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🦋 5 things to do in London this weekend with the kids (11–12 May)

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Jeff – Dads in London
May 08, 2024

Hello again, you DiLF, you!*

May half term is coming up, and there are heaps of events and activities I’d love to share with you. But before I put together a comprehensive list of everything that isn’t Flip Out, the Natural History Museum or London Zoo, I need to know: do you actually want it? If enough people say yes, I’ll get started on writing it! 

Would you like a comprehensive list of May half-term activities?

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Big important thing: I’ll only send the list to those who click “yes” in the poll above, so please do click if you want it! 

Now… onto the weekend ahead!

Jeff xx

*In case you weren’t here last week, it stands for Dads in London Follower – not the other thing you were thinking. 

Saturday 11 May, 10:00
Embassy Gardens Sunken Lawn,1 Viaduct Gardens, SW11 7AY
From ÂŁ8.83 (bring your own blankets) to ÂŁ152.38 (!) (hire a classic car)

Thanks to our country’s ability to magic up a downpour whenever it’s least convenient, drive-in movies have never really caught on in the UK.

The unpredictability of the weather hasn’t changed much, but perhaps our optimism has – because drive-in cinemas are now much more of a thing than when I was a kid. But unlike the old days, you’re not expected to just drive into a car park with your own bog-standard hatchback, watch a film, then leave. That would be far too basic – and experiences today must be “elevated” or “levelled up” in some way. 

So. Classic cars it is. You hire a classic car fitted with a wireless speaker and watch The Jungle Book while sitting inside it. There are other movies throughout the day, but The Jungle Book is the kid-friendly one. 

Admittedly you don’t have to hire a car: you can take your own, or rent a deckchair, or bring a blanket. Wherever you park your tush, you’ll be able to order a variety of food and drinks from onsite cocktail bar/restaurant The Alchemist – including (and I kid you not) burgers with “next level” sauces and fries that can be “levelled up” with salt and pepper. I rest my case.  

Saturday and Sunday, all day (plus every day up to 17 May)
Canary Wharf (see location map for each “Area” of the trail)
FREE 

Got a nose for adventure? Are you barking up the right tree? I bet you’re ready to dig into some artistic exploration, aren’t you? Your kids will labr-adore it, that’s for sure. 

If you’re in the mood to hound down some art, stop groaning (growling?) at these puns and save your energy for sniffing your way through Canary Wharf’s Guide Dogs sculpture trail. There are 25 sculptures in total – each one individually designed and decorated by a different artist. The trail goes on for 5.5 km, but you’re not expected to complete the whole thing in one go: sculptures are clustered into five separate “Areas”, and the idea is to visit one or two Areas each time you’re in Canary Wharf. 

Before you begin, get your paws on both the trail map and a document containing information about the sculptures. You can download them from the website, and you can also pick up a printed trail map from various locations in Canary Wharf. More information in the link below. 

While you’re there… 

👍️ To call the Museum of London Docklands "a hidden gem" would be like saying caviar is "a budget snack". But even though it features on almost every “what to do with the kids” list, barely anyone I know has been in real life. If you’re a not-yet-visited person too, you’re missing out on a super-child-friendly place (with trail maps that guide you around the best bits for families) that has some of the most organised and imaginative family-friendly events and activities we’ve ever encountered.  

👍️ Feel free to keep this to yourself (because it’s quite a commitment if you’re already tired): Flip Out has a venue in Canary Wharf. Surprisingly, there are no trampolines ​​– but with its bumper cars, roller rink, donut slide, laser quest and interactive football, it’s just as intense. 

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Sunday 12 May, 10:30–12:30 (drop-in event)
Ealing Green, W5 5EQ
The event is free but you must buy a general admission ticket in advance: adults £9; children 0–15 free

Fantasy butterfly-making? Nope, I have no clue either. But if you agree that it seems like the sort of thing a young child would enjoy, you now have an excuse to head west to Ealing and marvel at the architectural beauty of Pitzhanger Manor and Gallery.  

I won’t drone on about the history of the place here – even though I’m DYING to drone on about the history of the place here – because friends have told me that it “really isn’t as interesting” as I like to think. Regardless, the manor is beautiful and definitely worth a trip. 

Will your child enjoy the excursion? Yes, because they get to make a fantasy butterfly (whatever the heck that is). Will you? Yes, because you’re reading this newsletter and therefore you’re bound to love and appreciate everything I love and appreciate. 

Sunday 12 May, 12:00–17:00
Dulwich Park, College Road, SE21 7BQ
FREE

As well as watching Punch & Judy (who I assumed had been “cancelled” but I guess not), you get to run around a maypole, view “interactive performances” (no further details are provided about this), watch a dog show, and listen to various brass bands, choirs and local musicians. The fair takes place in Dulwich Park, and it all sounds delightfully wholesome. 

While you’re there…

👍️ Please don’t unsubscribe when I admit that I’ve never been to the Horniman Museum. Everyone keeps banging on about it and I know I’m missing out, so I promise I’ll visit soon. Apparently, the gardens are where it’s at: there’s a small-animal enclosure, a butterfly house, a nature trail, an ornamental garden, a sound garden (with large musical instruments for playing), and tons more. 

Sunday 12 May, 11:00–17:30
St Paul’s Church Garden, Bedford Street, Covent Garden, London WC2E 9ED
FREE (just turn up)

You know what I just said about assuming Punch & Judy had been “cancelled”? I could not have been more wrong! Turns out “Punch & Judy Professors and Puppeteers from all over the country and abroad gather to perform in the Garden of St Paul’s Church on the second Sunday in May” each year – “near the spot where Samuel Pepys first recorded sighting Mr Punch in May 1662”. 

The day starts at 11:00 with a “Grand Procession” around the neighbourhood, which is led by a brass band. Then at noon there’s a special church service (“with Mr Punch in the pulpit”??), followed by shows, stalls and workshops, folk music and maypole dancing. (Brief aside: it’s only since I started this newsletter that I realised just how many maypoles are required for UK-based events in May.)

I mean… this all sounds incredible. 

While you’re there…

👍️ Off-the-wall idea here, but have you ever taken your kid for a walk-in back massage? I took my six-year-old a while back (while we were in the area anyway), and he loved being pampered and treated like a grown-up. It’s ÂŁ17 for ten minutes, and the two chaps who run the place are kind and gentle. 

The “not an event” section

A new business called Family Friendly Guides wants to make it easier for families to enjoy their restaurant experiences. They’d love for you to complete a short survey so they can get a better understanding of what matters most to parents when it comes to dining out.

In return for your time and insights, you’ll get a free founding membership.

Saturday and Sunday, 11:00–16:00 (drop in)
Trafalgar Square, WC2N 5DN
FREE

The next time your awful children remind you of how ancient you are, you can point out that The National Gallery has about four times as many candles on its birthday cake. That’ll show ‘em! 

This delicious cake… [reads description carefully] cake sculpture [oh. Bugger] has been made from [pulped recycled paper?!! Yeuch!] pulped recycled paper. How wonderful! 

The gallery is requesting the help of young gallery visitors to decorate the pulped-paper cake with drawings and notes, and tbf it’s probably going to be quite a lovely activity. I’ve been to a few National Gallery family activities and they tend to be enjoyable for everyone – no matter how random, bonkers or boring the website description makes them seem. 

Saturday 11 May, 13:00–18:00
Westminster Abbey Choir School, Dean's Yard, SW1P 3NY
FREE

The requirements for this experience at Westminster Abbey include being a boy and having a love for singing. Conveniently, they don’t stipulate “an ability to sing well” – so if your tone-deaf six-year-old enjoys blowing your ears off with hourly renditions of “Let It Go”, I imagine he’ll be welcomed into this Chorister Experience Day alongside all the genuinely seasoned sopranos.  

If you have a music-loving six-year-old who happens to be female, I expect the Abbey will be on hand to recommend a nearby cookery class or flower-arranging workshop. The Abbey is many things, but “progressive” clearly isn’t one of them. 

Anyway! The day sounds like the chance of a lifetime for your XY-owning offspring. He’ll get to rehearse with the real choir, sing in the Abbey Choir at Evensong, enjoy a behind-the-scenes tour of the Abbey, and take home a certificate and goody bag. No word on whether the goody bag contains a copy of de Beauvoir’s “The Second Sex” or not. 

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