Sneak a Peak at the Olympic Site

Whether or not you scored tickets in the great Olympic lottery, you can’t get into the Olympic Park before London 2012 begins. You can, however, make an expedition to view the park from various superb vantage points. The Olympic Park Viewing Gallery (020 3373 0421, www.opvg.co.uk) is on the 22nd floor of Holden Point, Waddington Road, E15, and offers panoramic views over the Aquatics Centre, the ArcelorMittal Orbit, the Velopark and the Olympic Stadium.  Visits must be pre-booked but include a ‘talking tour’ of what you’re seeing.

For something more informal, visit the Greenway, a lovely parkland walk/cycle track (incredibly, laid out on top of a sewage pipe) that takes you around the perimeter of the Olympic Park. The Container Café inside the View Tube (www.theviewtube.co.uk) is a good Greenway destination point, and you can also hire bikes from here (Bikeworks 020 8980 7998).

Also on the boundary of the Olympic Park is the new Westfield Shopping Centre, which opened on September 13 2011 and is the largest in Europe, with 300 shops, 60 restaurants, a 14 screen Vue cinema and an All Stars bowling alley.  Shops relevant to children included:

• Build-a-Bear
• Claire's Accessories
• Clarks shoes
• The Entertainer toy shop
• Franco Manca (pizzeria)
• Giraffe
• Geox
• Lego
• Mothercare
• Neal's Yard
• Pizza Express
• Polarn o Pyret
• Zara