Sponsored post: Visiting London’s Cutty Sark with kids

When we arrived at Cutty Sark in Greenwich yesterday for a review there were arts and crafts on the lower ground floor, a storytelling session two floors above, and soon after, visitors were invited to join a tour with a character. I don’t think I was alone in feeling that families were in focus at this London tourist attraction.

Cutty Sark first came on my radar as a family-friendly tourist attraction when we were invited to visit last year, and that’s why I was excited to take up a paid collaboration with Cutty Sark again this half term.

Around 8am in the morning we hopped on the weekday River Bus service from Chelsea Harbour, and took the same boat all the way to Canary Wharf where we changed for the one that took us to Greenwich. The children had print-outs about the history of the clipper ship, a quiz, and a London sticker book with two pages with Cutty Sark fun facts.

After travelling on the river for just over an hour, we were ready for our Greenwich adventure, starting with a stop at National Maritime Museum, then a screening of Ted’s Space Adventure in the Planetarium at the Royal Observatory, and then a visit to Cutty Sark as part of the collaboration.

Cutty Sark is situated a stone throw away from the pier, making it particularly easy to get to when using the River Bus service, and visiting the majestic ship can make for an entertaining day out for young and old.

On Wednesdays during term time, Cutty Sark even has a new Toddler Time event for the youngest visitors. Toddler Time on the Cutty Sark costs £5 per adult, and if parents sign up to an annual membership for £44, they can go for free.

For our visit, however, it was the tour with the character I really didn’t want to miss. We enjoyed a tour with the ‘cook’ on the ship last time we reviewed Cutty Sark, and this time, it was the ‘captain’ that showed us around. We heard about some of the stories from the ship’s history relating to life on board, and we even learnt to sing a sea shanty. I think these 20-25 minute long character tours recommended for children aged 5 and over are ideal for families, as hearing from a ‘character’ can help bring history to life and make the experience fun and engaging.

In addition, families will enjoy the interactive displays on the Tween Deck, and my favourite is a game where visitors can try to steer a ship.

For half-term, Cutty Sark has a variety of children’s activities too, and we spent around half an hour making adventure suitcases with cut out magnifier glasses and telescopes. The children could have a think what they might want to bring on an adventure and choose some things to make.

After exploring all the decks on the ship – and finding Cutty Sark explore trail stamps – we suddenly noticed it was time to head back to the pier and catch the River Bus to Embankment and take the tube the last stretch home. An educational and fascinating family day out!

Tags: Attraction, Cutty Sark, Family day out, Greenwich, London, Sponsored post