My wife, 3 children ages 6,4 and 8 months and myself
will be travelling to England in Sept/99 from canada.
We have tried to research this trip in a "kid" oriented
way but most of our info is "adult" oriented. It looks
Legoland in Windsor would be a good place to start
but could anyone suggest other ideas to help fill
our 2 week itinery? We would like to stay in some
sort of self-catering place (ie, small house or apt).
Hotels could be ok if they could fit us all in.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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Go to the library and check out "Fodors" guide to London/
and or UK. There is always a section in it that recommends
things to do with your children. They might like to see
Kensington Gardens where there is a statue of Peter Pan.
London has a great zoo with some animals not seen elsewhere-
Panda Bear & Okapi.
Changing of the Guards, Madame Toussards wax works,
heaps of lovely parks and gardens. They'll have a ball.
Wish it was my family.
Fully understand your concern, Dwayne. I am a Londoner living in Calgary and travel back to the U.K. three or four times a year to see my kids, who live with their mum in London. There are a number of things to do and of course, many places to stay. I would suggest staying near London for three nights. No more mate. It'll drive you crazy with the traffic and vast numbers of people! Spend the remaining eleven days in the countryside. Two to four hours drive from London are areas called The Peak District, The Cotswolds, Somerset, Devon. Absolutely gorgeous villages with little country pubs and high streets with shops such as butchers, fishmongers, crafts and local jams and treats. Markets with screaming vendors trying to get you to buy their apples or cloth. Little bed & breakfasts with friendly couples that will provide you with a whole-hearty fill in the morning, before you move on to wherever. For the kids, I recommend....
Alton Towers Theme Park (4 hours from London), Thorpe Parke Theme Park (1 hour), Legoland AND Windsor Castle for mum and dad (1 hour), Chessington World of Adventures (1) Center-Parcs, a huge glass dome and water park with constant 85 degree temperatures. 3-4 night minimum stays (2 hours).
In London, see the Aquarium, Madame Tussauds (kids may be a bit young?) Hamleys Toy Shop in Regent Street is the largest in Europe. Harrods department store is a must for mum and dad. Especially the food floor. What a sight. Take the kids to a show? Doctor Dolittle is great and the theatre was full of laughing children.
That should get you started anyway....
Good Luck,
Mitch.
In London thegreat places for kids are the Sience Museum (lots of hands stuff) and the Natural History Museum (dinosaurs). But Mitch is right there is plenty to do outside London and it's usually cheaper & less hassle. Shropshire is another good area he didn't mention - Ludlow Castle, Ironbridge, real working countryside.
In Devon there is a farm centre called Pennywells on the southern edge of Dartmoor, lots of activities - egg collecting, lamb feeding etc and a proper toddlers play area.
How about the Lyme Regis/Charmouth area of Dorset - cliff top walks, fossil hunting on the beach, hunting for creatures in the rock pools.
I'm sure you will find plenty to do. There are quite a few agencies that rent holiday cottages, don't know if they have web sites, but I could give you some addresses if you email me.
Try looking up www.kidsnet.co.uk
It was great reading about some other "crazy" peaople
taking their kids to England!This summer I(Ilona) am taking
my three children(9,7and 5 year old)to Poland(where I come
from)and on the way back we are stopping in England for two
weeks.Our London stay is covered as far as accomodation
goes but I am having a hard time finding an inexpensive
place to stay in Southwestern England(like Devon). I want
the kids to experience the quaint rural England. I've heard
of the place called Brixham but can't find a way to find
accomodation there. I agree with those who advise to get
out of London after a few days.I'll post my findings if I
have any. Does anybody have sugestions for us? Guidebooks
don't seem to be of much help for families.
My wife and I run a Bed and Breakfast in Salisbury which is
in the heart of England. Stonehenge and Salisbury
Cathedral are nearby. We have two girls who are 2 and 4
years old. We are very much a familly orientated place and
welcome kids. We are very close to some great places to
visit and with London about an hour away by train or car we
are very accessible to the rest of the country. We can
advise good places for kids to visit around here too. Good
rates for you at that time of year. Have a great trip.
Fax 1722 413269
My wife and I run a Bed and Breakfast in Salisbury which is
in the heart of England. Stonehenge and Salisbury
Cathedral are nearby. We have two girls who are 2 and 4
years old. We are very much a familly orientated place and
welcome kids. We are very close to some great places to
visit and with London about an hour away by train or car we
are very accessible to the rest of the country. We can
advise good places for kids to visit around here too. Good
rates for you at that time of year. Have a great trip.
Fax 1722 413269
I am a US citizen. My daughter will be attending Queen Mary
College in London in January 2000. My wife and I would like
to join her at the end of the semester and stay in London
for a week. Any recommendation for good housing at frugal
rates?
Thanks,
Stephen Nickerson
NICKERSS@AOL.COM