Buggies London

[WhatILoved]

Hello,

Thinking of popping up to John Lewis in Oxford street to see if they have any buggies/strollers'travel systems to physically look at.

COuld anyone London based tell me if they have a reasonable range to look at or just a couple.

Went to ToysRUs and Mothercare at weekend in New Cross (I am SE based) and there wasn't much to play about with despite them being big shops.

Want to see stuff in the flesh and not just online!

Any recommendations appreciated. (I am without a car, so big warehouses in Surrey/Kent not possible)

Thanks,

Nicola

If memory serves they have quite a few buy why not phone them? I believe the new Mothercare in St Mary Cray has a 'buggy test track' if that is any help.

But not buy!

Don't know about the Oxford Street branch, but Peter Jones usually have loads.

Oxford Street branch has a good selection to try out and found the staff helpful. There's also a decent selection at the Stratford Westfield branch if that's easy to get to.

Thanks a lot for replies. I did call them but kept getting put thru to call centre in Glasgow. So they could only see warehouse stocks etc.

Bluewater has a fair selection

Yeah, Oxford Street has quite a few. What were you after? They have the Bugaboos, McClarens etc. You can wheel em around and they have a fake weighted baby to put in.

I am not sure what I am after.. need something good on London buses as have no car. I walk a lot too... I have a job where I do/did a lot of heavy lifting so don't need something uber lightweight but don't want something too heavy either. Max budget probably 450. Was looking at babyjoggers online. Any advice/experience?

For a Londoner using the buses regularly, then do look at the MacLarens.

It's always cold and wet on the days when several drives in a row tell you it's too full to get on unless you fold. MacLarens are easy to do with one hand and a baby clutched to your hip. Different models are different weights.

Check wheelbase width carefully. Wider models really are a PITA on a bus, and scraping other passengers when you pass isn't really fair.

whatiloved there is a pram shop called peppermint www.peppermint.co.uk/ in south london that I went to a few weeks ago to look at doubles. the shop is quite small but I was imoressed by how many doubles they had to try and it was much less crowded than jl. they even let me walk up and down the sidewalk with the prams to try them out. I didn't look much at the singles but I'd imagine they have more than mothercare and toys r us. I don't know if it will be easy for you to get to. in the end I took a cab but it was worth the trip.

there was also a tiny shop down the road from the lewisham shopping center. I'm out now but will try to look it up when I get home.

Thanks, that's loads of help. Was it Peppermint Northcote rd branch?
I will go there at the weekend.

yes, that's the one.
I'd also like to point out when you're considering folding to get on a bus: remember the pram has to be basically empty - baby as well as stuff dangling from the handle bar and stuffed in the basket before it can be folded. I've just bought a bjcm double which I'm pleased with and it does have a fantastic fold but its a bit tough to get stuff in/out of the basket. I don't think i'd want to be wrestling a bag out with a baby on my hip in the rain while a bus full of people give me an angry look but maybe the single bjcm basket is more accessible. Having said that I'm generally pretty chicken when it comes to busses and prams and I used to always wear DD and take a shopping trolly when she was small. now I have a cheapo umbrella fold that I use for bus trips that's quite small, easy to fold, and with a sufficiently tiny basket that I'm not much tempted to fill it with stuff.

John Lewis Oxford st has a pretty good selection. Then it is worth working your way down Oxford st towards Marble Arch and checking out the few in the large boots by Bond St (they have a pretty good baby department on the second floor) and then further down to the big Mothercare. With all three shops you should see a good range.

Thanks so much for all your advice... went to ox street and tried out lots. Forming a clearer picture now.

Just for anyone else using this thread- I also went to Oxf St today and the baby dept is great- nice and big and we went nice and early in the morning so was nice and quiet while we were testing!

Ugh pregnancy brain- serious overuse of the word nice! Sorry!