A Good Place to Meet up a Friend in London (both families have kids 6-11)

[Anonymous]

Hi, if you are familiar with London, could you please help? I want to meet up with an old friend while my family will be there this summer, they are British but don't live in London so they will make a special trip to London to meet up. Each family (hers and mine) has 2 young children age 6-11. Ideally, we want to meet up at a place where the kids will enjoy too. Hyde Park? My friend is British so they've all done all the London touristy spots already. Ideally I would like to spend a whole day with my friend (who I haven't seen in long time and we miss each other) but I don't want the kids (or the husbands lol) to be bored, a dinner together would be nice too. I also would not want to drag my friend to a tourist attraction because they've done that already. We will be staying in the Covent Garden area, my friend hasn't booked a place yet. Any suggestions on where/how to spend a day? I appreciate your help in advance. Thank you very much!!

[Anonymous]

Holland Park has a great playground for kids. There are decent restaurants on Kensington High St. The Design Museum is nearby.

There is a playground at Coram's Fields in Bloomsbury. It's a bit more rundown, but it is near the British Museum. There are a few family friendly restaurants nearby.

Battersea Power Station and Battersea Park are fun for kids. There are a lot of restaurants; the area is heavy on overpriced chains.

Clapham Common also has playgrounds, and there are decent restaurants on Clapham High St.

Richmond and Greenwich have a lot to do, restaurants, and probably more plentiful parking, but they are a hike from the city center. If your friends are coming from the south, these could be easier.

[Anonymous]

For an activity, this tea is supposed to be intriguing for children

https://www.wizardexploratorium.io/tea

[Anonymous]

On the outskirts of London, but what about Hampton Court? I did this with a friend last year, and we had a picnic in the grounds, kids spent ages in the maze, we wandered through the palace, and it was a fun place to hang out for the day

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Holland Park has a great playground for kids. There are decent restaurants on Kensington High St. The Design Museum is nearby.

There is a playground at Coram's Fields in Bloomsbury. It's a bit more rundown, but it is near the British Museum. There are a few family friendly restaurants nearby.

Battersea Power Station and Battersea Park are fun for kids. There are a lot of restaurants; the area is heavy on overpriced chains.

Clapham Common also has playgrounds, and there are decent restaurants on Clapham High St.

Richmond and Greenwich have a lot to do, restaurants, and probably more plentiful parking, but they are a hike from the city center. If your friends are coming from the south, these could be easier.

Good list. Regents Park and Hampstead Heath also good park ideas, especially if they are coming down from north of London.

[Anonymous]

I know you said they’d done all the tourist spots but at those ages I would look at the science museum. It’s super hands on and there’s a video game exhibit where my kids could have spent 2 hours.
Depending on how much you’re willing to spend you could do the science tea at the Ampersand Hotel (super pricey but fun).
There are tons of other restaurants nearby too.

[Anonymous]

You could also get the boat to Greenwich which is a borough on the Thames in the southeast of London and is famous for its maritime history. It has a cute town centre with a craft and food market and Greenwich Park is one of eight royal parks in London and covers about 159 acres. You can walk up to the Royal Observatory, spend time in the park where I think there are paddle boats, have a pub lunch, go to the market, visit the Cutty Sark, etc. Many years ago, my children enjoyed the kid activities in the royal Maritime Museum.

The challenge in summer is that it is so crowded everywhere in London. Might be hard to find indoor eating for a big group. Maybe somewhere that has picnic options or where you can book. The Trafalgar Tavern sits right by the water and I think you can probably book.

[Anonymous]

We just did this! The london zoo and the princess diana playground in hyde park are great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:On the outskirts of London, but what about Hampton Court? I did this with a friend last year, and we had a picnic in the grounds, kids spent ages in the maze, we wandered through the palace, and it was a fun place to hang out for the day

I was going to suggest this too. Or Kew Gardens.

[Anonymous]

Don’t know abou5 you4 kids, but my kids enjoyed the natural history museum in every city we visited.