From free art to days spent in Hyde Park, here are five fun things you can do with the kids and family ย in Knightsbridge these summer school holidays.
1 Join a Peter Pan Discovery Day in Hyde Park
Covering 350 acres, Hyde Park packs-in the experiences, such as tennis and horse-riding. The drop-in series of discovery days (ยฃ5pp) running across August are themed sessions of storytelling, arts and activities. Themes include Peter Pan, Wild about Water, Meadow Madness and Life Underground. Discover more pirate joy at the playground, where kids can climb rigging and run in and out of teepees, while water babes can dip their does in the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain. You could even try an open water swim in Serpentine Lake or hire a boat or a pedalo.
Website:ย royalparks.org.uk
2 Apple Storeโs tech sessions for children
Fore families looking for a dose of tech, Brompton Roadโs Apple store (and other stores across London) has free in-store sessions for children who love a bit of tech geekery. Taking place on selected dates, the Coding Lab for Kids enables children to experiment with Swift code and design an app using the About Me playground. At the Apple Summer Camp, kids can learn to think like inventors using Freeform and Keynote and design dream inventions on an iPad.
Dates: Various dates through July & August
Address: 17-27 Brompton Road, SW1X 9LF
Website: Coding Lab apple.com; Summer Campย apple.com
3 Take a virtual tour of Hyde Parkโs 1851 Great Exhibition
Located on the south side of Hyde Park, this virtual tour of a the โghostโ structure of the 1851 Great Exhibition combines tech with history. The Great Exhibition, organised in part by Prince Albert, only lasted five and a half months but during that time it showcased the industrial and cultural advances that characterised Victoria's reign and welcomed over six million visitors. The exhibition and its exhibits were housed in an enormous temporary glass structure which became known as the โCrystal Palaceโ (it was ultimately dismantled and relocated to South London).
Website: royalparks.org.uk
4 Get a sugar hit at Harrodโs Chocolate Hall & Knot Churros
Dazzle the kids with displays of piled-high chocolates, exotic fruits and round-the-world treats in this epicurean heaven. For more visual treats, head to Londonโs first โluxury desserts barโ, theย Knot Churros. Here, alongside signature churros and dips, outlandish sweet seekers can try glitter popcorn, pink lattes and blue hot dogs with candy cotton churros, rainbow bagels and a pink, blue and cotton candy hot chocolate too.
Websites:ย harrods.com;ย theknotchurros.comย
5 See art for free
Start with the new largescale Hair Comb Sculpture โDetangling the MBSโ by artist Josephine Chime atย Knightsbridgeย Station. Part of theย Kensington + Chelsea Art Week, the quirky largescale installation will be on display until August 30 at One Hoopers Court. The ARXย on Brompton Road hosts a diverse revolving programme of multi-sensory exhibitions from up-and-coming contemporary artists to established names, including Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin. Hyde Park is home to the Pan Statue, The Huntress Fountain, the Boy and Dolphin and the Queen Caroline Memorial Urn, and of course the Serpentine Gallery, while the South Kensington trifecta of the V&A, Natural History Museum and the Science Museum are a short stroll away.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here