Knightsbridge and Belgravia
Weekly Rota of Baby and Toddler Groups for Knightsbridge and Belgravia
Scroll Down for a suggested itinerary
If you organise it right, a morning in Knightsbridge can be the perfect mingling of iconic shopping and culture while being really fun for the little ones. The focal point of a trip to Knightsbridge with toddlers should be Hyde Park. Let the little ones spend the day here, one adult stays and while the other plays; or tire the children out at the playground and take them with you. Also, during term time you can make use of the local playgroups and library times.
Monday –
Creche (0 – 3 years) Chelsea Leisure Centre, 2 – 2:45
St. Peter’s Eaton Square, Parent and Toddler Group, 10 – noon, £1
St. Michael’s Church, The Arc Playgroup, 10 – 11:30, £20 / term and you need to register. (Call ahead for an introductory session)
Tuesday-
St. Paul’s Tots and Toddlers, 2:30 - 4
Pippa’s Poppets Music and Movement Classes (0-4yrs), St. Columba’s Church, Pont Street, 9:45 babies, 10:30 toddlers, 11:15 small children. See web site for pricing and venue details: www.pippaspoppets.co.uk
Baby and Toddler Swim (0 – 3 years) Chelsea Leisure Centre, 2 – 2:30
Wednesday-
Mayfair Library, Story Hour, under 5’s, 10 – 11, free
Jigsaw Toddler Group (0 – 3 years) Chelsea Methodist Church, 155 A Kings Road, 11 – 2:30
St. Michael’s Church, The Arc Playgroup, 10 – 11:30, £20 / term and you need to register. (Call ahead for an introductory session)
Thursday –
Holy Trinity Brompton Tots and Toddlers Group, 10 - 11:30
Little Lambs, 10 – 11:30
Baby Rhyme Time (0 – 2 years), Chelsea Library 11 – 11:30 (need to collect a ticket the preceding Saturday)
Friday
Story Time (2 – 5 years), Chelsea Library 11 – 11:30 (need to collect a ticket the preceding Saturday)
Pippas Poppets
- Tuesdays, St. Columba’s Church, Pont Street, Knightsbridge
Pippa's Poppets Knightsbridge Most Lovely Baby and Toddler Music Class
- 9:45 babies, 10:30 toddlers, 11:15 small children
- Gorgeous Venue, right in Knighsbridge
- Just a few steps into the church and room
- Pushchairs allowed in music room
- Toilets downstairs
Pippa’s Poppets is a unique combination of quality, original children’s music; great singing; homemade instruments and loads of silly, happy fun. Pippa’s classes are entertaining for children and carers alike and they help lay a solid foundation for future study of music.
Begun in a flat in Pimlico in 2010, Pippa’s Poppets has quickly grown to now encompass four venues. The simple reason behind this rapid growth: the mums and carers in her classes keep telling their friends about it and Pippa has had to find more space!
Pippa Cleary, founder of Pippa’s Poppets, is an award-winning composer who has written songs for CBeebies, National Youth Theatre, Stagecoach and the Polka Theatre. Her musical Jet Set Go! had a sell-out run at London’s off-West End Jermyn Street Theatre in 2009 and is now published by Josef Weinberger. She has been working with children and infants for over two years, having taught singing in private schools and nurseries all over London. She has now started her Pippa’s Poppets sessions in the prestigious Young England Kindergarten (where Princess Diana used to teach).
St. Columba’s on Pont street is a fabulous venue. There are a few steps to contend with and there are stairs to the toilets, but other than that the site is push chair and baby friendly. You bring your push chair right into the room, and let sleeping babies lie or not worry about your £500 investment walking away.
Further all the amenities of Knightsbridge are just outside the door, shopping and the playground next to the Hyde Park Barracks. A very posh and pleasant music group.
St. Peter’s Eaton Square
St Peter’s Eaton Square Church, 119 Eaton Square, SW1W 9AL, Mondays 10 AM - 11:30, £1,
- Small, friendly group mostly made up of mums
- Very pleasant and relaxed atmosphere
- Located in the church crypt, so there are quite a few steps to contend with
- Tea, coffee and biscuits served
- Tube: Victoria
- Bus: 2, 8, 16, 36, 38, 52, 82, 148, 436, 11, 44, 170, 211, C1, C10
http://www.stpetereatonsquare.co.uk/
This is a small and intimate playgroup. It’s the best one for meeting local mums and learning more about the area.
The group meets in the crypt of St. Peter’s Church. The buggies are parked outside and you descend about 10 steps to go inside. If you like, you are welcome to bounce the buggy down into the crypt. Inside children have their choice of some riding toys, kitchen, tool bench and a really good art table with paint bottles, markers and smocks.
This is the group to go to if you would like to find out more information about St. Peter’s Eton Square School as many of the regulars are also parishioners.
Little Lambs Playgroup,
- Christ Church Mayfair, Thursdays, 10 – 11:30, 0207 629 5885
- Buggy friendly, the door is a bit tricky, but after that you can pull your buggy right into the room
- Toilets are available, they are located at the bottom of some extremely steep, winding steps
- Good space for two children
- Tube: Green Park
- Bus: 2, 10, 16, 36, 73, 74, 82, 137, 148, 414, 436, 38, 22, 19, 14, 9, 8
Little Lambs is the place to meet local mums and nannies in Mayfair as there are so few playgroups located directly in the neighbourhood.
The playgroup has a nice assortment of toys and different areas of play. There are two lovely young ladies who run the group and keep the toys nicely looked after and break the session into playtime, story and snack. It’s a very sweet group of children.
After playgroup, the playground near the Hyde Park Barracks, the Knightsbridge Playground is just a brisk 15 minute walk away.
Story time for the under 5’s,
Mayfair Library, Wednesdays, 10 – 11:30, 0207 641 4903
- Buggy friendly, just a few steps to enter the building
- You pull the buggy right into children’s area
- Toilets are difficult, they are located at the top of several flight of stairs
- Not a great space for two children as it is not contained, but you could take two on your own as they would both likely be very engaged.
- Tube: Green Park
- Bus: 2, 10, 16, 36, 73, 74, 82, 137, 148, 414, 436, 38, 22, 19, 14, 9, 8
This is one of the best children’s library times I have been to!
The lady who runs it is an excellent entertainer, she has a giant puppet that plays games and sing songs to the little ones. After, the children sit and listen to a couple short stories and lastly boxes of toys are brought out for children to have a nice play. It’s a really great time.
Further, this is a really nice group to meet local mums and carers.
Just outside the library is a lovely garden with lots of benches and some room to wander.
Jigsaw Club
Chelsea Methodist Church, service provided by West London Action for Children at 155a King’s Road, SW3 5TX, 0207 352 9305 ext 27, Wednesdays 11 – 2:30, lunch served, free
- Super convenient location
- Very friendly, informed and supportive staff
- Buggy park downstairs from the group, there is a lift, or, two flights walk up
- free lunch provided
- Lovely, bright and varied playroom
- Good changing facilities and toilets
- Tube: Sloane Sq, South Kensington
- Bus: 49, 19, 22, 319, 11, 360
http://www.chelseamethodist.org.uk/Children-1.html
This is a wonderful playgroup right in the middle of The King’s Road, excellent if you have shopping to do.
The group has lovely, knowledgeable volunteers who can put you in touch with other activities and resources in the community.
Varied and pleasant, the playroom has a book area, ball pit, sand tray, art area in addition to lots of interesting and nicely looked after toys. Lunch is prepared and served at 12pm, you can bring your own or enjoy a wholesome meal prepared for you.
When you enter the church, you leave your buggy in the entryway, but there is a receptionist who monitors who comes and goes, so there are a set of eyes on your buggy. After you park the buggy, you may take a lift to the playroom or walk up a long flight of stairs.
After a play at the Jigsaw Club you can wander through the shops and then to St. Luke’s Playground for a lovely day of shopping and playing.
Hyde Park
The Lido:
Located on the south end of the Serpentine, this is a great little place to take the family on a summer day. The café is open year round and serves nutritious and delicious food. There is a high fence right along the water and outdoor seating so your children can get close to the waterfowl.
The other part of the lido is a family area with a lawn, paddling pool, swings, sandpit and climbing frame. This is a great place to go on a sunny day, when you really want a contained space to play with small children. The biggest drawback: there is little shade on a sunny day. You must pack sun cream. The cost to enter the family area is £4 for adults, children under 3 free. The café will serve your lunch “pool-side” on the upstairs terrace.
The Knightsbridge Barracks Playground:
Located just inside the park, down from Sloane Avenue, near Harvey Nichols, this is a great fenced in playground with good equipment.
If you are in the playground at 10:28, the Queens Household Cavalry may just gallop by on their way to the changing of the guard. Great fun and darling pictures of children grasping the playground fence and pointing at the horses.
The Holocaust Memorial Walk and The Rose Gardens
The area east of the eastern tip of the Serpentine is a really nice place to take children for a wander and play. It is not fenced in, but its beautifully landscaped, quiet and feels a bit more secluded than the open spaces of the rest of the park. There are two Monkey Puzzle trees to look at.
A Day Out: Knightsbridge
Culture
- Procession of the Queen’s Horse Guard from Hyde Park Barracks
- Brompton Oratory and the South Kensington Museums (Natural History Museum, Science Museum, V and A), free
Shopping
- Harrods
- Brompton Road
- Sloane Street
Playgrounds
- Hyde Park Lido, (£4 adults, children under 5 free)
- Knightsbridge Barracks Playground
How to Get There
- Bus: 52
- Tube: Knightsbridge
If you organise it right, a morning in Knightsbridge can be the perfect mingling of iconic shopping and culture while being really fun for the little ones. The focal point of a trip to Knightsbridge with toddlers should be Hyde Park. Let the little ones spend the day here, one adult stays and while the other plays; or tire the children out at the playground and take them with you.
The Guard changes every day from May through August, after that it is every other day and you need to check the schedule online. The Queen’s Horse Guard leaves from the Knightsbridge Barracks, just next to the playground in Hyde Park at 10:28 each day the ceremony is on. If you are in the playground at that time, it is such a treat to see the procession go by. http://www.royal.gov.uk/RoyalEventsandCeremonies/ChangingtheGuard/Overview.aspx
Also, not too far from the playground is the South Kensington Museums and the Brompton Oratory, all free, beautiful and great to wander through even with little ones in tow. Its only about a £5 taxi from there to Knightsbridge.
Harrods is The Destination for most tourists and really shouldn’t be missed. It is absolute indulgent luxury from top to bottom. The store is step-free with changing facilities and family-friendly toilets. The Toy Kingdom, on the 4th floor can is a great place to amuse the children during, before or after a shop, also during wet weather.
Brompton Road is great to shop, offering a mix of specialty boutiques and high street chains. This is a very crowded area, making it somewhat difficult to get a large pushchair down the street. Further, many of the shops have two levels and getting to the lift is not always easy.
Sloane Street, however, is lined with the large number of flagship stores for designers like Hermes and Chanel. The crowds are thinner and it is just a more pleasant street to window shop.
Where to Eat:
The Lido Café: The Lido is located next to the Serpentine, just a short walk from the Knightsbridge Playground. Its very family friendly, nearly step-free, and has public toilets with changing facilities that are located outside the restaurant. Really good food with superb healthy meal options, also beer and wine are served! Large, outdoor, good people watching terrace, as well as indoor seating.
The Dell Restaurant: This is my favourite between the two as The Dell has an enormous terrace filled with picnic tables (you can easily bring your own food and eat here) with an large weeping willow in the middle. The tables are set next to the Serpentine and the little ones can have a wander about and feed the ducks.
Wagamama: In Harvey Nichols, inexpensive, fast, noisy, tons of high chairs and yummy!!
