London was the first stop on our UK family trip. Our first 24 hours in London were definitely a whirlwind, complete with jetlag, poor decision making, delicious food and exciting sites. We tried to jump right in, and I think we made the most of those first 24 hours!
Arriving at Gatwick Airport
We landed in London at 11 AM, which is 3 AM in our home state of Washington. We brought carry-on luggage only, but we had to go pick up our car seats that we had checked. We waited at the carousel before realizing our stuff was probably in an area for irregular baggage. Our brains were not fully functioning in the middle of the “night”! Once we found that, we got our car seats right away.
I pre-booked tickets for the Southern Express to take us from Gatwick Airport to Clapham Junction. The train went great and quite quickly. We ate some of our leftover snacks from our flight. I knew our hotel was about a mile from the train station, and we were planning to take the bus there, but figured worst case scenario, we could walk.
Walking to our Hotel
When we got off the train, we were looking for the bus, but we hadn’t pre-bought Oyster cards and we were confused with where and how to find the bus we needed. So, we decided to walk. AGAIN, brains not fully functioning in the middle of the “night”!
My husband pushed our 3-year-old in the stroller with the kids backpacks hanging on the back of it, while wearing his backpack and pulling a roller suitcase that had two car seats attached to it. I had my backpack (full of art supplies) and two roller bags. Our 5-year-old alternated between walking and riding on one of my roller bags. He was a trooper! But it was truly miserable and we regretted it the whole time. It was muggy, stinky, we were so tired AND some of it was cobblestone roads/sidewalks.
Finally, we arrived at Premier Inn London Clapham about 30 minutes later and checked into our hotel. Give the circumstances, we made good time!
We dropped our belongings off in our room and looked up the next bus that was nearby. This felt much easier to do without tons of luggage. We boarded the double decker bus, and were off to see the sights of London!
The First Sights of London
We got off at a stop near Big Ben and took some pictures and walked around a bit in the Westminster borough. We thought about getting something to eat, but we were all so tired and had eaten some snacks on the train, so we decided to just head back to the hotel. Both of the kids fell asleep on the way. It was 5 PM. We got them settled in their beds, got ready for bed, and then passed out by 5:30 PM.
Traditional English Breakfast
The front desk had said to make a reservation for breakfast if we were planning to eat. We didn’t know what our plans were, so we didn’t make one. As a result of hunger, jetlag, and trip anxiety, I kept dreaming all night long that we went down to breakfast starving and there wasn’t a table for us. I woke up around 6 AM and called to make a reservation, then set an alarm to make sure we got there before it closed, and then went back to sleep. We woke up at 7:30 AM (to my alarm) and headed down for our first traditional English breakfast.
It was delicious and exactly what we needed to refuel after our long travel day. We enjoyed eggs, toast, beans, sausage, bacon, mushrooms, fried bread, pastries, and fresh fruit.
After we finished breakfast, we headed off to explore London.
Off to London
We took the bus to Clapham Common Station for our first ride on the Tube. We minded the gap, and experienced the thrill of underground train travel. We got off at Borough Station and then walked to Little Dorrit’s Playground. On the way, we stopped at St. John Bakery to grab a couple pastries to try.
Little Dorrit’s Playground is named after the Charles Dickens book, Little Dorrit, which is about a girl who was born and raised in the Marshalsea Debtor’s Prison. Charles Dickens’ father was imprisoned in the same prison for debt. The Marshalsea Prison closed in 1842, but it was near this area and there is an original wall that still stands.
The pastries were tasty. They were nice and flaky, and the chocolate filling was very memorable.
Borough Market
After the playground, we walked to Borough Market. We stopped at Kappacaesin Dairy, which is right on Stoney St. at the entrance of Borough Market.
We ordered the Raclette, which came with steamed potatoes and cornichons. I didn’t like my first bite, but then after that it was really delicious, until the cheese started to congeal and then I didn’t enjoy it anymore. My family wasn’t fans, but that was expected! The bites I had with cornichons were perfection. The cheese combined with the potato and then the zesty vinegar from the cornichon was such a delectable combo! I would definitely try them again, but I’d probably ask for extra cornichons.
I made a little Youtube Short about it that you can watch below.
We walked around briefly inside, but the amount of people and noise was quite overwhelming for my kids. We stopped at Bread Ahead and got the strawberry cream doughnut. It was divine! We split it four ways, so basically just a taste for each of us, but it was really good. I wanted to try the black currant too, but I thought it was only fair to get a flavor I thought everyone would like!
We walked over to London Bridge station to head back to our hotel for a bit before heading out for the next thing, so that wrapped up our first 24 hours in London!
If you want more details on our London itinerary, check out my post Kid Friendly London Itinerary.
