5 days in London with DD.

[VivaLeBeaver]

I'm taking DD to London for 5 days in May. We're camping somewhere the wrong side of Greenwich, I think train takes 20mins to get into central London.

Ideas so far inc,

Natural History and Science Museum - have been here before but would like to go back to see a bit more of both.

London Eye

Kew Gardens - DD is very keen on plants and gardens.

The British Museum.

Would like to go somewhere to see a few guards in their bearskin hats and some of the horsegaurds, etc - where's the best place for that?

Anything else that you can think of?

TIA.

How old is your DD?

Doh, she's 9!

10 by the time we go.

You can get all day tickets for the rivertaxis, they are not as cheap as a travel card, but not extortionate, and it's a great way to see London, very easy to hop on and off, South Bank, or Tate Gallerys or Embankment, all the way out to Canary Wharf and Greenwich

Lots of nice restaurants at West India Quay/Canary Wharf area,....save your tesco clubcard points, and check out their site to see where you can use them,

St James Park and HorseGuards Parade, and Changing of the Guard should get you your uniform fix!

Camden Market is fun....fishy pedicure, fakey henna tattoos and for general people watching

A 10 old girl might like the V&A (next to nat hist and sci Mus) and would probably also enjoy a gawp round Harrods.
I'd recommend taking the boat from Greenwich to the centre (maybe as far as the London Eye) at least once.
Kew's a very long and fiddly journey from Greenwich, but if she's really keen to go it's doable if you have good walking shoes and get up early.
Bearskins are to be seen on Whitehall and in front of Buckingham Palace (10 mins walk from Trafalgar Square), google will tell you the times of the Changing of the Guard, which is well worth seeing.

imperial war museum is fab
not just Big Tanks - the 1940s house and Children's War section are great

thames clipper costs loads less than the tourist boats.

COuld maybe get last minute tkts for a show from the booth in Leicester Square?

Greenwich itself is lovely, great park and nice for a walk around.

You could walk from Nat Hist to Harrods and have posh afternoon tea. Then have a look at the weird and wonderful things you can buy your pets in the Pet Department which is next to where you have afternoon tea. Also go to the Food Hall for a nose around, it's brilliant!

Then see what's on at the Tate Modern, walk over the 'wobbly' millennium bridge to St Pauls. During the week you can climb to the very top for views over London.

Then you can catch one of the old routemaster buses still in operation ( no 15?) from St Pauls to Trafalgar Square.

Thanks, there's some great ideas. Will definetly check out Tate Modern, we both quite like moder n art so that would be good. Harrods sounds good as well.

Horseguards Parade is the place I was trying to remember for the horses and guards. Will see if we can watch Changing of The Guard as well.

I love the idea of water taxis on the river. Will investigate those.

Hoe hard is it go get to Kew - according to their website its 10 miles from central London, so I know we'll have to go into the centre. Their website says the Kew Gardens underground station is only a 5 min walk from their gate. So isn't it just a tube ride and short walk from central London? How long would the tube ride take?

Thanks.

Central London, to Kew on the District line ( going to Richmond )takes 35 mins. You'd get on at Victoria, Sloane Square, South Ken etc. It's the green line.

On arrival at Kew Gardens station, It is a short walk ( 5 mins) to the Gardens. Get off the tube, cross over the line on the footbridge. All signposted but essentially along one residential road. Easy peasy.

Tower of London, HMS Belfast and the London Dungeons are all 5 mins walk from each other so great for one day.

Lots of great ideas here, esp the Thames Clipper. You could also, for fun and a gawp at Canary Wharf etc get the DLR from Greenwich into London.

If you are thinking about a show she will probably love the Lion King, it's amazing.

Also the Aquarium on the South Bank near the Eye and Borough Market by London Bridge on Thurs,Fri and Saturday mornings.

The Zoo is also great (Camden Town tube).

Covent Garden always fun.

The Duck Tour is great fun

www.londonducktours.co.uk/

you can get a boat back from Kew Gardens to central London - depends on tides and takes about 2 hours.

Climb the monument 365 steps to an amazing view, and a certificate included. £3 adult £1 child. here better views from the Eye and you can get joint tickets for the Tower Bridge exhibition.

sorry that link isn't very clear. HERE

if DD likes plants and gardens, how about the museum of garden history? Much closer than Kew, it's just across the river from the Houses of Parliament, Buck Palace, Tate Britain etc.

transport for London website reckons it will take you an hour from Greenwich railway station to Kew Gardens tube, and you said you will be outside Greenwich...it would be quite a hike.

Museum of Garden history is small, but more accessible than Kew. Kew is somewhere that needs a day to make the most of it; you may be frustrated by only being there for a couple of hours. As you said MofGH is closer to other interesting things; it is also only about 5 mins walk from the Imperial War museum.

Kew is somewhere that we've wanted to go for ages and is top of our list. I reckon we'd have most of the day there. We can get up early and be in central London for 9:30, be at Kew between 10:00 and 10:30. Don't have to leave till late afternoon.

The trains that go to the station near our campsite run till about 10:30pm so we'd have time for dinner in London somewhere and then catch a train back to the campsite.

I don't think I could manage the Monument - large spiral staircases give me vertigo!

Lol - there's a spiral staircase in the Palm House at Kew and you really must climb it. Then you can walk around inside the top. It's great!