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This is book 2 in the Step Outside Guides series of child-friendly London guides for family days out. Each book provides a family adventure at no further cost than your daily travelcard (and remember, kids travel for free).

Step Outside Guides

The authors, Francesca Fenn and Margie Skinner, know education and children's books well but they are also parents who like to take the family on interesting days out.

Keeping things in the family, Francesca's son, Sam Fenn, is the illustrator for the series. There are also photos to help you keep to the route.

Each book has a friendly animal narrator to point out things to see along the way and to grab the attention of younger readers. There are historical facts to discover presented in a quirky way to help you learn while enjoying the walk. The books are designed to help children from around nine years old lead the family on a tour and involves walking and often a bus ride too. There's information on the distance and suggested time for the day out at the start of the book as well. There are no admission fees to cover as only free to do and see ideas are included.

Days out with children often need more breaks so the book has regular 'Rest Your Legs' pages with drawing, puzzles and coloring ideas, plus suggestions on where to stop and sit down. All the quiz answers are at the back of the book along with a handy glossary.

As well as interesting sights the books includes good picnic spots, free toilets and buggy/wheelchair accessibility tips too.

Key building information such as opening times and web addresses is included along with clear directions on where to start your tour.

Down By The Thames – Book Review

This 32 page book was published in March 2012. It's a good choice for younger children as most of the route is traffic-free. While other books in the series include a bus ride – something which has proven to be popular with families – this tour is all on foot. It covers from Tower Hill to Embankment which is roughly from the Tower of London to the London Eye so you'll see some great sights along the way.

In a world seemingly obsessed with technology to have fun it was good to be out with a paper book and a pen and no need for wifi access or batteries. My daughter and I even used the book in the rain and it held up well.

The directions were easy to follow and we enjoyed taking turns to read the questions and searching for the answers.

There were some really great tips such as standing on Tower Bridge right on the middle with one foot on each side and looking down at the water underneath and feeling how the bridge wobbles when a bus goes past.

We also enjoyed looking for the Love Locks on the bridge although that's not included in the book.

Over at City Hall we walked up the spiral walkway to read the Ben Okri poem which is half a kilometer long. It would be good to have a question in the book about the view at the top to have encouraged my daughter as she started to slow down but I'm glad we did it as it's a lovely hidden spot.

We passed quite a few paid-for attractions along the way and my daughter wanted to visit some but, luckily, the book was a good distraction as we always had something to do next. Of course, there's no reason you can't do part of the book and include a visit to an attraction such as HMS Belfast or Shakespeare's Globe which could give you more days out with the book if done in sections.

Conclusion

The Step Outside Guides are excellent for family days out. There is always enough information to help with planning the day – map, directions, tube lines at start and end of the route, what to pack, etc – and it works well with different age groups as the youngest can enjoy the pictures and will like the animal narrator, while older children will enjoy reading the information and leading the family.

The Guides are not about seeing all the London landmarks, although, all the series (so far) have been in central London so you are going to get some iconic views. The books are recommended for Londoners and visitors to London and basically anyone who wants to enjoy a well-planned independent day out in town.

Additional Note: The other books in the Step Outside Guide series are all worth trying but I can particularly recommend If Statues Could Talk as it includes free family admission to Westminster Abbey. I've also really enjoyed Kensington Gardens and Beyond... with my daughter.

Official Website:stepoutsideguides.com

Step Outside Guides are £5 and are available to order online and from selected shops in the London area.

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.

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