London for the day in December

[LyraBelaqua]

Hi I would like to take my children to London in December for the day to go on the London Eye and later see the Christmas lights. Ideally I would be able to stay somewhere overnight but I’m not sure I can stretch to that. We would drive down and I think it would be best to park on the outskirts and get a train/tube in. I have no idea where to start though. I’ve never been to London before. I very rarely catch a train or bus anywhere and I find train time tables baffling (never mind the tube ). I will be coming down from Herefordshire. Any help on where to park would be gratefully received.

i would drive from herefordshire to st albans, then get the train from there to london (30 minute train ride from st albans to kings cross/st pancras, where you can then get the tube)

forgot to say that there is a multi storey carpark at st albans station, and you could stay overnight there in a bnb like this, which is about a 5 minute drive from the station

If you go on the outskirts you could try syon Park and go to the Enchanted woodland there. Also near kew gardens who have magical Chrismas things on.

Be careful of winter wonderland it's extortionate for everything so not good on a budget

I think the eye is a bit rubbish personally, expensive and not as good as you think but that's just me.

Lots of the free museums have special Chrismas exhibitions on too.

How old are your kids?

Re the tube you can just use your contact less card, it stops adding on just the same as oyster. Kids are free I think

Hmm. I think it's an aefully long way when the daylight hours are so short. London Eye may be a write off if the weather's murky.

How about a trip to somewhere like Oxford which has a little Xmas Market, wonderful shops, carols and probably a Christmas themed garden somewhere.

We always stay at Travelodge in Docklands. New hotel, clean, bright, lovely staff, ok cafe. 2mins walk to DLR with easy links straight in to the centre. If you stay on Friday/Saturday nights it’s cheap because it’s generally a business hotel and they’re otherwise pretty empty at weekends. They have a floor of super rooms which are worth the few extra pounds. I believe it’s free parking, if you decided to drive (but check, we’ve always gone by train).
A walk along Southbank after dark is essential!

Wrt to the best lights and cheap things to do, I think Carnaby Street always has the best lights. Then you can pop to Oxford Street and Regent Street, & look into Hamleys window. Lovely.

Thanks for all your advice. Children are soon to be 10 and 8 and DD wants to go on London Eye so thought I could tie it in with Christmas lights as I have lovely memories of seeing them when I was about that age. However you are quite right if it’s murky that could be £120 down the drain. I’ll take a look at all your suggestions. Thanks again. And thanks for the Oxford suggestion. I love it there. Will look into that too.

The London tube map app is really great, you just put the nearest station to you and where you want to go and it will tell you where to change etc. Citymapper is also another good app and covers all form of transport including the buses.

Ice skating is always really fun, Somerset house and the natural history museum have ice rinks in December.

We regularly use the national express bus and have done a day trip before. Coach station is quite near to hyde park (20min walk I think) which has a great winter wonderland that can be enjoyed in the dark too!

Check out the Android app "Free things to do in London"
play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=bhacromwell.com.freelondon

and the web site www.freethingstodoinlondon.com/

I live a 20 minute walk away from southbank. There’s absolutely loads of free parking on weekends. Loads. It’s a myth you can’t park in London.