked ticket and also queue (seperately) to buy a ticket on the day - so it can take up a lot of time and the kids can get a bit bored and tired in the heat. Early tickets usually have shorter queues IME.

HMS Belfast is really close to London Bridge station and is good fun for children - lots of going up and down steps and bits of the ship to explore and big guns to pretend to shoot. Often a nice cool breeze as it is moored on the river.

Catilla · 21/04/2011 22:39

Don't go on a river cruise, instead take Thames Clippers (fast boats) for part of your journey... You'll waste a long time on a "cruise" and the kids wow factor will be gone after 5 mins!

Their route includes London Bridge Pier (near HMS Belfast) to Waterloo - which is directly below the London Eye. London Bridge is direct northern line tube from Euston too.

Enjoy!

CHUNKYMUNKEY · 22/04/2011 21:29

How did your trip go Glencoe?

Original poster

glencoe · 22/04/2011 23:23

Haggis and Catilla, many thanks for your fantastic information. I wish I'd read it before we left early this morning!

And thanks for asking how we got on ChunkyMonkey - how was your day? We have just returned and have had a fantastic day. The kids have thoroughly enjoyed themselves and I am sure they will re-live the day in stories over and over again :-)

We took a direct northern line tube from Euston to Waterloo and mooched around by the London Eye and watched the street entertainers - a lovely start to the day. We then took a river cruise up towards Tower Bridge. We actually found the river cruise lovely and the kids enjoyed the commentary and the views.

We then made a big mistake! We decided we weren't sure if dd would appreciate HMS Belfast, and it involved another 15 minute walk which in the heat we also didn't think would be appreciated, so we instead decided to go to the Tower of London to see the crown jewels. No mention of queues when we bought the tickets but when we entered we found out it was a hour long wait to see them, standing in an outside queue in the sun! We decided to cut our losses and left after a short walk round.

We did some other stuff and then returned to the London Eye - I now see the benefit of pre-booking, but guess what. We didn't!! Mainly because I had a 2 for 1 offer through the train tickets and it wasn't possible to book in advance on line using this. So, half and hour spent queuing to buy tickets (although hubby and kids spent it in the park so not a problem), followed by another 40 minutes to queue to go on it. I have to say though, the kids were fantastic in the queue and were in total awe when on it. We have the 100+ photos they took between them to prove it :o

What did you get up to ChunkyMonkey - what shall I plan for our next visit :)

OP posts:

CHUNKYMUNKEY · 23/04/2011 20:13

Hi Glencoe, glad you enjoyed your day, we had a great time too, we live in West London but still a huge thrill for us to go to central london as we dont go as often as we would like. I used to work in Central London and i really miss the buzz.

Anyway, i took dd1 to Hamleys as she had pocket money to spend and i got chased by a huge bunny rabbit which was doing a storytime there, which dd1 thought was absolutely hilarious and cant wait to tell all her schoolmates! then we mooched around Oxford Street and went to
Mcdonalds for lunch

Then we caught a bus to Trafalger Square and then walked to Westminster, stopping off at Downing Street and then getting an ice cream on the South Bank watching the London Eye and the river boats.

We walked over the bridge, caught a bus back to Trafalger Square and then went to Pizza Express for dinner, we went home hot amd knackered but happy.

We are talking about doing the river cruise or the duck tour next.

Original poster

glencoe · 24/04/2011 09:03

Sounds like a perfect day ChunkyMonkey :) We probably passed you at some point! We should have gone to Hamleys rather than the Tower of London, and traded in history for happy kids!!

Lucky you being able to pop in for day trips like that. I'm jealous, and I can understand entirely why you miss the buzz. I must admit though, it was amazing yesterday to return to open fields and fresh, clean air at home. It made me appreciate it again rather than taking it for granted.

OP posts:

CHUNKYMUNKEY · 24/04/2011 21:39

We did plan to go to the National Gallery, but dd1 was hell-bent on Hamleys and it made her happy, so was worth it.

After working in the City for 10 years (pre kids) i was tiring of it, i am glad i can pop in and out without the day to day grind, the noise, the tube problems etc, so it makes London special again. I thought London was really busy on friday.

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