On the buses – a day out at the London Transport Museum

On a wet and windy day with a lively toddler demanding to be released from the confines of the house, we donned our raincoats / raincovers on and made our way on the tube to Holborn station.

A short walk later, having passed a variety of street artists and metallic painted people, and we were standing in front of the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden. Having been there as a child myself, I had a dim recollection of standing around looking at a staff member dressed up as a train conductor, but I’m glad to say there have been massive changes since then!

After paying our £13.50 admission fee each (I know it sounds a lot but when you realise that your ticket gives you admission as many times as you like for a year, its not so bad – and under 16’s are free) we were given our ‘Stamper Trail’ card, and let loose inside the building. Straight away we reached stamper station number 1, and (not having read the stamper trail leaflet yet) the Other Half proceeded to stick various paper objects in the slot to cover them in ink stamp images of the world, something which the Wee Man found highly entertaining.

Heading on up the ramp, which has brightly lit illustrations of various underground networks across the world demonstrated alongside it (and which the Wee Man spent quite some time poking) we reached the top and entered the first exhibition, which was all about the development of London Transport.

Finding another stamping station, the purpose of the Stamper Trail card was realised and the Wee Man gleefully assisted in punching a transport related shape into the appropriate spot. The horses pulling an early London taxi were also highly entertaining, as they were apparently able to talk in those days. (Not sure that’s an entirely true representation but even so the little man was intrigued by them for quite some time). For older kids, and mums and dads, there were a variety of exhibits, some interactive, which made for interesting viewing.

Moving on to the next floor (three stamper trail stamps later) which was a kind of mezzanine above the main exhibition area, there was a life sized train to try out, and a little train running alongside the edge of the floor which you could watch as you looked out onto the floor below (as well as a staff member dressed as a train conductor, so obviously some things haven’t changed). Since the floor below contained various buses, we didn’t spend much time on the mezzanine as there was clearly far too much excitement to be had further on and the Wee Man was very impatient to get there!

We walked down the stairs and there was a seating area with small café and a table with a large wooden train set / townscape for the children to play with while the adults had a bit of a rest, as well as an adjacent play bus / riverboat / underground train and taxi which were fitted out with a variety of seating, steering wheels, and giant foam columns dangling from the ceiling (representative of London commuters? I am not sure!). These kept the Wee Man and a whole horde of other children occupied happily for quite some time, until we decided we should go and have a look at the actual buses, trains and trams on display.

The majority of the exhibits allowed people to climb up and down to the top decks, and play with various buttons and random levers. There was also a room with a floor and wall light display / projector thing going on which we found interesting to watch, and the Wee Man enjoyed stamping around on. Heading on further, towards the exit, there was a life size number 47 bus cab to try out, which the Wee Man happily drove about before we went to find the final stamper stations on the stamper trail.

We tried out the facilities before heading home and they were adequate if a little ‘public toilety’, and there was also a dedicated breastfeeding / bottlefeeding room provided.

For older children, the London Transport Museum offers a free family activity book, and there are various learning areas as well as different exhibitions throughout the year which we will no doubt make use of as the Wee Man gets bigger.

All in all we had a very fun afternoon, and – armed with our yearly passes – we will certainly be heading back there on wet weather days to enjoy the experience again.