London, Uk

Train from derby to London took about 1hour 30ins. First class was nice with comfy seats and a free trolley service.

We arrived into a busy St Pancras Station and made our way to the nearby Pullman Hotel. First stop, after checking out the hotel, was the British library next door. Interesting to see original writings from Shakespeare and Gandhi, song lyrics from the Beatles and compositions from Chopin there. In the garden we took a photo with Issac Newton.

Next we went to Kings Cross Station to see Platform 93/4 from Harry Potter and to browse in the busy platform shop.

Then we took a taxi to the South Bank where we met Rob and Gail and walked along the river before getting a drink outside the Tate Modern and then dinner in pizza Express, at the boys request!

We walked across the shaky Millenium Bridge, avoiding the Death Eaters from Harry Potter and caught a taxi back to hotel from St Paul’s Cathedral.

Next morning after a lovely breakfast buffet we headed out for the day. First stop was the St Pancras tube station. We figured out that the tube was free for the kids and we could tap our credit card for an individual trip instead of buying a day pass. We arrived at the Tower of London with lots of others at about midday. We joined a beefeater tour and listened to some stories about life in the castle. Then we visited the Crown Jewels, the torture chambers, the armory and the ravens. We met a beefeater and had a photo and a chat and then it was time to head back across the moat to the riverbank.

We stopped for a nice cup of tea in the ‘governors mess’ with lovely views of Tower bridge.

We walked along the river and then headed up to Leadenhall Market which was used for the filming of Diagonal Alley in Harry Potter.

We weaved our way through all the people in the financial district checking out of work for the weekend. We stopped for a drink on Fleet Street, a nod to the Monopoly game.

Then we took a taxi to Covent Gardens. We enjoyed some of the street entertainers especially the double jointed bendy guy.

Then went to Treadwell restaurant for dinner. Food was excellent. Eoin tried the kids tasting menu (!). The kid who freaks at jam on toast! But he enjoyed the experience and we enjoyed watching him score all the courses out of ten.

We walked around Chinatown and Leister Square paid a visit to the LEGO store, got a few souvenirs and some good photos before heading home to the hotel.