One of the pleasures of traveling with people is having someone to do things with. But, not everybody always wants to do the same things. In families, the range of overlapping interests can be narrow. (The teen wants to wander the streets; someone wants to go to an exhibit; someone wants to do something sporty; someone’s hungry; someone wants to go back to the apartment), so it can be tricky planning places to go and things to see that everyone will enjoy when they are most likely to enjoy it. A large part of a family trip, in fact, is spent in negotiating what to see, who will go, when do people get time on their own, etc. In the interest of family harmony, below are five London activities that I can confidently say at least 2/3 of us enjoyed.
1. Being able to look down on everything
The London Eye combines the child’s pleasure of a Ferris Wheel with the adult’s pleasure of “looking at the view.” For us, the best part about the London Eye was that after we stood in line for 40 minutes to get our regularly priced tickets, we were waved into the express line and boarded instantly.
And, then there was the quiet, voyeuristic view of neighboring gardens from the rooftop terrace of our apartment in Highgate.
2. Mushy peas
If you’re going to eat mushy peas, you should have them with fish and chips in your local pub. We had ours at The Woodman, our temporary local pub in Highgate right next to the Archway tube station.
It was a classic pub with wood paneling, couples and friends having drinks and/or dinner, people sitting at the bar and watching Eurocup soccer and a large group celebrating a birthday. It even had an unexpected touch — a fancy sink with chandelier in the women’s room.
3. Singing and Dancing
While we wouldn’t inflict our voices on anyone, we do enjoy hearing other people sing and dance, and what better place to do that than attending a West End musical? We opted for Matilda the Musical based on the Roald Dahl book. In addition to great singing by great child (and grown-up) actors, it had hijinks, shenanigans, laser lights, a great set covered in large Scrabble-style tiles, weird noises and special effects and a rousing finale (no spoilers here!) that is every school child’s dream.
While we had pretty good seats in the second row of the dress circle, it’s fun to be able to get a close-up, if you can, of what’s happening on stage. Luckily, the Cambridge Theatre has opera glasses for rent in the seat back in front of you. Of course, we had to rent, or as the British say, hire them.
4. Museum art and studio art
I would need less than five fingers to count the museums we went to in London. We had other things we wanted to, but while slowly meandering from the Tower Bridge to the London Eye, we went into the Tate Modern. We like art where things are deconstructed and reconstructed, and this piece by John Latham made from altered books was a favorite.
A friend of mine who lived in London told me about the Cockpit Arts Open Studios. Now, this is one of things I never would have known about, but being a crafty gal, I was happy to discover that we would be in London during one of its Open Studio weekends. Cockpit Arts is arts incubator located in Holborn near Bloomsbury and is a series of small artists studios off long hallways in what was once an cockfighting yard, hence the name. We saw and purchased lots of great handmade items–prints, knits, letterpress (I love letterpress), great textiles, etc.
Letterpress by Sort Design
5. Markets
London has lots of great markets, and one of our favorites, was the Camden market area. Now, of course, a lot of people will say this is touristy, and it’s true, but it’s also great for people-watching and looking at goofy stuff, key if you have a teen in your party. As a bonus, we also enjoy watch locks, and the canal right outside the market provides ample opportunity for waterways watching.
One of the fun things about visiting markets is, of course, that you never know what you’ll find. So, it’s added fun when you show up and discover that it’s also antiques market day, which is what happened when we went to Covent Garden. Amidst it shops was a display of old silver (the British seem to like that), old kaleidoscopes and telescopes, bric-a-brac, china and our favorite, old printing press letters. Ruby and I each purchased our initials. I’m sure I’ll eventually make something with mine — I just haven’t decided what.
Printing press letters from The Old Printing Shop at Covent Garden Market
