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by jo

London Aquarium

London Aquarium was perfect for H – somewhere there was plenty going on and to look at, and given her love of fish, turtles, starfish, seahorses, jellyfish, sharks… oh there was so much to point out to her, and every time she was transfixed.

It’s a nice safe area, though children under 12 must be accompanied by someone over 18. We had the buggy with us and access was good – plenty of lifts.

The areas with open water had barriers high enough that H could climb up but not be in danger – and there were so many different things to look at she didn’t get bored. Plus for adults it’s a nice calm, serene kind of place. It was quiet enough to let H walk around freely as well.

One thing we forgot about was the Aquarium goes two floors down – so there’s no mobile phone access – so bear that in mind if you’re going to meet someone when you leave!

Annoyingly I hadn’t planned in advance to go there, so paid full price at the door – if you book in advance you can make a good saving – and it also qualifies for the 2 for 1 National Rail deal (you just have to show your rail tickets and have the correct voucher) – so definitely worth doing.

We didn’t use the facilities, so I can’t comment on those unfortunately, but given everything else was easily accessible, I’d like to think they were excellent too…

Official website – http://www.visitsealife.com/london/

[googleMap name=”Sea Life London Aquarium” description=”Sea Life London Aquarium”]SEA LIFE London Aquarium, County Hall, Westminster Bridge Road, London, SE1 7PB[/googleMap]

by jo

Claremont Landscape Garden, Esher

Claremont Landscape Garden has recently had a kids area put in – which consists of lots of soft play area, and a few wooden things to climb on.

The largest one has the best things on it – alas, it’s meant for over 5’s which we didn’t realise until H had been up it and gone down the slide several times (beware the sides, which are quite open, which was a bit worrying) – there’s also a smaller hut, and a larger one to the side, as well as a couple of one person see saw’s, and a large play area.

Best of all, with National Trust Membership you get in for no extra cost than your yearly membership (don’t forget the Quidco deal, which works out around £35 ish a year) – plus in the park itself there’s lots of space to walk around and plenty to see.

I didn’t get a chance to check out changing facilities, but generally National Trust places are pretty reliable and good.

For more info, head here.

by jo

Mayfield Lavender, Banstead, Surrey

What you have here are fields of lavender – it’s not a pick your own kind of place, but it’s lovely to wander and take photos and have your kids run around (watch out for bees and nettles though).

It’s free entry and there’s plenty of parking – there’s a small refreshment area and shop towards the entrance which has plenty of lavender bundles you can buy at a very reasonable £3.50 each.

Don’t forget to take sunhats, cream and water on a hot day – there’s very little shade!

http://www.mayfieldlavender.com/

by jo

Wakehurst Place

We’re National Trust members (you can get a very very good deal via Quidco) and often visit Wakehurst Place – for free entrance you can be a National Trust or Kew member.

For this you get acres of green to walk around (and hills too, there’s some very buggy unfriendly ones, but we did it!), lots of plants, flowers and trees.

We’d not spotted them before, but there’s a few areas which are marked with an asterisk (on the map) which are designed for younger visitors, H being almost two enjoyed two of the ones we went to.

There’s also two cafe’s, both very child-friendly. There’s changing, and the whole area is pretty much safe for a child to run around (beware, there are ponds and a lake though), as well as plenty of ducks.

The shop at the end is also good space wise to get your buggy round!

by jo

Cheam Park, Cheam

This park is a good large space, though disappointingly a lot of the playground equipment seemed geared towards older children.

There’s plenty of swings for the young ones, mini see-saw’s, and a large one and a Fire Engine they can climb inside, and slide down – but the best bit of all has to be the enormous sandpit.

Previously a paddling pool, it’s huge, with a little hut in the middle.

H loved running around, but I found she was more attracted to the rides which were a bit too old for her.

Bonus – the car park right next to the park is free.

by jo

Lady Neville Play Area, Banstead

This park is situated to the rear of the new Waitrose store. Facility-wise there’s a large cafe (complete with acoustic guitar playing this afternoon), and plenty of space to sit down and have some refreshments, as well as Ikea highchairs for your kids.

In the play area itself the majority of the playground equipment is for older kids (H is almost 2 now), but there’s some swings for really small children (that don’t swing too much), as well as two similar ones which go a bit higher. H’s favourite bit was a climbing frame which is pretty child-friendly, but has good climbing support and a slide on it – perfect for the 2-4 age range, I think – something most parks around here are lacking!

The biggest downside is that there’s nowhere with any shade within the play area – generally not a problem for most of the year, but today was a really hot one, there is a large grassy area which has shade outside the park which is great space for the kids to run around.

There’s also a younger child friendly climbing wall (but I’d not recommend them doing it on their own!).

by jo

Beanies, Croydon

‘Beanies’ is a play centre/cafe in central Croydon, on the site of the old Beanos record store. On the ground floor is a cafe area, but if you want to go up to the play area on the first floor there is also waiter service. They give you a wristband which acts as a tab you then settle on leaving. They also hire out their top floor to other ‘organisations’ that offer music, dance, drama and even yoga classes etc.
Pros: The staff are very friendly, it was set up by mums with young children. The cafe does a wide range of sandwiches, paninis, cakes and drinks. There are lots of toys and dressing up costumes for babies and toddlers. They sometimes offer painting and other arts & crafts activities. There is no restriction on length of stay.
Cons: Personally, I found £5 entrance to the play area a bit expensive considering the toys are not dissimilar to what is provided at our local Sure Start Centres (which are free) and toddler groups. There was no soft play area, which I had expected it to have. The food and drink prices are comparable to typical cafes and coffee shops, whereas another play centre I know in Addiscombe only charges @ 50p for kids sandwiches.

If it was cheaper, we might go more frequently as a treat after shopping. However, for us there are cheaper, more local, places with soft play climbing areas that we would prefer to go.

by jo

Vines Bar & Grill, Carshalton

This place has only just opened, although (and this is a guess) is probably owned by the people who had the Greek Taverna in Carshalton – which is now closed.

There’s good buggy access, and already some good deals – buy a coffee and get a free croissant, buy a meal and get your child’s one free. The menu is a good selection of regular and meditteranean foods, and a good selection of vegetarian meals.

The downside – at this point there’s no baby changing, although the man I spoke to said they’re converting an office, so that will happen soon.

There’s also an outdoor area at the back.

Although I’ve not dined here, it looks good, it’s reasonably priced, and definitely worth checking out. Open now (just!)

 

by jo

Hooky Knitters Carshalton

Rachel started the Hooky Knitters group way back in the summer of 2011. We met every couple of weeks until Rachel went and moved to Exeter. We miss her!

We still meet though – around the middle of the month, just once a month, still at The Sun in Carshalton. Head over to our Facebook Group for more information.

by jo

The East Hill, Wandsworth

Located on Alma Road in Wandsworth, The East Hill is a Geronimo pub, we’ve been to a couple, and they’re definitely child-friendly.

The general rule is no children after 7pm, but before then you’ll find parents, families, kids, pets – there’s enough space so you can have your buggy by your table, and there’s enough child seats your little one will have somewhere to sit (they use this kind).

I’ve not seen a child menu there, although the side dishes are cheap enough you could get away with those.

Baby-changing wise, the toilets are just plain weird. You go through one door, and within are four or five cubicles – so you’re sharing sink space with everyone – you just have your own privacy beyond the door. I’ve not actually tried taking a buggy in the loos, so we’ll come back to that one.