London with Teens Trip Report
Jun 25th, 2017, 07:07 PM
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London with Teens Trip Report
We just finished a 2 week trip to London and Ireland. I will post the two weeks separately for ease of reading. Our family consists of mom and dad, and 2 tween/teen children. I am the travel planner for our family vacations and I owe a great deal to this forum for all of your advice, other trip reports, and general info. Thank you!!!
I am going to post in some installments because the report is long.
Lodging
We stayed in a wonderful flat from One Fine Stay located on Park Square Mews which is really close to the Regents Park Tube Station. We had originally booked a less expensive flat in Nottinghill but then I got a call about a week ahead of our trip that the flat was no longer available. Staying calm, I listened to the representative state that they would find us another flat. I was not happy at the start---I had put in a ton of planning—like exact tube/transit directions from the flat to our various site seeing spots, grocery stores, etc etc. BUT he immediately (like within 20 minutes) found another flat for us, that was more expensive, but they would eat that cost. Well, this new flat was marvelous. The perfect location. 4 mins to the Regents Park Tube station and maybe 8 minutes to the Great Portland station. This gave us access to a variety of lines. It came with access to a shared garden right next to Regents Park—lovely. And it was quite modern and nice looking with great appliances etc. We were actually an hour early to check in. The greeter happened to come up and the cleaners were just finishing. So we checked in, they finished their cleaning, and were done. Easy peasy. Very quiet neighborhood. And the location could not be beat. I would highly recommend this flat.
Transit
I am including this info because I had so many questions and have seen so many queries, that I thought I would share what we decided to do. We had 7 days in London. I decided to do the 7 day travel cards and use the 2-4-1 offers. First, we took the Heathrow Express from the airport to Paddington. Kids went free. It was fast and easy-perfect for us. A quick hop into a ticket office to get the cards—it took maybe 15 minutes—and we were good to go. We went downstairs and it took us maybe 5 minutes to get to the Regents Park station. This was a highly convenient, cost-effective way for us to get in and out of London. I booked ahead and saved money that way. Much better than being stuck in a car/taxi in traffic. And we were too jet lagged to figure out a bus or complicated tube route from the airport—and this way we got our 7 day cards right away. So, for us, it was great. (I had printed out a bunch of 2-4-1 vouchers before leaving home. Some we didn’t use, so I just tossed them)
Groceries
We eat our breakfasts and most dinners in when we travel with kids. I had trouble figuring out where something bigger than a Tesco express would be in relation to our flat. I talked to the greeter and she didn’t see many options either. So, we took our backpacks and took a 3 minute tube ride to Edgeware Road and shopped at the Waitrose. This was fine. It was expensive though. I wished I could have figured out where a decent sized Sainsbury’s was or a Tesco but I couldn’t figure that out so Waitrose it was. One of our better stops to “top off” on food was at an M&S foods in a tube/train station. They had great food. (I think we even walked by an M&S Foods on the way to Waitrose—should have stopped there) Otherwise, we could just hit the Tesco Express at the Great Portland station.
Morning Coffee
I need my latte every morning. Fortunately, there was a Pret a Manger at the Great Portland station, plus another coffee shop in the other direction on Marleybone Road (near Madame Tussads)
I am going to post in some installments because the report is long.
Lodging
We stayed in a wonderful flat from One Fine Stay located on Park Square Mews which is really close to the Regents Park Tube Station. We had originally booked a less expensive flat in Nottinghill but then I got a call about a week ahead of our trip that the flat was no longer available. Staying calm, I listened to the representative state that they would find us another flat. I was not happy at the start---I had put in a ton of planning—like exact tube/transit directions from the flat to our various site seeing spots, grocery stores, etc etc. BUT he immediately (like within 20 minutes) found another flat for us, that was more expensive, but they would eat that cost. Well, this new flat was marvelous. The perfect location. 4 mins to the Regents Park Tube station and maybe 8 minutes to the Great Portland station. This gave us access to a variety of lines. It came with access to a shared garden right next to Regents Park—lovely. And it was quite modern and nice looking with great appliances etc. We were actually an hour early to check in. The greeter happened to come up and the cleaners were just finishing. So we checked in, they finished their cleaning, and were done. Easy peasy. Very quiet neighborhood. And the location could not be beat. I would highly recommend this flat.
Transit
I am including this info because I had so many questions and have seen so many queries, that I thought I would share what we decided to do. We had 7 days in London. I decided to do the 7 day travel cards and use the 2-4-1 offers. First, we took the Heathrow Express from the airport to Paddington. Kids went free. It was fast and easy-perfect for us. A quick hop into a ticket office to get the cards—it took maybe 15 minutes—and we were good to go. We went downstairs and it took us maybe 5 minutes to get to the Regents Park station. This was a highly convenient, cost-effective way for us to get in and out of London. I booked ahead and saved money that way. Much better than being stuck in a car/taxi in traffic. And we were too jet lagged to figure out a bus or complicated tube route from the airport—and this way we got our 7 day cards right away. So, for us, it was great. (I had printed out a bunch of 2-4-1 vouchers before leaving home. Some we didn’t use, so I just tossed them)
Groceries
We eat our breakfasts and most dinners in when we travel with kids. I had trouble figuring out where something bigger than a Tesco express would be in relation to our flat. I talked to the greeter and she didn’t see many options either. So, we took our backpacks and took a 3 minute tube ride to Edgeware Road and shopped at the Waitrose. This was fine. It was expensive though. I wished I could have figured out where a decent sized Sainsbury’s was or a Tesco but I couldn’t figure that out so Waitrose it was. One of our better stops to “top off” on food was at an M&S foods in a tube/train station. They had great food. (I think we even walked by an M&S Foods on the way to Waitrose—should have stopped there) Otherwise, we could just hit the Tesco Express at the Great Portland station.
Morning Coffee
I need my latte every morning. Fortunately, there was a Pret a Manger at the Great Portland station, plus another coffee shop in the other direction on Marleybone Road (near Madame Tussads)
Jun 25th, 2017, 07:18 PM
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Sightseeing
Touring
Day 1: Tuesday
For our first day, I wanted to give everybody something to wake up for, so we hit the Tower. The first thing we did was see the Crown Jewels—amazing. And really worth it to get there right when they open so you could take your time. We then dashed to make the 10:00 Yeoman Warder tour. Oh good heavens, that was way too huge. So we skipped it. We saw other tours that were not quite so huge. I think if we had checked back at 11:00, we would have had better luck (honestly, it looked there were 50+ people in the 10 tour, while others had 20) We saw the White Tower, the Mint, the Medieval Life, walked most of the battlements, and then had lunch. We ate at the café there and it was just fine.
Then it was off to the Natural History Museum. DH and my son went there. DD and I went to Paxton and Whitfield to shop for cheese. This was not their big store but a smaller satellite which was a 15 minute walk from the South Kensington Tube Station. I am a big cheese addict. I had originally wanted to go to Neals Yard in Covent Garden but that was a bit out of the way and a 30 minute trip and they apparently only have British cheese. I was in search of not only good English cheddars but a real Brie which we don’t get in the US because it has to be pasteurized. The walk was lovely in a sweet little shopping area. The woman in the shop was quite knowledgeable and very friendly. (they always are when they really get to “talk cheese”!!) We also got some additional groceries nearby. (there is also a great meat pie place there and a fish monger but we didn’t need those)
We met back at the flat and collapsed.
Day 2: Wednesday
This was an awesome day!!! We are not, not, not tour people. But we wanted to see Stonehenge and got a recommendation for the English Bus Tour. It is a must. You travel in a mini bus that is quite nice—only 15 people or so??? The driver was hysterical. We were in quite a bit of traffic coming out of London so he gave us all sorts of info about the various neighborhoods and life in London. Not to mention his favorite soccer/football team and why we needed to root for them. The “secret place” is truly amazing and that is all I will say! Bath was fantastic. We had just enough time to see the Roman Baths and then sprint around the church. The Baths were incredible. I really liked them. We grabbed a quick lunch at Café Retro. Good sandwiches. Then, Stonehenge. That was fantastic. Our bus driver had plenty of info and was informative. We all really liked it. You don’t get back till 8:30 and we collapsed again.
Day 3: Thursday
We slept in a little. While my family and others often joke at me for setting such a timed schedule, there is a reason for this. When you get there later, you really do have to deal with bigger crowds etc. And Westminster Abbey was no exception!! We did the audiotour and we all enjoyed it.
We ate lunch in the Café of the Methodist Hall across the street. What a find!!! You could get hot meals as well as sandwiches. It was uncrowded and well lit thanks to sky lights. That was a really nice lunch break!!
Then it was off to the British Museum. I had a list of highlights to see. We got through those and then saw additional sights. We were there until it closed at 6.
Then, I thought it would be fun to go to “Taste of London”. It was right there in Regents Park and because we were eating in all week I thought it would be ok to splurge on the entry tix (17 pounds a piece!). It was a disaster. Very crowded, long lines for food, and not food the kids would eat. If you have adventurous eaters who don’t get hangry, then this once a year festival could be for you. I got complaints from the entire famlly about how tired they were and their feet hurt and…..ugh. No thanks.
A note on evening activities. When I posted some initial queries here people were incredulous that we would not be out until 11 at night. Let me assure you, when you have to be up at 7 or 7:30 so you can be somewhere by 9, it does not pay to stay out late with my children! They always need a good 2 hours of decompression time and then it takes them a good 30 some odd minutes to get ready/go to sleep. Other people may be able to transition quickly. My family doesn’t. Also, our feet and legs were killing us by 5:00. I train for, and compete in, Olympic Distance triathlons. I am in darned good shape. My feet and legs were done by the end of the day. And I was exhausted—DH and I call it “museum drop”. So we were all conked out by 9 or 10 every night if possible. And when we weren’t—it didn’t go as smoothly as it could have. Everybody is different but this is what worked for us.
Touring
Day 1: Tuesday
For our first day, I wanted to give everybody something to wake up for, so we hit the Tower. The first thing we did was see the Crown Jewels—amazing. And really worth it to get there right when they open so you could take your time. We then dashed to make the 10:00 Yeoman Warder tour. Oh good heavens, that was way too huge. So we skipped it. We saw other tours that were not quite so huge. I think if we had checked back at 11:00, we would have had better luck (honestly, it looked there were 50+ people in the 10 tour, while others had 20) We saw the White Tower, the Mint, the Medieval Life, walked most of the battlements, and then had lunch. We ate at the café there and it was just fine.
Then it was off to the Natural History Museum. DH and my son went there. DD and I went to Paxton and Whitfield to shop for cheese. This was not their big store but a smaller satellite which was a 15 minute walk from the South Kensington Tube Station. I am a big cheese addict. I had originally wanted to go to Neals Yard in Covent Garden but that was a bit out of the way and a 30 minute trip and they apparently only have British cheese. I was in search of not only good English cheddars but a real Brie which we don’t get in the US because it has to be pasteurized. The walk was lovely in a sweet little shopping area. The woman in the shop was quite knowledgeable and very friendly. (they always are when they really get to “talk cheese”!!) We also got some additional groceries nearby. (there is also a great meat pie place there and a fish monger but we didn’t need those)
We met back at the flat and collapsed.
Day 2: Wednesday
This was an awesome day!!! We are not, not, not tour people. But we wanted to see Stonehenge and got a recommendation for the English Bus Tour. It is a must. You travel in a mini bus that is quite nice—only 15 people or so??? The driver was hysterical. We were in quite a bit of traffic coming out of London so he gave us all sorts of info about the various neighborhoods and life in London. Not to mention his favorite soccer/football team and why we needed to root for them. The “secret place” is truly amazing and that is all I will say! Bath was fantastic. We had just enough time to see the Roman Baths and then sprint around the church. The Baths were incredible. I really liked them. We grabbed a quick lunch at Café Retro. Good sandwiches. Then, Stonehenge. That was fantastic. Our bus driver had plenty of info and was informative. We all really liked it. You don’t get back till 8:30 and we collapsed again.
Day 3: Thursday
We slept in a little. While my family and others often joke at me for setting such a timed schedule, there is a reason for this. When you get there later, you really do have to deal with bigger crowds etc. And Westminster Abbey was no exception!! We did the audiotour and we all enjoyed it.
We ate lunch in the Café of the Methodist Hall across the street. What a find!!! You could get hot meals as well as sandwiches. It was uncrowded and well lit thanks to sky lights. That was a really nice lunch break!!
Then it was off to the British Museum. I had a list of highlights to see. We got through those and then saw additional sights. We were there until it closed at 6.
Then, I thought it would be fun to go to “Taste of London”. It was right there in Regents Park and because we were eating in all week I thought it would be ok to splurge on the entry tix (17 pounds a piece!). It was a disaster. Very crowded, long lines for food, and not food the kids would eat. If you have adventurous eaters who don’t get hangry, then this once a year festival could be for you. I got complaints from the entire famlly about how tired they were and their feet hurt and…..ugh. No thanks.
A note on evening activities. When I posted some initial queries here people were incredulous that we would not be out until 11 at night. Let me assure you, when you have to be up at 7 or 7:30 so you can be somewhere by 9, it does not pay to stay out late with my children! They always need a good 2 hours of decompression time and then it takes them a good 30 some odd minutes to get ready/go to sleep. Other people may be able to transition quickly. My family doesn’t. Also, our feet and legs were killing us by 5:00. I train for, and compete in, Olympic Distance triathlons. I am in darned good shape. My feet and legs were done by the end of the day. And I was exhausted—DH and I call it “museum drop”. So we were all conked out by 9 or 10 every night if possible. And when we weren’t—it didn’t go as smoothly as it could have. Everybody is different but this is what worked for us.
Jun 25th, 2017, 07:21 PM
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Day 4: Friday
We slept in a little here too. We were originally going to go to the Globe at 9 and then over to the Imperial War Museum. We ended up skipping the Globe and going to the IWM. This was DS’s pick for the trip. We skipped the Holocaust floor and DS didn’t get to see all of the 5th floor but otherwise, we covered that museum. We had lunch at the café there which was fine.
Then we had tix for the 5:30 tour at Warner Bros studio. I am a bit torn on this. If you get earlier tix, this can eat up your whole day. By doing it at the end of the day, you can go here while everything else is closed in London. But we were sore and tired after all those hours at the IWM. Still—this was amazing. Really amazing. We all really, really liked it. Pretty easy to get to—we tubed to Euston station, then bought tix to Watford Junction, and then took the shuttle bus to the studios. It was a long ride back but so much fun!!
Day 5: Saturday
Well, American faux pas #1—going anywhere near Whitehall on the Queen’s Birthday!!!! On the flip side, we had some fun sights!
First—the Sherlock Holmes Museum. We walked there from our flat—very close and I could get a latte on the way. This was DD’s pick and she loved it. Again, it pays to get there early, but we slept in because we were so late the night before. There was a long line to get in. I wouldn’t do this unless you are a big fan of the original Sherlock stories. (not the new Benedict Cumberbatch series). It only takes an hour to walk through it.
Second—The Churchill War Rooms. On our way there, we got to see all the dignitaries’ cars waiting with their drivers—had flags on all the cars. We could see the crowds on the stands and we actually saw a carriage driving around the parade grounds—the Queen???? We also got to watch the guards march. This was all while in line at the Museum. Not a bad view! The War Rooms were very interesting and the Churchill museum was quite good. We all really liked it.
We grabbed sandwiches at Waterloo station and then boarded the train for Hampton Court. Unfortunately, there were train delays due to the tragic fire that had taken place on Wednesday plus some switching issues. We got there later than I would have liked and had to rush through to see what we wanted to see. We did to get to see all the things we liked. Do check the website—there was actually a concert there that evening. An Abba coverband—Bjorn Again. While I do like Abba, it was an odd soundtrack to Hampton Court. (they were playing songs during the sound check) Hampton Court is amazing and I loved seeing the clock tower!!
Day 6—Sunday
Fly to Ireland. We got out early and took the Heathrow Express back to the airport to check in for our 10:30 flight to Ireland.
We were so lucky to have such amazing weather—no rain and hot! Everybody really was very nice and helpful. We had a great time.
We slept in a little here too. We were originally going to go to the Globe at 9 and then over to the Imperial War Museum. We ended up skipping the Globe and going to the IWM. This was DS’s pick for the trip. We skipped the Holocaust floor and DS didn’t get to see all of the 5th floor but otherwise, we covered that museum. We had lunch at the café there which was fine.
Then we had tix for the 5:30 tour at Warner Bros studio. I am a bit torn on this. If you get earlier tix, this can eat up your whole day. By doing it at the end of the day, you can go here while everything else is closed in London. But we were sore and tired after all those hours at the IWM. Still—this was amazing. Really amazing. We all really, really liked it. Pretty easy to get to—we tubed to Euston station, then bought tix to Watford Junction, and then took the shuttle bus to the studios. It was a long ride back but so much fun!!
Day 5: Saturday
Well, American faux pas #1—going anywhere near Whitehall on the Queen’s Birthday!!!! On the flip side, we had some fun sights!
First—the Sherlock Holmes Museum. We walked there from our flat—very close and I could get a latte on the way. This was DD’s pick and she loved it. Again, it pays to get there early, but we slept in because we were so late the night before. There was a long line to get in. I wouldn’t do this unless you are a big fan of the original Sherlock stories. (not the new Benedict Cumberbatch series). It only takes an hour to walk through it.
Second—The Churchill War Rooms. On our way there, we got to see all the dignitaries’ cars waiting with their drivers—had flags on all the cars. We could see the crowds on the stands and we actually saw a carriage driving around the parade grounds—the Queen???? We also got to watch the guards march. This was all while in line at the Museum. Not a bad view! The War Rooms were very interesting and the Churchill museum was quite good. We all really liked it.
We grabbed sandwiches at Waterloo station and then boarded the train for Hampton Court. Unfortunately, there were train delays due to the tragic fire that had taken place on Wednesday plus some switching issues. We got there later than I would have liked and had to rush through to see what we wanted to see. We did to get to see all the things we liked. Do check the website—there was actually a concert there that evening. An Abba coverband—Bjorn Again. While I do like Abba, it was an odd soundtrack to Hampton Court. (they were playing songs during the sound check) Hampton Court is amazing and I loved seeing the clock tower!!
Day 6—Sunday
Fly to Ireland. We got out early and took the Heathrow Express back to the airport to check in for our 10:30 flight to Ireland.
We were so lucky to have such amazing weather—no rain and hot! Everybody really was very nice and helpful. We had a great time.
Jun 25th, 2017, 08:57 PM
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Seems like you had a great time.
We work with Onefinestay in London, they let our flat in Notting Hill - and these things can happen. Recently our boiler broke down and needed to be replaced, so they relocated the guests that were booked there.
I was there the same week you were, and could see the clouds of smoke coming from Grenfell Tower.
We work with Onefinestay in London, they let our flat in Notting Hill - and these things can happen. Recently our boiler broke down and needed to be replaced, so they relocated the guests that were booked there.
I was there the same week you were, and could see the clouds of smoke coming from Grenfell Tower.
Jun 26th, 2017, 02:34 PM
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yes travel--I can't seem to get the link to work. If you go to www.onefinestay.com and search for Park Square Mews, you should find it. (or search for a 2BR, 2BA flat in Marleybone or Regents Park). It was a fantastic place!
Jun 27th, 2017, 04:18 AM
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northie--this is good to know. But now I am bummed I did not make it to what I consider the "shrine of cheese" 
Oh well, the small cheese shop had what we needed and I bought plenty of cheese!
Oh well, the small cheese shop had what we needed and I bought plenty of cheese!
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