This was one of our many COVID cancellation trips and just like the others (Alaska that went from planned 2 week to an entire month and WITH a new baby!, Utah that went from 1 week to 2 WITH a new RV!), this trip was made even better by the delay because I learned about some AWESOME Harry Potter themed lodging options that made the trip extra special. Shout out the the Mama Docs Travel group on facebook for the lodging suggestions!
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Well rested-
slept until 11 am! |
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| North Hill Farm |
So we are nature loving, outdoor people. Most of our trips are in that vein. But this trip was intended as an 8th birthday gift to our HP loving Zooey so the focus was on HP. We are not fans of Disney, in fact will absolutely never take our kids there- the commercialism, the "fakeness"- it is definitely not for us. The kids (now 10 and 5) seem to understand this and frankly have learned to share a lot of these values. But the HP Studios is a totally different feel - it's small, it's a few hour event, and it shows you how the movie was made which is more about human creativity and innovation. Of course the HP Studio makes money off our tickets and yes there is expensive junk food and gift shops you can buy things at. But aside from a couple wands, we dodged all that drama and after a few fun hours were back to our regularly schedule programming of time in nature and international exploring! If this sounds up your alley, read on!
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| The Owl Lookout at North Hill Farm |
On Day 1 we arrived on our uneventful overnight flight from Ohare. We rented a car at Heathrow and headed to the wonderful glamping destination of North Hill Farm which is in the London suburb of Chorleywood just 30 minutes drive from the airport. We stayed at the Owl Lookout and I highly recommend for those with little or middle kids. The entire building was shaped like an owl- outside and in. The decor was all on theme. There was a slide that led from the inside of the building to the outside lower level patio. There was a hot tub heated by a wood burning stove (a lot of work but the kids were entertained by it). They thought the whole thing was fantastic and ran themselves ragged up and down the slide and around and around. This kept them up until nearly bedtime which was super helpful for jet lag recovery.
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| Inside the owl lookout. |
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Magic bedrooms=
no jet lag! |
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| Patio at Owl Lookout. The slide starts inside |
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| Kitchen/dining room |
North Hill Farm is family owned and has been for over 100 years. The family lives on the property with their kids. They were delightful and wonderful hosts. On the property and surrounding, there are many hiking trails, HP themed art installations, and a frisbee golf course. One can venture out on foot or by car to Chorleywood proper. Adam walked to a local pub to get us take out dinner and some groceries. The Chorleywood tube station is about a 20 minute walk from the farm so one could do this without a car but then there's the trouble of getting to HP studios from here with kids who need carseats. If your kids are out of car seat age (and you pack light) you could definitely do this without renting a car.
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| Odds Farm was fun! |
Day 2 was for exploring the British countryside and getting over jet lag. The kids (including 13 mo old Fynn!!!) amazingly slept in until 11 am- it was raining and gloomy so this was perfect! Once they woke up we decided to head to Odds Farm- a working farm in a neighboring suburb. The kids loved the old narrow streets- definitely felt very unique. Odds Farm has many animals, multiple playgrounds both indoor and outdoor. By now the sun was up so we enjoyed a relaxed afternoon following the whims of the kids. We then stopped in a nearby town for a bookstore visit and an incredible incredible Italian dinner. This nice Italian grandpa cut up our babies food for him into baby size bits, adorable and appreciated! After dinner we took a short explore around the North Hill farm property and then enjoyed the hot tub. The light at sunset was absolutely stunning.
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| Hiking around North Hill Farm |
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| Hiking around North Hill Farm |
Day 3 was the main event- HP studio. We putzed around in the morning and then drove the 15 minutes to the studio. Frankly, I could give or take HP, same with 4 yo Oliver. Zooey (10) and my husband are big fans and Fynn the baby was happy to be in his carrier on mom- he cares not where. We spent about 2-3 hours there which was the perfect amount for all but my husband who said he could have easily spent a day. After walking around on our own for the couple hours enjoying various displays Z said she was ready to play outside and we headed back to North Hill farm for a night time hike.
If we had more time we would have done the Chess Valley Walk- out 10 miles then can train back and visited the Chiltern open area museum. That said, we likely won't be back to this area- it was great but there are so many areas of the world to explore!
Day 4 was our transition day- we drove 30 minutes to Heathrow, dropped off our car and spent the rest of the day traveling by Tube. The kids, predictably, LOVED the tube. They loved it even more than trains in Switzerland. They just found it so so fun. We took the tube to another gem of lodging called the Georgian House which is a boutique hotel that has regular rooms but more importantly Harry Potter themed chambers. We were there for the chamber and it was cool. I honestly don't love the aesthetic of old England. At all. But with the whole idea here being HP fun, it was perfect and the kids really enjoyed the old school stuff- even a pull string toilet. We walked to Battersea park for an explore and then grabbed take out dinner and called it a night.
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| Prince Fynnie at Georgian House |
Day 5 was explore London day. I let the kids chose which places and activities they wanted to do. They chose Tower of London, the London Transportation Museum and a return visit to Battersea park to do the ropes course. So we tubed and walked to those destinations! It turned out to be a bank holiday and the Monday after coronation which worked to our benefit- the crowds at Tower of London were super light. We got tickets for the very first entry and I was appalled at how long the lines could be based on the ropes. The Tower of London was interesting but no way would I be willing to wait through a long line for it. As it was we had no line anywhere and were in and out in 1.5 hours. The kids loved the Transport museum and loved the tube ride to get there (note the theme?).
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| Tower of London |
Our second visit to Battersea park was great with Z absolutely loving the high ropes course (must book ahead of time) and Ollie pushing himself to his limits- I was so proud of him- and then telling me he as not comfortable doing more (I was proud of this too!). He then played at the playground while Z finished the course. Another round of take out food completed this day.
Day 6 was a tube ride, a quick visit to the playground at Heathrow and a flight home, easy peasy. We used our global entry and were in the car within 40 minutes of landing.
I wasn't sure a trip this short would be "worth" the jet lag but it ended up being one of the kids favorite trips. Jet lag was a breeze, not sure why, just got lucky this time with all 3 kids sleeping well.
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| River Thames |
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