Greenwich?

Your plan to head from Greenwich is a good one - the market is open Sundays, as are the museum and observatory and are definite recommends - I used to work there in the way-back-when, so I have to plug it! The Harrison display up at the ROG was always my favourite. The park is nice in sunny weather, there is a small boating pond, and at the top the views from the Wolfe statue by the observatory are pretty good. You can also stroll out onto Blackheath which is nice on a warm sunny weekend,

You might also want to have a look at some other possible activities in the area: the Emirates Airline and Up At The O2 are good ways to get a nice view over the east end and docklands though if you've been up to the ROG you may have seen enough of the view there to suit you.

With Thames Clippers there are combo tickets including admission to Cutty Sark etc, but have to be bought online in advance. The Harrison clocks were in the Maritime Museum for a while towards the end of last year, but they are back in the Observatory in a new exhibition from the middle of next month.

I am a kid by heart and enjoyed Greenwich. Straddling the "Line" is a must photo op. They may enjoy walking or running under the River Thames returning via the tube after the river crossing:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich_foot_tunnel

The Greenwich market is great. And the park is lovely and huge and the kids would love it. It'd be a great first day choice!!!

Greenwich is a great idea. what kid doesn't enjoy the Royal Observetory and stradle the Prime Meridian. Also the Maritime Museum is worth a look. The park there is a great place for a picnic lunch.

The kids might enjoy walking under the river. It's a pedestrian tunnel that goes under the Thames. The entrance to the tunnel is near the Cutty Sark. You walk under the Thames and come up in a park on the other side, looking back at Greenwich.

OK thanks! Yes, I think the line would be a cool photo op!! :)

I think we will plan on this - then if the kids are falling apart and we miss it, then I won't be totally crushed!

Thanks!
Kim

Greenwich is s nice idea. The whole area has a lot to see and the Cutty Sark is truly unique and well worth the time if you have any interest at all in ships. We bought our tickets for the Thames Clipper at the London Eye stop and found out that the cost of an all day ticket was only about 2 pounds more than a plain round trip ticket to Greenwich. It was a hot day and we really cashed in on the ticket and saw a whole lot of London from the Thames all the way out to the Royal Arsenal with lots of stops along the way to hop on and off.

Are you sure you want to do a bicycle tour in London?? Remember, all of your traffic coping instincts and reflexes are going to be backwards and you, especially your kids, will have no time to think about it. As a great philosopher once said, a car is steel wrapped around you, a bicycle is you wrapped around a couple skinny steel tubes. In the three days we spent doing London mostly by foot and a bit by tube we saw precious few, if any, bicycles.

What Emma said.
You don't want to take your children on a bike ride in London traffic. It would be dangerous for an adult.

I'll pile on here with one further thing to keep in mind --- LOOK RIGHT !! If you have not dealt with streets in the UK before , YOU MUST look to right first , cars driving on the left come from your right , this may seem insignificant but it's quite serious .

OK advice well taken. I think the tours were somewhat off-road, but I know there is some on -road as well, and with the different traffic direction, I think you all are right to give it a miss. No need to have a tragic accident on day one of vacation! :)

Some friends of ours are visiting too and they may do a walking tour... suggestions on those? Maybe we will tag along. Or maybe just do a boat cruise down to Greenwich and stop along the way...

Thanks!!

I think one of the best things we do for people on this forum is to communicate major safety tips, like we have done here.
And we appreciate the help that our English cousins provide in communicating safety advice!

We took our grandkids to Greenwich for the day while in London a few years ago. At that time, the Maritime Museum had wonderful interactive, hands on displays that our kids loved! It was hard to drag them out. That day in Greenwich was one of the highlights of the whole trip for them; and us, too!

London Walks is fantastic! We did three of them on our week-long trip over Christmas. They have hundreds to choose from, including lots that sound like they would appeal to kids. And best of all, you don't have to pre-book, you just show up and hand over your 9 pounds (kids are free), so if plans shuffle, you just pull up the website or pull out the flyer and pick another. Have fun!
www.walks.com
Peggy