Trip Report: 4 Days in London with a 14 Month Old

Friday, October 24 – The baby woke up early (which means we all woke up early) so we grabbed breakfast in the Executive Lounge and then took the number 11 bus from the Strand to Parliament Square and then walked over to the Churchill Museum & Cabinet War Rooms. Seeing as it wasn’t quite 9 AM and they didn’t open until 9:30 we decided to walk through St. James Park down to Buckingham Palace. It was a nice walk through the park although we were a little taken aback when a squirrel jumped up onto the baby’s buggy…friendly squirrels! After seeing the Palace we walked back to the Churchill Museum which was one of the sites that my husband was most looking forward to. We used a 2for1 offer to get and I have to say that the Museum did not disappoint. We both thoroughly enjoyed it and spent about 2 hours there in all. The free audio tour was also an added bonus. Afterwards we walked over to Westminster Abbey and did the audio tour there (also free). At point the baby woke up from her nap a little fussy so she and I went out to the Cloisters where she could walk around a bit and then met up with my husband to see the rest of the Abbey.

Friday (Continued)- From the Abbey we hopped on the tube at Westminster to London Bridge to have lunch at Borough Market. Oh my, lunch was delicious. I didn’t write down the names of the specific stalls, but between the 3 of us we had a burger, a roasted pork sandwich, a caramel crème pot and a raclette (all from different stalls) and everything was great! Leaving the Market we walked West along the Thames stopping at the Globe (just to peak in – no tour) and then walked around the Tate Modern for a couple of hours. Afterwards we walked across Millennium Bridge taking in the breathtaking site of St. Paul’s Cathedral ahead. A quick bus ride found us back at the hotel where we rested for a bit and enjoyed a late afternoon tea before setting off down the Strand for Trafalgar Square. We stopped for a bit to watch the film that was playing in conjunction with the BFI Film Festival on a giant inflatable screen before seeing the fantastic Annie Lebovitz exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery (love the late hours on Thursday & Friday). We were exhausted by the time we turned in Friday night, but agreed that it had just been the most perfect day we could have asked for!

Saturday, October 25 – We got a little later start this morning and headed out after breakfast to the British Library (tube: Covent Garden to Kings Cross/St. Pancras). This was my non-negotiable for the trip. The Treasures Room was incredible and there was an amazing energy in the room. After leaving the Library we took the tube back to Leicester Square where we walked around and let the baby play in the square and then had lunch in the Crypt at St. Martin in the Fields. I had heard great things about this place and while the prices were reasonable the food was mediocre at best. Hubby had turkey that was dry and I had a Spanish omelette that was bland – it was easily the most disappointing meal of our trip. After lunch we took the tube to Knightsbridge and took advantage of the sunny skies to walk through Hyde Park ending up at the Princess Diana Memorial Playground which was probably the highlight of my daughter’s trip ? We took a bus back to Knightsbridge to get to Harrod’s, but ended up having to change buses midway when the police were called after our male driver physically assaulted an irate female passenger who took his picture. It was NUTS! I guess Harrod’s must be enjoyable to a large number of people, but I can honestly say I don’t care to ever go back…enough said.

Sunday, October 26 – Our plan was to spend our last day in Greenwich, but when we woke up to rain we weren’t sure if that was a good idea. I’m so glad that we went ahead though. It was an easy 20 minute ride on the DLR (tube: Temple to Monument; DLR: Bank to Cutty Sark) and the rain had mostly let up by the time we got there. We walked from the station through Greenwich Park and up to the Royal Observatory getting there right after they opened and before the big tour groups hit. One of my favorite pictures from the trip is of my little girl straddling the Prime Meridian. We also got some great pictures of the London skyline and the National Maritime Museum and Queen’s House below. We then walked back down to the National Maritime Museum where we spent a good hour looking around. Lunch found us at the Plume of Feathers (thanks Tim for the recommendation), a historic pub just outside of the park on Park Vista. It was child-friendly with good food and beer and the crowd seemed to be made up of locals rather than tourists (a plus in my book). After lunch we walked around Greenwich Market picking up some gifts for family members and were impressed with the good selection of fair trade and organic products. From the market we walked down to the pier and bought tickets to take the 50 minute boat ride down the Thames from Greenwich to Westminster Pier. The tickets were only 5 pounds each (with a 1/3 Oyster card discount) and again the baby did not require one. It was enjoyable seeing the sights from the water especially as we approached Tower Bridge. We walked back along the river from the pier to the hotel stopping at the Battle of Britain to pay our respects. For our last night in London we opted for a dinner of fish and chips at the Silver Cross on Whitehall a block off of Trafalgar Square.

Monday, October 27 – Bye, bye London! Funny enough our big splurge for the trip ended up being a cab from the hotel to Heathrow for a noon flight. It was worth every cent of the 50 pound fare for the convenience!

We had such a good time in London. The city is easy to navigate using public transportations and we found the buses to generally be a better (easier) option with the baby buggy as many of the underground stations do not have elevator/escalator access. Late October proved to be a fantastic time to visit London – the crowds weren’t bad at all and the weather was agreeable. Lastly, people are kinder and friendlier when you have a small child. Thanks so much for all of the great info on this board – it was invaluable in my planning and I’ve already started working on the next trip!