'I took my 14-year-old daughter to London's South Bank - and found plenty to occupy her'

A city break in London has plenty to occupy families with younger children, but when your kids hit their teenage years finding activities to keep them entertained can prove more tricky.

Having ticked off the best known family-friendly options when my now 14 year-old daughter was younger, we were looking for something a little different from our recent visit.

Keen to explore the South Bank, we based ourselves at Sea Containers London, which enjoys an enviable Thames-side location offering jaw-dropping views across to St Paul’s Cathedral and of The City skyline beyond.

Inspired by the transatlantic cruise liners of the 1920s, the hotel’s glamorous interior has a real wow factor and plenty of fun, quirky touches that undoubtedly scored us points with our teenage offspring.

We stayed in one of the newly ‘reimagined’ Thames Suites, a generous space for our family of three complete with a large, riverside balcony offering a mesmerising perspective of the city that was hard to tear ourselves away from.

The super-stylish interior felt incredibly luxurious, yet the overall effect was welcoming and instantly relaxing.

For dinner, we headed to Gordon Ramsey at Sea Containers, which opened for bookings in September and offers a tempting selection of classic dishes done exceptionally well.

From fish and chips or a burger to a cote du boeuf sharer or a whole lobster, there was plenty to appeal to adults and tricky teens alike.

Top marks for the whitetail crudo and salt cod croquette starters but, in all honesty, everything that we ordered was delicious and beautifully presented.

Our pre-dinner cocktails - and mocktails for the teen - were among the best we’ve tasted, but this should come as no surprise given that the hotel’s Lyaness bar was the first to receive a prestigious 3 PIN award from The Pinnacle Guide, the cocktail equivalent of Michelin stars.

Dragging ourselves away from the plush, sanctuary-like surroundings of our hotel, we ventured out to explore the neighbourhood.

This area of the South Bank is considered to be one of the capital’s main cultural hubs, with Tate Modern, the Oxo Tower and Shakespeare’s Globe theatre to the east and the Southbank Centre, the National Theatre and London Eye to the west.

Current exhibitions at Tate Modern include The 90s: Art and Fashion, a perfect opportunity for those of us who lived through the decade to fondly reminisce about our misspent youth.

However, given that today’s teenagers seem to consider 1990’s culture the height of cool, this was a win-win for our party.

We also enjoyed the opportunity to catch the Frida Kahlo exhibition, which ends in January, but, perhaps even more importantly, found that our visit challenged our daughter’s perceptions of what constitutes art.

This was something she enjoyed chatting to her GCSE art teacher about upon her return to school; another big tick!

You can’t visit the South Bank without eating your way around Borough Market, one of the largest and oldest food markets in London, but my daughter was excited to stumble across Angry Crab Shack in nearby Borough Yards.

It serves seafood boils, a communal dining trend with its roots in Cajun and Creole culture that went viral on TikTok not so long ago.

Having now tried it, I can confirm that it’s much more appetising than it sounds, albeit very messy!

Never fear, you’ll be equipped with a plastic bib and range of tools to work your way through your choice of shellfish and sides, which are all cooked and served together in a garlic butter sauce.

Following Queen’s Walk, the pedestrianised riverside promenade, west from our hotel, the abundance of eye-catching landmarks and magnificent views across to Westminster ensured there were no complaints from the teen about the distance we covered.

However, if you don’t fancy the walk, hop aboard an Uber Boat and head to Battersea Power Station, which once supplied a fifth of London’s electricity but reopened in 2022 as a shopping and leisure destination.

It offers a mix of high street and luxury brands, a great choice of eateries, a cinema and more, but is well worth a visit to see the breathtaking scale of the building itself.

Don’t miss the chance to take a ride in the Chimney Lift for a bird’s eye view of the city.

If you venture across the Thames, you’ll receive maximum kudos from your teenage daughters if you take them to visit the boutiques of Carnaby Street, where there are several clothing brands - Subdued, Brandy Melville and more - that they’ll be familiar with from social media that you won’t find here in Yorkshire.

In fact, they’re so popular there’s usually a queue of girls waiting outside just to get in and browse!

Teens mourning the end of the cult television series will jump at the chance to see Stranger Things The First Shadow at The Phoenix Theatre in the West End, which takes audiences back to Hawkins in 1959 and the very beginning of the story.

Be prepared for gripping action, special effects that will make you jump out of your seat and lots of fun touches, such as the Scoops Ahoy refreshment stand in the foyer serving Demogorgon and Upside Down-themed sundaes.

Prices for the Thames Suites at Sea Containers London start at £550 per night. Visit www.seacontainerslondon.com

Admission to Tate Modern is free, but you do need to book and pay for tickets for the exhibitions. Visit www.tate.org.uk

To find out more about Battersea Power Station and book a tickets for the lift, visit: https://batterseapowerstation.co.uk

For tickets to see Stranger Things The First Shadow, visit www.atgtickets.com/shows/stranger-things-the-first-shadow/phoenix-theatre.