Kew Gardens holds the largest collection of plants on earth. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and cherished by millions who visit. It contains 132 hectares of astounding beauty throughout the year alongside detailed insight into the rich history of plant life. Kew Gardens is an absolute joy for families to visit. Even if you are not interested in nature, it’s a fabulous day away from urban London to get some green into you and your family’s lungs.
Set in an industrial site on the edge of Walthamstow, this unique shop/cafe/museum/art gallery is where all the cool folk from East London gather. God’s Own Junkyard is the late Chris Bracey’s collection and creation of hundreds of neon and lit signs from over 35 years.
Forget Buckingham Palace, Oxford Street and the Tower of London. If you want to begin to get under the skin of one of the world’s most diverse and enigmatic cities, these are the things to do. Hello secret London. They may not be as well-known as the usual tourist hotspots but they are unmissable in their own right. This collection of alternative trips takes in contemporary and ancient London, urban grit and rural bliss, and covers the far fringes of the south to the realms of the north, with a good nosy into the east and west too.
Greenwich is a town that doesn’t like to think it’s in London. It is a place in its own right. It has a university, the river, a park, the navel college, the observatory, shops, the arena, the maritime museum, a ship, and even a foot tunnel and fan museum. It’s the centre of the world! Literally.
There is too much to fit everything into one day. If you have children, the park is obviously going to be a hit. Greenwich Park, one of the capital’s eight Royal Parks, dates back to Roman times but will be encapsulated in younger people’s hearts as that view from the behind of a horse’s rump as he jumps through a moon towards the Canary Wharf during the 2012 Olympics.
Even on a non Olympic day the views are outstanding. From the mighty HSBC tower over to St Paul’s with the Queen’s House and the Thames holding fort, it’s one for all to enjoy.
Other than the view, the Park has lots to offer. There’s the observatory of course, but also it’s home to both red and fallow deer plus there are lots of different “types” of parkland to explore – including a fruit and vegetable section, formal gardens, more wild areas and acres of pure grassland for the kids to run around in. Greenwich Park is 180 acres so there is plenty of space but not so much that you couldn’t explore all of it. The borough also kindly puts on family friendly activities like minibeast hunts or a Sunday afternoon jazz concert.
We chose to go to the National Maritime Museum as well. Maybe we went on a bad day twice, but I wouldn’t recommend the cafe there. It is so busy and crowded. Be savvy and go somewhere Greenwich central instead, or take a picnic to the park before you visit the museum.
After our miserable lunch we mooched around the museum showing Freddie lots of things he found interesting, though at 10 months old anything is pretty interesting really. I love this age. Not mobile usually, and pretty content to be taken to most places, with not so much effort to put in with naps and milk and what not. Freddie loved the open plan first floor most of all, which has a huge world map pasted onto the floor. Also this fab children’s gallery is now open, which looks great fun, and it markets it for 0-7 year olds so babies should have a good time too.
Greenwich is really easy to get to. It’s on the tube (Jubilee to North Greenwich then a bus), DLR (Cutty Sark) and overground from London Bridge. We drove from our house and parked in a car park in the centre (easy early am but does get busy later on). Parking is also available in the park.
Though we didn’t have time, other family-friendly things to do in Greenwich include under 5s activities on the Cutty Sark (free for littlys too), a planeterium show for children at the observatory, Mudchute city farm (a bit of a walk under the foot tunnel mind) and a trip on the cable car
Who needs the rest of London when Greenwich has all this. It really is the centre of everything.
I do apologise for the not so great quality of the pictures I post on here. I vaguely knew I wanted to start a blog about all this, and imagined all the arty, lifestyley shots I would take, but the reality has been a little different.
For a start I often forget my camera so have to rely on my iphone. The amount of stuff you have to cart around with you when you have a small person is jokes. Half an hour down the road I think CAMERA! CRAP! But it’s too late by then.
Then when I do remember the camera I never have my hands free. Or the wrong lens is attached. Or I am messing around with the aperture and whatnot then his nibs starts whinging. Or I am half lugging buggerlugs, or change bag, or looking at a map, or holding an umbrella. Or generally just trying to manage being out and about on my own with a small person, which is doable, but is hard work. So I hope to improve in the future, but it’s a work in progress for now.
A while back I drove up to Dulwich village. Very easy with a sat nav. Parking is easy too. Dulwich Park. Loads of spaces. Free. On my agenda was the park, the village, the art gallery, and if I only did one of these things I would be happy. Often with a small person, I find you have to scale back your expectations. Pre Fred I was so used to dashing round at a million miles an hour getting this and that done and forgoing a lunch here and there to fit it all in. You can’t do that with a baby. You have to work around them. You have to think about timings and naps and food and forward plan it all. Well I do. And that’s fine too. It just means that maybe you won’t see or do as much as before, but maybe you will see a different side to things, or visit places you wouldn’t have done without children. And I love that.
We walked around Dulwich Park and admired the ducks in the pond before stopping at the Pavilion cafe in the park. This cafe is great for babies and toddlers. Loads of buggy-maneuvering room, child-friendly meals, and even a small play area with some toys and books.
I’ve been to the village before but I didn’t really remember it, other than it was quite pretty and villagey. In fact, it still it, but there isn’t much there really. A few gift shops and trendy cafes and estate agents. I think I’ve been spoilt by living in the greatest place in London ever (Crouch End but you knew that right?).
But Dulwich does have an art gallery. Small but perfectly formed. Freddie fell asleep just as I got there, which was good news. He’s the type of baby that you have to keep moving with all the time. Does anyone else have this trouble? In supermarkets, it’s like some kind of trolley dash. No stopping allowed.
I could have spent this time taking better pictures, but instead I decided to join my son in having a doze. Sorry Dulwich!
Richmond Park is pretty much up there as one of my favourite places of all time. I used to come here in my young, free and single days to do loops of the park (I’m an avid runner). Over the years I’ve spotted a celeb or two here too – Nell McAndrew, Andrew Marr, Ben Shepherd plus many gazelle-like Kenyan athletes effortlessly bounding past me. I’ve got so many lovely memories of the park – all linked to running – so when I was first able to come back here with Freddie I was in my element.
I wasn’t in a very good place when Freddie was young. I missed London. I missed my freedom and I missed running. We moved out of London just before Freddie was born. In hindsight that was a mistake. I found having a baby almost too overwhelming at times. I felt like I had been hit by a truck but had to carry on as normal as there was no alternative. I don’t think I was suffering from post natal depression but I wasn’t far off it. Some people find the newborn months an absolute breeze. I hated them. I loved Freddie. I just felt completely out of my depth and panicked. That combined with living in a strange, unknown place made for a horrible time, when I happily thought a few months before, it was going to be the best of my life. Just goes to show things are never what you seem. Anyway, getting out of the house on a daily basis was essential for me to maintain any level of sanity on maternity leave. Even better if it was to one of my all time favourite places. 
We bought a running buggy when Freddie was four months old. Richmond Park is an ideal spot to go running with a buggy as there is offroad gravelly trail all the way around the edge of the park. Plus there are toilets and cafes en route so it’s a lovely way to spend a few hours with a baby out in the greenery but with facilities to hand. It’s really easy to park there on a weekday, and it’s free too! I felt so free again being able to go running in Richmond Park, but with Freddie. I guess one of the hardest things I found about the newborn stage is that you are a little like a prisoner. You are tied to this vulnerable person 24/7. They need you on call day and night. I think I went for a very short jog around six weeks after Freddie arrived, but didn’t really manage much till he was around four months old. You are tired, your pelvic floor muscles aren’t what they were, you have no time to go to the loo or drink a cup of tea, let alone go for a run! Which made this trip all the more exciting as I felt like the old me again, just with my new best friend and sidekick tagging along!
The Science Museum is BRILLIANT!! Come on – you all remember it as a kid. Yes, it’s still great. Even when you are 14 months old. Freddie told me so. There is so much to do, and there is even stuff for younger mini mes to do – not that they need it. Freddie found everything mega exciting. I’ve never seen him so en rapt.
Best to get there early doors. It does get busy (though if you go on a weekday even better, we went on a Saturday). We had no plan other than to let Fredide wander about on his new-found feet, and to hunt down the areas which he might find more interesting.
The Science Museum, like most museums in London, is so well geared up for families. There are baby changing facilities on every floor, family rooms if you want to breastfeed in private and spacious cafes to park buggies in. It’s so so good to have somewhere like this to go to when it’s raining!
Freddie enjoyed charging around most of all, but other areas he particularly enjoyed included the garden in the basement, and the pattern pod on the ground floor. The pattern pod contains all sorts of cool things to look at and touch including sensory light shows and water ripples and fish on the floor that move when you sit on them.
The other area which caters well for younger visitors is the Launchpad which explores physics (shhh don’t tell them!) in a fun hands on way. Even I enjoyed it.
When you’ve had enough, wander over to Hyde Park for a cup of tea and sit by the Serpentine.
