Walking with my daughter - These poor guys have paid their dues
Walking with my daughter - My worn-out trainers as a metaphor, but also finding out what a joy it can be to explore London with my daughter.
It’s time to retire these guys and let them rest. They have paid their dues, 18 months of trudging around Islington and Clerkenwell very slowly pushing a shouty/sleepy/lovely baby.
But they also represent many lovely walks. I found it can be a joy to walk around London with your daughter, to explore your own city and show it to her.
This was especially true during the lockdown, the city was so quiet, most of the time it was just the two of us. I found how far you can get, as long as you have a fairly decent buggy and some standard trainers. In that first year, we explored an empty London, saw St Pauls, and the South Bank, and we even got down to Buckingham Palace. Later we started taking the bus on the outbound leg and walking back. It was amazing to show London to her.
It was great to be able to talk to Violet and explain the history of London, the buildings etc. There is also the joy of being able to walk quietly and even listen to music or an audiobook. But at a certain point, they decide that being pushed, and sitting quietly in the buggy isn't enough and they want to 'ME WALK!!', but that is okay too.
I have written another post about places to take children in London when it's raining. But even with a normal big walk, you need pitstops, you soon find a chain of cafes that are child friendly, have good coffee and accessible toilets.
It's not cool to say, but I can not recommend highly enough the Mcdonald's near St Pauls. It's clean, always empty on Saturday, the staff are lovely. It also has a weird tired seating thing which can double as a climbing frame. The drinks are also much cheaper than some other coffee shops in central London. We don't let her eat a lot of junk food, but she does love to share a hash brown.
Although exhausting, I have loved walking with Violet. I will try and add some posts of specific London walks that are good with kids.
Note - The Mcdonalds by Charing Cross station is far less nice. Dirty, crowded and just a bit gross if you are walking with a baby
