As a child I remember many day tips to London, jumping on and off of buses, tubes and trains, seeing the sights and enjoying the atmosphere. I have always wanted to do the same with my children, but have been waiting until they have been old enough to walk and appreciate things a little more. This year we decided the time was right, so we roped in Nana and Grandad (as Grandad is a huge bus lover and can tell you almost every bus route in London, which was obviously very handy) and set off for London.
Unfortunately the weather was not very kind to us at all, as you will see from the photos, but hey, I don’t like to stop just because of a bit of rain, so waterproofed up, we caught the train to Liverpool Street. This was the first time my three children have been on a train to a destination. They have been on steam trains etc, but not a ‘normal train’. BB was so excited and all three of them wouldn’t sit down much, they loved the novelty of being able to stand whilst moving.
We walked through Liverpool St station, which is enormous to three small children, then hopped on a double decker bus. The kids managed to get a seat at the top, right at the front with Grandad. They loved looking out the window so high up with grandad pointing out some of the sights…bank of England, Westminster, St Pauls cathedral etc.
We got off at Westminster Abbey for a look. 
Next stop was Big Ben and the houses of parliament. This was the one thing BB was desperate to see. Every time we asked what he wanted to see in London, he replied “Big Ben”! It was amazing seeing the size of the ‘big clock’ as all the way there on the bus, every time the kids saw a smaller clock in the street we had to tell them “no, it’s not Big ben” and they then proceeded to call all clocks ‘little ben’!
BB was reluctant to stand next to the policeman for a photo, but he was very friendly and I think secretly BB loved it! 
We had a quick look at the river Thames before taking a walk past 10 Downing Street and up to Trafalgar Square. 
BB was desperate to climb up on the lion, which he finally managed, but the girls stayed on the ground.
We walked up to Covent Garden next for some cover, as the rain really started to fall. I love Covent Garden for the atmosphere and had a quick look around. The children really enjoyed watching the street entertainment, as this is something completely new to them. I loved watching their faces, gasping in anticipation at the unicycle act that was on!
We walked back to trafalgar Square and up the Mall. By now the rain was easing, so it was a much more pleasant walk.
The children loved seeing Buckingham Palace and watching the guards keep still, as well as march up and down. BB kept asking why he couldn’t go and tickle them!
We walked through St James park which was a great respite from all the traffic and noise. We even found an incredibly friendly squirrel on our way to the Tube.
The children loved their first ever ride on the London underground, though I think the novelty wore off quite quickly once they realised there is nothing to see out of the windows.
Our last visiting point of the day was the Tower of London with the poppies and Tower bridge. It was amazing to see the poppies, but was difficult to explain what they meant to a 6 and 4yr olds, however, they did make an impression on them, as they did us.
After this we headed home on the tube and very luckily straight onto the train home. We all had a good day, if a bit wet.
We like to try new things and visit new places as a family. CSMA club set me and some other bloggers a challenge to try something new each week for the next four weeks. This weeks challenge was to visit a new place. I think we definitely did this. It was quite a challenge taking three small children sightseeing round London in the rain, but we loved it and I believe we now have some great memories to cherish as a family.
Have you visited any new places this summer?
