A little taste of London life every now and then is always a good thing.

A bit of shopping, a top-notch show, a wander around familiar sights, a self-guided history and/or geography lesson and a comfortable base are usually on the wish list for a short break.

This time, though, the visit began with something new – a different mode of transport. Mostly I go by train, but the offer came to try out National Express.

Last time I went to London by coach I was in school uniform and heading for a museum. It took ages, probably down to the compulsory and interminable stop at the motorway services to enable the pupil passengers to blow their day-trip pocket money on overpriced sweets and snacks.

So, it was to be sincerely hoped that a lot had changed in the meantime.

Our journey started bright and early at Poole when we were seen on to the coach by friendly Fred, our driver.

Fred’s a chatty chap and a bit of a joker, making his passengers smile through the safety announcements and generally creating a festive atmosphere aboard his shiny, comfortable coach.

Best of all, after a smooth journey we arrived at Victoria half-an-hour early. Fred did kindly offer to drive us round the block for 30 minutes to make sure we got our money’s worth, but luckily no one felt it necessary to take him up on that.

And after that smooth start, here’s how the wish list was ticked off this time:

The show – It might be a bit detached from Theatreland but Victoria boasts two major theatres both hosting long-running iconic musicals – Billy Elliot and Wicked.

Billy Elliot has been playing at the sumptuous Victoria Palace since 2005 and it was about time I joined the eight million people worldwide who have seen it.

Set in a north-east mining town during the miners’ strike of 1984, the story of a little boy breaking free from his background against the odds is a hard-hitting, down-to-earth emotional piece of drama with plenty of humour, politics, catchy Elton John tunes and, of course, amazing dancing.

The most jaw-dropping element is the age of the assured, talented youngsters who play Billy and friends.

There’s a rota of four boys at a time who play Billy, and the standard is so amazingly high you wonder just how ones so young – between 10 and 13 – can have amassed so much ability in so few years.

The shopping – Fashion doesn’t do a lot for me, but food shopping is another matter altogether.

And the very best place for that at the back end of the week is Borough Market in Southwark, a foodie’s paradise with so many tempting wares to part you from your money that a Borough Market jute bag was an essential purchase before an hour was up – a shrewd move on the part of the market to sell those.

However extensive your usual food sourcing is there’s always going to be something different and special to find there.

We loaded the bag with jammy black figs, enormous peaches, Portuguese custard tarts, buttery fudge and stunning cakey treats – and that was before spending several delicious minutes deciding which of the fragrant-smelling street food stalls was going to be chosen to provide our lunch.

A treat not to be missed.

The history/geography lesson – There’s nothing like a good walk in London to help you get your bearings and discover something new. Forget tubes and buses and just have a wander is my advice.

For our morning trip to the market at Southwark, the walk from Victoria couldn’t have been more straightforward – a right turn down to the river, cross at whichever bridge takes your fancy (we chose Westminster), and wander on through Bankside until you reach the market in the shadow of Southwark Cathedral.

A path follows the river all the way, so it’s absolutely ideal for a stroll.

The sights – There’s a great haul of them along our stretch of the river – Houses of Parliament, London Eye, Southbank, the Oxo Tower, Millennium Bridge, Tate Modern, Shakespeare’s Globe, the old Clink prison and the Golden Hinde. And that’s not to mention the stunning cityscape across the river, all the boats chugging by and a strong sense of the mighty river’s working past.

The comfy base - The four-star Georgian House Hotel is exactly as it sounds – an unobtrusive, creamy painted stone building in a beautiful, uniform terraced street which wouldn’t look out of place in Bath.

Finding such attractive street scenes just a few minutes’ walk from the coach stations was a very pleasant surprise.

The decor is perfectly in keeping with the outside, and the rooms still have original features. We were welcomed with coffee and biscuits – a nice touch – before being shown our room and all the staff carried on this helpful way throughout our time there.

We packed a lot in to our brief stay before collapsing into our return coach seats. It was another smooth journey, arriving on time back in Poole despite travelling through the rush hour, and a good end to a break that achieved all our wishes.

And as someone more organised than me once said, happiness is a ticked-off list.

FACTFILE: 

National Express coaches have tickets available from £5. It's now even easier to purchase coach tickets thanks to a new partnership with the Post Office.

Tickets can be bought from Post Office branches throughout Dorset.

For more information see  nationalexpress.com

For more information about the Georgian House Hotel (above) contact reception@georgianhouse hotel.co.uk

Billy Elliot is playing at the Victoria Palace Theatre, SW1E 5EA. Box Office: 0844 248 5000