Dancer parents: Things to do (Central London)

[Laura_ballet]

Hey fellow dance parents! I'm sure many of us share the same situation – finding ourselves in central London with some free time on our hands while our dancer children are busy with classes, workshops, and intensives. Usually, it's about 2 hours, but sometimes it turns into a whole day. I'm curious, what do you all do during these moments? On sunny days, there's no shortage of lovely walks and charming coffee shops to explore. After hitting up the main free museums and such, I sometimes run out of ideas. Any suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated

[balletbean]

36 minutes ago, Thelittleswans said:

Hey fellow dance parents! I'm sure many of us share the same situation – finding ourselves in central London with some free time on our hands while our dancer children are busy with classes, workshops, and intensives. Usually, it's about 2 hours, but sometimes it turns into a whole day. I'm curious, what do you all do during these moments? On sunny days, there's no shortage of lovely walks and charming coffee shops to explore. After hitting up the main free museums and such, I sometimes run out of ideas. Any suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated

Activities I undertook whilst in London during SS’s.
Buckingham Palace Tour, cup of tea out on the lawn. 

English guided tour of the Houses of Parliament 90mins. There are other options but this one is Well worth it. 
‘Back stage’ tours of the Royal Opera House, Royal Albert Hall, also other theatres within Covent Garden. All well worth it. Groups are small and so informative. 
Diva exhibition and the V&A museum. Fab-u-lous darling  🤩😄 can take walk ins but booking in advance is advisable. 
 

😊

[Laura_ballet]

Thank you @balletbean some great suggestions that I look forward to exploring in my many hours in the city centre!!! 

[DancingShoes]

Look on the Secret London or Exploring London Instagram page - there are some really interesting things to do on there and lots are free!

 

 

[margarite]

Walking along the south bank from Waterloo (just over the bridge from Covent Garden) to London Bridge is always interesting, Festival Hall, National Theatre, The Globe and the Tate Modern are en route. As a Londoner I have done this countless times and still love it. Or you can walk the other way from Waterloo towards Vauxhall and the new Battersea Power Station redevelopment - there’s shops and cafes etc. The Sky Garden on top of the Walkie Talkie building near St Paul’s is free and an amazing view but you have to book in advance. If you like art the Wallace Collection (behind Oxford street near Selfridges) is amazing and also free. 
 

I must admit that I never did any of the above whilst I waited around - I usually had to find an ‘office’ for the day whilst DD danced i.e. a cafe with WiFi and a power socket for my laptop 🤣

Edited August 22, 2023 by margarite

[Jan McNulty]

Nothing to do with dancing children but if the weather is not inclement I love the walk from Euston to the British Museum and then Covent Garden going through the squares.

 

The British Museum is my most favourite place to spend time.

 

Another walk is to explore the squares around Sadler's Wells going from the theatre to the Travelodges on Farringdon Road.

 

A place I discovered by accident and loved is The London Mithraeum which was discovered when the Bloomberg HQ was being built.  It's not large but it is most definitely a must-see if you are in any way interested in the Romans in the UK:  https://www.londonmithraeum.com/?utm_medium=CORP-PHIL_&utm_content=pdsrch&utm_source=Adwords_SEM&utm_campaign=NonMKTG_CORP-PHIL_EMEA_GBR_2023&tactic=760392&gclid=Cj0KCQjwuZGnBhD1ARIsACxbAVjjXySdUbXDK6ODD1BfxIriTB0xJDPqA21GNN7tedVCVuij8EAVi_UaAp-xEALw_wcB

 

The British Library has had some great exhibitions.

 

[bangorballetboy]

Just to add some colour on the Mithraeum (as I find this kind of thing fascinating and I remember seeing it many times when I moved to London).

 

It was originally discovered in 1954 during excavation work for the construction of Bucklersbury House.  It was rebuilt about 100 yards down the road and was open to the elements and visible from the pavement.  Following demolition of that (awful) building, the temple has now been returned to its original location, which is now inside the bottom of the new Bloomberg building.

 

And in a similar vein, there is also the Roman Amphitheatre under the Guildhall, accessed through the (free to enter) Guildhall Art Gallery.  When walking through Guildhall Yard, you can see the footprint of the amphitheatre set out in the stones in the tard.

[Jan McNulty]

Thanks BBB!  

[balletbean]

Ps. Have a drink at one of the many bars in Leadenhall Market where they filmed some scenes in Harry Potter, from there you can 
Walk across Tower bridge (glass floor messes with your senses if you choose to walk up inside the bridge 🫨) and eat your way around Borough Market including their famous Strawberries with chocolate. 
or 
Catch the Uber boat from Westminister which can take you to Greenwich to explore but would require more time. However just taking the Uber boat along the Thames would be pleasant way to escape the congestion. 
Last suggestion is to visit Camden Market

 

Might have gathered what I got up to on my recent visit to London😉😄. 

[Sunflower]

If your child is based at Rambert, there’s Ham House (National Trust), which is a very pleasant walk along the river. 
 

There’s also Marble Hill (English Heritage, but free) and Orleans House Gallery, just over the river which involves a fun £2 ferry trip.

 

When my daughter was at Central School of Ballet, I either visited the Tate Modern and Tate Britain, with the river boat between them, or walked to Borough Market mentioned above (the mushroom risotto is miles better than the strawberries and chocolate imo), or I went the the theatre for matinees on day tickets.

[alison]

Try these threads, as well:

 

 

 

 

[taxi4ballet]

A wander through Hatton Garden is always an eye-opener, some of the jewellery is truly spectacular.

 

Mind you - one time I did that, little did I know that the infamous Hatton Garden safe deposit robbery was actually in progress in one of the buildings as I walked past...

[Guest oncnp]

If you like gardens the Chelsea Physic Garden (Sloan Square and a walk) is worth a visit

[Laura_ballet]

On 22/08/2023 at 15:52, margarite said:

Walking along the south bank from Waterloo (just over the bridge from Covent Garden) to London Bridge is always interesting, Festival Hall, National Theatre, The Globe and the Tate Modern are en route. As a Londoner I have done this countless times and still love it. Or you can walk the other way from Waterloo towards Vauxhall and the new Battersea Power Station redevelopment - there’s shops and cafes etc. The Sky Garden on top of the Walkie Talkie building near St Paul’s is free and an amazing view but you have to book in advance. If you like art the Wallace Collection (behind Oxford street near Selfridges) is amazing and also free. 
 

I must admit that I never did any of the above whilst I waited around - I usually had to find an ‘office’ for the day whilst DD danced i.e. a cafe with WiFi and a power socket for my laptop 🤣

Did you have any favourite spots to work from? That’s always useful to know also! 

[AllAboutTheJourney]

Love all these responses - some new ideas for me! I tend to be killing time either in Richmond (where I walk along the river or through the park and generally sit in Itsu to eat/work a bit) or Covent Garden. 

 

The ROH is a great place to work generally although more for a couple of hours rather than a full day - there are power sockets next to the big table in the ground floor cafe (behind the shop) and also on the terrace and at the side of the small tables in the area overlooking the Paul Hamlyn Hall. 

[munchkin16]

Ole & Steen has loads of branches all over central London and I’ve found them great to work from as quite a few have a decent number of plug sockets. As long as it isn’t peak time I’ve normally always found a seat with a plug and it’s relatively calm compared to some of the other coffee chains. 

[alison]

Well, the Cafe Nero in Long Acre just round from the ROH has a useful selection of power sockets along the padded benches at the back  

[Beezie]

Take a beginners class at Danceworks or Pineapple.  They are super fun and accessible….even if you don’t have much of a dance background, or no dance background at all.  If you can follow along to an aerobics video or a Zumba class, you’ll be fine!

Edited August 25, 2023 by Beezie

[taxi4ballet]

19 hours ago, alison said:

Well, the Cafe Nero in Long Acre just round from the ROH has a useful selection of power sockets along the padded benches at the back  

Sssshhhh!!! Don't tell people about Cafe Nero in Long Acre, there won't be any seats left for me! That is my go-to place for coffee, lunch, cake and whatnot when I'm in that part of London.😂

[Mummy twinkle toes]

Love Covent Garden and South Bank.

If you have more time then join the historic palaces for a year. For me and the children was around £80 but you can go then to Hampton Court, Tower of London and Kensington Palace everyday if you wanted. There are some others included too.