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Home / Type of trip / Attractions / London: Ripley’s Believe It or Not

London: Ripley’s Believe It or Not

December 5, 2014 by Gretta Schifano 11 Comments

Photo of the outside of Ripley's Believe It or Not, London. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Ripley’s Believe It or Not, London. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Ripley’s Believe It or Not

‘It would be useful to have an extra leg’ says my eleven year-old son.

‘’Why?’ I reply.

‘Because if one got chopped off then you’d have a spare.’

We’re looking at a display of unusual preserved animals including the body of a lamb with five legs. We’ve just come in to the Ripley’s Believe It or Not attraction in London. My son has an INSET* day and we have the place practically to ourselves. The animal display makes me feel uncomfortable but my son is enthralled. ‘We’ve been learning about this in science’ he tells me as we read about the eight-legged calf, conjoined twin piglets and other animals on show.

Ripley’s Believe It or Not is at Piccadilly in the centre of London. The attraction houses more than 700 unusual artefacts from around the world inspired by the travels and adventures of American Robert Ripley. Robert Ripley was a cartoonist who devoted his life to travelling the world and finding unusual things to bring back to the public at home. He died in 1949 when he was 55 years old but his legacy lives on through the Ripley’s attractions around the world.

Knitted Ferrari, Ripley's Beleive It or Not. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Knitted Ferrari, Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Near to the animal display is something which I am thrilled to see – the actual Toot Sweet Machine from the 1968 Chitty Chitty Bang Bang film. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was the first film that I ever saw at the cinema and was my favourite film as a child. The Toot Sweet Machine is here in a glass case looking magical.

As we move through the attraction I try to read about everything on display while my son flits excitedly between exhibits calling me to look at one amazing thing after another. There are some incredible creations such as a full-size Ferrari knitted from 12 miles of wool, a portrait of Michelle Obama made out of bottle tops and one of Michael Jackson made out of sweets. ’Some of this art is better than normal art’ says my son.

The image below is of my favourite item in the whole place. I find it incredible. Can you guess what this copy of Millet’s masterpiece The Angelus is made of?:

Copy of Millet’s 'The Angelus' by Tadhiko Ogawa

Copy of Millet’s ‘The Angelus’ by Tadhiko Ogawa on display at Ripley’s Believe It or Not, London. Copyright Gretta Schifano

It was created by Japanese artist Tadhiko Ogawa out of bread. Apparently he used ordinary white bread which he first microwaved to dry it out. He then used aluminium foil to toast shapes onto the bread to form the picture. My son and I both love this picture and he says: ‘ When we get home we are toasting a picture’.

Another highlight for me is the section of the Berlin Wall on display complete with graffiti. We talk about the Cold War and German reunification. The nearby digital graffiti wall where you can make your own temporary art is a hit with my son.

Section of the Berlin Wall, Ripley's Believe It or Not, London. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Section of the Berlin Wall, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, London. Copyright Gretta Schifano

You can avoid the gruesome dungeon section if you’re not keen on seeing instruments of horrible torture such as an iron maiden (a body-shaped cabinet with spikes inside). There’s a sign at the entrance warning you that it’s horrible but my son heads in there anyway and I follow him. The most awful thing in there, I think, is the electric chair. We don’t pull the lever to ‘electrocute’ someone but we do have a chat about the death penalty.

There are quite a few machines around the place where you spend £1 to do something. I find that quite annoying but my son is keen to try them out and decides to spend his pocket money on having his fortune told at one of these machines. He’s much more impressed than I am by the ‘fortune’ which pops out:

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Fortune card, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, London. Copyright Gretta Schifano

The Mirror Maze is great fun. We’re given plastic gloves to wear so that we don’t leave tell-tale finger prints on the mirrors and then we set off into the tunnels of mirrors. It’s dark inside with trails of dim red lights and it’s very hard to work out which way to go. We keep coming to dead ends but eventually we find our way out.

The final part of the attraction is the LaseRace challenge. My son loves this but I’m not so keen. We go into a dark enclosed room which is crisscrossed with green ‘laser’ beams. We have to get to certain points of the room without touching the laser beams. This means that we have to get down on the floor and slide along on our elbows. We don’t do badly and my son goes back in for another go on his own.

Verdict

We both really enjoyed our visit to Ripley’s Believe It or Not. It was interesting, fun and educational and I’d definitely recommend it to families.

Family travel lowdown

Entrance to London’s  Ripley’s Believe It or Not costs from £22.91 per adult and £16.96 per child of four to 15 years old. If you travel to London by train you can buy discounted tickets for Ripley’s Believe It or Not from Days Out Guide – the current offer is £29.90 for two people. Children under 14 years old must be accompanied by an adult in order to visit the attraction.

Disclosure: We were guests of Ripley’s Believe It or Not for the purposes of this review. All words, pictures and opinions are my own.

*An INSET day is when teachers in a particular school have training and the kids have a day off.

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Related

Categories: Attractions, Things to do in London with kids
Tags: family-friendly London, London, London attractions

About Gretta Schifano

I'm a freelance journalist and blogger specialising in family travel with teenagers, trips when parents manage to travel without their kids, and 50+ travel. I also write about vegetarian travel, parenting teenagers, adoption, SEN, ADHD and anxiety. My work's been published by the Financial Times, Guardian, Independent, National Geographic Traveller, Lonely Planet and others. I've lived and worked in Italy and Spain and am now based in rural south-east England with my husband, adoptive and birth kids and our dog. I previously worked as a social action radio producer for the BBC.

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Comments

  1. Mari says

    December 18, 2014 at 4:10 pm

    I took my 6 year old twins to Ripley’s this summer and there was plenty that intrigued them too but they were scared of the mirror room and we had to leave. (post on my blog)
    All in all a fantastic day out, we shall return in the future as I think Ripley’s is a place you can go to again and again.
    Mari recently posted…Mini Christmas pudding trifles – leftovers!My Profile

    Reply
    • Gretta Schifano says

      December 18, 2014 at 6:02 pm

      I hadn’t thought of the mirror room being scary but I guess it could be – I hope that they enjoy it when they’re older.

      Reply
  2. Susanna says

    December 14, 2014 at 6:53 am

    The toot sweet machine? I’m there!
    Susanna recently posted…Tipping in California: Guide to how much and whenMy Profile

    Reply
  3. Kirstie says

    December 8, 2014 at 4:27 pm

    Good post. I want to see what you made with your toast…
    Kirstie recently posted…Heart of the Lakes: Heart Shaped Travel ExperimentMy Profile

    Reply
    • Gretta Schifano says

      December 9, 2014 at 11:18 am

      He’s forgotten about the toast – phew!

      Reply
  4. Sarah Ebner says

    December 8, 2014 at 11:47 am

    My kids love Ripleys – and the laser race is an especial favourite. It’s a great day out, albeit pricey. I’d definitely look into the annuals (and books) as I think your son will really like them. We do!

    Reply
    • Gretta Schifano says

      December 8, 2014 at 8:53 pm

      It’s a really fun place to go – I’d like to go back with the whole family.

      Reply
  5. Trish - Mum's Gone To says

    December 7, 2014 at 8:59 pm

    My son has always been a fan of Ripley’s, though I remember hurrying him past the chastity belts in one room!
    I think we must have half a dozen Ripley’s annuals – worth considering for a Christmas present – your boy will love it.
    Trish – Mum’s Gone To recently posted…Christmas shopping in LondonMy Profile

    Reply
    • Gretta Schifano says

      December 8, 2014 at 8:42 am

      He didn’t notice the chastity belts – phew! Thanks for the tip about the annuals, that’s a great idea. Those kind of books are perfect for him.

      Reply
  6. Shobha says

    December 5, 2014 at 11:23 pm

    Cool! i thought it was more like Madame Tussauds which my kids didn’t really like. They don’t know/care enough about celebrities to be impressed by wax stuff. All the interactive stuff, I think they might actually like this, especially the mirror maze.
    Shobha recently posted…Amazingly Creative Gingerbread HousesMy Profile

    Reply
    • Gretta Schifano says

      December 8, 2014 at 8:44 am

      I know what you mean about Madame Tussauds – mine have never asked to go there so we’ve managed to avoid it. Ripley’s isn’t about celebrities but about amazing and incredible things.

      Reply

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This is a personal blog written and edited by me, Gretta Schifano. Sometimes I’m given products or sent on trips to review, but I always make this clear and give my honest opinion. See my About page for full details.

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