On Saturday 4th May we all travelled by train for the our weekend in London celebrating Kieran’s 18th Birthday. For almost a year Kieran had been telling me that all he wanted to do for his 18th Birthday was to be in London. As mum I knew that I had to make that happen for him.
Planning
As I had plenty of notice of what he wanted to do I had plenty of time to look for transport. I could also find accommodation and book in advance to get the best deals. Normally it is quite costly for all 7 of us to go or do anything.
Accomodation
We decided that the best option was to stay in accommodation actually in London. When we have visited London previously we have stayed in a caravan in Essex and caught the train from there. This time we decided that we needed to actually stay in London especially as were planning on staying for 2 nights.
Travel
So travelling by train was the best option. As we live on the east coast main line it made the most sense. I started looking at train prices and times and collecting some ideas of the price. After looking into it for a couple of days I decided that a good option for us was to buy a friends and family rail card. This was going to save me money on the train tickets as well as any underground tickets we may need to buy.
Rail Card
The rail card website was super easy to use, I just entered my name and details. I could have an additional cardholder so I put Shane down for that one. I did this just in case he ever had to buy any rail tickets. The cards for Shane and I required photos but that was not a problem. We were able to take and upload photos of us both from home. This was perfect as it made it super quick and easy to complete. Once that part was complete it was just a case of adding the kids names.
Taxi and Train Sorted
The rail card allowed discounts of 1/3 off rail fares for up to 4 adults and 60% off up to 4 children’s tickets (aged 5-15). As max is only 4 he was free and was not included in the rail card but that also meant when I booked the tickets he wasn’t allocated a seat of his own. I paid £30 for the friends and family rail card and its valid for 1 year so I though that was excellent value. So rail card sorted it was now time to book the train tickets. I’m quite realistic as to what time I can get us all ready and out of the house. I booked our train tickets for the 9.39 train.This would allow us time to be up and sorted in plenty of time. Everyone was super excited to be going for a weekend in London celebrating Kieran’s 18th Birthday. I booked a taxi for 9am so we were at the train station in plenty of time in case the train was early.
Waiting for the train
I booked the 9.39 train to London on the Saturday morning and I booked the 5.48 train out of London on Monday evening. The total cost of both train journeys was £111.15 and this included a £1.50 booking fee too. I thought this was a really great price and I did book it 6 weeks in advance so I was able to save a bit of money that way. The price of the train tickets was £199 before I entered my rail card details to obtain a discount. So even after paying for the rail card I still made a significant saving on the ticket price so it was well worth purchasing the friends and family rail card.
Train Issues
Hull trains was the train I booked to take us to London, it was actually Great Weston Railways that turned up. It did cause a bit of confusion as despite having allocated seats all our seats were sat in. Upon asking someone about it they just said as its not hull trains just sit anywhere. We did just that but it did mean we were sat randomly throughout the train carriage. At least we all had a seat in the end. For the return journey we were travelling on LNER and they were completely faultless. We boarded the train as soon as the platform was announced. It was so spacious as we had been given seats with a table, which was a bonus. The train was clean, comfy and was running on time. Drinks and snacks were served on the journey to which the kids were really pleased about and were all quick to choose a snack or 2.
Arriving in London
When we arrived in London the sun was shining. After a quick toilet stop we headed off to find the Premier Inn I had booked. It took quite a while to arrive at the Premier Inn. This was due to all the kids taking in all the sights. We had to keep stopping so they could take photos of all the flash and expensive cars driving around. (As having all boys cars are very popular and after this trip I know almost every make of car). We also did a quick stop off at Mcdonalds for dinner after having to dive in to dodge a random hail storm.
Premier Inn
We finally made it the Premier Inn, the one we were staying at was London Southwark. It was quite a walk from Kings Cross but the kids didn’t care as they were in London! It was lovely, as there are 7 of us I had to book 2 rooms. Our rooms were next to each other, which is always a bonus. I paid £386 for 2 rooms for 2 nights. Again I got quite a good price as I booked in advance.
More Exploring
After dropping off our luggage and a refreshment stop the kids were eager to be out again exploring. We also needed somewhere to eat for tea too. The Premier Inn was really close to the south bank which was perfect. There was quite a lot happening there to look at. So we set off and had a walk about, the kids wanted to see some landmarks. We walked to the Shard and the Gherkin and passed the monument and then headed back to the south bank for tea at Pizza Express.
After we had eaten the boys still didn’t want the day to end so we ended up exploring for another hour or so before returning to the Premier Inn.
Celebrating Kieran’s 18th Birthday
Sunday Morning we were up and off fairly early to make the most of the day. Today was Kieran’s Birthday so it was always going to be a fun packed day. Today also turned out to be another day of walking miles!
Off we go again
After eating a quick breakfast we stopped off at a Tesco express and bought some meal deals for our dinner that we could just eat on the go. Once we were sorted we headed off and ended up walking to the Elephant and Castle. Up to this point i had never heard of the Elephant and castle but now I have even seen it! We did a quick stop off and then carried on walking, we walked past Guys hospital. Further along we passed The Shard and headed towards Tower Bridge. We walked over Tower Bridge and headed towards the Tower of London. Now seemed a really good time to stop and have something to eat As everyone was hungry so we stopped off at Subway and filled up on some sandwiches and drinks
Boat trip down the Thames
As we were near the Thames the boys had been asking to go on a boat especially Max. I went and enquired how much it would be if we hopped on and got off in Westminster near the London Eye. The price he quoted was £56.75 for us all. Alex was stood with me and was quick to decide that we should go for it so we did. We had a short wait of about 15 mins before the boat left. It was a lovely journey and gave our legs a bit of a rest. It also gave us a bit of a laugh, as the lad telling you about the history of London was really funny.
We headed towards the London Eye to find out the price and waiting times. We decided to go on. Please see my London Eye blog.
Leicester Square
During the day we had been trying to book a table at TGI Fridays for Kieran’s Birthday meal. The booking app kept saying there were no tables available which was a bit disappointing. After walking back along the south bank and watching the street performers there we then decided we would head over to Leicester Square anyway. There looked like there were lots of places to eat that would of been suitable. I decided i would pop in TGI’s and ask if they have any tables for us.
18th Birthday Meal sorted
We did just that and by now it were 7.20. I popped in and they said they could fit us in at 8pm. Perfect that was tea sorted and Kieran was happy. We had no trouble filling our time as the kids were mesmerised watching all the street performers. To be fair to all the street performers they were pretty good. Time for tea and we were all starving and had a lovely meal as always at TGI’s and I had the privilege of buying Kieran his first legal drink! We even got to see Kieran being sung Happy Birthday too.
More Exploring
After we had finished eating it was starting to get dark. Most of the street performers had left so we headed over to Piccadilly Square. Kieran really wanted to see all the billboards lit up. Ben was also in his element as he got to photograph loads more sports cars too. Kieran had said he wanted to take photos of Trafalgar Square at night so that was the next place we headed. Kieran got his photos and the Boys got to see some more street performers so everyone was happy.
Heading Back
By now it was getting really late and it was 11pm. We asked the boys if they wanted us to get a taxi back to the premier Inn but they didn’t. They all wanted to carry on walking and see what else they could see. It had been such a good day no one wanted it to end. We made it back to the Premier inn after a steady walk home at half past midnight. It’s safe to say that everyone was soon asleep.
The Last Day
The following morning it was time to check out. All of us were feeling sad it was the last day of the weekend in London celebrating Kieran’s 18th Birthday. We got up and headed down for breakfast at the Premier Inn. Breakfast was lovely and they always have a really good selection on offer to cater for everyone. The price is really great too, I paid £31.50 for Shane, Kieran and myself to eat and then the 4 little ones eat free so it’s a real bargain.
After breakfast we packed all our stuff and we checked out. I loved staying at the Premier Inn. The rooms were lovely and we all got good nights sleep, as the beds were so comfy.
Last Mooch around
We were all feeling rather tired today so we just had a steady walk about. The boys wanted to walk along the South Bank again so we headed that way, saw some street performers. Everyone sat and enjoyed an ice cream. We even managed to find a bit of beach near the OXO building so the boys enjoyed a quick run on the sand.
We kept making our way back towards Kings Cross so we didn’t miss our train! We stopped off for a pit stop at Greggs to feed us all to keep us going. Then carried on on our travels. Purely by accident we discovered the World Turned Upside Down Sculpture but it was good to see. We had a bit of spare time before we needed to be at Kings Cross. We decided to have a stop off in Russell Square to let the boys have a run about for half an hour.
Back to Kings Cross
By the time we got to Kings Cross everyone was tired but also sad to be leaving London. We had managed to clock up 31.5 miles that we had all walked. Amazingly not one of the kids had moaned. Its amazing as normally they hate walking but they were all just too busy soaking up what London had to offer. We all had the most amazing time making memories over the Weekend in London Celebrating Kieran’s 18th Birthday. It sure will be one to remember for him and us.
LNER
The train journey home on LNER was fantastic and the refreshments trolley was very welcomed by all of us. The boys loved travelling by train to London and its something that we plan to do again. After a busy weekend in London Celebrating Kieran’s 18th Birthday, it was also nice for Shane and I not to have to drive home. It meant we could just relax with the kids.
This is Kieran’s Highlight Video from our Weekend.
