Is London safe?

[Springyayspring]

My 10 year old who usually never wants to go anywhere has asked to go to London. I’m overjoyed that he wants to go as I love city breaks and it’s so nice to see him showing an interest, he wants to see all the touristy things.

I have been to London but it was years ago and although I loved it. I’ve got very bad anxiety since then.

I try not to watch the news because all you seem to see is knife crime, terrorism, violence.

I mentioned to a couple of friends that we were looking at going and they seemed a bit horrified and said that London has really changed in recent years, and that they wouldn’t go.

Have to confess I never saw the attraction of M&M world or indeed Hamleys. Both overpriced and a bit shit.

All true of course and the OP would indeed have a lower risk of knife crime than the figure I quoted, however the official stats don't granulate on whether the victims were male or female, young or old, visitors or residents etc.

But in any event I don't think that OP would be worried at a 0.002% risk, so if it's 0.0002% it won't make much difference!

London is the safest it’s ever been.

All of which are not specific to London or even to the UK. And are very unlikely to be a concern to somebody visiting London as a tourist with her young child.

@Springyayspring the stuff you have suggested sounds lovely for a ten year old. If younare staying for 2/3 nights may I suggest the Premier Inn at Putney Bridge. Tube or bus will get you to the places you want to go in 20/30 minutes. Putney is very safe and there are lots of nice restaurants/cafes for the evenings.

We lived close to Putney Bridge for 30 years and the children were safe to pop to the shop and ds caught the bus to school from aged 10. By 11 they went to see friends along the district line on their own. Not starting a debate about when dc should be allowed out alone just noting that neck of the woods is safe.

Hamleys - 4 floors of toys to look at with lots of play areas for the toddler (Play Mobil, Duplo etc).

M & M shop, just so cool to look at, all the colourful rows of sweets.

I don’t think we ever buy at either - just a nice vibe to browse.

We don’t get out much and are easily pleased 🫢

For a lone woman at night, unfortunately not. During the day it's okay.

You can also catch the Thames Clipper to/from Putney (although it's a limited timetable). Highly recommend after dark. All the lights on the central London buildings and bridges are stunning.

They have an onboard bar, too.

If you go to Greenwich go to Paul Rhodes bakery for delicious coffees and pastries.

Could you say more about this?

For a 10 year old boy a must-see is HMS Belfast, which is on the Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge. You will probably be in the area anyway and I highly recommend it for a visit.

Central London is perfectly safe for a lone woman at night

To be fair the OP is unlikely to be wandering around Tottenham. Yes it’s probably one of the areas I would feel less safe but we’re talking zone 1. Anywhere she’s going to be isn’t going to be like the broad water estate w

I lived in London for 21 years and never a problem - walked home late at night, never mugged, burgled, spoken badly to…

moved to a village/small town and in the first month a middle aged man told me to go fuck myself. Bus stops/benches/road signs etc regularly graffitied by the local youth who also like a bit of the old pelt people with eggs etc. cars are stolen overnight off drives. Bikes cannot be left anywhere. In fact someone climbed into the school playground to steal a kid’s bike recently. The local sells everything shop on the high street had its windows smashed the other week with young teens stealing vapes. This is one of the mostly highly ranked places to live in the UK!

Just because somewhere is a big city doesn't always make it more dangerous!

The couple of friends that you mention might be best avoided for a while. They either don't know what they're talking about or they're highly anxious themselves. Either way they're not helping you right now.