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We only got back from London at midnight, but we headed back there this morning for a day of history with the kids. It's crazy cheap to travel in on Sundays - £2 for parking at Welwyn Garden City and about £25 for train and daily railcards for a family of 4 (with a Network Rail Card). I looked after all the tickets so the kids wouldn't lose theris.
Ernie is learning about the Great Fire of London, so we took him to Pudding Lane to see where it all began. It's a right swizz though as Pudding Lane is all modern stuff. Where did all the 1666 buildings go?
We then walked down to the Tower of London, which didn't come in quite as cheap as the rail fare (a little north of £100). I wasn't sure the kids would get that much out of it, but a) Ernie enjoyed being able to repeatedly say "The Bloody Tower" and not get into trouble for it b) Ernie enjoyed seeing King Henry VIII's armour with a special bulge to project his little crown jewels and c) they were both quite into seeing the other Crown Jewels and the interactive stuff in the armoury. Ironically the only place they didn't like was the bloody Bloody Tower, which they found a bit creepy.
I discovered during lunch that I'd managed to lose my travel card (though the kids' ones were still in my pocket) so I was annoyed about that for most of the day, furious that I'd have to pay twice for something I'd already bought.
We were going over to Hamleys for some Christmas present ideas so I had to pay for the tube journey (though realised later I could just have picked Ernie up and used his ticket. In Hamleys Ernie actually found someone's Oyster card on the floor - it was like the Universe was repaying us and giving us free travel after all. But I am a good and moral person and though I assumed the woman who lost the card would probably not come back to Hamleys to find it (she'd only realise once she was back at the train station) I handed it in anyway. If you're the lady - sorry I've forgotten your name- your Oyster card is at Hamleys.
I had done the right thing. Where was karma? I had been good. Why did the wind not blow my own travelcard back into my hand?
As it happened I realised that if we got the train back at Finsbury Park then I wouldn't need a return ticket as there is no barrier between the tube and the train and then I could plead with the men at the WGC end and show them my receipt and hope they let me through. I picked up Ernie and got a free tube ride (that I'd already paid for) and the plan worked perfectly. The gates were open at WGC so I pulled off the crime of the century. Perhaps karma is real after all.
It had been a pretty good family day out, though we blew another £50 on toys (including some overpriced powder that turns into snow when you add water to it), so over £200 including lunch and double paid tube ride.
It seems a lot, but at least the kids had learned something about King Henry VIII's crotch, seen where he'd murdered one of his wives and bought a box of nothing that they'd play with once.
Seems a shame that anyone struggling for funds can't get to see King Henry VIII's metal codpiece - it's part of all of our history after all. Like all the king's armour it was untroubled by dents, so most of these weapons and defences were clearly entirely for show. Should be free, like it was in the old days, when just not being able to have a male child or calling the king a dick meant you could come and knock around here until you died.
