Day trip from Brighton to London

[Ame45]

Hoping to take the kids ( 6 and13) for a day trip from Brighton to London. Train gets into Blackfriars at 10 and departs at 6pm. Would be grateful for an itinerary from those in the know which is realistic for a day trip within that area.

What would your children like to do? I don’t know London that well but I think Blackfriars is on the South Bank and there is a lot there to visit and see: London Eye, London Dungeon, Tate Modern, Globe Theatre, Borough Market… depends what your kids would like to do!

Generally speaking, when I take my kids to London for the day, I tend to plan two places to visit. Anything more is a bit too ambitious with the time you have available once you factor in stopping for meals and snacks, and travelling from one place to another.

I’d take the circle or district line eastbound to Tower Hill. Get tickets for the Tower of London with entry at 11am. Plan to spend 3 hours there. There’s plenty to do inside and outside so don’t let poor weather put you off. Picnics are allowed and there are lots of benches. The cafes and take-aways on site are quite expensive and get busy. I’d then catch the 14:17 Uber boat from Tower to the London Eye www.thamesclippers.com/plan-your-journey/timetable/weekday-westbound I’d then do the London Eye with a ticket for 3pm. The time on the ticket is when you’re allowed access to the queue. I reckon the queue will take about an hour if you’re going in half term. Once you’re in the pod, it takes about 30mins to go round. That should leave you with plenty of time to get back to Blackfriars.

If I was you I would go to tate modern. There’s a really great commission in the turbine hall at the moment, plus all the usual. You need to book in advance but it’s free.

Then, walk slowly along the southbank - either east towards London Bridge (borough market/ southwark cathedral) or my preference would be west towards Waterloo (Gabriel’s wharf/ southbank centre/ millennium wheel). Theres a lot to look at and think about - maybe pop into the Hayward gallery? Depending on which day of the week you’re going there might be a food market behind the Royal Festival Hall. There’s a skateboarding area close to Waterloo bridge which is fun to watch for a while. There’s a good adventure playground next to the millennium wheel. Lots of places to eat by the southbank.

If you walk up far enough you will see the Houses of Parliament on the north bank and the MI5 building next to Vauxhall bridge.

Then I would take the clipper (boat) back to Blackfriars in time for your train home.
If you want to have dinner before you go, there is a pizza express with great views just east of Blackfriars - next to the globe theatre. Ask for a table on the first floor.

We had a day like this on Sunday and it was bloody lovely! I wish we could have spent twice as long.