Rochelle Streater and her family head for a fun-filled day out at Battersea Power Station.
We had been looking forward to this one for a while and Battersea Power Station did not disappoint. We headed over on a sunny Saturday with our two girls (aged 5 and 9) and made a full day of it, working our way through a packed itinerary of activities.
Rochelle’s daughters outside Battersea Power Station
Our first stop was the Chimney Lift and honestly, it set the tone for the whole day. Before you even get in the lift, the experience takes you on a journey through the history of the power station itself. The team were brilliant at bringing it all to life, setting the scene for what it was like when the building was in full operation and making it feel immersive rather than just a quick read of an information board.
One highlight for the girls was an activity where they had to light up a huge chandelier, which they absolutely loved and which gave them a real sense of the scale and energy of the place in its heyday.
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Freya and London checking out the view
Then the glass lift takes you 109 metres up inside the iconic northwest chimney and the 360-degree views across London at the top are breathtaking. Our girls were given a London Landmark Quest card and crayons to spot famous sights from above, which kept them completely absorbed – there is something clever about giving children a mission at that height rather than just standing and looking. They got a stamp and a sweet treat at the end, which went down very well.
After that we headed outside and grabbed a table in the sunshine, which was a lovely way to catch our breath between activities. The riverside setting is really beautiful and it never felt too crowded.
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Freya making an important phone call
Lunch was at La Bab and the food was delicious, a fusion of flavours that somehow managed to feel light and fresh on a very warm day, which was exactly what we needed. There were brilliant kids options too for our pickier little one, booth seating that the girls immediately claimed as their own and the staff were lovely.
Next up was A Line Florist by Anna Bruder, a pop-up installation that had already sold out its run at MoMA New York. We each chose our flower of choice and coloured it in using a lovely selection of paint pens. The shop itself smelled like a real florist, a magical blend of orange and rose and the whole space has this wonderful quality where everything feels hand-drawn and alive. As my daughter put it, it felt like being inside a colouring book. We finished by taking a selfie together with our finished artwork, which was a really sweet moment to end on.
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Rochelle and her family at Luxart, a monumental inflatable luminarium
We finished the afternoon at Luxart, a monumental inflatable luminarium in Power Station Park created by Architects of Air. The girls were buzzing with excitement from the moment we stepped inside – they ran off exploring, got happily lost in the interconnected domes and at one point both ended up lying on the floor just gazing up at the colour-filled ceiling above them.
A Line Florist by Anna Bruder
Just those three activities alone gave us a full and brilliant day out. We can not wait to go back and work our way through everything else Battersea Power Station has to offer.
