While I am off taking a little maternity break I am pleased to bring you a few guest posts from some great fellow bloggers. Today’s post is from Kirsty from Navigating Baby. Kirsty is going to tell you all about her Top 5 family friendly place to visit in South West London.
If you like this post don’t forget to check out all our other Family Travel posts for lots of tips on family friendly places to visit, plus our Ultimate Guide to Legoland with a Toddler and our very popular 100 places to visit in South and West Wales. For now over to Kirsty
I am Kirsty from Navigating Baby and I write about navigating through parenting my 4 littles. I have two singleton boys and then after going for number 3 I was shocked blessed to have twin girls. My children can be found tearing around my house playing ninjas, loving one another or driving one other crazy. I can be found alternating between drinking coffee, pleading for order and writing about the chaos at Navigating Baby.
South West London has always been my home, but now I see it with different eyes; those of a parent. It is a great part of London to spend time with kids as not only do we have some of the biggest tourist attractions in the UK right on our doorstep, but it is also full of large open green spaces and fabulous places for kids and their grown-ups to play. This list are just my top 5 family days out in South West London… I could go on!
One of the many free parks or commons
While away an afternoon in one of the many commons or Parks. South West London is blessed with huge amounts of green space and a fair bit of woodland for tree climbing and adventure.
To name but a few there is Tooting Common, Streatham Common, Clapham Common, Wimbledon Common, Wandsworth Common, Morden Hall Park, Richmond Park and Bushey Park. Each of these has playgrounds galore, there are also sandpits, tennis courts and often organised family events.
An outdoor Lido
An outdoor LidoOn a sunny day head to a Lido for an open-air swim. There is a fantastic outdoor pool on Tooting Common which make a perfect family day out in the summer months. For those feeling less brave Hampton Open Air Pool is amazing and heated. Be warned though you need to get to these early or face long queues.
If you just want the kids to splash about then there are splash areas or paddling pools in Wimbledon Park and at the Rookery on Streatham Common.
Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace is a fabulous place for a family day out. Being in the gardens is free and a lovely place for kids to run around or have a picnic. It is also just over the road from Bushey Park and a huge sandpit/ playground.
If you want to pay you can enter the palace and learn all about Henry and his Wives, visit the fun maze or head to the amazing Magic Garden which is a fully interactive play space for children. There are towers to be climbed, water to play in, sand to dig in and hills to slide down.
Westminster
Westminster Head to Westminster to see Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. You can even take a boat there from Hampton Court Palace if you fancied a bigger day trip and heading out onto the river
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham PalaceVisit Buckingham Palace and see the changing of the guard. You can combine this with a walk and a play in St James Park or a walk down the Mall will take you to Horse guards Parade where there are soldiers on horses.
I love South West London and am sure you will too! Enjoy exploring….
If you’d like to see more from Kirsty you can find her on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook