Days Out

London Bus

A Traveller’s Guide to London

A city that is home to over 8.5 million people and has welcomed over 17.4 million visitors in 2014, London is one of Europe’s perpetually popular cities.

Beyond just being the nation’s capital, the so-called Big Smoke has plenty to offer visitors hailing from the UK and overseas. From the historic city centre to world-famous landmarks, restaurants, shopping and much more; travellers passing through London have a great deal to explore.

Getting Around

There are numerous apps and maps that can help you navigate around London’s vast cityscape and various different methods of travel depending on what you want to see, your budget, and your level of fitness.

If taking in the main sights in central London (Travel Zone 1), visitors can make do with walking. However, if travelling throughout the remaining zones (Zones 2-6), availing of London’s excellent transport system is a great way to get around. While Day Passes are available, visitors planning to spend more time in London may want to consider an Oyster Card. Available to use on the tube and buses, this plastic card is reloadable with pay-as-you-go fares, and often works out to be the most cost-effective method of getting around if you will be travelling a lot throughout London.

Of course, these aren’t your only options. There is no shortage of historic black cabs in London, and the affectionately nicknamed “Boris bikes” for rent are a great way to explore the city, especially along the waterways of the canal.

(Helpful hint – the Citymapper app can help you navigate around London, calculating routes via tube, bus, car and on foot).

Things to See

When it comes to visiting iconic landmarks and historic sites, visitors to London are spoiled for choice. Some of the most popular attractions in the city include:

Big Ben – Officially called the Elizabeth Tower, Big Ben as it’s more commonly known is the clock tower situated at the end of the Palace of Westminster. Arguably one of the most recognisable sites in London, the clock has stood since 1858, and visitors can hear the bells ring out each hour, on the hour.

Houses of Parliament

Tower of London – Built at the dawn of the 11th century by William the Conqueror, the Tower of London has served as both royal residence and of course a prison to house some of the most high-profile criminals of the day. Today, visitors can explore more than 20 towers in this fortified stronghold, along with an impressive collection of Crown Jewels.

The Shard – Once the tallest building in Europe, The Shard is an impressive glass skyscraper situated in Southwark. From the top of the building’s 72 floors, you can enjoy incredible 360-degree panoramic views of the city.

The Shard
Image Credit: Shutterstock.com

London Eye – Another popular way to take in views of the city skyline is via a 30-minute “flight” aboard the London Eye, a large observation wheel on the South Bank of the Thames. Standing 443ft tall, the wheel enables visitors to view many of the key landmarks in the city.

London eye

St Paul’s Cathedral – St Paul’s Cathedral is one of the largest cathedrals in Europe, with only the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica being larger. It was built under Sir Christopher Wren, making it a true wonder to behold especially for lovers of Baroque architecture.

Buckingham Palace – Of course, no trip to London would be complete without a visit to the official London residence of the Royal family. Tours inside are available during the summer months, while visitors throughout the rest of the year can enjoy the majestic palace along with a walk down the historic mall.

Buckingham Palace

Other points of interest include the British Museum, Tate Modern, Westminster Abbey and Shakespeare’s Globe.

Areas to Visit

There are many distinctive neighbourhoods to discover in London. Mayfair is one of the most exclusive neighbourhoods, having been home to many famous artists, writers, scientists and philosophers over the last few centuries. In Mayfair, you’ll discover some of the most beautiful parks in London and some of the finest dining in the country. Many of the parks are lined with a number of breathtaking 18th century mansions, including the former studio of legendary fashion photographer Terence Donovan, which is currently on the market for a cool £18million.

Mayfair
Image Credit: Shutterstock.com

Notting Hill is also one of London’s most desirable and recognisable areas, filled with world-famous events, restaurants, galleries and theatres. Vintage lovers should flock to Stoke Newington to take advantage of pubs, cafes, and boutiques, while those who love the nightlife will have no shortage of things to do in Soho.

Final tips:

  • Buying tickets in advance can often help you save money, and there are plenty of free attractions to enjoy too.
  • Keep an eye out for happy hour offers to save on food and drink.
  • Explore markets to find great deals and experience authentic London.

 

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

Revisiting Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

Back in July 2015 we visited Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and found that there was so much to see and do that you could not fit it all into one day.

On New Years Eve we headed to Portsmouth to visit Spinnaker Tower and as we have annual passes to the dockyard we decided to head back and see what we missed back in July.

Our first port off call was HMS Warrior 1860 which was the fastest, largest and most powerful warship in the world when she was launched. She was Britain’s first iron-hulled, armoured warship and the pride of Queen Victoria’s Fleet with a combination of iron sides, which offered protection from the exploding shells and the ability to carry large guns, changed the nature of marine warfare.

HMS Warrior

HMS Warrior has been beautifully restored both inside and out and provides a valuable insight into what life was like onboard an elite warship from the Victorian era.

HMS Warrior

Once we had finished we had a bit of a breather and headed into Action Stations where the kids got to steam around the activity centre, fire (pretend) guns, fly helicopters in a simulator and try out some science experiments.

Action Stations

Last time we visited Portsmouth Historic Dockyard we looked around HMS Victory ourselves, stopping to ask the guides who were dotted around the ship questions. This time we had a set time to visit and went around on a small group with a guide that explained everything in fine detail. It was fascinating looking into the lives of those on board and I was surprised at how engaged Eliza and Isaac were – both asked lots of questions. Sebby on the other hand decided it was time for a snooze on Daddy’s shoulder.

HMS Victory

Our final ship of the day opened in August 2015 and was the HMS M.33 and the sole remaining British veteran of the bloody Dardanelles Campaign of 1915-1916, and the Russian Civil War which followed. The ship is one of just three British warships from World War I still in existence.

HMS M.33 was built in 1915 on the orders of the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill. She was a floating gun platform designed to bombard coastal positions from the sea and she was a lot smaller than I initially imagined.

HMS M.33

We were greeted aboard the ship and told some of her history and then were allowed to wander unaccompanied throughout the ship. We were warned that it was dark inside and at one point of the tour, there were videos being projected against the walls with loud acoustics of guns and warfare. I would have liked to stay and watch more of this as it was fascinating, but the kids were scared so we may go back and revisit when they are at school, but the kids were told to look out for the ships cat which kept them busy.

HMS M.33

By now the weather was starting to close in and it started pouring with rain. We had planned returning to Spinnaker Tower to take in the view in the dark but the weather got the better of us, so we headed back to Action Stations so Isaac could do the climbing wall which had been too busy before.

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

Of course the boys wanted to man the guns again so I decided to have a go too – strangely therapeutic blowing up pretend arm vehicles!!

It was a very wet and windy walk back to the car, but was a lovely way to spend New Years Eve and we ended the year as we started – adventurously!

Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

Spinnaker Tower

Climbing High in Spinnaker Tower

Soaring 170 metres above Portsmouth Harbour and the Solent, the Emirates Spinnaker Tower is taller than the London Eye, Blackpool Tower and Big Ben and we have been itching to climb it since it first opened way back in 2005.

Ten years on and we have finally made it!

The weather has been quite frankly awful in recent weeks with torrential rain and high winds, but we saw a break in the pattern of a few hours and decided to make the most of it. My weather app on my phone told me that we had a period of six hours which promised to be dry, however we did start to worry it may be a wasted journey as the heaven’s opened for most of the 45 minutes drive to Portsmouth but as we arrived the sun made an appearance too.

We were surprised that the signposts led us to Gunwharf Quay as I had assumed it was closer to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, but we found it tucked behind some restaurants on the Quay. Our bags were searched and we were scanned by metal detectors at the entrance before purchasing our tickets and having our photo taken on a green screen.

It was then time to take the express lift which takes all of 30 seconds to the first of the Three view Decks whilst the lift operator told us what to expect.

With full height glass walls which surround you on three sides, it really is a WOW! moment as you exit the lift as the windows allow you uninterrupted panoramic views across the city, harbour, sea and coastline. At this point you are 100m above sea level and if you are brave enough there is Sky Walk to walk across (or jump if you are my children). The unique glass floor is made up of 4 panes, each of which measure 2050 x 950mm, giving the floor at total area of 7.79m2. The overall thickness of the glass is 60mm and can hold a total weight of 288 stone – plenty of room to run across.

Spinnaker Tower

Of course the real treat is the breathtaking 350 degree city, country and seascapes which stretches over 23 miles.  The weather wasn’t perfect for us although we did manage to witness a brief sunny spell, but it was fascinating watching a storm front rolling across the Isle of Wight, brushing past us and then heading back out over the sea. A great learning opportunity for the kids.

Spinnaker Tower

We also had a fantastic view of the dockyard and HMS Victory and HMS Warrior. There are several i-View monitors on this floor which are interactive multi-touch screens which allow you to find out more about the many points of interest in the view, zoom in to get a closer look and switch between a clear day or magical night-time view. Isaac even got to drive a speedboat!

Spinnaker Tower

You can take the lift up to the 2nd and 3rd viewing decks but we chose to take the stairs, heading for Deck 3 first which is the highest deck with an altitude of 110m above sea level. When we were told in the lift that this deck was open to the elements I was looking forward to seeing the views without rain spotted glass in front of me, but sadly, the Sky Deck only lets the wind catch your hair as it is just the roof which is missing, with a large net like material above your heads.

Deck 2 is home to Cafe in the Clouds which offers hot and cold drinks and cakes to enjoy along with the breathtaking views.

Spinnaker Tower

We spent about an hour and a half in the tower and our hands were stamped so we could return anytime during the day, however we decided to head to the dockyard to look around some of the ships we had missed on our previous visit.

Tree Climbing

Our Days Out Highlights of 2015

As we near the end of 2015 I thought it was time to look back at our year.

Like everyone we have had some ups and downs as life has tried its best to throw some curve balls at us, but mostly it has been a bloomin brilliant year with adventures both at home and abroad.

January

Looking back to January reminded me of the horrendous weather we had, with big storms literally washing away some of our favourite beaches and flooding all around us. It didn’t stop us getting out and about where we could and we enjoyed a fun trip to the beach where we jumped off the ridges caused by the storms at Branksome Chine, explored Durlston Country Park with friends, scooted around Christchurch Quay and even took to the ice in Bournemouth Gardens.

January 2015

January is also Eliza’s birthday month and she was over the moon that Anna and Elsa took a trip from Arandell to visit her and her friends at her Princess party and we also enjoyed a trip to the Mayflower to see Gok Wan in Cinderella.

February

At the beginning of 2015 we vowed to explore our home county of Dorset more throughly and February was the month this really got going with visits to Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove, West Bay and Hengistbury Head. We also found a new play trail to explore locally at Pinecliff and enjoyed a couple of days out at Moors Valley but by far my favourite memory from February was Sebastian’s first look at snow.

February 2015

I am so glad I got them dressed at 7am in the morning to get outside and play in it as it had all disappeared by lunchtime!

March

Looking back at March, hubby and I got a rare night out for Abbey’s boyfriend, Paul,  30th birthday. Eliza was invited to a Princess Ball and got to meet some of her favourite Princesses and we also saw Basil Brush on stage and got to meet him afterwards. My favourite memory though was visiting Warner Bros. Studio Tour and seeing the kids doing some wand training before hopping aboard the Hogwarts Express.

March 2015

March was also the month that we were chosen as Konfidence swimologists and I have a fab picture of Sebastian swimming underwater. Kian got to reenact his favourite Call of Duty game at iCombat whilst the younger ones enjoyed a phaser party at Lemur Landings.

April

Well, having looked through my photo’s from April I can only describe it as a manic, but brilliant month. We headed to Devon for a weekend break and were lucky enough to visit Paignton Zoo, Diggerland and The Golden Hind whilst we were there. It was also the month of the Easter Egg Hunt and we completed them at Kingston Lacey, Studland and Golden Cap, where we climbed to the highest point in Dorset.

April 2015

April saw us visit Wembley Arena twice – once for Mr Tumble’s Circus and the second time for Disney On Ice and then the NEC in Birmingham for the Gadget Show Live. We also saw the start of Isaac’s obsession with WWE when he got to meet Goldust and then see the stars perform at the BIC. Finally it was also the month of Isaac’s 7th birthday and he enjoyed a Super Hero party where Batman and Iron Man came to join in the fun.

May

It is always hard to pick a favourite month of the year, but for me it has to be May. Back in December 2014 we won at holiday with Mark Warner and during May half term we flew out to MW Sea Garden in Turkey for the kids first sunshine holiday abroad and had an amazing time with Hubby, Kian and I learning to scuba dive and the little ones learning to sail and windsurf amongst other things.

May 2015

It wasn’t all about our holiday though, we had a lovely visit to Avon Heath Country Park where I took one of my favourite photo’s of the year. Had oodles of fun at Dorset Knob Throw and the Spring Tide Festival, learned loads at Lyme Regis Fossil Festival and the New Forest Spring Fair and even climbed not one, but two tall ships in Poole Harbour.

June

The month of June is birthday month in our house with Abbey, Sebastian, Callan and I all celebrating at various times of the month. This year for Sebby’s 2nd birthday we headed off to In the Night Garden Live to celebrate and for Callan’s 18th we headed to Sussex for a meal with family and friends. Abbey was away in Disneyland Paris for hers but we all met up on my birthday and headed for Mudeford for a spot of rather unsuccessful crabbing.

June 2015

This month we also look advantage of Open Farm Sunday and visited a local farm. We were also invited to be models for Field Candy in a remote Dorset field where the kids were positively encouraged to run wild and were also lucky enough to be invited to the opening of Shrek’s Adventure in London which was amazing.

July

July started off with a Thomas the Tank Engine theme with a visit to Thomas Land and then a trip to London to the premier of the new Thomas film, Sodor’s Legends of the Lost Treasure. We then continued the away from home theme with a weekend visit to Leicestershire where we got to explore Conkers and the National Space Centre before coming home and heading for the Historic Dockyard in Portsmouth.

July 2015

Hubby and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary with a meal at our favourite restaurant Urban Reef and we had a brief practise run for Camp Bestival at Big Fish, Little Fish in Exeter, before heading to Lulworth in Dorset for the main event itself.

August

Our August began still at Camp Bestival which I have to say was the best one yet and we were over the moon meet both Justin Fletcher and Dick n Dom. It was also a very busy month with 4 days at Bournemouth Air Festival, a couple of weekends away including one in Essex for a wedding and another in Cardiff for a visit to the Doctor Who Experience followed by At-Bristol and a pantomime aboard The Matthew.

August 2015

We also headed back to our favourite beach, Burton Bradstock, for beach school and some tree climbing, travelled to Sussex to the Wild Fowl Trust, Hampshire to the New Forest Wildlife Park and to London to meet Pixie Lott who was launching her own Steffi Love Doll and to see the new Star Wars exhibit at Madam Tussauds. Closer to home we also attended our very first Comic Con in Bournemouth.

September

Heading back to school did nothing to stop our adventures and at the beginning of September we had a weekend break at Trevella Park in Cornwall where we visited Lands End, Cornwall Gold, Springfields and Pirates Quest.

September 2015

During the week the kids were at school but weekends were busy. I managed the 5k obstacle course Be Gung Ho with my niece thanks to Alex Winters whilst hubby and Kian headed to Wales to throw themselves off a mountain attached to zip lines at Zip World. We also squeezed in the Watercress Line trains in Hampshire, Legoland Windsor, a visit to Drusillas Park in East Sussex and a trip to Stamford Bridge where we watched Chelsea beat Arsenal.

October

October saw months of work finally come to fruition with Blog On coming to Winchester. It is amazing to see just how much work goes into organising these things. We also enjoyed a weekend trip to London to see friends and took the kids to MCM Comic Con and a visit to the O2, which Kian and Hubby climbed whilst we headed across town to Kidzania where the kids to run a city.

October 2015

We got hit by a long bout of illness this month but did get out and get some fresh air at Badbury Rings and the beach.

November

We started November with a trip to Chessington for Howl’O’Ween and then had some fun on the slopes at the Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead.  This was quite possibly Isaac’s favourite month as not only did he get to see his WWE faves at the Genting Arena but I also took him to the Doctor Who Festival in London’s ExCel and he got to meet Missy followed by a visit to LaplandUK and a meeting with the real Father Christmas.

NOVEMBER 2015

Other highlights of November for me were Blogfest and although I didn’t get as much out of it as I hoped, but I got see some of my favourite blogging buddies and seeing Dinosaur Zoo at Lighthouse Poole with the kids.

December

We showed absolutely no sign of slowing down and December featured my proudest moment of the year – Abbey receiving her Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award at St James’ Palace where we got to talk briefly to Prince Philip. We were also in London for Brick 2015 and Disney On Ice this month which has made me much more confident driving there.

December 2015

We did stay closer to home for some events too, with this years Pantomime visit to Snow White at the Pavilion and a delightful children’s show called Otto and the Robin at Poole Lighthouse. We also had a rather blustery trip aboard a Santa Cruise in Poole Harbour.

Looking back at this post I cannot believe how much we have done this year as this doesn’t include most of our local days out to places like Farmer Palmers and the Oceanarium.

Lets hope next year is just as fun!

Happy New Year to you all.

Disney On Ice

Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Enchantment Review

Back in April we went to the Disney on Ice Magical Ice Festival for Eliza’s birthday and she adored it, with her favourites the Little Mermaid, Rapunzel and of course Anna and Elsa on the ice, acting out her favourite films so when I saw that Disney On Ice Worlds of Enchantment was on at the O2 over Christmas and New Year I knew we would have to go.

Last time I took Isaac but he wasn’t impressed that it was all Princesses so this time he didn’t want to go, so I took my nieces Mollie and Holly with me. I am kicking my self now as both him and Sebby would have loved it as it featured not only the Toy Story Characters but some of the cast of Cars too.

Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy were the compere’s for the evening and the first show on the ice was the Toys Story Gang. The toys, featuring all our favourites, were back in town with heroic action when Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Jessie and the Toy Story gang escape from the rambunctious tots of Sunnyside Daycare and race for home, in their most daring adventure ever!

Disney on Ice

There was parachuting, flying and of course skating – how some of them managed in their huge costumes, I will never know, but it was fun, fast paced and the girls loved it.

Disney On Ice

 

Next we got to dive into adventure with Ariel and The Little Mermaid’s undersea kingdom.  Sebastian lead a fabulous production of Under The Sea with lots of colourful sea creatures gliding around the ice and we all cheered when the Prince fell in love with Ariel and Ursula’s curse was broken.

Disney On Ice

We had a short break before Mickey and Minnie arrived back on the ice, this time in their trust car. Only it appeared that they had some car trouble and despite Goofy’s valiant efforts to fix it they needed a tow truck………..there were cheers from the audience as Mater arrived.

One by one some of the residents of Radiator Springs arrived on the ice with Lightning McQueen making an entrance through pyrotechics. We then got to see Mater and the crew of Disney Pixar’s Cars race across the ice.

Disney On Ice

The final show of the night whisked us away to the wintery world of Arendelle with sisters Anna and Elsa and pals Olaf and Kristoff from Disney’s Frozen, as they learn that true love comes from within.

Disney On Ice

Disney on Ice World of Enchantment has added more dates and will now be on at the O2 London from 22nd December 2015 – 3rd January 2016.

Brick 2015

Getting our LEGO on at Brick 2015

My boys, lets include Hubby in that statement, love LEGO!

It is always a staple gift for Christmas Day and this year was no exception, which every member of the family getting LEGO in one form or another.

The weekend before Christmas we got to indulge in all things LEGO at Brick 2015 and not only were there pre-built LEGO models to admire, but huge BRICK pits where there were over 3 million bricks in them and free building is positively encouraged and some fantastic creations were made by visitors, fans and professional builders!

Brick 2015

They even had a Duplo and a soft BRICK pit so Sebby could get involved and of course a LEGO Friends section for Eliza where she was super excited to meet the friends themselves.

Brick 2015

BRICK is home to the best collection of awesome fan builders and their LEGO creations – including LEGO towns, LEGO cities, LEGO Star Wars creations – there’s even LEGO railway layouts but my favourite had to be LEGO Hogwarts, complete with some of the most famous scenes from the Harry Potter films including a working Hogwarts Express.

LEGO Hogwarts

See how the professional do it with amazing builds such as a life-size woolly mammoth, and sabre-tooth tiger, as well as the amazing BRICKS in motion display, celebrating the history of transport with fantastic builds such as the Titanic.

Brick 2015

There was a very good mix of models to see and things to do. Hubby and Kian did go off to look at the models in more detail whilst I stayed with the younger ones to play in the colourful BRICK pits.

Brick 2015

Another favourite zone of the kids was the gaming zone where we got an exclusive preview of the brand new LEGO Marvel’s Avengers video game as well as Batman 3 and Jurassic World and being so close to Christmas we got to help make a giant Snowman and Father Christmas.

BRICK 2015

The focus of BRICK is to see all the amazing models made by professionals and fans alike as well as see all the sets that LEGO make.   Toys ‘R’ Us was their official retail partner and brought along an awesome LEGO pop up store.

We found all your favourite LEGO brands in the shop as well as exclusive, hard to find, limited edition pieces and offers exclusive to BRICK 2015 visitors – we picked up LEGO Doctor Who for Isaac and LEGO Big Bang Theory for Kian, both at significantly reduced prices than the shops. Eliza didn’t miss out with a LEGO Friends set and Sebby got a Duplo Tractor.

Brick will be back for 2016, keep an eye on their events page for more details as soon as the dates are announced!

Otto & The Robin

Otto and the Robin at Lighthouse Poole – Review

Today we were invited to the Piddle-under-Puddle annual Christmas party and were promised everyone would be there.

Joanne from Charliemoos and I arrived at the Lighthouse Poole with 7 very excited children and were shown to a small, intimate theatre called The Studio.

Before we got to go inside everyone received an invitation to the Piddle-under-Puddle annual Christmas party which had some activities for the children to do later including a spot the difference, colouring and a maze.

The Studio was the perfect size for a small audience and the show was fully interactive with magic spells, dancing and even helping decorating the village hall of the party.

The show is centred around Otto, played by Oliver Grant and the Robin and Maggie, both played by Lynne Forbes.  Maggie was busy organising the Christmas Party and everyone was invited, well nearly everyone … Otto would like to go, but he’s just too shy.

Then one day a robin flies in through Otto’s window and changes his life forever.

Otto and the Robin

Otto the Robin is a quaint winter tale of making friends and overcoming our fears filled with festive cheer, fun songs and gorgeous puppetry. The beautiful handmade Robin is the star of this family show from Dorset based Angel Exit Theatre and delighted both us and the children. Even Sebastian, who can be a little shy, was up and dancing.

Both Otto and Maggie made the children feel special by talking to them throughout the production and Otto even commended Isaac and Charlie on their Christmas jumpers. The best bit of the show was at the very end when the children were invited into the stage to join in the party, complete with snow and meeting the cast afterwards.

Otto and the Robin

The show is aimed at children aged 8 and under and it is the last day of performances tomorrow, with shows at 11am and 2pm. A perfect Christmas Eve treat and tickets are still available.

+ More