weekend break – Mum's the Word

Living where we do means that London is only about an hour away by train, which makes it really easy to get to for a day trip. However, London is so vast that it would be good to spend more than just one day at a time there. We’ve been a little bit London-phobic since the girls came along, not wanting to tackle the big city with changing bags and buggies, but both girls are probably big enough to need minimal luggage now and Burrito Baby has been stubbornly refusing to get in a buggy for about 18 months, so a weekend in London is definitely on the cards!

Urban Retreat Apartments offer short-stay, fully serviced apartments which would be the perfect base for a family wanting to explore London, because it would be like a home from home. You don’t have to worry about being crammed into one room with a tiny bathroom like you would be in some hotels, and you’ve got a full kitchen to allow you to make bottles or cater for small ones.

There are SO many places that I know the girls would love; the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum are firmly at the top of the list, but the National Gallery is somewhere I love as well and I think Sausage would get a huge kick out of seeing paintings by some of the world’s most famous artists in real life. Visiting London doesn’t have to be all about learning – I’ve still not been on the London Eye after all these years so that’s definitely something that I feel I need to tick off of the list!

I also know for a fact that both of my kids are desperate to visit the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in Harrods; if you haven’t heard if it, it’s basically a magical beauty salon where kids can go and be transformed into a Disney Prince or Princess. It’s not cheap, but it’s one of those ‘once in a lifetime’ experiences that I’d love them to have before they’re too old for the magic to have worn off! I’m pretty sure they’d also love browsing some of the huge stores like Harrods…and definitely Hamleys!

Where would you do if you had a whole weekend to spend in London? We’d love to hear your recommendations, especially places to eat and things to see which might not make the mainstream guidebooks. Leave me a comment below!

I think it’s safe to say that the last 12 months have been rather up and down for everyone in the Mum’s the Word house. This time last year we were still reeling from losing a family member and trying to work out how life could ever feel ‘normal’ again. Then, in March I was made redundant, without a word of warning. I walked into work one morning, was allowed to switch on my computer, take off my coat and get settled down before I was told “we won’t be needing you any more, you can go straight home again”.

Around this time, I started to fixate on the idea of us getting away as a family, even just somewhere that would be perfect for Weekend breaks.

Summer was nice, but Sausage starting school was possibly one of the most stressful things to ever happen to us as she hated it so much at the beginning. Thankfully for her, and if I’m honest a little bit for me and my aching heart, once her anxiety wore off she took to it like a duck to water and has been excelling ever since, but September and some of October was an emotional car-wreck for all of us.

Then, the ills started. I was poorly for so long that my GP suspected glandular fever, but it turned out that I was just having my butt handed to me by these horrid viruses that are doing the rounds and in fact none of us seem to have fully recovered, Sausage having been off school for almost a week with high temperatures.

What I’m getting at is this: I need a break. We all do. I adore my daughter more than anything else in existence, but if I have to spend another night being woken up twice an hour to have her nose wiped (she’s extremely snot-averse and wiping for her is preferable to the episodes of vomiting that her doing it would induce!), I’ll lose my mind.

I’d dearly love to take a break in February half term with my little family, providing we could find someone to look after Chuck. A change of scenery would be such great tonic for all of us and having seen reviews of the Wave Hotel on other blogs, I reckon we’d love it there! Husband and I are always saying we’d like to explore more of the British Isles and aside from going through the North to get to St. Andrews in Scotland, I’ve never visited anywhere north of Nottingham, so a weekend in Skeggy would satisfy two of my wants!

Do you have any plans for post-Christmas relaxation?

Tag: weekend break

Exploring London as a Family

Needing a Break