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An afternoon tea bus tour in London sounds like a novelty until you realise how many versions Brigit’s Bakery actually runs each winter. I went through the official pages for each tour to compare length, departure points, age guidance and, importantly, the dietary options, before working out which one suits which kind of day out.
1. The Classic Afternoon Tea Bus Tour
This is Brigit’s year-round tour, a 90-minute route on a vintage Routemaster past landmarks including Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace. It departs from Victoria Coach Station, 164 Buckingham Palace Road, SW1W 9TP, with daily departures at 12:00, 14:30 and 17:00. Prices start from £45 for adults and £37 for children, varying by date, time and seat chosen. Children must be aged 5 or over, since the bus has no onboard restroom and babies are not permitted.
Why it made the list: it runs all year, so it is the one to book if Christmas dates do not line up with your plans.
Honest drawback: no restroom on a 90-minute tour is worth planning around, particularly with children.
2. The Christmas Lights Afternoon Tea Bus Tour
The festive version of the same 90-minute route, timed to take in Regent Street’s lights alongside the usual landmarks, departs from Victoria Coach Station and runs from 11 November 2026 to 5 January 2027. Prices start from £45 for adults and £37 for children. The same age 5+ guidance applies, with children and babies under 5 not permitted for health and safety reasons.
Why it made the list: the same reliable 90-minute format, timed for the lights, without a character theme if that is not what you are after.
Honest drawback: running into early January means it is popular right through the school holidays, so earlier time slots sell out first.
3. The themed Christmas tours
Brigit’s runs several character-themed versions on the same 90-minute format: Peppa Pig, Paddington, PAW Patrol, Grinchmas and The Cat in the Hat. Peppa Pig departs from Temple (Bus Stop N) on Victoria Embankment and allows children from age 2. The Cat in the Hat tour departs from Northumberland Avenue outside the Corinthia Hotel, runs 14 November to 31 December 2026 with departures at 13:00, 15:30 and 18:00, is for ages 4 and up, and is priced from £50 for adults and £42 for children. Grinchmas is priced from £50 for adults and £42 for children, with tours running from mid-November to the end of January.
Why it made the list: a lower minimum age on some of these, Peppa Pig especially, opens the tour up to younger children than the Classic or standard Christmas Lights tour allows.
Honest drawback: the themed tours cost more than the standard Christmas Lights tour, and each one runs from a different departure point, so double-check which stop applies before you book.
Peppa Pig Christmas Lights Bus Tour
Brigit’s Bakery
from £45 adult / £37 child
4. Afternoon tea at the Covent Garden bakery
For a version with no bus involved, Brigit’s own Covent Garden site at 6-7 Chandos Place, WC2N 4HU, serves Traditional Afternoon Tea at £40 per person, open daily from 10am to 6pm. Adding a drink runs from £47 for a glass of Prosecco up to £55 for Champagne. Bookings for up to four people are taken through The Fork booking widget on Brigit’s own site, which requires a credit card to secure the table and applies a £15-per-person no-show fee for cancellations inside 24 hours; groups of five or more need a non-refundable 50% deposit.
Why it made the list: no age restriction tied to bus safety rules, and no fixed seating, so it suits a more flexible booking than any of the tours.
Honest drawback: the no-show fee and deposit terms are stricter than simply booking a bus seat, so read them before confirming.
Menu options and the allergies this does not cover
Across the tours and the Covent Garden site, Brigit’s offers traditional, vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and halal afternoon tea menus, with a £3 supplement on vegan and gluten-free teas on the bus tours. This is the part worth reading carefully if anyone in your group has allergies: Brigit’s own site states it is unable to cater for “nut-free, peanut-free, combination of dairy & gluten-free, combination of vegan & gluten-free and Coeliacs,” and separately notes that the gluten-free menu may still contain traces. All allergies need to be confirmed directly with the bakery by email rather than assumed from the standard dietary menus.
Honest drawbacks before you book
Seating on the bus is fixed for the full 90 minutes once the tour starts, which matters if anyone in your group gets restless or needs to move around, and there is no onboard restroom on any of these tours. December dates sell out well ahead of the day, particularly the earlier afternoon slots on the Christmas Lights and themed tours, so booking early matters more here than for most days out. And at £45 to £50 a person before any drinks add-on, this sits well above a standard afternoon tea.
Good to know
Price range: from £37 for a child’s seat on the standard tours up to £50 for an adult seat on Grinchmas or The Cat in the Hat; Covent Garden afternoon tea starts at £40 per person.
Where to book: directly through Brigit’s Bakery; the Covent Garden bakery takes table bookings through The Fork widget on its own site.
Dietary needs: traditional, vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and halal menus available; nut-free, peanut-free, combined dairy-and-gluten-free, combined vegan-and-gluten-free, and Coeliac diets cannot be catered for, and must be confirmed by email in advance.
Takeaway
For most people, the standard Christmas Lights tour is the easiest version to plan around, while the themed tours suit younger children or a specific character fan, and the Covent Garden bakery suits anyone who wants the food without the bus. Whichever one you choose, book the dietary menu and confirm any allergy by email before the day, not after.
