As we’d splashed the cash on some Merlin Platinum Passes this year, we’d looked at the offerings and spotted that a fair few of them were in London. So, we decided to make a trip out of it and spend a few days in the nation’s capital and do some sightseeing too.
This was our first family trip to London, so it was a little unknown to us. We’ve been a few times with friends who know where they’re going, but we’ve never had to navigate the Underground on our own and find our way around the City, so we were a little worried about it all. Especially with 2 young children in tow.
Where Did We Stay?
Our hotel of choice, as usual, was a Premier Inn. We’d opted for the Premier Inn Excel Dockside, just outside the city centre, as it’s a hotel we’ve stayed at previously and we knew it had a car park. Online it shows as £15 per day to park, but on arrival it was free to hotels guests, so that was a saving of £45 straight away.
The Premier Inn London Docklands (Excel) is also around a 5 minute walk to the Prince Regent DLR stop to get us straight into London. If you fancy a novelty trip, it’s about a 10-15 minute walk around the Excel to the cable cars that go over the Thames to the O2 Arena.
The Hotel itself was clean and quiet. The staff were friendly and welcoming. Couldn’t ask for more. For the 2 nights we stayed we paid £221 for a family room. A bargain if you factor in it was school holidays and had free parking! The bar also had Happy Hour between 5-7pm, but we were never there in time to take advantage.
The first thing we did before going was download the Transport For London (TFL) App. This was a lifesaver.
The App itself was really straight forward to use. Pop in your destination and it works out where you are, which station is nearest for you to walk to and which train to get on. It even has a map for you to find the station too. It also covers buses if you’d prefer to use them. It does pick the next available options, so quite handy if you’re just ready to get going somewhere. We’d just get up and ready, enter our target destination and stroll down to the Prince Regent station. Keep refreshing the app in case you’ve missed your times and it’ll update with the next train/bus details.
Getting the Tube or DLR was easier than I’d thought. Stations are all clearly marked and all stops are listed on the boards. I think there was only one station line that wasn’t listed in the station as it was on the app, but asking one of the guards solved that minor crisis. Just remember to tap your bank card or Oyster card in and out of each station. You can get kids Oyster cards that offer a discount for 11-15 year olds, but for the amount we were using it, it was unnecessary and we just tapped a second bank card for Evan. Elliott who is 7 is free (Under 11’s are free with a full paying adult), so just aim for the Disabled/Luggage gates for extra space to get you both through.
We only had a couple of issues using the app and navigating the Underground in general, but they were quickly solved. After our trip to Camden, the Northern Line line was having issues so we were kinda stuck. The chap in the station pointed us to the bus stop to get down to Euston station and get on there, and so did the app. The app did point us to the wrong stop, but it was only a case of walking further down the road. We were a bit weary of getting the bus but, again, it was easy. Tap to get on then just get off at your desired stop. No need to tap out to get off the bus, unlike the trains.
The trains were frequent so we never had to wait long. They’re always busy and very hot and stuffy, so be prepared to stand a lot in the heat. Fortunately, we travelled a few times on the Elizabeth line which had air-con and was much nicer to deal with!
Please don’t think this is the easiest or best way to do things. This is just how some London novices found their way around.
Merlin Activities
There’s quite a few Merlin related things to see and do whilst in London. We visited most of them and took advantage of one of the other bonuses too.
Madam Tussauds (view blog)
We loved our first visit to Madame Tussauds London. There’s loads to see inside. Definitely worth a visit.
Sea Life London Aquarium (view blog)
One of the better Sea Life Centres, but if you’ve seen one you’ve pretty much seen them all. This one does have Penguins though.
Shrek’s Adventure (view blog)
We weren’t the biggest fans of this walk through show with audience participation. Our kids love Shrek so glad we went, but not something we’d rush back for.
The London Eye (view blog)
A great sightseeing spot with views across London. Expensive, but fun. Glad it’s included in the Merlin pass.
The London Dungeon
Alas, kids aren’t fans of a jump scare so we gave this one a miss. Maybe next time.
Dinner at the Hard Rock
As part of the Merlin Pass, kids eat free at either of the Hard Rock Cafes in London (Piccadilly Circus and Old Park Lane). One free children’s meal per adult ordering off the main menu. That saved us around £25 off the bill (which was still £90). Kids meals consist of an entrée, side and drink (desserts are extra from £1.75) plus a free Lionel Messi toy… I don’t get why. It’s a Hard Rock Cafe, not a sports cafe.
London Sightseeing
Once we’d mastered the TFL app, we were free to go anywhere. After our day one stop at Madame Tussauds, we wandered down Baker Street then headed over to Buckingham Palace for a look around before taking a stroll along the Mall, stop for a quick look at Big Ben, up to Downing Street to see where the PM lives, then headed up past Trafalgar Square and over to Leicester Square to go to the Lego shop. While we were there it was the premier of the new Naked Gun film, so Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson were in the area…behind a massive wall.
Buckingham Palace 
Horseguard’s Parade 
Downing Street Sign 
Trafalgar Square Fountain 
Gringott’s Dragon and Elliott at the Lego Store Leicester Square 
Leadenhall Market 
Tower of London 
Tower Bridge 
Crossing Tower Bridge 
HMS Belfast 
London Bridge 
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre 
Millennium Bridge 
St Paul’s Cathedral 
Red Bus, Big Ben, could this photo be anymore London??
Day 2 we needed to be at Sea Life London Aquarium for 12:00 so we planned our sightseeing walk for the morning. We started at Leadenhall Market to see where Diagon Alley was filmed in Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone before walking down past the Tower of London and across Tower Bridge. From there we walked along the Thames checking out the Shard, HMS Belfast and London Bridge before stumbling upon Borough Market which had loads of tasty snacks. Cheese Pretzel for breakfast? Go on then!
From there, we carried on walking back along the Thames, passing Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre to get to the Millennium Bridge to see if it had been repaired since the Death Eaters broke it in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (FYI, it had) before stopping for a break at ST. Paul’s Cathedral.
From St Paul’s, we walked to and crossed Blackfriars bridge before walking along the Thames, past the Oxo tower and Jubilee gardens to our final destination on the South Bank at the London Eye. Quite the walk, but we got to see loads.
A Trip To Camden
Day 3’s itinerary involved a trip to Camden. Its one of those places I’ve always heard about but never been, but we had an excuse today.
Babylon Park (view blog)
We love a theme park (hence the name) so when we heard there was an indoor theme park with a rollercoaster in the middle of London, we had to put that on the to do list. It’s a brilliant 2-floors of small rides, arcade games, claw machines, air hockey, soft play and more. Definitely worth a visit.
Camden Lock Market
This might be one of the highlights of our trip. We loved Camden Lock Market. It made the list having seen videos from The Cheese Wheel, so we had to eat there, but there is so much delicious looking food and drink that we’ll have to come back to try some more. The Alfredo pasta made inside a wheel of cheese was lovely, as was the Salt & Pepper Chicken and the Bao Bun we tried from one of the Chinese food stalls.
Natural History Museum (view blog)
After Camden we were going to the Natural History Museum, but because it rained so did everyone else! Lots to see inside, but it was incredibly busy and hot. It’s massive too, so we didn’t scratch the surface in the 2 hours we were there. Another one that needs a second visit.
End of our London Trip
With everything done, we headed back to the car and drove up to another Premier Inn (at Sandhurst) as we were spending the next day between Legoland and Thorpe Park, so made sense to be closer… and cheaper.
London though had proved to be less scary than we’d originally thought. You see and hear so much about crime and pickpockets especially, but we didn’t see any of that. Not to say it’s not there. There were only a couple of times when we were in a big crowd where you felt vulnerable to theft, but as long as you’re mindful of your belongings, it’s all good.
Once you get the hang for getting around it’s not too bad. The thought of it was more overwhelming beforehand than actually doing it. There’s lots to see, lots to do and plenty of great places to eat. It is an expensive place to be but there’s always ways to save money on food and such. We usually pack some cereal and pasta/noodle pots to save money and Wetherspoons/McDonalds are always a budget(ish) meal option.
Attractions are expensive to visit across the country, and London is no exception. The costs to get into places like the Tower of London seemed excessive (£36 per adult, £18 per child), but the queues outside said otherwise. The Merlin passes are great if you’re planning to see some of the attractions that they cover, so might be worth pricing tickets vs a pass before booking.
Now we’ve been once and know what to do, we’ll definitely be back again. Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, maybe???
