A trip to the UK

[almburr]

Tell me about places I should see and do with my family. We do not have a date yet or even a year it could be in 2 years or 6 years. Whole family is on board for a trip like this, even if it means no Disney. We are a family of 7 kids range from 14y to 3yrs. I want to know everything there is. England,Ireland,Scotland,Wales. EVERYTHING!

 

[Goofyish]

Bit of a tall order to tell you everything to see in the UK LOL (what would you say to someone who asked you the same question about the US ).

Can you narrow it down a little and tell us what sort of things you are interested in? History (castles etc.), scenery, theme parks, shopping, sports........

 

[Dimplenose]

Oh, there are so many things to do. But do remember that although things look close together on a map they can take a long time to travel between. Maybe pick one or two areas that are of particular interest to you and leave the rest for another trip.

 

[almburr]

Castles, castles and more castles! DD's and myself love shopping. DD6 pen-pal sent her a map of Warwick castle and she really wants to go there. They would love some type of theme park or fair. DS3 loves bagpipes and big dogs. London would most likely be seen since most visitors go there, right? something laid back a bit. We like to be outdoors, even in rain. DH use to golf I think he would like to do that as would I. Something where I dont feel like a total tourist, ya know all dressed alike snapping pics and stuff. Tell me something that is a must see, then I'll go from there. Oh, and Ride the train, and a football match.

Though about kissing the Blarney stone, but second thought on that as the kids never stop talking now. If we did that they would never pipe down.

Though about tracing DHs family in Scotland were down to two clans, I have to do some digging.

 

[Kymie]

If you go to Warwick Castle then there are a couple of theme parks etc not too far from there, Drayton Manor Park, Alton Towers, and West Midlands Safari park are all good! I love the sights in London and you can look round Buckingham Palace, but if you get chance then go to Windsor Castle. Dont forget when planning about our lovely British weather! I'd suggest only come between May and October but try and avoid August as all attractions are really busy due to the kids summer holidays!

 

[Dimplenose]

Ok - here are some things I've enjoyed with my family.

London - we live near here so have visited lots of places we loved The Tower of London, Science and Natural History Museums when the kids were younger (they're now 14 and 17). The British Museum (has some interesting Egyptian Mummies), The National Gallery (but only for an hour or so with smaller children), The Victoria and Albert Museum (lovely scones in the cafe!!) - again just a very short visit with the kids.

There are a few parks in London. Kensington Gardens has a really nice children's play area as well as a statue of Peter Pan. (This was the park in Finding Neverland) and St James park has a kids area not too far from Buckingham Palace.

Hampton Court Palace is nearer to our home but still an easy journey from central London. We could spend hours here with the costumed guides and the gardens and maze.

Windsor is also nearish to London. Windsor Castle is an interesting trip. It is still used by the Queen and her family. Just outside the town is Legoland - a great themepark for the under 12s (and the cleanest and best kept British theme park that I've visited).

Probably the best UK Theme park is Alton Towers. It is set in a very beautiful part of the country on the edge of the Peak District. They have their own hotel and indoor water park.

Warwick Castle is a great place. Better during the school holidays as they have displays of swordsmanship, jousting and birds of prey. Nearby is Stratford upon Avon which is a pretty town most famous for its connections with Shakespeare.

Wookey Hole caves. I went to these when DS was 5. Limestone caverns with other interesting activities.

Portsmouth has a naval dockyard museum where you can go onboard Nelson's ship the Victory.

I don't know Wales or Scotland very well but I'm sure there will be someone who does.

 

[almburr]

Ok - here are some things I've enjoyed with my family.

London - we live near here so have visited lots of places we loved The Tower of London, Science and Natural History Museums when the kids were younger (they're now 14 and 17). The British Museum (has some interesting Egyptian Mummies), The National Gallery (but only for an hour or so with smaller children), The Victoria and Albert Museum (lovely scones in the cafe!!) - again just a very short visit with the kids.

There are a few parks in London. Kensington Gardens has a really nice children's play area as well as a statue of Peter Pan. (This was the park in Finding Neverland) and St James park has a kids area not too far from Buckingham Palace.

Hampton Court Palace is nearer to our home but still an easy journey from central London. We could spend hours here with the costumed guides and the gardens and maze.

Windsor is also nearish to London. Windsor Castle is an interesting trip. It is still used by the Queen and her family. Just outside the town is Legoland - a great themepark for the under 12s (and the cleanest and best kept British theme park that I've visited).

Probably the best UK Theme park is Alton Towers. It is set in a very beautiful part of the country on the edge of the Peak District. They have their own hotel and indoor water park.

Warwick Castle is a great place. Better during the school holidays as they have displays of swordsmanship, jousting and birds of prey. Nearby is Stratford upon Avon which is a pretty town most famous for its connections with Shakespeare.

Wookey Hole caves. I went to these when DS was 5. Limestone caverns with other interesting activities.

Portsmouth has a naval dockyard museum where you can go onboard Nelson's ship the Victory.

I don't know Wales or Scotland very well but I'm sure there will be someone who does.

DD10 would love to go to the museum to see the Mummies, She wants to study history on Egypt when shes older. Last Christmas she got an 400pg book on translating hyrogliphics(sp)

 

[Halo]

Wow - 7 kids, Respect. How long would you intend to come for? That would tend to determine how much you could reasonably see.

To get ideas you might wish to check-out the Adventures by Disney website for their tours of the UK and France here and Ireland here.

These would be expensive for a family of 9, but it would give you ideas for itineraries which you could replicate to suit your family.

Happy planning.

 

[almburr]

Wow - 7 kids, Respect. How long would you intend to come for? That would tend to determine how much you could reasonably see.

To get ideas you might wish to check-out the Adventures by Disney website for their tours of the UK and France here and Ireland here.

These would be expensive for a family of 9, but it would give you ideas for itineraries which you could replicate to suit your family.

Happy planning.

I typed it wrong we are a family of 7 with 5kids, still it will take a bit. Thanks for the info.

 

[almburr]

If we went to Scotland would we be able to see Ailsa Craig Island? This is DD10 first name.

 

[scojos]

if you came to the west midlands to visit warwick and alton towers - the merry hill shopping centre is good and i would suggest the seven valley railway - real steam train its amazing to go back in time
tracy

 

[Graeme]

Castles, castles and more castles!! Sounds like my kind of holiday

A lot of them are owned by English Heritage, The National Trust, or National Trust for Scotland. Though some, like Warwick, are privately owned.
English Heritage link here - http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.855

National Trust - http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace.htm

NT Scotland - http://www.nts.org.uk/Visits/

 

[Netty]

also here in Wales there are lots of castles to see and beautiful countryside and sheep!!

 

[Huggles]

http://www.ailsacraig.org.uk/index.html

If you start off in London you can then get the train up to Edinburgh and 'do' a small part of Scotland.

Based in central Scotland you can visit Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle and a varity of ruined castles around the coast. If you have seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail then you can visit Doune Castle where it was filmed ( they have a gathering once a year where folk re enact it complete with coconut shells and fancy dress).

The Records Office for Scotland is located in Edinburgh so you could do some more digging into the family history but that would not be accessible with the kids as space is very limited.

Golf courses are all over the place so there's no problem finding one for a game.

Edinburgh is full of tourists all year round so don't worry about standing out; it's the locals who stand out because they don't flinch at the one o'clock gun which is fired every day from the castle battlements. It gets particularly busy during the Edinburgh Festival so hotels etc might be hard to come by at that time ( not only visitors staying but also performers).

Can I recommend a visit to the Isle of Arran on the west coast? It has a castle (and some ruins), a distillery, lots of wildlife and lovely beaches plus nice places to eat. It also has lots of golf courses including a 12 hole golf course which is a rarity in the world of golf! It is described as Scotland in miniature. We love it and visit for 2 weeks every year and my kids are the 5th generation to holiday there.

http://www.visitarran.net/

The National Trust for Scotland http://www.nts.org.uk/Home/ has castles and properties to visit all over Scotland and even rents out cottages and flats for holidays.

Historic Scotland is the other body which has ancient properties and monuments in its care. http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/ Lots all over Scotland and some ancient (pictish and roman) and others more 'modern' including Linlithgow Palace (1452) I was married in a beautiful church called St Michaels next to the palace in Linlithgow. It is beautiful.

http://www.stmichaelsparish.org.uk/discover_ourkirk.htm

I hope you have a wonderful time whenever you come over and wherever you decide to visit.

 

[almburr]

what is the best time of year to visit?

 

[emily1982]

if you came to the west midlands to visit warwick and alton towers - the merry hill shopping centre is good and i would suggest the seven valley railway - real steam train its amazing to go back in time
tracy

There's also Cadburys World!!!

 

[Dimplenose]

what is the best time of year to visit?

May, although the 1st and last Mondays are bank/public holidays and most schools are on holiday for the last week.

 

[Lessa Riel]

Firstly I'd visit in June weathers ok and schools and universities are not broken up. Also lots of areas get very packed after that.

Secondly if you love castles and historical places which ever part of the ocuntry you visit for a family of 7 get an English heritage or National trust membership. If you stay longer than a week and plan to visit lots of historic sites (and I suspect you will) this will save you money.

Finally come to the North east (its the bets part although I'm biased).
Visit York for vikings, castles and shopping. Nearby we have two theme parks Lightwater valley which has the worlds longets roller coaster and Flamingoland which also has a zoo. Although some of the bigger rides ar at alton towers by July if th eweather is nice you are lucky to get on more than 3 rides in a day where as Flamingoland i've never had trouble going on everything in one day.

Northumberland and Alwick have lovely beaches, historic castles and country shops. The area is cattered with abbies and other historic properties.
Branching out from castles hadrians wall runs from the coast near Newcastle and there are several roman forts including vindolanda where you cans ee roman mosaics and corstpitum which has a full heating system on display.

And if you are Harry Potter movie fans the station used as Hogsmead is part of the North Yorkshire Moors Steam Railway which runs between pickering (castle location as well) and Grosmont. Other movie to note is that the french war beach scenes in Atonement were filmed near here

 

[islandmum]

well the first thing you'll need for this vacation will be DEEP pockets! Every time we visit the UK the prices seem to go up and the real dollar/value is a BIG gap - for the same reason the Brits find the US cheap ... the US finds the UK hugely expensive.

A couple of costs for you to think about, this year in July for us:

1) car hire (cheapest we could get - and I searched EVERYWHERE!) for 18 days for a Toyota Avensis (think standard 4 door sedan) was a mindboggling $1470 USD inc insurance!!!!!!!!!!!!! ( and the cost to fill up the tank was $128!! USD) ..... and thats without renting carseats for the kids (we brought our own).

2) 4 seats on flight from Gatwick to Edinburgh $890 USD (again, cheapest I could find.)

3) day out in London (2 adults, 2 children) involving London Eye, open top bus tour, lunch, travel to get there (car parking, train, tube), Madame Tussaudes, Tower of London ....... are you ready ...... $780!!

travel in the UK is very expensive in comparison to US, choosing castles to visit is good as many times they are free, for everything else it'll cost you.

My advice is to pick areas to go to and then find out what events are also going on - where we used to live in the UK (chichester) there was the Goodwood Festical of Speed, Glorious Goodwood racing (which had a family day), loads of golf courses, and lots of one day events which were publicised on the local tourist centre website.

Try Chichester into Google and you'll see its a historic British city - Roman, with roman ruins!, cathedral, close to the beach, warm in summer as its south coast, and easy access to London, Brighton (which has a fantastic traditional victorian pier, gardens and pavillion), and gorgeous placesclose by like Arundel (where you can see great traditional cricket matches in the summer and has the most magnificent CASTLE with lots of events hosted there). Close by also is Midhurst where you could also go and see Polo at the Cowdray Polo club (built next to the Cowdray castle ruins) .... we've been loads of times, take a picninc in the car, park up and watch the match, great family entertainment!

Not too far away is Portsmouth which has the historic dockyards with the Mary Rose (hundreds of years old ship brought to the surface), Nelsons ship (cant for the life of me remember what its called!) etc etc

I think Chichester for a week is a great stop - all the places and things above are within an hours drive and from either airport at London its only 1.5 hours maximum drive away when you land.

From there work your way North .............

 

[glesgalass]

This is the second time I've written this, my Laptop chucked me out, so I hope I don't forget anything.

The best time to visit is Mid to late May and June, the last few years, these have been our best weather months, especially up here in Scotland. Also, the schools holiday from the end of June to mid August, so most places are a little cheaper and quieter then.

For accommodation, try hostelworld cot com for cheap hostels and hotels, some of which are brand new, and have great facilities such as free wifi ( which you'll find in most places in the UK - Disney take note!!). There are also some great Caravan and/or Camping Parks in beautiful areas with wonderful views or in close proximity to some of our outstanding natural beauty. Try companies such as Haven, Parkdean and Hoseasons holidays, also if you register for their email list, you're bound to get some good off season offers or price reduction coupons. Or you could hire a mobile home! My best tip for accommodation though, especially if you want to do a touring holiday, is the Youth Hostel Association. Membership costs very little and they have some great properties up and down the British Isles for low cost holidays. In Scotland they even have a castle which is now a Youth Hostel - won't that impress the kids back home!!

If your kids are into Harry Potter, one place which is great is the North East of England. There are a few of those caravan parks I've mentioned in the area, and loads of history and castles. Bamburgh, The Holy Island, or Lindisfarne as it's really called, and Alnwick, which is a quaint litlle town with the most beautiful castle. As a child it was always my favourite place to visit, and now as an adult, I love showing it to my boys as it's the place where they filmed for Hogwarts!!!

Back to Scotland though, which is where my heart is. I second the vote for arran - it's spectacular - I love it so much, I named my son after it! They also have a nice Youth Hostel there. For cities, although most tourists, especially those from your side of the pond, head for Edinburgh, please don't forget Glasgow Smiles Better (see what they did there?). We have the best shopping in Scotland (second in the UK), and some lovely architecture and history. This is the home of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and entry to Glasgow museums is free to all visitors, we also have a variety of free events all summer long for all the family, which you can find out details about on the Glasgow City Council website.

In fact, all city councils in the UK have websites, which will help you plan visits with details about what's on when etc. I'd also recommend Historic Scotland and The National Trust and I'd also recommend if you plan on doing multiple visits to their properties to buy a membership (also gets you free parking). Also, nearer the time think about buying a spree book dot co dot uk for discount vouchers for many different days out or places to go and money off meal vouchers for restaurants, they are just like the Entertainment book you have in the US.

Whenever you come, and wherever you go, you'll love the UK. I've lived abroad, but came back because it's so great here, and don't forget to Visit Scotland. (another website name - this time for the scottish tourist board.) X