Help - the dc want me to take them on a mystery day out!

[Dancergirl]

They want me to surprise them! They are 11, 9 and 5 (all girls).

Any ideas? We are in NW London so around that area or Herts/Middlesex/Bucks/West London.

Preferably at least partially outside.

Depends on your budget in many ways.

Woburn Safari? Luton Hoo for Tea? Knebworth House - (huge park/play area plus house/gardens dinosaur trail) Hatfield House has been recommended to me.
Smaller scale Hitchin has a lovely School Museum - dress up like victorian schoolgirl kind of thing - but only an hour or so.
V & A ballgown exhibition then shopping?
Take them for a posh (child friendly like Carluccios) lunch at St Pancras and then get on a train to anywhere for the afternoon (roll a dice and take the platform no/roll again to get the stop no and just go)

If budget an issue but you have some time to plan alone before hand do a similar thing but planned. Ie we need to get on the Circle line and go 6 stops. At the seventh road on the left there is pub. Take the number of the pub (eg George V) and get on a bus for that amount of stops. Here stop for a glass of drink. (eg a cafe you know). Get the drift? I am sure you could come up with a better thing in reality. There could also be clues to answer along the way - eg names from blue plaques on houses etc. May get them fired up with interest in their local area? End at Sherlock Holmes-y based place for a final flourish to the mystery.

Am waffling now. Hope you have a fun day whatever you do. Tell us how it goes.

I'm thinking now about The London Canal Museum, they have activities every tues including a boat trip! Followed by Marine Ices.

Have been to Knebworth and the schools museum, both are fab!

London Canal museum sounds interesting - my DH would like that [grin}. Enjoy!

DH did the Snow Dome in Milton Keynes or thereabouts for a mystery day.... Very expensive, but they still talk about it four years on.... We haven't managed to top it yet, but any ideas welcome....

It was DH and big two kids....

London canal museum was great!

They had loads of craft activities, ice cream making, make and paint a clay plaque, paper boats etc. A narrow boat inside for them to explore and play in. We had a LONG wait for the boat trip on the canal but it was worth the wait.

After we got the tube back to Chalk Farm to go to Marine Ices which was fab!