A capital day out

By this stage in the school holiday it may be difficult to believe but being a parent does have its bonuses, not least of which is the excuse to be a tourist in one's own country. So, with the weather promising to be dry-ish for at least part of the day, the girls and I, with grandparents for reinforcements, set off on a sightseeing trip to London. With our holiday budget already exhausted and England's capital terrifically expensive, I was relieved to discover that there are discounts to be had, especially if you arrive by train. In fact, the savings on our group rail ticket, two-for-one voucher and bus tour discount easily paid for lunch.

The 15-minute walk to our local railway station took 30. Youngest complained walking made her legs hurt and eldest (aka Magpie) meandered absently along, stopping here and there to scoff blackberries and gather last year's rotten acorns and shiny bits of litter. Finally, more than two hours after leaving home, we were on board a Thames river boat cruising past all the big names - the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, the London Eye - on our way to Tower Bridge. The kids may have been more interested in belting out tuneless (sorry, tuneful) renditions of London's Burning and Oranges and Lemons, but I was in prideful awe at my British heritage as the history books of my school days were brought to life.

By the time we arrived at the Tower of London, the former prison and Royal dwelling from William the Conqueror's days, and had queued for 40 minutes for tickets, youngest was "starving," so we detoured to Wagamama. I'm sure that the empty plates at the end of the meal had more to do with the pincer-style kids chopsticks (also useful for adults who are chopstick challenged) than the excellent kiddies menu.

Along with every other visitor, eldest and I wanted to see Traitors Gate (where prisoners were brought in by boat and rarely left alive), The Bloody Tower, and the Crown jewels. Unfortunately, it all ended with a costly visit to the gift shop where my youngest drooled over themed chocolate bars and the eldest pleaded for tacky pocket-sized imitations of the Crown jewels. Ready for a sit-down, we hopped on the open top bus tour. Youngest slept, although later claimed she only had her eyes closed to keep warm and eldest mustered feeble but gallant enthusiasm for the first 15 minutes, before resorting to pointing out Starbucks outlets. Once again it was the grown-ups who were captivated, not only by the familiar sights - the City of London, Trafalgar Square, The Ritz and of course Buckingham Palace - but also by our guide who I suspect had some sort of evening employment as a stand-up comic.

The girls may have ignored my comments on what a great day we'd had, but I don't mind. London is a must on every carer's calendar - whether the kids like it or not.