London trip

[Borris]

I have 2 days booked in London for me and DD.

I have already booked the Calvary museum on the first morning to coincide with changing of the horse guards, and a west end show on the 2nd evening.

I would like to also fit in a trip up the sky garden if I can get tickets, a trip to Harrods, and I know that DD will want some shopping too. Can anyone knowledgeable of the London layout suggest a rough itinerary and any other ideas too?

Anyone?

How old is dd?

She's 13

What area of London are you staying in and what kind of shopping is your DD interested in? Also are you there at a weekend or during the week?

We're staying in Clapham with family but will go out and about on our own. A fri and Saturday. We live in the sticks so DD wants all the clothes shops - H&M, Zara etc that we don't have anywhere near to us. I hate shopping and so we compromise on a bit of touristy stuff for me and shopping for her

From Clapham Junction you can get to Westfield very easily - has every shop you can think of. Or get the 295 bus to Ladbroke Grove and go to Portobello Market and all the lovely shops in Notting Hill and Westbourne Grove. Have fun !

Northern Line to Camden Market - it's hellish but your daughter will love it. Get the Northern Line to Leicester Sq on the way back and walk to Covent Gdn which is very touristy but pretty and mostly pedestrianised so easy to wander around.

I was also going to suggest Westfield, but you either need to do that on Day 1 or stop back at where you’re staying as you don’t really want to be taking shopping bags into the theatre!

If you can’t get into Sky Garden there are a few free viewing platforms now that you could try - Horizon 22 is the latest, but there’s 8 Bishopsgate and The Garden at 120 Fenchurch Street (the latter you don’t need to book for).

For a 13yo I would recommend Carnaby street. Has all the ‘cool’ shops (subdued, Brandi Melville etc) and if you head back towards Tottenham Court Road from Oxford Circus you get urban outfitters, H&M, big primark, Zara. You also have a great choice of food round Carnaby street.

I just think it’s less overwhelming than westfield/Camden market

Tower bridge also has amazing views. Their website lists when it’s going to lift.

13 is perfect for Camden.
Portobello ditto - but nicer for you as well.
How about an afternoon tea somewhere with cocktail/mocktail? I'm not very up where to go these days but it can be fun, and you need to eat!
Also Chinatown for food - a dim sum lunch is great fun. Don't know what your budget is but next time I'm in London I want to treat myself to dim sum at
A Wong. But cheaper options are available

From Clapham I’d go to Battersea Power Station for shopping not Westfield.

No not Battersea Power Station unless you are into very very expensive labels (and Lego).
There is nothing decent for the average 13 year old at Battersea.

Agree she will love Westfield. If this is for half term you need to try and book sky garden now. We tried for the summer but it was booking 8 weeks in advance

They have a huge Zara and all of the sport wear which satisfies my nieces who are 13/15 so long as we also hit the Kings Rd for Brandy Melville! Maybe OP’s daughter will prefer Westfield though.

@InTheRainOnATrain oh I must have missed the Zara. It's still not great for most 13 year olds unless they like Lego - which is apparently the only shop there ever busy.
(I know someone who works there 🙂)
Westfield is better.

The Battersea Zara is beautiful - looks much more upmarket than any of the other branches in London.

If you are going to Harrods, Kensington High Street is just a little further along and has most brands. You could eat at the Ivy there.

As a PP has suggested, Carnaby St plus the big chain stores on Oxford / Regent Streets are a better bet than Westfield. For one thing they won't take up a whole day so you can get some sightseeing in too (less boring for you) and for another, it's feels much more of a "London" shopping experience. At Westfield, you could be at any shopping mall in the country.

Brandy Melville (off Carnaby (can't think of the name of the road) and Urban Outfitters (close to Ox Circus) were my kids' favourites as younger teens. Try also Monki (C.St), and on Oxford St Pull & Bear (cheap) and Bershka (cheap).

Thanks for all the tips. I think carnaby street and area looks like it might suit. I will file Westfield for another visit as I do think it would be right up DDs street and we don’t have malls like that close to us.

Would you try and do the sky garden on the shopping day or the theatre day? I don’t really know the geography at all as to whether it’s near anything.

I appreciate we might not get a choice for the day. I think tickets open on Monday morning for our week.

It will take under half an hour by tube to get from Carnaby street to the sky garden

Depending how much time you want to dedicate to shopping you could spend half the day shopping and the other half at the sky garden followed by walk across London Bridge - through borough market and along the southbank past the tate modern (there’s a cute little shopping area by the oxo tower) and on to the London eye. From Waterloo you can get back to Clapham easily

Thanks. That's just sort of info I need 😊😊

I think a 13 year old would love lunch and shops on the kings road - easy to get to feom Clapham - especially if she's a made im Chelsea fan