Whenever there is a long queue to get in somewhere it is almost certainly going to be good. But waiting to go into the Natural History Museum at 10am on a Tuesday morning was just not going to happen – especially with heavy clouds looming overhead and a toddler in tow.
So off we headed to the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), I walked straight up a ramp and into the building – easy peasy. Ok, so there were no dinosaurs or stuffed animals, but there were dresses (!) and it killed a bit of time before meeting a friend in Knightsbridge.
We didn’t have chance explore the family activities on offer at the museum such as its hands-on galleries and treasure hunt style back-packs. Instead, Mrs T excitedly pointed out the few animals she could see in the sculptures and paintings. Her cries of “Horsey, horsey” and “cow” echoed around one of the museum’s huge, silent, halls housing a collection of the Raphael Cartoons and a couple of art enthusiasts pondering the paintings. I swiftly moved on.
We then found a dress exhibition – beautiful outfits from the 18th century through to the early 20th century. I was amazed by the stunning workmanship and wealth which must have gone into the pieces – although I had to skim read the information plaques. I kept Mrs T amused by asking her to point out where the bags, hats and dresses were and she obliged for a bit but seemed more interested in climbing on and off a bench then investigating a plug switch.
Don’t ask me what else was on, I was too busy chaperoning Mrs T’s buggy driving (she needs to improve her steering) and trying to entice her away from a wishing well in the ceramics section. We didn’t get past the ground floor (which does have a baby change by the way) but I managed to get a small insight and overview of some of the exhibitions (the ones which were free) and do it in a quiet and spacious environment (well, when she wasn’t shouting her head off). Mrs T had a great time. It certainly beats standing outside in the rain – queuing!
