A Visit to The Tower of London

Back in January, we visited London for a couple of days as a family, during our trip, we took in a few of the wonderful museums that London has to offer, including the Museum of London and the Tower of London.

I've been wanting to visit to the Tower of London for years but it costs quite a lot of money, however we were reviewing a new app called The Entertainer, using this, the tickets were two for the price of one. So, onto our visit, the tower is steeped in history and even today is a working palace/castle, with the Beefeaters, as they are so fondly known, living and working there to protect the crown jewels and should she need it, the Queen herself.

We headed to the crown jewels first but as photography inside is prohibited, I didn't get to take any pictures of the breathtaking crowns worn by past and present royalty, it was an honour to see it all though. The work and craftsmanship that has gone into the gold and the jewellery was just unbelievable, certainly worth a visit if you like all that glitters gold.

Then we moved onto The White House, this is the Castle Keep and stands in the middle of the tower complex, it is such a wonderful building to look at and really is the centrepiece to the attraction.

The White House is home to the line of kings, an amazing display of over 500 years of armoury, the detailed silver and engraved armour was divine and it was wonderful to see so much history in one room. The armour once worn by Henry VIII, with it's rather large codpiece was quite amusing.

Years of history from all over the world are brought to life in the wonderful exhibitions, my son particularly liked this dragon trophy. Trophies were made as a way of showing off the strength of an army, this one was made up with everything from scrolls to maps and rubies to bits of armour, the effect is brilliant and he was very imposing.

After a visit to see the ravens and the slightly gruesome tower torture exhibition, we headed out onto the riverside to see Tower Bridge, a big monument of London and something I have longed to see for some years, even against the grey sky it was beautiful and if we'd had time I'd have loved to walk over it.

We had a great time visiting the Tower of London, however I would say that had the children been slightly older maybe 8 or 9 it would have been a more enjoyable visit. A lot of the information and displays weren't really that easy for the children to understand, however they enjoyed looking at the armour and the jewels and seeing the ravens. After this we headed to the British Museum which I will blog about at a later date.

A Visit to the Museum of London

For the last few years, we have headed down to London on New Years Day, so far, we have been to the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum, they were both empty on New Years Day and it meant we got to look around without too much waiting and queuing.

So we decided to head down again this year, although this time we decided to spend the night there too. It meant we didn't have to squeeze everything in, in just a few hours and instead we could go back to the hotel and relax before heading out for dinner.

On New Years Day itself, we visited the Museum of London, a wonderful look into life in London. There are exhibits showing what London was like before it was London, dating back to prehistoric times, right up to present day.

Whilst most of the artefacts are behind glass, there are also lots of things that you can get up close and personal with, there are many quizzes dotted around the exhibitions that allow children and grown ups alike to get involved and learn more about the history of our capital.

My son is currently learning about the Romans at school, so it was great to be able to take some time in the Roman section and explain what they bought to England, as well as lots more about the Roman empire and what they did for us.

The beautiful rooms that the romans had were great to look at, the detail and decoration wouldn't look all out of place today. The way they heated their houses with clay pipes for hot air to pass through was incredible, it was an interesting thing to learn about.

Although many of the facts and displays were not fully understood by our little ones, if you do have children that are learning about things like the Romans, Henry VIII, the great fire of London or the 1900s, then this is a great place to visit.

I particularly loved the prison cell from the 1700s, the inscriptions still legible all these years on, this reads "The Cubards Empty To Our Sorrow But Hope It Will Be Full Tomorrow', I wondered how long someone must have been incarcerated in there to have written this and with what did they write it with?

And finally in the more modern of the exhibitions was this magnificent display, as you walked in the horses could of been real and to see what the royal carriage looks like up close and personal, with even more memorabilia from the 70s, 80s and 90s there were slowly hints of a world both my husband and I both knew as well as the children with the more recent 2012 London Olympic Games as part of the last exhibition.

There was so much to see that if I put a picture of everything you'd still be reading this sometime next week, so instead, I urge you the next time you're in London to go and take a look at the museum yourself, it is free to enter and there are lockers to leaves bags and coats in. It's a short walk from the tube and you could easily spend a day in there looking at everything.

Later that evening we went and had the most wonderful meal at the Hawksmoor Air Street, another must if you are in London anytime. The following day we visited The Tower of London and the British Museum but there will be more info about these in other posts.

The Entertainer App London Review

For the last few years, we have headed down to London on New Years Day to visit the many wonderful museums that it has to offer. We decided this time to stay overnight to make the most of our day whilst also getting to see some of the many Christmas lights and decorations at night.

On day two, we used a new app called The Entertainer, this app has been around in few countries for a while now and has now launched in London, it allows you to get access to great offers throughout the capital. It is free to download the app and there are some offers included, although to unlock the best offers, you have to pay a yearly subscription of £40. This sounds like a lot but considering we saved £32.65 on the our one day out alone it could be rather useful app for someone who lives in London or who visits the capital a lot.

Available to use in restaurants, attractions, shops as well as at beauty and fitness venues around the city (and some further afield) it is a great way to save money as well as find new places to see and visit.

We chose the Tower of London as our first stop (more on our visit soon), you can search by location or scroll through to see what takes you fancy, you can also view on a map to see if there is anything close to you.

There are different offers at different venues, but the details are listed for you to see easily. Once you have decided the best option for you then you select the offer and it comes up with the redeem screen, you enter a pin and pass the phone to the member of staff who enters their code, it then gives them the reference for the discount code. Simple!

Since this app was newly launched, the lady who served us at the Tower of London wasn't aware of the app, however after a few discussions with her colleagues, they managed to sort it out, with a venue this big and so many staff we more than understood how it may have not yet filtered down to the front line.

Our second trip of the day, to the thai restaurant chain Busaba, was more successful, they were aware of what they needed to do and it all happened as smoothly as something this new possibly could of. The app allows you to see in your redemption history how much you have saved, although this isn't entirely correct as it is based on the average saving at that venue.

If you are looking to visit London this year, I highly recommend this app, not only might you find somewhere to eat or drink you didn't know about, you could also save yourself some money.

Nb: This is a collaborative review post.

Science Museum Fun

On New Years Day, as we did this time last year, we headed down to London and visited the Science Museum. There was no traffic about which made the car journey fly by, and except for a slightly busy circle line, the tube was relatively quiet too.

First up we got to explore the launchpad area, this area is perfect for younger children to explore and learn all about science.

Here we are looking at how magnets work and how different lenses change how things look. 

Looking at ice, water and sand and how they all react! This bit was really interesting, I loved the pattern on the glass with the frozen water.

And finally in the launchpad section we watched dry ice on water, it was like it was dancing or ice skating, really beautiful

Once we had finished exploring the launch pad area, we made our way downstairs to the area for under 6's. The children spent ages playing with water, using different pumps and paddles. There were even waterproof smocks provided so no worries about walking around with wet children!

Next to the toddlers hands on science/play area in the basement of the museum, there was an exhibit of household items throughout the years. We had a lot of fun looking through the old objects from the first cooker, hairdryer and televisions, right through to their modern day equivalents.

Finally we looked at the Making the Modern World area, here we got to see the first x-ray machine, after recently watching The Knick in which it showed the first machine being used in the hospital it was really interesting to see one up close. I also recently had an MRI so it was fascinating to see inside the machine and how it worked.

We had lunch in one of the cafes at the museum, which wasn't too expensive, a box of food for the children, with a sandwich, some fruit, veg, a cake and drink cost £4.99. There were also plenty of spaces to eat around the museum if you wanted to take a packed lunch.

On the whole, we had a great day out at the museum, there was something fun for everyone to do and best of all, admission is free, although they do appreciate donations!

Visiting London

With this Christmas and New Year falling around the weekend, there is no better time to make the most of the extended holidays and visit our wonderful capital, London.

Since we have had children, New Years Eve has no longer been the expensive late night out that it used to be. So, as we didn’t have a sore head in the morning, last year on New Years day we decided to visit the Natural History Museum.

We arrived at the museum itself just before lunchtime and spent a good few hours discovering the delights that it held.

After we finished seeing all the exhibits, including the mammal gallery with its Blue Whale, the largest creature ever to have lived. We caught the tube over to Westfield White City for some shopping and a spot of dinner at Mexican chain Wahaca.

There are many other attractions to visit in London, with BuckinghamPalace, Hyde Park, Big Ben and the London Eye to see, you can count on a fantastic time seeing the wonderful sights that this city has to offer.

If you are looking for somewhere to stay then the Holiday InnKensington Forum hotel is in the perfect location, it is a short tube ride from the main attractions and is a great location away from the main hustle and bustle of the city.

The hotel also offers a wide range of events for its guests, from Theme Nights to the Caribbean Experience, not to mention it also having its very own Starbucks.

NB: This is a collaborative post with IHG.

A Beautiful British Brand

I recently came across this brand on twitter and instantly fell in love the with simple yet bright and colourful nature of their products, Fieldlife is a new lifestyle label for boys and girls aged 2-8 which offers British made clothing designed for children to live their life in, whatever their field. 

The Spring/Summer 2014 range is inspired by a Day Trip to London and an exciting journey along the Thames riverbank with many adventures along the way.  Fieldlife aims to offer robust clothes that stand up to the rigours of childhood, from building dens and sandcastles, to climbing trees and making memories.  

The collection includes a range of versatile separates such as T’s, sweatshirts, skirts, shorts and trousers to swimwear and rash vests for the beach or messing about on boats. Designed in bold and bright colours, thoughtful details such as adjustable waistbands in trousers and a double name tape in the label are also included so that the clothes can be handed down and become the next child’s favourite. 

Inspired by her two young children, Kendra Marsh founded Fieldlife in 2013 with a view to combining her family and career, together with developing an idea to bring children's clothing manufacturing back to Britain.  Her mission is to create high quality clothes that not only look good but will stand up to all that children will throw at them and will become a child’s much loved piece of clothing.

I think it it is a fabulous range and could certainly see my children in them, whether it is playing in the park or a day out in the city this range fits in with everything and best of all it's 100% British.

Fieldlife is available to buy online from www.fieldlife.co.uk and from additional stockists Babyccino http://babyccinokids.com and From Britain With Love www.frombritainwithlove.com.