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For Tiny Londoners & Their Adults

Bablands is a resource for Londoners who find themselves with a small creature to dress up and entertain. Part-magazine, part-guide, Bablands follows the adventures of Babu and Roro as they seek out London’s coolest kids’ shops, best child-friendly hangouts and activities that won’t make mummy want to gauge her eyes out with a weaning spoon.

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Bear & Wolf on Fortess Road is now under new management and has been renamed Little Bear (the original Bear and Wolf still has a cafe around the corner on Campdale Road, albeit sans-playroom). Little Bear is much the same as its previous incarnation. The only changes seem to be a Perspex roof over half the garden, making it more usable in less lovely weather; a lot of the mankier toys (most notably the grim dress up clothes) have gone and there are a few new additions, while many remain and have been cleaned; and a section of the playroom has been sectioned off with a lockable gate (no more toddlers running off into oncoming traffic!). I didn’t look at the menu today but the coffee is as good as ever, and there are are few more tables where the fridge and cake table used to be. I’m really pleased that it’s still super chilled and you can still take food and drink into the playroom. I will always take convenience over cleanliness because I’m gross 🙃
Reposting because no one saw my last post 💀
The most beautiful kids’ shop @molly_meg_ . I need to stop going in here, it always manages to convince me that I need to have another baby 🫠 Head here for all your kids’ party, nursery, gift and - dare I say it - stocking-filler needs.
20 awesome things to do with kids in London in June is now live! Lots of fun stuff next month, from workshops to festivals to exhibitions and pavilions, much of it absolutely free. If, like me, you’re starting to wonder how the heck you’re going to fill the half term hols there’s loads of stuff at the beginning of this month’s list AND the end of last month’s to keep you going (although everyone I talk to seems to be going on holiday and I’m bitterly jealous). Link in bio 🌝
Thought the big kids’ bit of the Sunrise Close playground deserved some grid space 😍 I climbed up and had a crawl around, which murdered my old knees but it was worth it. The modules, or ‘play crystals’ are joined together to form a maze of sorts, with a net in the middle and two routes up (or down). We said it could have done with a slide or at least a fireman’s pole, but actually I think my seven year old would have really enjoyed just climbing around. My four year old is less of a climber and wanted (rather than needed, I suspect) help getting up, then was a bit freaked out by the sloped terrain and quickly asked to get down. Will definitely be back with the big one at some point.
It’s been another long week with these two 🫠 I’m so happy @boldtendencies is open again (as of today!), even if the show isn’t my favourite one ever. To be fair, I doubt anything is ever going to top the Martin Creed balloon room from last year’s show. We spent ages hanging out in the @peckhamlevels play area before we headed here (I think the longest the girls have played together without fighting all week 😵‍💫). We also checked out the @sarahszestudio installation at The Old Waiting Room in the station, which was beautiful. We were very done after all that, but if you had a whole day you could also do the South London Gallery, Peckham Rye Park, Brunswick Park or Peckham Pulse.
It’s finally open! And it only took six months 😩 Just when we thought the East Village had enough playgrounds, along comes this absolute dream to prove us all wrong. A playground in three parts, Sunrise Close Play Area consists of this very cool little-kids’ zone where traditional apparatus is hidden inside geometric orange pods; a bigger kids’ area comprising a big blue maze on stilts; and a decent-sized splash pad linking the two. This part of Stratford legit has a better choice of playgrounds than the whole of the borough of Camden borough, not that that’s particularly hard to achieve 🫤
Chelsea Physic Garden
We visited the old soft play at Brixton Rec a few months ago and really liked it, despite it being pretty ancient, so we had high hopes for the new one they had planned. We revisited the centre earlier this week and I have to say I was a bit disappointed, although we couldn’t work out exactly what it was we weren’t keen on. On the plus side it’s really reasonably priced compared with pretty much ALL the other soft plays at £6 for one adult and one under-8 (prices vary by age). It’s also a good size, taking over the old sports hall in the centre’s basement, and has some really tall slides. On the downside, I thought they could have made better use of the space (it could have been absolutely massive), I didn’t rate it for smaller kids and it’s not great if you don’t like heights. I also just generally found it a bit uninspiring design-wise. We’ve been to some great soft plays lately and this paled a bit in comparison (although like I said this one is much cheaper than most of the others). The space also has Clip ‘n’ Climb that isn’t open yet and a couple of assault courses (again, better for older ones). A good one for rainy days when you’re at a loose end in Brixton, but I think it’ll be a while before we’re back again.
Deptford’s @totsintown role play cafe opened this week and oh my, it’s adorable. Small but perfectly formed, it’s more of a small hamlet than a town with a grocers, beauty salon, diner, doctor’s surgery and library (but that’s all you need). We liked that the cafe area was incorporated into the play zone so you can keep an eye on your kids, and thought the attention to detail was great, plus the toilets were really clean with baby changing plus complimentary nappies and wipes, and an integrated kids’ seat on the toilet. What was less great was the two steps up to the cafe and the lack of vegan options, though the owner said they’re planning on fitting a ramp and expanding their range. All in all I thought it was brilliant, and the kids didn’t want to leave after an hour and a quarter. I also thought Deptford in general seemed really cool, with loads of cute little indie shops and cafes. We hadn’t been since we went to Deptford X about four years ago and it’s definitely changed a lot.
Oh my God you guys, I think this the coolest place we’ve ever been, and it’s not even in London (or anywhere near it 💀). If you ever happen to be passing through Yorkshire though, you HAVE to visit @stockeldpark . This is just a tiny portion of the incredible indoor Play Hive, which itself is only a small part of the park. It’s also got a huge maze, a magical Enchanted Forest trail with so many themed playgrounds I lost count, a massive bouncy pillow, go karts, inflatable slides, boats and more. Day tickets include a 90-minute session in the Play Hive, which really has to be seen to be believed (seriously, it’s SO good). Tickets cost from £18.50pp (save 20% on all spring weekend tickets with the code WOW23) and 0-2s go free.
When @martin_creed came to my hometown ⚽️🎱🎾 I don’t remember @mercerartgallery being particularly exciting back in the day but it’s so good now. A while ago we went to a Hilda exhibition there and now there’s this, which takes over the whole (admittedly quite small) gallery. No balloon room, sadly, but there is a room with TVs showing people vomiting 😃 One for my Harrogate crew - and I know there’s a weirdly high number of you.
Under the Sea Soft Play at @hornimanmuseumgardens is super cute and actually better than I was expecting. It’s got a play frame with small slides and a ball pool, soft blocks and rockers, dressing up, books and soft toys, all themed around aquatic life. Sessions are aimed at ages 6 and under (though we thought it was better suited to under-5s) and last an hour. Tickets will set you back £7.50 per child and £2.50 per adult. On until the 3rd of September.
Baby gym at @eastlondongymnasticscentre has been on my list for well over a year and I was determined we’d make it before Roma starts school. It was a slightly insane journey involving the overground, the tube and the DLR, and the girls were being fully ridiculous (apparently they’re lovely to each other at nursery then we pick them up and they spend the afternoon trying to murder each other). Anyway, this padded cell situation was perfect for them. I expected the gym part to be a bit more like our local baby gym at Talacre but there’s a lot less equipment (the giant pit they can’t get out of and the ginormous foam noodle pool are half the fun of Talacre), but this one has an entire soft-play structure in it, which Talacre does not. It’s only £4.50 per child for an hour and a half (1.30-3pm every day), which is a bargain if you ask me. We’d be here all the time if we were local as it’s one of the only regular afternoon activities I know of. Bit of a mission though.
Did you know Hamleys in Westfield White City has a slide? Actually, I didn’t even know Westfield White City had a Hamleys until @thelondonlifeoflilyandviolet told me. The last time we visited the Regent Street Hamleys I thought the selection was terrible. I mean, for a start ALL the Barbie dolls were white with blonde hair, which is deeply depressing for what’s supposedly “The World’s Finest Toy Shop”. We haven’t been back since, but we were at Westfield visiting the Upside Down House today so we decided to swing by the new branch while we were there. I don’t know if Hamleys has just sacked its buyer or if this store is an anomaly, but it’s SO much better now, with a much more representative selection of toys. Plus it’s all on one floor so you don’t feel like you’re never going to escape because they don’t have enough lifts, like in the Regent Street store. In addition to the slide, this store also has a LEGO table, Playmobil table, Peppa Pig bus and a giant Barbie box so you can pretend to be one (plus some other stuff I’ve probably forgotten). Find it on the first floor near John Lewis.
The @poppets.stores garden is open for business and it’s SO lush (and much bigger than it looks in this photo). I posted about this place back in October when they just had the indoor space, which includes a small shop at the front selling amazing toys, baby clothes and homeware, and a split-level cafe with a cosy lounge where kids can play with a small selection of toys, including a dolls’ house, and in the cute hidey hole with its cushions and fairy lights. Now the outside space adds old fairground ride-ons, a wooden Wendy house (or ice cream kiosk), sandpit and adorable fairy garden to the mix, as well as a big outdoor sofa for the grownups. They also do great coffee, bread from my favourite @breadbybike which they use in their things on toast (houmous, avocado etc.), and a good selection of healthy kids’ snacks. My favourite part though has to be that they offer wine in the evenings, and even have a BELL in the garden that you can ring and they will bring it to you. Absolute genius.
Have you been to the Miffy shop yet? I wasn’t sure to expect when it popped up last month, but I reckon it’s as good as the Amsterdam store. As well as Miffy plushies in every colour of the rainbow, the shop stocks Miffy-themed stationery and greetings cards, homeware, accessories, art prints, clothing and more. It’s not cheap, but great for gifts and die-hard fans. It’s only on until the 3rd of July so get your skates on if you want to stock up on goodies 🐰
Watching magic happen at @pancakeart.cafe the other week 🪄🥞 Seeing the staff create incredible pictures from colourful batter is pretty special (seriously, I can barely make a regular pancake), but my absolute favourite thing about this place is that (almost) everything they make is vegan, including all their beautiful pancakes and all their hot drinks, which are made with oat milk as standard 🌱 We were very kindly invited down to try out their Art Brunch, which consists of one art pancake, a drink and a set of art prints to colour, and also tried out their amazing rainbow cheese toast, which needs to be seen to be believed 🌈🥪🤤 Roma and Lily both chose unicorn pancakes, obviously, and I got an orca because I enjoyed the randomness of that being on the menu. Pancake Art Cafe is in Camden’s Hawley Wharf, right by Babylon Park, so you could combine the two and try out the indoor rollercoaster!

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