London & Harry Potter Studios
We flew with Easyjet from Edinburgh to London Gatwick and caught the train from the airport into the city. Within 35 minutes we were in London Victoria Station, just a 2 minute walk from our hotel.
We stayed in the centrally located 4* Park Plaza Victoria which was within easy walking distance of everything we planned to do whilst in the city. The hotel had everything we needed for our trip – a comfortable bed, delicious breakfast buffet and even a dedicated kids check in! There was also a sauna and steam room (unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to enjoy these!) All staff members we encountered were very friendly and helpful, nothing was too much trouble.
An easy 20 minute walk took us down towards the Thames, past Westminster Abbey, and across Westminster Bridge which allowed us to take typical tourist photos of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben! At the other side of the Bridge is the fantastic London Eye. Ava couldn’t believe how big it was – I think she had imagined a small ferris wheel! The views across the city during the 30 minute ride were spectacular.
At the base of the London Eye are several other attractions including the London Dungeon, London Aquarium and Shrek’s Adventure. We only had time during our visit to go to Shrek’s Adventure, a fun interactive journey to Far Far Away to find Shrek. Top Tip – if you are planning to visit any of these attractions it’s definitely worth buying them as a package with your London Eye ticket.
We also walked the half mile from the hotel to Buckingham Palace to see the Changing of the Guard. We watched the guards and bands pass from a great vantage point opposite the Queen Victoria Memorial. However, if you want to see more of the ceremony within the Palace grounds then you’ll need an early start to grab a spot at the Palace gates!
And on to Harry Potter! This was a treat for my daughters 8th birthday and we loved it! We took the train from Euston Station to Watford Junction (approx. 20 minutes) and then the Harry Potter shuttle out to the Studios (15 minutes). There is a direct Harry Potter branded shuttle bus from Central London to the Studios but as our time was limited we took the train as it was quicker.
At the studios we visited all of the main locations from the movies - Privet Drive, Diagon Alley, Platform 9¾, Gringotts Bank and the Great Hall at Hogwarts to name a few. The interactive experiences we at the studios were so much fun! We opened the door to the Great Hall, tasted butterbeer, danced with Dobby, boarded the Hogwarts Express and picked a mandrake in Professor Sprouts greenhouse! We also learned the secrets of how some of the special effects were created and filmed our own flying broomstick video against the green screen.
It took around 4 hours to see and do it all. We did miss out a few scary bits (we weren’t keen on seeing Aragog in the Forbidden Forest or the Gringotts Dragon!). The staff were brilliant with my daughter when we decided to avoid these. All in all it was a brilliant experience!
We flew home from London the next day, again travelling to the airport via public transport, this time by underground, train and the Luton Dart. We made our way home, very tired but very much looking forward to our next trip to the capital – we still have so much to see and do!
