Things to do in London with kids: April

Beefeaters at the Tower of London. Copyright Gretta Schifano

London is a great place to visit at any time of year. Here’s my pick of the top things to do with kids in the capital this month.

Easter egg trails

There are Easter egg trails on offer all over the place, including at National Trust properties  from April 3rd – 6th, 2015. More than a quarter of a million chocolate goodies have been delivered to National Trust properties in time for Easter. There are Easter Egg Trails at Sutton House in Hackney, Fenton House in Hampstead, Ham House and Garden in Richmond and at many other places – to find your nearest trail click here.

Cost: Normal admission fees apply and the trails cost between £1.50 and £4.00 per person.

There’s chocolate hidden all over the place for the National Trust Easter Egg Trails. Image courtesy of National Trust.

In with the Lemurs

There’s a new lemur enclosure at London Zoo housing a troop of 16 lemurs. Visitors can walk through the enclosure and get close to the resident 15 ring-tail lemurs and one black and white ruffled lemur, both of which are endangered species. It’s best to pre-book for In with the Lemurs and entry is included in the price of your ticket for the zoo.

Cost: Online bookings for London Zoo cost from £22.50 for adults and from £16.65 for 3 to 15 year-olds.

All Aboard

All Aboard is a new play area at Covent Garden’s excellent London Transport Museum and it sounds brilliant. The play area is designed for children from 0-7 years old and includes an interactive wall for babies, a mini fleet of London vehicles to engage with and a busking spot with musical instruments. Kids can even make driver announcements and help at the mini information desk.

Cost: Free for 0 -17 year olds, £16 for adults – but your ticket is valid for a year.

London Transport Museum. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Sea Dragons

I was entranced when I saw my first sea dragon at Florida’s SeaWorld, especially as I’d just been reading the How to Train Your Dragon books with my son. This month there’s a new Sea Dragon Kingdom at SEA LIFE London Aquarium where visitors can learn all about these amazing creatures.

Cost: You can save 10% by booking online. Online standard tickets cost from £19.98 for adults and from £14.41 for 3 to 15 year-olds. Under-3s can enter for free.

Cinderella

Disney’s new Cinderella film has just been released in the UK and London’s Leicester Square is hosting a free Cinderella exhibition about the making of the film. Exhibits include more than 100 props and more than 30 costumes from the film. You need to book in advance and the exhibition runs from March 21st until April 10th 2015.

Cost: Free

Coral reefs

Coral Reefs: Secret Cities of the Sea is a new temporary exhibition at the Natural History Museum. The exhibition runs from now until September 13th, 2015 and gives visitors the chance to learn about why coral reefs are so important and what lives on them: apparently they are home to almost a quarter of all marine species.

Cost: £10.00 for adults, £4.50 for children.

Shaun in the City

Following the release of the Shaun the Sheep Movie you can find Shaun around London. From now until 25th May, 2015 there are fifty individual sculptures of Shaun in iconic locations around the city centre (we spotted one at the Tower of London yesterday). The sculptures have all been decorated by artists, designers and celebrities. Once the Shaun in the City trail has ended the flock will be auctioned to raise money for children in hospital in the UK.

Cost: Free

Shaun the Sheep at the Tower of London. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Udderbelly

The Udderbelly Festival is back at the Southbank Centre for its sixth year from 9th April until to 19th July 2015. The temporary venue next to the Thames centres on a giant, purple, upturned cow and is host to a comedy and cabaret festival. There’s a kids’ comedy club, circus performances, theatre shows, food stalls and much more on offer.

Cost: Varies

St George’s Day

St George is the patron saint of England and St George’s day is April 23rd. You can celebrate the Feast of St George at a free event at Trafalgar Square on Saturday April 25th from midday until 6pm. There will be live performances from musicians and entertainers, traditional English food stalls and workshops, arts and crafts stalls, a banqueting area and a marquee with family activities.

Cost: Free

Magna Carta

This year is the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta, one of the most famous documents in the world. The Magna Carta established the principle that everyone is subject to the rule of law – even the monarch. Magna Carta: Law, Liberty, Legacy is an exhibition at the British Library which is running until September 1st, 2015. There’s a free audio guide for children at the exhibition.

Cost: free for under-18s, £12 for adults.

Quotation from the Magna Carta.

Swan Lake

The English National Ballet is presenting Swan Lake at the Peacock Theatre as part of its My First Ballet series. These performances are created specifically for children from three years-old. The dancers are second year students from the English National Ballet School and the ballet is showing from April 2nd – 12th, 2015.

Cost: Varies but family tickets (for four people) cost from £65.

This one isn’t quite London but it’s very nearby and it’s very exciting….

Hogwarts Express

The Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio is just outside London. There’s a new 20,000ft² expansion at the studios to house the 78 year-old steam engine which was used as the Hogwarts Express in the Harry Potter films as well as a recreation of Platform 9 ¾.

Cost: You have to book online in advance and the cost depends on when you’re going. Children under 5 years-old go free but still need to have a ticket booked.

Travel and accommodation

Children travel free of charge or at discounted rates on public transport in London. There are more details here. If you’re looking for family-friendly places to stay in London you can read my round-up here.

How about you?

Do you have any plans for a family trip to London this April? What are your favourite things to do in London with kids?