Family Friendly London #2 The London Transport Museum

Tucked in a corner of the vibrant Covent Garden square, nestles the  London Transport Museum.

I have an Underground crazy nine year old, so on our last trip we made a point to devote a couple of hours to visiting this museum, after visiting the Natural History  & Science ones previously.

The location is very simple to find, and within minutes walking distance from Covent Garden tube station. It's also only a short walk from Leicester Square, so if you are approaching from the tourist hub of the theatre district, it's actually easier to walk above ground than go hop Underground stations from the Square to Covent Garden. 

There are also dozens of mini boutiques and cafes you may want to pop into along the way too. Covent Garden has a concentration of glorious little makeup stores of some of the more independent brands that don't show up in Department Stores. There's even a shop dedicated completely to The Moomins.

The Transport Museum has a small, modern, glass entrance pavilion, with a free to browse merchandice store and upstairs Cafe. You can then purchase tickets for the Museum on the day, or collect your prepaid online ones. 

Kids go absolutely free at this museum, adult London Transport Museum tickets are £17.50, but there are group discounts, concessions etc so click through to the website to see if you can take advantage of any of their offers. 

The museum is on several levels, all accessible by lift, and they layout is very easy to follow around. The displays are engaging and informative, with interactive portions so kids won't even notice they are being educated on the sly.  

Dotted throughout the whole museum are these card stampers. Each child will have their own card with numbers on it, to find and stamp as they pass through the exhibitions. The stamp cutter then chops their card into various different shapes, the same way a train or bus conductor would mark a ticket back in the day. 

Smix really enjoyed this game and it makes for a cute souvenir for the scrapbook back home. 

You'll learn the history of public and private transport in London from the early beginnings of the settlement, right through to the present day. 

The history of steam trains, with life size vintage carriages and even engines you can pop inside and pose for pictures in.

There are old London buses, with the history of the service within the city, as well as horse drawn carriages that used to be seen on the streets of 19th Century capital. 

Smix was most interested in the history of The London Underground, which the museum features heavily, so he was delighted.

The history of the various lines, how the tunnels were made,  the specs of the trains used, there was even a section on driver uniform and the different seat fabrics used for each train line's carriage (shown right). That was my favourite part- a capsule exhibition about the retro advertising campaigns was also a winner for me.

If you have young kids with you, even up to Smix's age, will enjoy the special play area on the main exhibition hall floor (see below).

They can drive a bus, ferry, train, or even work as the lost property in a mock up Underground Station. 

The interactive fun area gives Mums & Dads time to have a sit down & a coffee and snack, if you wish to. We were there mid-week, mid-summer & it was busy but by no means chaotic. Lots of tables & room to play. 

Smix stood for ages just watching this HUGE live map of locations of buses & tube trains over the city, very cool.

All in all, over the entire museum's exhibits we must have spent a good two hours there, but if you took time to read more of the displays and all the history you could easily spend twice that time. 

I would say with the kid entrance being free, if you are just paying for one adult then it's a fair price for a few hours of fun and entertainment in the centre of the city. 

Even the seating section outside the bathrooms (below) looks super cool, and we could have spent a fortune on Underground merch in the store. 

So a big thumbs up from us for the London Transport Museum. If your kids love trains, buses or The Underground it's a must-visit on your next day in the city.

Check out our review of the London Duck Tours for a family friendly London trip too! 

Stay in the Streets of 'Made in Chelsea', London, From £15 a Night. Hostel Prices Without the Hostel Horrors, My Go-To Booking, EasyHotel Earl's Court.

I like a bargain & the less you pay for a hotel when you visit a big city like London, the more money you have to spend on the important things when you get there. Like shiny, fluffy stuff from Skinny Dip London, or Build a Bears dressed like Beefeaters who play 'The Whip' when you squeeze their paw. 

So whilst I don't mind forgoing luxury during the lights-out part of the trip, I do like to be somewhere clean, safe and reliable. This means hosteling isn't really suitable. I'm always travelling with Smix who is nine now, and I don't want to have to share a room or bathroom with strangers in a city miles away from anyone I know. 

Thats why when we visited last August, we stayed in the Earl's Court Easy Hotel. That would be my fourth or fifth stay in an EasyHotel in London, I have also stayed in the South Kensington one, which is only about a mile's walk from this one.

Prices for rooms start at £15 and personally I've never had to pay more than £45 any time I've stayed. Like with booking an EasyJet flight, you can use the EasyHotel site to tailor the room to your needs, as well as watch for flash sales, bargain deals booking a long time in advance, or indeed last minute.

Again similar to the philosophy of the airline, you pay for the add ons of what you need, which builds a package visit tailored exactly to your needs. 

Rooms are small, which allows the prices to be lower than most London city centre hotels. I find with a London jaunt you really only use the hotel to crash at and sleep, you don't hang out or eat there, so a room with a bed & mini bathroom is spot on. 

Rooms are small, standard & twin. The small has barely any room to stand about, it's a little like a capsule hotel but with more space. This is what I always stay in when I'm travelling to London alone. Rooms have either one double bed, or two singles in them. 

Another choice you can make is whether you need a window or not. If you are happy enough with no window, you can pay less to stay in one of the central rooms. 

Every room has its own mini-bathroom. It's a complete wet room, with a curtain to pull round to shower. You get one fresh towel, should you need more or want it washed during your stay, that will cost extra. Also if you are staying more than one night and want your bedding changed, again, ask for that add on. If you want to travel without toiletries, there is a pump dispenser at each shower with a shampoo/shower gel you can use. 

All rooms have heating & air-con, which is free of charge, and there is the option to add-on wifi access or the tv in your room. I counted three plugs in our room, which is always important to know when   you've gadgets to charge overnight.

There isn't a wardrobe, but there is storage space under the bed frame, and on the wall to hang coats & bags. 

Early check in, or late check out, will cost you £15, but times are very reasonable anyway. 

There isn't a breakfast restaurant in the hotel, but you are located in a beautiful area of the city and your walk from Earl's Court Underground Station to the hotel passes dozens of places you can get coffee, breakfast, croissants, whatever you might feel like when you get hungry. I'm pretty sure each hotel has a basic vending machine in the reception, as well as all your tourist attraction leaflets and maps on hand.

We had a lovely stay and a quiet night's sleep. I would recommend staying with EasyHotel to anyone thinking of visiting the city, and if you aren't going to London then there are other cities with Easyhotels there too. 

The next morning we strolled the 15 minute walk to the Natural History Museum. The hotel location is really superb for tourists, with Harrods just another short dander as way.

Don't forget to visit the Tardis outside the Earl's Court Underground Station if you have Doctor Who fans in your family! 

To keep up to date and be alerted to room sale bargains, follow EasyHotel on Twitter, or Facebook. 

Culture Label Have Left Something Pretty Snazzy in the Street For You

Culture Label is a new online museum/art gallery, curating work by up-and-coming artists from various cities. Launching last week in London & New York, they performed a clever little stunt with view finders across the urban areas. 

During the week launch of the new look CultureLabel.com, a site pioneering ’immersive shopping’, Londoners are being encouraged to see the real London by looking through hundreds of bespoke Viewfinders they have placed around various landmarks across the city including the National Theatre and Brick Lane. The images the public will see while perusing the Viewfinders were generated during the pre-launch campaign on social media dubbed #DisruptLDN, encouraging people to unearth the “creative underbelly” of their much loved-city.

Knowing I'm a sucker for retro toys, they kindly packed one off and sent it to me. The 3D images are a treat, and definitely made me want to check out their website to see the art that they have. 

and of course my son had to have a go

some of the slide images

CultureLabel.com