I asked my daughter what she would like for her 9th birthday/Christmas (they are days apart) and she couldn’t think of a single thing.
Thinking about how much we love to travel, I thought we can use up our points and go somewhere. She’s always been fascinated with London, and I have a friend’s mum who lives about 20 minutes away into Waterloo station. She said she’d love to have us! Yay!
We’ll be there from Dec 27- Jan 6.
I’d like to stay one or two nights in London, but they need not be concurrent.
When she was younger, she was in love with all things Peter Pan… Showing her “Big Ben” is a must. I’d also love to see the British Museum again, now that I am teaching history. A trip to Stonehenge would be great, too.
I’m looking at past threads about London now. Any other suggestions?
Thanks ahead of time!
This is a bit short on relevant data. How old is she? What (apart from Peter Pan) interests her? Where are you coming from?
The Tower of London is a prime tourist attraction. My daughters enjoyed it.
If you are not British (and thus she is not already familiar with it) it might be a good idea to go and see a traditional British Christmas pantomime. It is a unique form of entertainment, and it will be the time of year for it. There will be plenty on, both in and around London (indeed, throughout Britain). You might even find a pantomime version of Peter Pan.
Stonehenge is not very close to London. It will be a whole day’s expedition to get there and back, and I do not know whether it is always open to the public. Around Christmas time, it will not be very nice weather for it. I would stay in town. Ther is plenty to do and see there. (But be warned that over Christmas Day itself, and Boxing Day [26th] too, almost everything will be shut, much more so than in America.)
She will be 9. We will be traveling from Texas. I was in London back in '99.
We will be on a plane on the 26th. We arrive technically on the morning of the 27th.
She loves art - we go to art museums all the time. She loves music. We travel all the time but this will be the furthest she’s ever been. She loves science and reading.
We went to a Pantomime here in town and it was fun! Do they run after Christmas as well?
She’s an only child and is more “grown up” than a lot of children her age.
OOOHH OOH the Science Museum. You can see the Difference Engine they built from the original plans (nerd swoon). And actually, it’s just a really cool museum.
That science museum looks awesome! She would love that!
The other thing she is in to, and I can’t believe I didn’t mention it, is the Titanic.
I’m sure all events commentating the 100th anniversary are over, though.
For a panto look at less central theatres. I know Richmond Theatre usually has one and I expect Wimbledon, Woking and Kingston may too. All should be reachable from Walton. They run well in to January.
Did you know there is a Peter Pan statue in Kensington Gardens (one of the big Royal Parks in London)?
Take warm clothes. London is cold in December.
Take a double decker bus somewhere. All kids love being upstairs on a bus.
Take the London Eye. Giant Ferris wheel, close to Big Ben.
Castle. The obvious choice is the Tower of London, but Hampton Court is just round the corner from Walton on Thames, and Windsor Castle isn’t too far away either.
Things to think about
Transport.
You will using buses, trains and the underground in London. A car is pointless.
If you are planing a trip outside of London, a car might be the best way to go.
Money. London is very, very expensive. Be prepared. Let your bank/credit card know you’re going.
Look into the London Pass. You can get good savings on entrance fees and transit if you plan to see the things on their list. Tower Bridge, Tower of London, the Churchill Rooms, HMS Belfast and the Tate are all on the pass, smd then some. I really liked visiting them all.
The Transport Museum is a lot of fun, and worth seeing. I think a 9 year old would like it.
The SeaCity Museum in Southampton is the place to go for Titanic related material. Day trip by train from London, but the trains are not cheap, and tickets are £8.50 for adults.
Also Portsmouth Historic Dockyards (Marie Rose, HMS Victory) are cool if you are down that way.
However, let me make a point about London (as I work towards the end of my time in the UK, and realise what I may miss)
The major museums/galleries in London are basically free (some charge for special exhibitions) - Science, Natural History, Victoria and Albert, Imperial War, Tate Modern, National Portrait Gallery, National Gallery. That is at least 4 full days visiting with an inquisitive child right there, plus a bit of walking around London. Add a few parks (Hyde, St James), and just general ambling in London (Buckingham Palace, The Mall, SouthBank) and you can have a great time without spending a <farthing/dime/penny/sou/cent/insert currency of choice>. Look for other exhibitions (Wellcome Collection, Press Photo of the Year 2012 at the Southbank, Astronomy Photo 2012 at the Greenwich Observatory) that are free.
Catch a show or panto by all means (Matilda is a cracker), but London does not have to be expensive apart from some transport costs if you want to see cool stuff, and are prepared to take a packed lunch.
Oh and there will be a Christmas market/Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. And see if Borough Market is open while you are visiting - great fun for a lunchtime visit.
Not a suggestion for somewhere to visit; there are plenty of those upthread, but a handy tip…
Order some Oyster cards for yourself. They will make travelling around central London a lot easier and cheaper. You can buy them in the UK, or you’ve still got time to order them online and have them delivered to the US.
Bear in mind that in addition to being totally brilliant, places like the Science Museum and the National Gallery are vast. Plan your visit by picking 4 or 5 things that you and your daughter would really like to see from their web sites first (that’ll also help to build the anticipation). Then if you still have time and energy you can still do a bit of aimless meandering; which can be fun in its own right too.
I asked my English professor friend who’s taken her two girls (presently 12 and 10) to London for two weeks for the last three summers. She offers:
Princess Diana playground in Kensington Gardens
Tower of London
Zoo in Regents Park
Science Museum in Kensington
Natural History Museum in Kensington
London Eye
Beach combing on Thames with London Walks
Walk on Hampstead Heath or any of the parks
Feeding swans at Kensington Gardens round pond or at Regents Park
Kid-friendly musical in West End
Some kids like the National Gallery
Climbing lions in Trafalgar Square
Some kids like visits to Kensington Palace
The Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace
Harrods Egyptian escalator
Dressing up like Sherlock Holmes or Watson at the Sherlock Holmes museum on Baker Street
Aquarium in London
For fans of CS Lewis or Tolkien, The Eagle and Child in Oxford along with a a tour of Oxford
For Harry Potter fans, a London Walks Harry Potter tour
If you’re considering getting a car to go see Stonehenge, consider going to Avebury in addition or instead. It’s not too far from Stonehenge, bigger, less crowded and you can touch the stones.
(Also, if you don’t want to get a car, I think there are tour companies that offer day train/bus packages from London, at least to Stonehenge. Trip Advisor is a good place to find out about things like that)
London itself is a little quieter after the 2nd or so of January (I won’t go anywhere near the museums or Covent Garden between 26th Dec and 31st Dec because it’s absolutely heaving with humanity, unless that’s your thing.) The sales in January are awesome, too.
That time of year for Stonehenge can be a crapshoot; right around and after xmas it can take a very long time in a very long queue just to get through the ticket gate and under the road into the ground – if you absolutely have to see it, you could drive past it on the way to Salisbury, which is a pretty neat place itself (last time I went you could take a tour that took you up to the top of the church, just below the steeple) and old Sarum is nearby, too, always good for an afternoon’s scrambling about. People will pull off the road to take snaps of Stonehenge, and you’re no farther away than the cordoned off path you’d have to walk around it. Avebury is, as the poster above mentioned, much bigger, you can touch the stones (there are also a couple of neat little town museums right there), and nearby is Silbury Hill and the West Kennett Longbarrow.
You could spend all day at the Science Museum easily - there’s a cafe there too for cream buns. I wouldn’t bother with much else, it’s a lot to take in and not to be rushed.
Walton is slightly further away than you think. It’s about 30-35 minutes by train, not including waiting time. Add to that about 30 minutes to get from Waterloo to, say The Tower Of London by underground.
Stonehenge is quite a long way away. You could get there and back in a day, but it’s not worth it. Last time I went, (many years ago), it was all fenced off, and you could see the stones in the distance, but not get a close view. It would be a waste of a day.
They have sightseeing bus tours of London, going round many tourist sites. It’s a hop-on, hop-off thing, so you can get off at The Tower Of London, spend as much time as you want there, then get on the next bus to pass. There are stops all round London, but Piccadilly Circus would be a good place to join the tour. Ticket price includes entry fees to the various sites.
The weather will be bad. Expect grey skies, drizzle, cold wind, possibly sleet, maybe hail if you’re really unlucky. Bring a nice warm coat.
It is not like that anymore. They were redoing the whole site (the visitors’ center, not the stones!) for a few years and everybody who visited during those years was disappointed, but now you can get quite close.
Actually if you make reservations in advance (like 6 months in advance, oh and pay more of course) you can go to a special before hours or after hours opening and be right up in the stones (though you are still supposed to not touch them).
It’s definitely a YMMV place. Some folks just see a boring pile of rocks, some feel the energy of the universe light up their soul and some are in between. Me, I was in between, but it was definitely worth the trip.