Ever wanted to drive a tube train? London Transport Museum lets you live the dream through your kids, with this pint-sized simulator in the children's area.
All Aboard! is a transport-themed play space that spills out over two floors of the museum. The upper level contains the tube sim, dressing up boxes, and the business end of a bus (below).
The tube simulator is a hoot. Driving the train is one thing, but making announcements through the PA system is even more fun. You will hear the words 'Mind the Gap' a lot. Kids can even grab a spanner and crawl underneath the carriage to make a repair.
Downstairs, kids can clamber all over a mock double-decker. This is unexpectedly bolted on to the deck of a Thames Clipper — or Thames Nipper as it is here branded.
Tiny tots can have fun in the Baby train — a soft play area whose contents include an incongruous assortment of life jackets, building blocks and fake croissants.
We suspect the latter had been tossed in from the adjacent kitchen, where our own nipper enjoyed brewing carrot tea.
All Aboard! is a little smaller than play spaces in other museums, but it's well stocked with fun. Entry is included on a regular museum ticket, so just walk right in (so long as you've got kids).
If the museum entrance fee of £17.50 (adult) seems steep, remember that the ticket can be used as many times as you like for a year. And just like on the real tube, children go free.
London Transport Museum is in Covent Garden Piazza, open 7 days a week.
