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  • 🪩 36 things to do in London this weekend with the kids (11–12 April)

🪩 36 things to do in London this weekend with the kids (11–12 April)

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Jeff – Dads in London
April 08, 2026

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Hey DILFs!

Big news: the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration will finally open in May this year, taking over a restored historic site in Clerkenwell and turning it into what’s being billed as the world’s largest space dedicated entirely to illustration.

The opening exhibitions give you a decent sense of what they’re going for: a bold, slightly bonkers solo show from Murugiah; a look at Quentin Blake’s work (including more than 100 original drawings, some linked to theatre); and a show exploring LGBTQIA+ stories in comics from the 1940s to now. There’ll also be workshops, a library, and various hands-on bits.

It looks like the sort of place you can drop into and spend a bit of time without it becoming a whole thing.

Slightly annoying that it’s still a few months away – but in the meantime, there’s plenty to be getting on with. And by plenty, I really bloomin’ mean plenty.

Enjoy this week’s listings!

Jeff xx

Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style
Daily until 18 October, 10:00–17:00
The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, SW1A 1AA
Adults £22, 5–17s £11, under-5s free

If you think dressing as a royal is a right faff – too many rules, not enough tracksuits – you definitely have a point. But what if I said your smart shoes wouldn’t be such a nightmare to wear, because someone else has already broken them in for you? Or that you could have pockets designed around whatever you actually need to carry? Or that if you wanted your sleeves made shorter so it’s easier to wave (or, in more normal life, carry a bike on one shoulder and a child on the other), someone could just… do that?

This is where being a royal has its benefits. Admittedly, I’m not convinced there are enough sartorial perks in the world to offset the rest of it (a life in which you can’t even independently deploy a Nando’s ice-cream machine feels, at best, restrictive), but still: small wins.

This exhibition is all about Queen Elizabeth II, and her wardrobe in particular. And once you get into it, the clothes stop feeling like outfits and start looking more like equipment for a job.

Take the wedding dress. Most brides are trying to find something that looks good, photographs well, and doesn’t make a trip to the loo feel like a team sport. The Queen’s dress had that brief too, plus the added complication of not accidentally annoying a collection of nations. So the dress is covered in symbols – a Tudor rose for England, a thistle for Scotland, a shamrock for Ireland and a leek for Wales. (Imagine needing to embroider a LEEK onto your outfit to avoid pissing off an entire population.) Then, to keep things broadly harmonious across the Commonwealth, there’s also a maple leaf (Canada), wattle (Australia), protea (South Africa), lotus (India), and wheat, cotton and jute (Pakistan).

It wasn’t just about diplomacy. Everything she wore had to communicate something clearly – whether that was to a crowd, a camera, or, occasionally, a whole country.

The bright coats, for one, weren’t just a look – they meant you could actually spot her. Hats were shaped so they didn’t hide her face, and the umbrella was transparent so the whole thing didn’t disappear the moment it rained.

It also explains why you see the same things cropping up over and over again. Dresses reappeared years later with small tweaks, and older pieces were reworked rather than replaced. Even new items tended to follow familiar shapes and colours – because once something worked, it kept being used. (It also made the Queen seem frugal and resourceful, which tends to go down well in the UK.)

By the end, it becomes clear that this exhibition isn’t really about fashion. It’s about how to keep one person instantly recognisable and admired to millions of people, in all weather, at all distances, for decades on end – and how much planning it takes to make that look effortless.

Important note: this isn’t something you’ll be able to visit this weekend. Or next weekend, or the weekend after. There’s a chance you’ll get in the weekend after that, but get in quick.

(DILF Club members found out about this exhibition months ago, and they’re part of the reason you can’t get in now. But don’t get mad: get in on the action instead! Become a DILF Club member here.)

While you’re there…

👍️ St James’s Park has the best park playground in all of central London. We’ve argued about this before, and you know I’m right.

👍️ Wellington Arch is a grand, Roman-style arch clad in Italian white marble, which stands at Hyde Park Corner, on Constitution Hill. It started life (in 1827) as part of the entrance to Buckingham Palace, but it was moved piece by piece to Hyde Park Corner in 1851 when the palace expanded. It was then remodelled into a more overt “victory arch” in the 1880s, and that’s the version we see now.

The arch has had a fairly eclectic second act, including housing the smallest police station in London until 1999. Today, one half of the arch forms part of the ventilation system for the Hyde Park Corner road underpass.

2: Climb aboard London’s most iconic buses and trains in one place

Depot open days: Icons of London
9–12 April, 10:00–17:00
Museum Depot, 2 Museum Way, 118–120 Gunnersbury Lane, Acton, W3 9BQ
Adults £19, 4–17s £10, under-3s free (not sure what you do if your child is 3 years old…)
Age guidance: suitable for all

Do you have a favourite tube line? Strong opinions on Routemasters? Are you someone who notices train station architecture and considers Harry Beck to be one of the cleverest humans to have ever existed? Firstly, you and I should be friends. Secondly, let’s hope your children are into all this stuff as much as you are, because they’re coming to this open day whether they like it or not.

The Acton Depot is essentially a massive warehouse containing all the vehicles, artwork and brand designs that won’t fit inside the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden. And it’s not just the sloppy seconds. You’ll get to see unique buses like the Routemaster RM1 and RM2 – early prototypes of the iconic design, including the open rear platform that lets you hop on and off. And you can also take a peek at iconic trains like the 1927 stock (one of the first electric Tube trains with automatic sliding doors) and 1938 stock (widely considered the gold standard of Underground design, and used for decades).

Whenever the depot opens up to the public, there are family activities (such as building your dream Lego city and designing your very own Underground tiles), interactive demos, vintage posters to buy, old tube trains to sit in, and a miniature railway to ride. Everyone who works there is really proud of the miniature railway, fyi, in a way that is mostly sweet and only a little bit odd.

While you’re there…

👍️ Admittedly it’s about a mile away from the depot (an easy ride on the District line or #70 bus if you don’t fancy the walk), but there’s a house in Chiswick that’s covered, front and back, in intricate mosaics. It’s the work of mosaic artist Carrie Reichardt, created over 20 years with help from other artists around the world, with designs that touch on everything from politics to the prison system.

Across the walls you’ll find everything from quotes by Martin Luther King Jr. to pieces highlighting the realities of death row and other social injustices. Around the back, things take a slightly more surreal turn, with a huge white octopus sprawling across the wall, while along the top edge a series of small pyramid shapes track the phases of the moon.

👉 Brief interruption in a horrible colour: if this newsletter has earned its keep, you can buy me a coffee. (Completely optional, of course.)

3: Watch Wallace & Gromit with a live intro from the man behind the music

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit + Introduction by Julian Nott
Saturday 11 April, 11:00
Barbican Centre, Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS
Adults £5, under-18s £2.50
Age guidance: 6+

This event has nearly sold out. DILF Club members found out about it aaages ago – when there were enough tickets for the entire extended family to go along. Become a DILF Club member today for just £3 a month!

In case this comes up in your next pub quiz: just ONE person composed the music for the vast majority of Wallace & Gromit films, as well as Peppa Pig (2004–present), Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom (2009–2013) and Bing (2014–2019). He’s called Julian Nott – or Julian Francis Kandahar Nott to give his full name (his sister was born Alexandra Patrusha Mina Nott, FYI) – and he’s the reason your brain goes into relaxation mode the moment any of those theme tunes kick in.

So it’s nice to see Mr Nott getting a bit of limelight at this screening of Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit at the Barbican. He’ll be introducing the film (described by its creators as the world’s “first vegetarian horror film”) and, with any luck, taking a few questions too. The film itself comes from Aardman Animations – i.e. Nick Park and the team behind A Grand Day Out, The Wrong Trousers, A Close Shave and Chicken Run among many others.

If you do get the chance to ask something, I’d be tempted to go straight for the DreamWorks Animation angle. They co-produced the film with Aardman (their second together after Chicken Run), and by most accounts didn’t entirely get the joke. Park once recalled being asked whether Wallace should have “a cooler, more modern car”, which neatly captures the issue. Under DreamWorks’, eh hem, guidance, the title changed from The Great Vegetable Plot to The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, bits of dialogue were tweaked for American audiences, and one line – “Slow down… you’ll buckle my trunnions” – was cut altogether after someone at DreamWorks asked what a trunnion was.

And yet, watching it, you wouldn’t necessarily know any of that – it all still hangs together, not least thanks to Nott’s score. After his introduction, you’ll get the film itself – a giant rabbit terrorising a vegetable-obsessed village, with Wallace and Gromit drafted in to deal with it. Even if you’ve seen it many times before, it still absolutely holds up – trunnions or no trunnions.

While you’re there…

👍️ If you’re planning on taking a stroll through the City while you’re in the area, The Cockpit pub is worth a quick stop. It gets its name from the fact that it was, quite literally, once a venue for the popular “sport” of cockfighting – which was eventually banned in the 19th century.

For a while the pub tried to move on from all that – it was renamed “The Three Kings” and much of the original interior was covered up – but in more recent years it’s leaned back into its past, restoring the spectator gallery above the cockpit and reinstating the old name. These days it’s a perfectly normal place to grab a pint and something straightforward to eat, although it hasn’t entirely let go of its history: there are cockerels dotted around the place, just in case you were in any danger of missing the reference.

Community Quilting: A Family Workshop
Saturday 11 April, 11:00–15:00
Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX
FREE – no ticket required
Age guidance: 7+

We finally watched Swiped: The School That Banned Smartphones (conveniently available on YouTube) the other night, and… yeah… our kids aren’t getting a smartphone until they’re thirty-seven years old and have undergone a number of psychological assessments. Until then, it’s a Nokia 3310 with the games removed because playing Snake all day is also a crap way to live a life.

But what will they do with all that time they’d have otherwise spent being cyberbullied or downing Benadryl for TikTok clout? The answer is “So many things” – one of which could well be quilting! I sense your scepticism, but remember when all the kids got into the wholesome activities of loom bands and speedcubing? Young people can surprise us.

This Community Quilting event at the Southbank Centre is a great way to try it out for the first time: you don’t need any experience, you can drop in whenever you like, and the textile artist Natasha Shah will be on hand to provide some expert guidance. At the event, you’ll be weaving “your ideas and stories” into a community quilt – which to me implies you won’t be able to take anything home. On the plus side, if your child decides to immortalise “Daddy saying a bad word when the Lego set went wrong”, you won’t have to look at it every day.

While you’re there…

👍️ The Boy at the Back of the Class is a play about a young refugee starting at a new school, and the group of children who decide to help him find his family. It’s a 2026 Olivier Award nominee for “Best Family Show”, and it’s been getting great reviews EVERYWHERE. It’s on for just a few days at the Southbank Centre, and tickets are almost gone.

👍️ The exhibition Our Freedom: Then and Now explores “what ordinary people think freedom means today – and what it meant in 1945”. It’s on at the Southbank Centre until 25 April, and is free to visit.

Disco Kids: Spring Family Day Rave
Sunday 12 April, 14:00
The Albany, Douglas Way, SE8 4AG
£12 per person
Age guidance: 3–8

When I see the title “spring day family rave”, I’m interested: almost every single word is doing something for me. “Day” means it’s during the hours I won’t be winding down with an episode of Taskmaster, “family” means I won’t have to worry about slipping on someone’s puke as I make my way to the loos, and “rave” suggests there’ll be music to dance to – but it’ll be fun music due to the aforementioned word “family”. And “spring”? It just means it’s happening soon.

Unfortunately, there’s very little else I can tell you about this event – other than that it’ll be DJed by someone called Brigitte Aphrodite, who’ll be bringing “joyful, party vibes”, and that there are also some crafting activities and “seasonal treats” for when you need a break from being aggressively outdanced by a seven-year-old.

Which isn’t really enough to go on – especially when it comes to the music. Is it a literal rave with rave music? A disco rave? A pop rave? An indie rave? “Rave” can mean a lot of things when there’s paper chain-making and Pom-Bear involved.

So I looked into this DJ Brigitte Aphrodite to find out more on your behalf. And while I couldn’t confirm whether that is, in fact, her real name, I did learn that she’s a “neurodivergent Greek-heritage punk poet, gig theatre-maker, musician, workshop leader and intersectional feminist show-woman from Margate” who creates “passionate, genre-crossing work that is status-quo defying, anti-hierarchical, free from pretension, and aims to be accessible for all”. I still don’t really know what kind of music she’ll be playing this weekend, but I have a feeling it’ll be a bit all over the place (in a good way) and exceedingly fun.

Other listings

This section now brings together both new events I don’t have room to expand on and selected older ones from past newsletters that are still running. If you see a “(see my write-up here)”, that’s your cue to click through and rediscover whatever Past Me felt strongly enough to write about.

Midnight in the Toyshop
7–12 April, various start times depending on the day (see website)
St. Martin's Theatre, West Street, WC2H 9NZ
£17.50–£50
Age guidance: 3+

Architecture on the Thames Boat Tour East
Saturday 11 April, 13:00–16:00
Departing from and returning to Greenwich Pier, Cutty Sark Gardens, SE10 9HT
Adults £35.50, under-25s £19.50 (enter code GROUP-BOAT at the shop page checkout for 15% discount if buying 3 tickets or more)
Age guidance: strictly no under-7s

The Coming of Age
Tuesday–Sunday until 29 November
Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road, NW1 2BE
FREE

The Last Princess of Punjab
Daily until 8 November, 10:00–18:00
Kensington Palace, Kensington Gardens, W8 4PX
Free with admission (adults £24.70, 5–17s £12.40, under-5s free)

London Zoo's Zoonormous Egg Hunt!
Until 12 April, 10:00–18:00
London Zoo, Outer Circle, Regent's Park, NW1 4RY
Free with admission (adults £33.60, 3–15s £23.50, under-3s free)

Fulham Palace Easter egg trail
Until 12 April, 10:30–15:30
Fulham Palace, Bishop’s Avenue, SW6 6EA
£3.50 (buy from the museum shop)

Easter Eggsplorers 2026 at Hobbledown Heath
Until 12 April, from 10:00 (closes at 18:00 most weekends)
Hobbledown Heath, Staines Road, Hounslow, TW14 0HH
Free with admission (adults approx £22.50, 1–2s approx £11.50, under-1s free)

Easter Lindt GOLD BUNNY Hunt
Until 12 April (opens at 10:00 and closes at different times depending on the date – see website)
Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey, KT8 9AU
Free with palace admission (adults £32, children 5–15 £16, children 0–4 free)

Egg-citing Easter Adventure on the IFS Cloud Cable Car
Until 21 April, 12:00–17:00
IFS Cable Car, Western Gateway, Royal Victoria Dock, E16 1FA
From £10.50 per person (premium experiences cost more), purchased in-person at the ticket office

Easter Quest at Eltham Palace and Gardens
Until 19 April, 10:00–17:00
Eltham Palace and Gardens, Court Yard, Greenwich, SE9 5NP
£2 per child (plus admission ticket: adults £15, 5–17s £9, under-5s free); pay for the quest when you arrive at the venue

Mundo Pixar Experience (see my write-up here)
Until 28 June, 09:00/10:00–20:00 (earlier start time on weekends)
Fulton Road, Wembley, HA9 0TF
Adults £34–£36, 2–15s £22–£24, under-2s free
Age guidance: suitable for all

Fairy Tales (see my write-up here)
Until 23 August, various timeslots throughout each day (usually 09:30–16:30)
The British Library, 96 Euston Road, NW1 2DB
Adults £13.50, 5–16s £13.50, 1–5s £6.75, under-1s free
Age guidance: 3–10

The Elephant Trail (see my write-up here)
Until 26 April
Battersea Power Station, Circus Road West, SW11 8DD
FREE

Astronomers Take Over (see my write-up here)
New permanent interactive experience, 10:00–17:00 daily
National Maritime Museum, Romney Road, SE10 9NF
Experience + planetarium £16 per person, experience only £8 per person
Age guidance: 4+

UNIQLO Tate Play – Linda Bell: Loop. Swing. Shake. Remake
Daily until 12 April, 10:30–18:00
Tate Modern, Bankside, SE1 9TG
FREE
Age guidance: suitable for all

Seurat and the Sea
Daily until 17 May, 10:00–18:00
Courtauld Gallery, Somerset House, Strand, WC2R 0RN
Adults £18, under-19s free

Cleopatra: The Experience (see my write-up here)
Daily until 12 July, timeslots from 10:00
Immerse LDN, Excel Waterfront, ExCel, E16 1XL
Adults £27, 4–15s £22, under-4s free
Age guidance: suitable for all

Beauty and Destruction: Wartime London in Art (see my write-up here)
Daily until 1 November, 10:00–18:00
Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, SE1 6HZ
FREE
Age guidance: suitable for all

The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse (see my write-up here)
Various dates and times until 26 April)
Puppet Theatre Barge, Blomfield Road (opposite 35), W9 2PF
Adults £15, 2–16s £12, under-2s free
Age guidance: 3–7

Museum of Edible Earth
Daily until 26 April (Sunday–Wednesday 10:00–18:00, Thursday and Friday 12:00–20:00, and Saturday 10:00–20:00)
Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA
Pay what you can
Age guidance: suitable for all, but guided earth-tasting sessions (arguably the most “fun” part for kids?) is 16+ only

Your Toys
Until 12 April, 10:30 and 13:30
£16.50 per person (£15.50 on weekdays)
Unicorn Theatre, 147 Tooley Street, SE1 2HZ
Age guidance: 5–9

David Hockney: A Year in Normandie and Some Other Thoughts about Painting (see my write-up here)
Tuesday–Sunday until 23 August, 10:00–18:00
Serpentine North, West Carriage Drive, W2 2AR
FREE, but booking required

Seven Wonders of the World: An Immersive Exhibition (see my write-up here)
Thursday–Monday until 12 April, various timeslots
106 Commercial Street, London, E1 6LZ
Adults £20.90, 13–17s £17.90, 4–12s £15.90, under-4s free (family bundles are also available)
Age guidance: suitable for all

Inside Aardman: Wallace & Gromit and Friends (see my write-up here)
Daily until 15 November, 10:00–17:45
Young V&A, Cambridge Heath Road, E2 9PA
£11 per person (under-4s free)

Ramses and the Pharaohs' Gold: The Exhibition (see my write-up here)
Daily until 31 May (various timeslots)
Adults £32.05, 5–15s £28.05, under-5s free
Battersea Power Station, 2 Circus Road East, SW11 8DQ
Age guidance: 5+

Voyage to the Deep – Underwater Adventures
Daily until 1 November, 10:30–17:30
Horniman Museum & Gardens, 100 London Road, SE23 3PQ
Adults £9.80, children £7, under-3s free
Age guidance: 2+

Octonauts: Adventure at the Horniman
Daily until 1 November, 10:00–17:30
Horniman Museum & Gardens, 100 London Road, SE23 3PQ
FREE

Tracey Emin: A Second Life (see my write-up here)
Daily until 31 August, 10:00–18:00
Tate Modern, Bankside, SE1 9TG
Adults £14, 12–18s £5, under-12s free

Unboxing the Universe
Saturday and Sunday at 13:30 and 15:30, Friday–Monday (school holidays only) at 11:30, 13:30 and 15:30
National Maritime Museum, Romney Road, SE10 9NF
£16 per person
Age guidance: 7+ (“Older or younger siblings of any age will be admitted but parents and carers should understand that the show has not been designed for their age range.”)