What to do with One Day in London with your kids!
Ok, let’s be honest! Squeezing in a day trip to London with an adventurous list is, well, adventurous! But I love a good challenge and my nine year old had a wish list of places that she would love to visit while there. And me, as her Mum, wanted to make that wish list come true. So, I am going to share with you what we managed to squeeze into one day in London! Buckle up, it’s a fun one!
During our 3 day visit to London, we stayed in Woking, Surrey. Which is a good 40 minutes on the train from the centre of London. Which is OK! We had previous plans that fell through that required us to be in Woking at the time. But things change and it turned into a London adventure with my 9yr old. And do you know what? It was the best!
Woking to Waterloo!
We travelled from Woking to Waterloo and our first port of call was to make our way to South Kensington. Can you guess why? My girls are museum buffs and the National History Museum was numeral Uno on her wish list! But before we hit the museum, and if you ever decide to visit yourself, there is a bakery in the museum tunnel that you need to visit first.
You can get donuts as big as your face and that was one thing I wanted Annabelle to experience. Needless to say, she loved it, ate the lot and for the cost of £2.50, it was a cheeky treat at 11am. We were on an adventure after all, so donuts at 11am are allowed!
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is a definite must-visit attraction if you’re ever in London. I have been lucky enough to visit countless times over the years, as my blog has brought me to London on a handful of occasions. However, this was to be Annabelle’s first time and she was so, so excited.
The current requirements to visit the Natural History Museum in London is to book a time slot online. The entry into the NHM is still free, but to keep numbers down, this is the only way you can gain entry until further notice. Book your free ticket to the Natural History Museum in London via their website.
South Kensington to Kings Cross for Platform 9 3/4!
After we were done with the National History Museum, which Annabelle loved by the way! I surprised my little Ravenclaw student with a visit to Platform 9 & 3/4 at Kings Cross Station. Now, due to the time we visited, the queue for the photo opportunity was not happening. We were on a timed schedule people! But we were able to squeeze into the Harry Potter Shop and Annabelle treated herself to her house wand, which looks gorgeous might I add!
A few other bits were bought such as Ravenclaw scarf keyrings {naturally}, some peppermint toads and fudge flies {as you do!}. The store is reasonably expensive, so you have been warned! However, Annabelle had her own money to treat herself with, so she went as mad as she liked because it was not my bank account getting raided!
Let’s Go To Chinatown!
I have said this before, but I absolutely love the London Underground due to it’s ease to bounce all over the city! Our next stop was Charing Cross, for Chinatown! This was to be one of Annabelle’s firm highlights as the kid loves food. She is her Fathers daughter and the apple did not fall far from the tree. So Chinatown was a stomping ground made for her and I could not wait to experience it with her.
She requested 3 things during her visit to Chinatown.
- To try Boba Tea {Bubble Tea} for the first time
- Buy & try a K-Dog {Korean Hot Dog}
- Visit Ji’s Good Chicken
We managed to tick off all three wishes and one more, which was pop into Bake. Bake has these delicious traditional Japanese snacks called Taiyaki. They are fish-shaped pancakes with a custard filling and when enjoyed warm? They are so good! You can buy four for around £2.50 which is a bargain.
Chinatown to M&M World
We got lucky when we arrived at M&M world, which was only a 5 minute walk from Chinatown! And that was there was no queue! There was a queue for Lego World, but we got to walk right into M&M World and Annabelle’s jaw dropped when she saw the literal wall of M&M’s.
Peanut to Chocolate, Brownie to Salted Caramel and the colours? The place is insane and once again, spent a small fortune because it’s M&M World. But it was another location ticked off my daughters wish list, so I was happy.
Next stop? Forbidden Planet Mega Store!
When you have an anime loving kid? The forbidden planet store is your playground! It’s not as “big” as you’d think, but it is certainly bigger than the store we have in Belfast. And the anime section in the London store far outweighs what we have in Northern Ireland. So, Annabelle had a blast and happily spent more of her money! I was almost tempted by the unreal selection of Loungefly backpacks they had, but I held back. Just about!
Last stop of the day, The London Eye!
I was pretty lucky and got a 2 for 1 voucher online for the London Eye Experience because, lets be honest, it’s not cheap! So do keep a look out for those online to help you cut the cost. And the London Eye was our last port of call because it was the main wish on Annabelles London wish list.
She has a thing for ferris wheels, and as her Mum {or Mama, as she calls me}, anywhere we go, if there is a ferris wheel, we will go on it. Even though I am gut-wrenchingly afraid of heights. So, the London eye was the biggest I could find to bring our fun day in London to a close.
Lets just say, she had the best time. All of he wishes were exhaustingly fulfilled and we headed back to Woking {on a train we had to run for} with smiles on our faces. However, a little someone flaked on the train home because the whole day was just too much excitement for her little 9yr old self to handle.
And that’s a wrap! For ways to save money, we ate in the street markets and I bought us an anytime day ticket on trainline.com. Planning your day is super important, especially when you are jumping from underground station to underground station. Planning our day in London to perfection, was very much needed. Especially when we had a good few places on Annabelle’s wish list to tick off. But we did it. The only place I got skinned was in M&M World, which was to be expected!
London, you were fun, until next time!
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