A Whirlwind Weekend in London

09 Jul, 2026

A few weeks ago we packed an awful lot into a single weekend in London. We travelled down on Friday morning and headed straight to the British Museum. We wanted something inexpensive and central to do with my mum- the British Museum ticks both of these. Our entry was around 1.30pm, and it wasn't too busy as we entered. We made our way around to the Egyptian exhibits and meandered around to the Elgin Marbles.

Much can be said about the British Museum and whether it should return what it 'acquired' over the centuries but the uncomfortable truth is that many of the objects you see today likely wouldn't have survived if they'd stayed where they were found.

We saw some real mummies (kind of weird, honestly... imagine someone looking at your preserved corpse several thousand years after you died.), and took in the Japanese art exhibit at the back of the building. After spending a few hours at the museum, we made our way to Covent Garden for dinner.

After dinner and saying goodbye to my mum, my wife and I headed to the Gillian Lynne Theatre to see My Neighbour Totoro. We are long-time Studio Ghibli fans and were beyond excited for this show. The reviews will tell you that Totoro is big. They do not prepare you for just how BIG he is on stage. An absolutely magical evening that did complete justice to the source material. I kind of want to see Death Note the Musical now before its run ends!

We spent a fair bit of time deciding what to do on Saturday morning. We were split between Hampton Court Palace, nearby National Trust properties, or Kew Gardens. We settled on Kew Gardens. Kew was high on our bucket list of places to go and it was also easy enough to get to via the tube. The weather brightened up as we got off the tube, and we started walking around the gardens.

Kew was just perfect for a quiet Saturday morning. We continued our slow walk, pausing for photos of planes on their approach to Heathrow Airport until we stumbled across the Tree Top Walk. Easily the best part of Kew, though the lift that takes you up deserves an honourable mention. It started to rain while we were at the top, but the views were stunning. We managed to do some last minute birthday shopping in the gift shop... Hugo, I hope you enjoyed the Kew biscuits and beer!

Saturday night was the reason for the trip: a family 50th birthday party. Not much to say here publicly, but we had a great night after heading straight there from Kew Gardens earlier in the day.

On Sunday we set off home via Hughenden Manor in High Wycombe, the former home of Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. We've started breaking up long drives with National Trust visits and it's a habit we'd thoroughly recommend. It forces you to pack a lunch and spares you the misery of motorway services. You get to stretch your legs and experience heritage at the same time.

Hughenden was a lovely surprise. What looks like a handsome Victorian country house turns out to have served as a secret WWII intelligence base, used for creating maps for bombing missions over Europe. The gardens were small but pretty, and we briefly entertained the idea of walking up to the monument before the hill made the decision for us. The weekend had taken its toll.

All in all, a weekend that had absolutely no right to fit everything it did. Great food, great company, a genuinely magical night at the theatre, and another National Trust property in the bag. Knackered, but already quietly planning the next one.