My children love parks. In fact if you pay to go somewhere (like Legoland for example) and it has a park they will make a beeline for it. If I wrote about every trip we made to the park I am sure you would be bored. But our trip to Regent’s Park Play Area was no ordinary park trip. How the four of us made it as far as this park is something I am quite proud of.
My Confidence Journey with London
You see Regent’s Park Play Area is of course in London. I first went to London by myself in June 2013 – just a little over a year ago. I was absolutely petrified of London and finding my way round. Then I was invited to the launch of the Battlebox Dangerous Den Kit. This time I took my middle two children. Scared to take the tube we ended up walking for hours (at night time!) to find our hotel. The next day we spent hours walking around London – just because I was too dam scared to use the Tube. I promised the boys that our next trip to London we’d bring their dad so they would not have to do all that walking. Sure enough the next time their dad came and we went to a special screening of the Smurfs 2. The Tube didn’t seem that scary after all. Since then I have been to London several times. Yes the underground can seem daunting but thanks to Lil I learnt to understand it better. I even travelled at Peak times (and got caught in the door!). I took my youngest two for the day when we were invited to Warner House – and it went well. I was so proud of how far my Sensory Seeker has come. So when we were invited to see what Xeno was up to at London Zoo I knew I could handle taking all 3 of my boys – overnight! I did not want them to get up stupidly early and be overtired, and besides it was actually cheaper to go up the night before and stop over than catch an early train. And that is how we had time to play in Regent’s Park.
Astoria Hotel and Belmont – Paddington London
Our hotel was just a short walk from Paddington Station – much to the boys’ relief. We actually booked to stay in the Astoria Hotel but stayed in the Belmont. My requirements were that it wasn’t a hostel, there was a bathroom, we were all together, and it wasn’t too expensive. It also had breakfast included which was a bonus. I have to say it was a delight to stay there. Staff were courteous, rooms were clean, well-stocked with tea bags/milk etc; the boys loved the fact that they each had a towel and bar of soap each. But the best thing was that the breakfast was freshly cooked for us. Nothing seemed too much trouble as staff went backwards and forwards giving us the best start to the day. We happily left on our walk to the Zoo well fed. This is when we discovered Regent’s Park.
Regent’s Park Play Area
Regent’s Park Play area had only one other child in it, so the boys got to play and explore. It was great. I have to say when we returned after visiting London Zoo it was packed, and let’s just say that not all of the children were friendly. I am sure it said that it was for 12 and unders – but some were definitely older. It was a lovely park and there was lots to do. Climbing, balancing, sounds, and even toilets for children.
So now I can say that I have managed to go from being scared of London to taking my 3 boys there overnight. Not sure I will ever be ready to take them on the Underground in rush hour though – but the walk and play at Regent’s Park Play area was much nicer anyway.
