Lambeth - What's on for the family - December 8th-9th 2012

First week of December has already gone past. Have you done your Christmas shopping yet? I think I've sorted all the pressies out! So what's on for the weekend?

SATURDAY (8th December)

Dads, want to give mum a break? Then take the kids to child-friendly pub Manor Arms for Punch and Judy Brunch. Doors open at 10am, show starts at 11am.

Manor Arms is located at 13 Mitcham Lane, SW16, 6LQ.You can catch the 333, 201 and 57 to the pub. It is also served by Streatham overground station.

And while dad is at Manor Arms, mum can pop out to the Railway on Greyhound Lane and check out their Christmas Craft and Farmers Market from 12 to 6pm. Free Santa's grotto from 2til 3:30pm so get dad to bring the kids over for that time!

To get to the Railway, catch buses 109,118, 250 and 50. Currently the road is closed so get off on Streatham High Street.

Want to do something together as a family than head to Vauxhall City Farm Open Day. meet the animals, watch some demonstrations, visit Santa and have some mulled wine! Events run from 11am to 4pm.

The farm is located at 165 Tyers Street, SE11 5HS and can be reached by buses 2, 88 and 196. The area is also served by the Overground and Underground.

Or head over to Clapham and visit the Christmas Fun day at Under the Greenwood Tree shop. Events include storytime, writing a letter to Santa and face painting and run from 11am to 4:30pm. Some events need to be booked so call them on 020 7627 4557.

The shop is located at 11 The Polygon, SW4 0JG. The area is served by Clapham Common tube stations and buses 37, 345, 322, 35 and 88.

And finally pop to Brixton market for the  monthly Brixton Market Heritage Walk led by the Brixton Society. This is a good walk for parents with buggy babies. 

Ready for a walk around Brixton

The tour starts at 2:30pm - meet at the corner of Beehive Place and Brixton Station Road. It cost £3 each and includes a free booklet.

Buses through Brixton include P4, P5, 188, 196, 59, 159, 3, 133, 333, 45, 345, and 37. Alternatively you can catch the tube or the overground into the area.

While you're in the area, pop into the Crafty Fox market at the Dogstar, Coldharbour Lane, SW9. Open from 11am til 5pm Saturday and Sunday!

SUNDAY (9th December)

Staying Lambeth local? Then head up the hill in Brockwell Park to the Brockwell Greenhouses to build yourself some Christmas Decorations with a Difference. The workshop is from 10:30 to 12:30 and a donation of £5 is welcome.

And whilst in Herne Hill, take a look at their Sunday City and Country Farmers Market from10am to 4 pm - foods and crafts. Buses into the area include 3, 196, 322, 68 and 37.

 Happy to hop on a bus, then head to the Southbank for a Chocolate Festival. A chance to let the children nibble lots of chocolate. It runs on Sunday from 12pm to 6pm. Also check out the Christmas Market while you are down there. Travel here on the 59 or catch the Underground to Waterloo.

And finally, travel a little further to the Horniman Museum's Christmas Fayre! Do some more xmas shopping, lets the kids do some activities and listen to a choir sing carols. Head out on the P4 bus to Forest Hill.

 Happy weekend everyone!!

Christmas lights in London 2012

As a child, one of our Christmas treats was to go to the West End in the evening, see the Christmas lights and check out the shop windows. It was a magical experience and even now thinking about it gives me a warm glow.

So here's a list of some places to visit:

Regents Street and Oxford Street are always the main roads everyone heads to for the Xmas lights. They are easy to get to from Lambeth by taking buses 3 or 159 which cover both roads to some extent and the 137 which swings in from Marble Arch. Shop windows to check out will be Selfridges on Oxford Street and Hamleys and Liberty on Regent Street

As you head up towards Oxford Circus, take a detour to Carnaby Street. It's quite a good place to shop if you are looking for something different. Check out Kingly Court for lots of little retailers. A Baby on board blog has reviewed these lights already!

When you are on Regent Street, take a wander down Bond Street to view their display of christmas decorations. Whilst you are there, take a look at the shop windows as many will have some special seasonal display.
 
 Another place off Bond Street is South Molton Street. It is spruced up to the Christmas nines with great illuminations. Check it out and then after this I'd recommend, heading back to Bond Street and coming out on Piccadilly.

Now to check out one of my favourite stores, Fortumn and Mason - always amazing windows and if it's still open, go and visit the sweets section and the foods downstairs. Lovely!

I've also heard that another great visual treat is Hyde Park Winter Wonderland -the market and Santa land is free and a stroll at dusk or early evening is essential. You can  pop in to see Father Christmas too-that's free as well.(I'm going to ask him for a house cleaner, a flatter stomach and a better tolerence to alcohol).

Nearest buggy friendly underground exit is Green Park. Buses into the area are 2, 159, 148, 436 and 137.

Another area for lights and windows is Knightsbridge. Harrods and Harvey Nichols always have fantastic windows - these visuals really stir the imagination.

To get there, you can catch 137 from Streatham. The area is also served by the underground.

So go take a look and find some Christmas magic!!

PS...me and Boo-boo have only seen the Brixton Christmas Windmill!

Boo-boo slept though all the excitement!

Little Lambeth Meetup : Monday December 10th 2012 and Friday January 25th 2013

Hey all!

Want to meet other local parents? Then come and eat cake and drink coffee with us at the Teahouse Theatre in Vauxhall! (Chosen especially because it very kiddy friendly!)

Dates:

Monday 10th December 2012 - 11am
Friday 25th January 2013 -11am

The Tea House Theatre is located at:

139 Vauxhall Walk
Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens
Vauxhall
SE11 5HL

To get there catch a 2, 88 or 196. The area is also served by the overground and underground.

Other things to do in the area, include visit Vauxhall City Farm, pop over to the Tate Britain and browse more cake at the Vauxhall Park Cafe.

A visit to Hampstead Heath (or What I did at the weekend)

When I start thinking about traveling from my area, Brixton, I think about the places that are easy to get to and not the ones that will take an hour or more with lots of changes on the underground and buses. So I had written off  the idea of popping to Hampstead Heath for the weekend.

How wrong was I? Using the Thameslink, it's pretty easy to get there. In fact the journey between  Herne Hill and West Hampstead station is 30 minutes- yes you heard me correctly - 30 mins!! North London here I come!!!

So lets start at the beginning, the other Sunday we decided to enjoy the changing shades of leaves in one of London's top tree hot spots, Hampstead Heath. From Brixton we walked to Herne Hill as this is the Station with a lift that takes us swiftly north of the river. On our travels we took the opportunity to peruse the new Herne Hill market -it's a goody - lots of foods and crafts, well worth a visit. Boo-boo even met a dinosaur (and was pretty unimpressed).

The dinosaur was terrified of Princess Boo-boo of Brixton.

After having a nose, we headed off to the station, up the lifts and waited for the next Thameslink train. Now this train isn't the best for buggies - the aisles aren't wide enough for you to push the buggy through so you need to find a seat where you got on. The back carriage tends to have seats along the side rather than facing forwards or backwards which does leave room for the buggy.

So quickly we travelled through London zipping through the south, the city and then into the north. We decided for the West Hampstead stop as the station has a lift and a bus would take us to the Heath. However, I didn't read my bus map properly and we ended up at the bottom of the Heath with a big hill ahead of us. But the sun was shining so with determination we trundled up the hill, stopping at the top to take in the breathtaking view of London although this wasn't really a moment for quiet contemplation as there was about a hundred people up there all doing the same thing.

Golden leaves

 On we ambled through the red, brown orange and gold leaves laid on the path to lead us to warmer pastures of cakes and hot coffees. Yes, we were heading to Hampstead via the trees and plants, listed buildings, little cottages and old churchyard.

Autumn Reflection

Upon arrival we had a look at the shops - the place was heaving and the tea shops were full! However a poor consolation was the fact that the place with the best looking cakes wasn't buggy friendly anyway. We need a babysitter too visit that cake shop or just wait til the child grows up!

Boo-boo enjoys the art

After a hot beverage and a sugary snack we found an art exhibition located in a local church. So we had a wander, took some photos and generally enjoyed what felt like a grown up experience. Then slowly we pottered back to West Hampstead Station as the sun set on our little adventure. All in all, it was a lovely day - great views, sugary snacks and a swift and pleasant journey across into the North of London.

The Thameslink (First Capital Connect) train from Herne Hill to West Hampstead cost £1.80 each way with pay as you go Oyster card. The journey takes 30 minutes.

From West Hampstead take the C11 to Gospel Oak where you will get off at the bottom of the Heath - there is a cafe and toilets near by.

Go visit!