I wouldn’t say we nailed our first visit to Shoreditch but we still had fun. The Shoreditch train station is right next to ‘BoxPark’ a little shopping mecca made from container ships; pop-up stores on the ground floor and then food and bars up on the second floor.
The width and size of a container ship fitted out with clothes racks and other merchandising tables makes it a wee bit tricky to look around with a pram (ok lets be honest, it’s a lot tricky, but hey we make do) and the top level is accessible by stairs only but if you have some muscles with you it’s still worth a look around. I’m sure later on in the evening this little spot would get MIGHTY rowdy but 12.30 pm it’s friendly and inviting, with tables basking in the sunshine.
So from here we thought we’d find the shops to look around. And so we looked up and down and around looking for a ‘main’ street that we didn’t find. So (correct me if I’m wrong) but it seems pretty much most of the shops are a mix of chain stores, vintage wares and super trendy designers tucked in and around all the little alleyways. Sooo, as always, on a toddler timeframe we had to move on but we will come back and do it properly now that we know what’s going on.
But next was far more exciting. A twenty-minute walk later we were at The Museum of Childhood (NB there is a bus that goes there too if you aint in a walking mood). Three levels of toys greeted us, spanning over a hundred years of history (probably longer, who knows, lets’ just say we skipped the information booth and went straight for the fun times!). Interactive displays, fully functioning train sets, giant robots…. Oh my goodness Austin was in heaven! Ok, heaven would have been the same place minus all of the glass cabinets but it certainly made for a happier visit (no screaming and crying when you try to pull him away).
Lunch of fish fingers and peas was followed by a run around in Bethnal Park next door. With free entry and a baby’s short attention span this is going to be the purrrfect winter hangout.