along for the ride mum Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 I will be taking two young dancers to London this week and will have about 2-3 hours spare in the afternoon, of course there's loads to do but I don't want to end up roaming aimlessly. Any suggestions for two 12 year old dd's ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lottie Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 Where in London will you be? Are you OK with travelling on buses and tubes? Are shops or museums more more appealing? What interests do you all have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
along for the ride mum Posted August 26, 2014 Author Share Posted August 26, 2014 (edited) Got to be at earls court at lunchtime, then free until about 5:30, I will have two ballet mad 12 yr olds with me. We don't mind shopping but don't want to waste time wandering, I did wonder if it's worth taking them over to Covent garden to visit the Bloch shop and Freeds but we aren't after anything in particular, are these shops worth a browse maybe? Or should we maybe go to oxford Street for general window shopping? Is there somewhere ballet related they'd enjoy? Edited August 26, 2014 by along for the ride mum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
along for the ride mum Posted August 26, 2014 Author Share Posted August 26, 2014 Fine with buses and tubes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 My favourite place to mooch in London is the British Museum, especially the Egyptian galleries. For shopping mooching I like the area around Covent Garden. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 The V&A could be a good place to mooch as it's not too far from Earls Court and it does have the theatre and dance collections, some of which may be on display. In Covent Garden there's the artsy crafty stalls in the market hall and usually buskers and what have you plus lots of interesting shops in the side streets and you could go into the foyer of ROH and perhaps into the shop... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
along for the ride mum Posted August 26, 2014 Author Share Posted August 26, 2014 Thanks Janet I wondered about V&A, not been for years but I enjoyed it when I was younger, I do love Covent garden and that was my first thought just thought maybe I'd do something different as both girls know Covent Garden fairly well ( although somehow I've never taken them to the dance shops) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 The V&A could be a good place to mooch as it's not too far from Earls Court and it does have the theatre and dance collections, some of which may be on display. In Covent Garden there's the artsy crafty stalls in the market hall and usually buskers and what have you plus lots of interesting shops in the side streets and you could go into the foyer of ROH and perhaps into the shop... I was just going to suggest the ROH shop! A lovely place for bunheads to browse. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dance*is*life Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 Definitely Covent Garden for me! The street entertainers and small shops and stalls are lovely and the ROH shop is a must. You could carry on from there in the direction of Trafalgar Square through St. Martin's Lane and Freeds and visit St. Martin's in the Fields. The National Gallery at the top of Trafalgar Square has free entrance so you could take them in there for a bit too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
along for the ride mum Posted August 26, 2014 Author Share Posted August 26, 2014 Sounds great, thanks guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 A related thread: http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/6613-things-to-do-in-london-preferably-free/?hl=london And where to eat: http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/7474-completely-off-topic-but-places-to-eat-in-london/?hl=london Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marianne Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 Unfortunately, the ROH shop is closed until Monday 1st September! http://www.roh.org.uk/news/roh-shop-closed-from-20-august-to-1-september-2014 So maybe the V&A for their dance/theatre collection and a chance to explore a part of London your dancers don't know so well? Hope you all have a blast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTL Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 (edited) As a paid-up fan of the V&A, I would recommend Covent Garden for your ballet-mad young companions as the V&A Theatre galleries aren't currently showing much ballet stuff. I was there a few weeks ago, Margot Fonteyn' s Vienna Black Swan tutu and Suzanne Farrell's Bugaku tutu were on display but I suspect that they would probably get more of a thrill out of the ROH (even just the exterior) and surrounding dance shops, or you could search out the dance-related pictures in the National Gallery or National Portrait Gallery. On the other hand, if they have a general interest in Theatre, the V&A would be fine for an hour or two. Also, the V&A has a gallery on the ground floor devoted to historic street dress - I initially wrote everyday dress but a lot is designer so that's not quite the right word. Edited August 26, 2014 by Grand Tier Left Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi4ballet Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 If you are going to Covent Garden on the tube, remember that the station is exit only at the moment. Leicester Square station is the nearest alternative, at the other end of Long Acre, about 5 minutes' walk. The V & A museum (South Kensington on the tube) has a great display of theatrical items, sets, props and costumes, including the Black Swan tutu worn by Margot Fonteyn. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mallinson Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 I was going to suggest a ROH backstage tour but the house is closed at the moment and they don't restart till September 15. Another time perhaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Picturesinthefirelight Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 We were in London last week (the final day the ROH shop was open. Covent Garden is always worth a walk round. I personally find the dance shops uninspiring (we actually needed stuff for dd & struggled to find nice ranges). Dd & I did enjoy the V&A Theatre gallery but we both love musicals & theatre in general & she liked the set designs. Dd is 12 & probably a bit old for it now but she used to like looking in the paper model theatre shop in Covent Garden. (Pollocks?) Failing that there is always M&M World at Leicester Square. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dance*is*life Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 One of my favourite museums in London is actually The Museum of London at the Barbican! We took a group of ballet students there some years ago and they loved it - no connection to ballet of course, but we had to drag them away! It deals with London through the ages but from a social history point of view (nearly wrote pointe of view!). There is a wonderful light and sound model of the Great Fire of 1666, for example. There are displays of shops and rooms of furniture, clothes, scenes of family life. I think the Coronation coach is there too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiz Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 That is my favourite museum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi4ballet Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 We were in London last week (the final day the ROH shop was open. I was there yesterday, and it was closed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 I think I mentioned it in the other thread, but I gather Sir John Soane's Museum in Lincoln's Inn is well worth a visit. "Eclectic" is the word, I believe. One of these years I'll actually make it in there ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
along for the ride mum Posted August 28, 2014 Author Share Posted August 28, 2014 Wow you lot are great! Thank you for all the replies, I now enough info for several trips! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swanprincess Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 I was going to suggest a ROH backstage tour but the house is closed at the moment and they don't restart till September 15. Another time perhaps. The ROH do backstage tours? How would I go about requesting one- do I email them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Here's the link to the ROH page: http://www.roh.org.uk/visit/tours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anon2 Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 (edited) I think I mentioned it in the other thread, but I gather Sir John Soane's Museum in Lincoln's Inn is well worth a visit. "Eclectic" is the word, I believe. One of these years I'll actually make it in there ... Was there today! Is well worth a visit but is in the middle of a restoration project due to finish next Spring I believe. All the curators are passionate about the museum and the collections. Across Lincoln Inn the medical museum is also worth a visit. Edited August 29, 2014 by Jane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi4ballet Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 There is a gigantic Primark in Oxford Street (near Selfridges and Danceworks), but be warned - the crowds and queues are gigantic too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yaffa Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Less 'touristy' than the ballet bookshops, but there's also the RAD library: https://www.rad.org.uk/more/library/visit-the-library/ Note the admission fees (and the possibility of first time free entry via Inspire): https://www.rad.org.uk/more/library/visit-the-library/visit-fees Yaffa 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacqueline Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 I fancy doing the tourist thing on my upcoming trip to London. I have the RB in the evening and I want to go to an exhibition of Russian art at the National Portrait Gallery. Weather permitting and as I am too lazy to walk, I would like to go on one of those open top bus tours of 'the sights' of central London. I had a look at what's on offer but I would like to maybe see something a bit out of the ordinary as well. I don't need somebody to charge me 30 quid to tell me I am looking at Big Ben! I wonder if anyone here has been on a good bus tour they could recommend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTL Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 I don't know any organised bus tours, but how about a boat trip from Embankment or Waterloo piers, which are near Covent Garden. The fast River Bus to Greenwich is fun: https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/river/?intcmp=64 Two of the more interesting bus routes on the TfL journey planner are:- the 11 (Liverpool Street / City / Strand /Trafalgar Square / Westminster / Victoria / Sloane Square / Kings Road) or the RV1 (Covent Garden / Waterloo Bridge / London Eye / South Bank / Southwark / Borough / past London Bridge / City Hall / over Tower Bridge to near the Tower and St Katherine's Dock). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beryl H Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 The number 15 bus is a short historic ride from Trafalgar Square to the Tower, then you could get the RV1 bus back from opposite the DLR Tower Gateway station, which goes across to the South Bank and finishes at Covent Garden. I like doing this sometimes, you have to make sure you get the RV1 that says Covent Garden and not Waterloo though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 I agree with the tip of using ordinary scheduled buses for sightseeing. As well as the 11, 15 and RV1 (recommended above) the 9 is good, and you can pick it up from Kensington HIgh Street which isn't far from Earl's Court. It goes from Hammersmith to Covent Garden via Kensington, the Royal Albert Hall, Hyde Park Corner, Piccadilly, Trafalgar Square... (I've been in London nearly 17 years and I never tire of the sightseeing, really - I use the 11 a lot as it goes straight past my office in Pimlico and takes me to the Royal Opera House...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2dancersmum Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 Or for something completely different you could do the cable car that goes over the Thames and see some of the sights from above! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balletfanp Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 I was going to suggest a river trip too if there is time. Or the Science Museum - plenty in there to keep 12 year olds interested, and if you wanted to pay once you are in there, there's the 3D IMAX cinema. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacqueline Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 (edited) Some great suggestions, thank you all. I do like the idea of a river trip, haven't done that for years. I think nice day = river, not so nice = bus. I will look into the cable car idea as well. Do you mean the London Eye? I am so used to the whole day being a rush, with two aims in mind - getting to the theatre on time and then back to the coach station, it will be nice to slow down a bit and take in my surroundings Edited to say I just googled the cable car, sounds good and not too expensive. I had never even heard of it!! I must get out more ! Edited March 22, 2016 by Jacqueline Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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