London museums Archives - A Baby on Board blog

The Postal Museum & Mail Rail Review: Everything You Need To Know

Gillian — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 10:34:59 +0000

We Take A Trip To London’s Postal Museum And Ride The Mail Rail Underground Railway If you fancy dressing up as an old-fashioned postman and riding on London’s secret underground mail network, then pay a visit to The Postal Museum and ride the Mail Rail railway. This is one of those London museums we’ve meaning to visit since it opened, but never quite got round to (because, well…). We were enticed in this summer after seeing a tube ad for the museum’s Mail Rail, where visitors get to ride on a train through the tunnels of London’s old underground mail delivery network. What can I say? We just love public transport. What Is There To Do At The Postal Museum? The Main Museum The Post Museum is on the smaller side of the bigger London museums and galleries (think Florence Nightingale Museum rather than Natural History or the Tate Modern). However, it packs a lot in and my two tween-ish aged kids were entertained for a good while. There’s a medium amount of postal history, and a good amount of hands-on activities, from post person dress-up to a stamp designing computer, and rotary dial phones. That made me feel about 100 years old. There’s also Postman Pat (of course!) And I really loved the vintage post posters and retro stamp designs. The Mail Rail At The Postal Museum Included in the ticket price is a ride on the Mail Rail, where you take a trip on a tiny train through underground tunnels that were used to deliver mail around London. There’s an audio / visual guide told from the perspective of an old employee, with video projections on the wall of the tunnel. You go past old equipment and even see the old staff dartboard. Once the trip ends, you exit through a section of the museum section that explains a bit more about the background and mechanics of the railway, with a couple of switching and sorting games. We loved the train, and found it all pretty fascinating. It was probably our favourite part of the museum. But be warned, the train compartment is tiny and pretty squashed. Probably not great if you’re claustrophobic! The Mail Rail is located in a separate building to the main museum, and you’re given a time slot on your ticket (however, no-one checked our ticket). Sorted! At The Postal Museum – Mail-Themed Soft Play Sorted! Is the postal place space, in the same building as the Mail Rail. It’s a postal-themed soft play area of the museum, set up as a mini soft-play town children can deliver post around. Sorted! is for ages 8 and under, and you’ll need a separate ticket (you can visit Sorted without buying a ticket to the main museum). Mine are sadly too big and far too tall for this bit, but it looked fun. On the day we visited there was a big queue, but if you go out of school holidays I suspect it will be less busy. Where Is The Postal Museum? The Postal Museum is at 15-20 Phoenix Place, London, WC1X 0DA. The Mail Rail and Sorted! the soft play area, are both in a separate building to the main museum. What’s The Nearest Tube To The Postal Museum? The nearest tubes to the Postal Museum are Farringdon and Russell Square. We walked from King’s Cross, which took around 20 minutes. How Much Are Tickets To The Postal Museum? Postal Museum tickets cost £17 for adults and £12 for children aged 3-15. It is on the expensive side compared to the bigger, free museums. However, you save £1 (!) on each tickets by booking online in advance. Tickets to the main museum include a ride on the Mail Rail and unlimited visits to the museum for a year. You need to buy a separate ticket for the Sorted! soft play area, which is £5 (adults don’t need a ticket). What Are The Postal Museum Opening Times? The Postal Museum opening times are Wednesday to Sunday 10:00 – 17:00. Is There A Café? Yes, there is a café at the postal museum. There’s also an small indoor and outdoor seating area. And there’s a gift shop in both buildings. Do You Need To Book Tickets To The Postal Museum In Advance? The website advises that you book in advance, and you do save £1 from each ticket. However, I’m pretty sure you can just turn up and you’ll be OK. How Much Time Do You Need At The Postal Museum? If you’re heading to the Sorted! soft play, then you’ll be given a 45 minute play slot. The Mail Rail takes about 30 minutes in total if you hang out after. The main museum kept mine occupied for a while (however, it’s quite small, so if you zip through museums you can probably do it quicker), Once You’ve Read Our Postal Museum Review, Read These Posts: Read review of the London Transport Museum / The Biggin Hill Museum / The Horniman Museum / And follow me on Pinterest

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Take Flight At The Biggin Hill Memorial Museum, London

Gillian — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 13:29:14 +0000

Looking For Child-Friendly Museums In London? Check Out The Biggin Hill Memorial Museum If you’re looking for kids’ activities and child-friendly museums in London, but don’t want to trek all the way to central London, have you heard about the Biggin Hill Memorial Museum? It’s a small but perfectly formed museum in south-east London / Greater London. With the added bonus of being right next to an airport for child-friendly plane viewing (who doesn’t love watching planes take off?) What Is The Biggin Hill Museum? Situated next to the business flight and private jet hub that is the London Biggin Hill Airport, The Biggin Hill Memorial Museum tells the story of the original RAF Biggin Hill airport during the second world war, those who served there, the surrounding community that supported the airport and the impact the war had on everyone. The Biggin Hill Museum on the same site as the St George’s RAF Chapel of Remembrance, which was built in 1951 to preserve the legacy of everyone who served, fought and died at RAF Biggin Hill during the second world war. Entrance to the museum includes the museum room (which is one room, it’s very similar to the Florence Nightingale Museum) as well as the main chapel, the gardens, cafe and shop. There were also craft activities taking place on the day we went, and there are regular themed events at the museum, including guest speakers. From the gardens and outdoor area of the cafe, you can also watch the planes take off and land, which is fun for everyone (right?) There are also real spitfire (I think!) planes in front on the museum. What Did We Think Of The Biggin Hill Memorial Museum? We really enjoyed it; the story it told about the war was fascinating, brave, sad, important, and done really well. As a relative newcomer to this part of London, it was really interesting to read about the history of the area during the war, the huge impact RAF Biggin Hill had on the war, and how it impacted women, children and families especially. You can also go into the RAF Biggin Hill Memorial Chapel, which we found really beautiful and peaceful. The gardens are also lovely. We had cake at the on-site Nightingale Cafe – how good is the mural? How Suitable Is The Biggin Hill Museum For Kids? Although the museum is small, there’s lots kids can interact with, from the war-themed costumes to the plane plotting board. Mine also loved the ‘real time’ video of pilots relaxing at the airport while the clock counts down to action stations (we watched this at least twice, sitting down, it was great and yes, very relaxing). Children are also given a special ‘flying high family pack’ of activities, including a scavenger hunt, which is really well thought-out and means you can spend longer looking around for clues. It is more suitable for school-age children due to amount of reading involved in the main exhibit but at 6 and 9, both of mine really enjoyed it. It’s not a huge museum – more of an afternoon out with a cafe trip rather than a whole day – and if you zip through museums pretty quickly, you’ll be done in no time. But then there are always planes to watch. But if you have older children and are looking for a local activity that doesn’t involve going all the way to zone 1,and want to avoid the crowds at of your favourite big London museums for kids like the Natural History Museum, London Transport Museum etc it’s a really good alternative for a trip out. Like the Horniman Museum, it’s off the beaten tourist track and a local museum we really enjoyed. How Much Does The Biggin Hill Museum Cost And Do We Need To Book A Ticket? We paid £10 for a family ticket on the day (we just walked in, we didn’t book). Where Is The Biggin Hill Memorial Museum? The museum is part of Biggin Hill Airport (but if you’re going out on the bus, it’s the stop after). It is at Main Road, Biggin Hill, Leaves Green, Westerham TNH16 3EJ. When Is The Biggin Hill Memorial Museum Open? The Biggin Hill Memorial Museum is open on Tuesday – Sunday from 10am – 5pm (last admission is at 4pm). The Nightingale Cafe is open from 10am – 4pm and you don’t need a ticket to go in. Where Else Would We Reccomend Visiting In London? Here are a few more of our favourite places: The Florence Nightingale Museum London Transport Museum Discover Story Children’s Centre The Postal Museum You can also read the best things to see and do in London with babies And how to get a baby on board badge and how to get a zip card Follow me on Instagram, I’m Gill_Crawshaw

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Dining with dinosaurs at The Natural History Museum

Gillian — Tue, 28 Mar 2017 04:55:36 +0000

You can’t really argue that the Natural History Museum is one of the best London museums for children and adults (although it’s on a long list with our other favourites including The Science Museum, The Horniman Museum…oh and *way* too many to list). I loved the Natural History Museum when I was younger and my children love it too; there’s dinosaurs and now a whole herd of childhood nostalgia. Although the museum’s most famous resident is currently off on tour there are still dinos-aplenty and all the other usual exhibitions, as well as E’s favourite, the earthquake simulator. There’s also the brand new T Rex Grill, the dinosaur themed restaurant in the museum, which we headed over to try out a few weeks ago. It’s been given a prehistoric twist with dino decorations and a new menu from Benugo. Adults mains are around £10 – £15 so it’s not the cheapest lunch, although you are in central London and a major tourist location. And the children’s menu has an £8 meal deal, which is on a par with Pizza Express. The food is also really good (I had the giant T Rex burger and everyone else had, predictably, pizza). The puddings are also great; the ice cream even comes with chocolate dinosaurs and dinosaur eggs (although the grown-ups had the chocolate lava cake). One of the many ways London changes when you’re a parent is that it becomes less about places to entertain you – mostly involving alcohol – and more about keeping your children occupied. The best places are those that do both. And somewhere like the T Rex Grill and the Natural History Museum, where you can get good food in the process, is a massive bonus (P.S. – there’s also a wine list). Thanks to the T Rex Grill for inviting us to try out the menu. More London posts…our favourite London parks, how to use public transport in London with a pram and how to get a baby on board badge

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London with toddlers: 10 of the best things for toddlers to do in London

Gillian — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 21:43:30 +0000

London with toddlers…what are the best things for toddlers to do in London? Here’s a list of our top ten things to do with toddlers in London – these are all things we love and have liked in London at the baby, toddler and pre-schooler stage. There are many ways that London changes when you’re a parent, not least how you spend your time (goodbye leisurely shopping sprees and long weekends spent drinking) but these are some of our favourite, kid-friendly, mainly free, ideas for when we venture out with our two in tow. Make sure you also read my tips on how to use London’s public transport with a pram, and if you’re not at the children stage just yet, here’s how to get a baby on board badge. And if you have any firm favourites I’ve missed off, leave a comment and let me know. London with toddlers: Here are the best things for toddlers to do in London: Museums: There are SO many museums in London and lots of them are great, like all the big ones – the Science Museum, Natural History Museum, The Transport Museum – and of course the Horniman Museum if you’re further south. Public transport: Sounds like strange one to recommend as it can often be a nightmare, especially when you have a pram and it’s busy (which is, lets face it, at all times). But London it’s a city that includes trams, a cable car, buses, trains, a monorail, boats and a train that goes under the ground. Which is the most fun when you’re small. E loves nothing more than sitting on the top deck of any bus, pretending to drive it. Or going down to Ikea Croydon on the tram, the joys. Here’s how to get around on London’s public transport with a pram. You can also plan an accessible journey with TFL. Animals: London Zoo, with newly added lions at the moment. There’s a surprising amount of city farms – we used to live in Crystal Palace really close to Crystal Palace Park Farm. There’s also an aquarium at the Horniman that includes the much-Instagrammed glow-in-the-dark jellyfish. Art galleries: In terms of the best things for toddlers to do in London, the Tate Modern is still our favourite (despite this incident). There’s lots of space to run around, great things to look at and decent eating options for everyone. Parks: Here are the best south east London parks – but there’s so many good green spaces. Play parks: We’ve still not visited any of the big parks like Comram Fields or The Princess Diana Playground – both are on the list. But at the moment we spend a lot of time in local ones including Crystal Palace Park, the Bromley ‘sandpit park’ but mostly our local local little park. I don’t think you can go far wrong with any of them at this very young age. Touristy sites: We mainly avoid these like the plague, but have taken a couple of detours via Buckingham Palace, because it’s where the Queen lives, and that’s kind of a big deal when you’re four. Walks: Go along the Southbank (with a trip into the Royal Festival Hall). Covent Garden is good, but parts of it are a nightmare with a pram due to the cobbles. Walking down Carnaby Street when the Christmas lights are on can be lovely. Eating: I’d love to say my children are complete foodies who love nothing more than going to the latest London pop-up restaurants, but that would be a) a lie and b) expensive. So Pizza Express aka ‘the pizza cafe’ or Giraffe are still the favourites, and they are everywhere. Or any cafe, or going to M&S for a park picnic. Drinking: One for the adults! It’s hard to find good pubs with play areas and beer gardens in London – let me know if you know any! But there’sThe Paxton in Gypsy Hill (with beach huts and a play area in the garden) and The Florence in Herne Hill. Things we wouldn’t recommend: Anywhere uber touristy like Madam Tussards. Museums on Saturdays or during school holidays. Hamleys right before Christmas (or at most times). Actually, this could be a whole other list… If you loved this post on the best things for toddlers to do in London read more posts…if toddlers did London fashion week and the politics of Paw Patrol

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