The Dinosaur Trail

We really did have a beautiful summer, didn't we? The weather has turned now and autumn is in full swing. It is my favourite time of year though with all the colours in the trees and that lovely crisp smell in the air. If the wonderful summer weather meant you spent most days in your local park and you can no longer face going back to the same paths and swings, then have a look at one of the many other options we have in South East London.

Crystal Palace Park is accessible by many different bus routes, a train line and has a few car parks dotted around. There's a decent amount of things to see and do in the park including the usual children's play area, cafe, lake and a small farm.

The old One O'Clock Club has become a pre-school on weekdays, but on Saturdays and in the school holidays the centre, now called Diddy Dinos, opens for drop-in Pay and Play. I really missed the old One O'Clock Club so I was thrilled when I found out we could still pop along on certain days. EDtot loves the paint and craft options and the outdoor space has so much to offer the under 5's.

EDtot's favourite part of the park though is definitely the Dinosaur Trail. She loved sitting on EDdad's shoulders trying to "find" the dinosaurs hidden in trees. Can you spot any? :)

Bank Holiday Adventures (yes, the August Bank Holiday*)

I love those days when we act like tourists in London. They aren't a regular occurrence as we normally have something we need to do on our trips into Central London. So it was even more fun that our latest Tourist Day was unplanned.

We set off to Battersea Park Zoo for opening time at 10am. It is a children's zoo in a beautiful park and with the added bonus of being right on the river. There are the usual animals to see including lemurs, meerkats, snakes, otters, monkeys, donkeys and birds. The surprising thing about it is that there is also an amazing toddler playground spread out over one corner of the zoo and EDtot spent just as long there as she did checking out the animals.

After a quick sandwich from the cafe, we decided to continue our day out by heading down to the Thames. Although EDtot can get through the day without her midday nap, life is much easier all round if she manages at least an hour. So we drove around for a while and thankfully she dropped off so we headed to Bankside and eventually found a parking space.

We jumped on a Thames Clipper boat heading to North Greenwich. Well, jumped is a little misleading. We queued and waited and queued and waited. I don't know how busy they are midweek, but it was always going to be a slow affair on a Bank Holiday. EDtot has a few London based books and so was thrilled to spot landmarks from her own stories. I must try to find some Far East based kiddy books for our next trip to see the grandparents!

After Tower Bridge the journey speeds up considerably, which was lucky as EDtot had had her fill of bumbling along the river. When we arrived at North Greenwich we toyed with the idea of heading for the cable car which is a short walk away, but it was getting late in the afternoon so we settled on a mooch around the O2 and a quick play in the little fountain before jumping on the tube back to Waterloo.

It was too late to head back home for dinner so we rounded off the day with some sushi before enjoying a leisurely stroll along the Southbank to the car. A fabulous touristy day out with something for everyone.

*Apologies for the radio silence on the blog. It has been a busy ol' summer and updating the main EDtots site with the new term's activities has taken up most spare time.

Silent Sunday