SPENDING the afternoon at a shopping centre is pretty much my seven-year-old son’s worst nightmare when it comes to activities.
Unless, of course, that shopping centre used to be a massive nuclear power station, which now houses some of the country’s most expensive flats and sits on the River Thames.
Battersea Power Station is a masterclass in how to turn an empty site into a prime tourist destination after its multi-billion pound regeneration.
The site reopened in 2022 and by 2024 it was named one of the world’s best places to visit by National Geographic.
As a local – I live 25 minutes drive away – it is now one of my favourite places to bring my child.
Despite its large number of luxury shops such as Calvin Klein and Chanel and high-end restaurants, it also has masses of free and cheap activities for kids in the school holidays, seasonal family events and one-of-a-kind attractions.
This summer, Horrible Histories has launched its first live museum show at The Pharaohs’ Gold exhibition in the immersive NEON venue.
It features more than 180 priceless, 3,000-year-old artifacts from Cairo’s Egyptian Museum, including the coffin of Ramses The Great.
What truly brought it to life was the Horrible Histories show, where an actor portraying Pharaoh Ramses took us through the exhibition, telling us fascinating stories.
It’s not the cheapest, at £37.50 for adults and £17.50 for children, but it doubles up as a theatre experience and never have I seen my son so engaged at a museum.
Equally engaging is Electric Summer, a retro-style fairground on the riverside garden in front of the power station, from now until the end of August.
There were free games like splat the rat and giant chess, along with paid-for activities like dodgems and petanque.
Our favourite by far was the roller rink, which hosts everything from silent discos to kids’ specials for the £12 tickets.
During our session, my son and the other kids got a whole hour’s skating lesson from the wonderful staff.
As we were visiting in the summer holidays, we were also able to take advantage of the kids-eat-free offers at various restaurants.
This meant my mum and I were able to have a slap-up meal at Gordon Ramsey’s Bread Street Kitchen & Bar for just £22 each for a two-course set menu, while my son got “the best burger ever” and a banging sticky toffee pudding, for free.
Of course, if you can’t make it during the summer holidays, there is still plenty going on for kids.
The Chimney Lift is a recent Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Award winner that takes you 109 metres up to the top of one of the towers for 360-degree views of the capital.
Then there’s the Lego store with free play areas, and the world’s first standalone Transformers store.
A five-minute walk away is Battersea Park, with a huge outdoor playground, Go Ape and Battersea Park Children’s Zoo.
You could spend three whole days in a 500m radius and not get bored.
Not bad for a venue that just 16 years ago was voted “Britain’s second worst eyesore”.