Page 357 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - London

CHILDREN ’ S L ONDON  355

Theatre and the Puppet Barge,
moored in Little Venice, specialize
in puppet shows. For older kids
who aspire to the stage, the Royal
National Theatre (see p192), the
Royal Opera House (see p119),
Sadler’s Wells (see p346) and
the Theatre Royal Drury Lane
(see p119) offer tours.
During Kids Week, which runs
throughout August, kids aged
under 16 go free at partici pating
theatres when accompanied by Giraffes at London Zoo, in Regent’s Park
a fee-paying adult.
The Great Outdoors Sports
Useful Numbers
London is fortunate to have For sports enthusiasts, there is
Kids Week many parks and open spaces plenty to see and do across
∑ kidsweek.co.uk (see pp52–5). Most local parks the capital. Sports centres (see
Little Angel Theatre will include conventional play- pp350–51) often have special
Tel 020 7226 1787. grounds for children, many clubs to occupy children of every
∑ littleangeltheatre.com with modern, safe equipment. age. Battersea Park Millennium
Young children will particularly Arena is one of many parks that
Polka Theatre enjoy the Diana Memorial Play- has an athletics track and sports
Tel 020 8543 4888. ground in Kensington Gardens facilities; most parks also have
∑ polkatheatre.com
(see p223), which features a tennis courts available for hire.
Puppet Barge huge Peter Pan-inspired One of London’s greatest
Tel 020 7249 6876. wooden pirate ship for kids to sporting facilities is the
∑ puppetbarge.com play on and explore. Coram’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
Unicorn Theatre Fields (see p133) in Bloomsbury (see pp254–5), which was built
Tel 020 7645 0560. is another delightful park, with for the Games in 2012. It is
∑ unicorntheatre.com a farmyard, paddling pool and now home to a huge range
sports pitches. of activities: go for a swim in
Animal-lovers will enjoy a trip the world-famous Aquatics
to the Children’s Zoo in Centre, play a game of hockey
Battersea Park (see p257) or climb the wall in the
(coincide a visit with feeding Tumbling Bay play area. Older
time) or to London Zoo and children are also able to cycle
Regent’s Canal (see p231). The inside the Velodrome, or
canal is also home to Camley attempt the mountain bike
Street Natural Park, a beautiful course in the Lee Valley VeloPark.
reserve that has butterflies, bats Other sporting must-visits
and birds. Vauxhall City Farm in London include Twicken-
has kids’ clubs and riding ham Rugby Football Ground
lessons available for all abilities. (see p351), Lord’s Cricket
Puppets at the Little Angel Theatre The city’s parks are ideal Ground (see p250), the
for a picnic lunch and bit of Wimbledon Lawn Tennis
respite. Feed the ducks at Museum (see p255) and Chelsea
St James’s Park or hire a boat Football Stadium (see p351).
on the lakes at Regent’s Park All are open most of the year
and Hyde Park. The Serpentine and offer exciting behind-the-
lido in Hyde Park is the perfect scenes tours.
Tuojiangasaurus place to enjoy a swim in the
skeleton at the summer time and there is a
Natural History separate area and paddling
Museum pool for children.
All of the large parks make
perfect places for a good
walk or cycle ride and bicycles
are easy to hire (see p375) –
though cyclists should be
sure to watch out for
pedestrians and
remember that some Sports facilities and green spaces at the
paths may be out of bounds. Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

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