Kids in London – The London Eye and London Aquarium

KimT's London for Kids Blog

Our Spanish exchange student had spent the week traipsing around the major sights in London – the Houses of Parliament (on Budget Day!), St Paul’s and Covent Garden to name a few so when it came to Saturday and our “free day” I thought that we’d struggle to find something suitable to do. There had been suggestions of a teen outing to Thorpe Park in Chertsey but it seems that they couldn’t organise that one so it was down to me, my daughter and the student to find a way to spend what turned out to be a beautiful Spring Saturday.

He was quite clear that he wanted to ride on The London Eye. I warned him about the potential long queues and crowds as we boarded the train to Waterloo. He was impressed as we past Battersea Power Station and we had a bit of a chat about Pink Floyd. We emerged into the sunshine and watched as a group of kids on scooters – all in authentic looking Mods gear – gathered near County Hall on the South Bank.

The queue in front of the Fast Track ticket booth didn’t look too bad so we joined it. We bought joint tickets to ride the London Eye and visit the London Aquarium and the prices weren’t quite as scary as I’d thought that they would be. However, when I asked about Fast Track I was told it would be an extra £40 to have a 15 minute wait compared to the normal queue time of 25 minutes. No question really that we were happy to wait 25 minutes (I had imagined waiting a couple of hours).

The queue moved quickly and it was really rather nice waiting and looking up at the Eye in the bright sunshine. Soon we were aboard a pod filled with tourists from around the world and an assortment of buggies and toddlers. While it was bright, the sun had left a bit of a haze on the water so the views were good but the photos a little misty. The Spanish student was amazed at how large London is and my daughter was pretty impressed too – she had last ridden the wheel several years ago and couldn’t really remember it. We took lots and lots of photos – some of which were immediately emailed to Spain. We grinned for the official photo which I bought as a souvenir for him.

Then we slipped through the crowds to the side entrance to County Hall to don our 3D glasses and watch a 4 minute film which was like flying above the City of London with the birds. Great music and fantastic scenes – got a bit wet too – and I felt genuinely proud to be a Londoner.

We pottered around a bit and bought some hot dogs and drinks from a kiosk. Then our Spanish student decided to buy his going home gifts. Interesting that he wanted an “Oxford University” hoodie rather than one promoting London – still, who really understands the way that teen minds work?

Then we slipped past the considerable queue outside the Aquarium and entered the darkness. Declining the offers of yet more photos, we took the lift and started our adventure. Immediately we had to walk across a glass floor under which we could see sharks and other big fish swimming around. Glad I don’t have vertigo.

It was really rather busy so we moved quite rapidly past the first few tanks. Both kids were taking a fair number of photos – particularly in the large shark tanks with the Easter Island submerged statues – and we enjoyed looking at the various shrimps, crabs, jelly fish, octopuses, eels, sea anemones as well as all the colourful fish. We spent ages watching the huge turtles too.

We spent quite a while at the ray tank – so funny to watch them peek out of the water at us. And through more dark corridors to see crocodiles posing perfectly and tiny frogs hiding in misty jungles. There are various levels in the aquarium and it takes a fair bit of time to get round – there were loo stops but apart from vending machines, no where to stop and have a cup of coffee. I still like the calm of the Thames Walk tanks – the fact that they are at a low level makes it feel as if you are really walking along the river bank – albeit with a sneaky view of the fish below the surface.

But we were on a mission. I hadn’t yet seen the new penguin exhibit so we passed through the icy themed area to watch them whizzing through the water in what appears to be a suitably large tank. I don’t know whether it was subconscious but I felt really rather cold here. Finally we exited through the substantial shop and back into the warm afternoon air and the busy weekend crowds.

Posted Date
Mar 27, 2012 in KimT's London for Kids Blog by KimT