The National Army
Museum was a great place to spend time on a wet jubilee weekend. The
crowds from the Thames Pageant had gone but the barriers and bags of
litter remained as we walked over Albert Bridge and passed Cadogan
Pier.
A 30 minute drive from
south west London including a quick detour to pick up lunch at the
Golden Arches drive through in Wandsworth delivered us to free on
street parking near Battersea Park.
My childhood
expectation of being able to live in one of the beautiful properties
on Cheyne walk is still a lottery win away! Perhaps I should follow
the example of one enterprising young resident who was selling 10p
packs of Haribo sweets for 60p or 2 for £1! Needless to say my
children were disappointed as I declined to line his pockets with my
hard earned silver. The uniformed nanny/house keeper watched on with
amusement from the grand front door.
On arrival at the
museum we booked an hour in the kid zone which turned out to be
brilliant and a bargain at £2.50 each. As you have to book a slot
it is never too busy.
We walked around the
different levels, with the boys enjoying the world wars section most.
D enjoyed trying on some army uniforms. The visuals in the
conflicts of interest section were great with a screen in the floor
showing news footage of recent wars.
I am not a horsey
person and haven't read the book, seen the film or the production at
the National Theatre but the War Horse section was brilliant. It was
very moving as I had never considered the role of horses in war
before. The boys enjoyed colouring in a horse and adding it to the
display of others to remember horses. I found the life size wire
sculpture of “Joey” the horse very striking.
The kid zone is a
recent addition with sufficient distracting soft play tunnels, blocks
and play tables to keep them entertained for the hour session. It
was well maintained with hygiene high on the agenda (instructions to
remove shoes and use of hand gel).
The spaces felt
uncluttered with plenty of room to wander and we didn't feel that we
got in anyone's way. It was fairly quiet when we arrived but got
busier in the afternoon as we were leaving. A mix of different
people were visiting old and young which was lovely to see. The
displays worked well for adults and children with plenty to explore,
interact and read about.
A walk around Battersea
Park was cut short as the heavens opened further and we made a dash
back to the car with promises of Mcflurries on the way home.
