Bringing Babies; Picnic and kite flying at Marina Barrage

I’ve always loved the idea of picnics, and we had our first one at Marina Barrage.

Preparation for a picnic for 3 kids is quite the hassle. 

“I make a meal for my friends,
Try to make it delicious,
Try to keep it nutritious,
Create wonderful dishes.
Not one of them thinks about the way I feel
Nobody compliments the meal”

- Flight of the Conchords

Spent the afternoon preparing sandwiches and packing the drinks and diaper bags. Planned to cook pasta, but shelved it because I was too tired. Made some ham and cheese sandwiches and an adulterated form of Philly cheese steak. Grapes, because I’m all about eating healthy. Little packet drinks, Milo and Vitasoy for the kids.

Once you’ve arrived you need to go queue for the safe entry, or at least send a representative there. The rest of the family, especially if you have a lot of barang barang, entering the concourse from the carpark, you can turn right towards the lift.

If you decide to walk up instead, do note it’s a quite a long winding path, and you need to walk all the way to the back to get to the shaded parts in the evening.

Best timing is about 5.30pm, any earlier and it’s too hot, any later and there isn’t enough playtime before the toddlers need to head home for their dinner and bedtime.

We picked a shaded spot, looking out towards the sea and set up our mat. The kids loved the sandwiches, probably because it’s the first time they’ve got to have such salty food. 

Ran around the place with a ball for a bit.

Stared at other people flying kites for a bit.

The twins definitely enjoyed themselves though the adults were knackered lugging everything and chasing them around. Definitely worth it for the smiles on their little faces.

We came back about two weeks later, this time with kites, but the queue up to the roof terrace was too long. 

We settled for the field just next to the carpark. 

There we flew our first kite! 

The kids wanted to be part of the kite flying, but really just got in my way…

They were also way more interested in the pigging out.

Not even looking at the kite

Parking can be quite a challenge so factor in some time looking for a lot if you are going in the evening so you don't waste the daylight.

Toilets are a bit troublesome, if you are up on the roof terrace, you'll need to get to the ground floor for the toilets.