Our Ultimate London Adventure with Thames Rockets: SO. MUCH. FUN!

Our latest adventure took place only yesterday when we were invited to take a trip aboard a speedboat to experience the Ultimate London Adventure offered by Thames Rockets.

The day started off early and Eddie, who was one of the two children originally coming along with us for this trip, woke up feeling unwell. In stepped Paddy to take his place and so he, Ollie, Mike and I set off to London so I could participate in a morning radio interview before meeting up with the boys for lunch.

We then spent the afternoon meandering around the South Bank before heading over for our early evening ride. Eddie recovered and spent the day regretting pulling out.

Now, we have sailed on a few different kinds of boats before, from water taxis in Venice to glass bottomed boats in the Aegean, but this was our first time aboard a speedboat. Excitement was high and if I were to say that it only applied to the children I would be lying.

The Ultimate London Adventure is a part-speed, part-guided trip along the Thames. Ollie’s dream is to buy a campervan and travel the world. He is constantly writing his own guide books and learning about landmarks, wanting to see them all, everywhere. He was particulary keen to add this experience to his list of travel adventures. Not wanting to dampen his, or our, enthusiasm with any pre-recorded, impersonal audio tours or having to follow a guide brandishing a flag in front of a group of people trying to bustle their way through the crowds, this tour by river seemed to be the perfect way to see London.

We arrived at the London Eye pier in good time, ready to be kitted out in our life jackets. We were warmly welcomed and the boys were helped with their life jackets whilst Mike and I got to grips with ours.

Boarding is kept in the order that you arrive so if you want the front seats make sure you arrive in plenty of time.

Three boats were leaving that time and so each group of travellers were called out to board their respective speedboat. I’m not usually the most gracious at climbing on and off boats but these were a doddle, so fine for anyone apprehensive about this aspect!

Our guide for the journey was Craig who began the trip by talking us through the safety procedures and putting us all at ease. Chris was in control of the boat and between them, we were ready for a new adventure!

The speedboat set off from the pier at a reasonable speed and whilst Paddy had already started shrieking and laughing away, Ollie was my own private tour guide, delighting in pointing out the landmarks as we passed. Then we passed Tower Bridge and up the speed went.

What an amazing experience!

The boat sped, splashed and bounced along the Thames so much that filming proved to be a bit of a challenge at times, but at least you’ll get an idea of what great fun it was.

And do you know what? It really, really was!

So much so that we all want a speedboat now. I mean, we can dream, right?

As the speedboat slowed back down we took a leisurely pace back to the pier, during which time Craig provided an incredibly fun and wonderfully informative guide to the landmarks we were passing. This is such a fantastic way of making learning fun and the kids (and we!) definitely absorbed the facts and info effectively.

Having struggles with kids who aren’t that keen on history? Take them on this trip!

Want a gift that someone will remember for a lifetime? Take them on this trip!

If you can only choose one thing to do, make it this trip.

Want to send me a gift? Send me on this trip!

Honestly, this was SO. MUCH. FUN!

I think that’s pretty much all I said for the entire drive home.

‘That was SO. MUCH. FUN!’

‘You don’t say?’ Mike commented at one point.

I may have mentioned how much I loved it once or twice, you see.

I really want to do this again! Watch our video and see why:

Want to have the most fantastic experience ever? You can book the Ultimate London Adventure with Thames Rockets for £39.50 an adult and £29.50 a child. You can also book the whole boat, that’s 12 people, for a total of £455. And let me tell you, it’s worth every, single penny! If you fancy something different they also offer alternative trips such as the Highest Fastest Experience (I want to do this too!), the Rocket Revolution and lots, lots more, details of which you can find here.

And as if the trip alone and the fabulous team aren’t enough to make them our favourite people ever (and also the reason they’ve retained top place in their category on TripAdvisor for the last four years), the Thames Rockets have also given us four tickets to give away to one lucky winner! That’s tickets for two adults and two children aged under 14 years and, in case you’re wondering, there is no minimum age to worry about – anyone apart from pregnant woman are welcome and there are life jackets for all.

To enter, leave us a comment telling us why you’d love to win this trip or about the best adventure you’ve ever had.

You can gain additional entries by following both Larger Family Life on Twitter with the handle @LargerFamily and Thames Rockets with the handle @ThamesRockets and about this competition with a link back to this page. Make sure you let us know you’ve tweeted in the comments below with your handle or a link back to your tweet.

The competition will close on 31st August at midnight. UK entries only.