Need some help from the UK....planning family trip there....

[lmhall2000]

My family (dh, dearme, ds9, dd6, dd5) will take our first trip abroad next year. I picked the UK for several reasons....it's the only overseas trip I've taken before (just once during college) and hence some familiarity, I don't have to cram in a foreign language course, it's a relatively short flight with three children, great great grandparents were Scots/Irish (kind of cool seeing folks that look just like my grandparents), we're using Minimus to learn Latin (it's a UK born primary Latin program based on a Roman family that lived there before the Roman fall) and want to visit the museum in "Vindolanda" near Hadrian's Wall, and lastly...history history history.
Now for my problem...when to travel? Any tips on covering UK in 2 weeks with young children. Is it worth a trip to visit any amusement parks there? Will they compare to Disney? My daughter has a heart for painting/drawing...so 2 days in London at the National Gallery and other venues to inspire her....my son LOVES dinosaurs and shipbuilding....where is that Naval Museum? My youngest has not developed any interests unique to her she just likes to go with the flow. I want to stay in London as little as possible...it was fine in college but with three little ones along...it seems intimidating....would rather stick to charming history jaunts/castles/nature trails/fun parks/anything that would interest the mind of a child.
Thanks for any and all helps! We'll be flying into London and will have 2 weeks total. I greatly appreciate it!

Tara

 

[keme]

Hi you may want to stay outside london and travel in. I live in Kent and we have the Dickens centre and Rochester catherderal also the historic dockyard which is getting bigger by the minute. Also from here you can travel the canterbury which is steeped in history.

In London there is a lot to see it does have a great underground and bus network so driving in is not necessary.

Theme parks are not like Disney at all Alton Towers is very much roller coasters I do not rate chessington or thorpe park you will be disappointed compared to Disney.
Don't forget our term times are diffeent to yours we finish school end of Julyish for 6 weeks break although that is starting to change.

Hope this helps

 

[jjpenguin]

You can easily spend 2 weeks in London alone!!
A lot of museums are very kid-friendly and can compare to amusement parks with experiences and hands on stuff. For dinosaurs the Natural History museum is a must. The naval museum is at Greenwich, which is really nice for a day trip.
History is everywhere in the UK, so you don't have too look too far!

 

[SplashMtn]

I agree about the "theme parks"- not so much "theme" and more of the "park" in terms of roller coasters and rides; though for the thrill seekers, Alton Towers should please with "Oblivion"- a near vertical drop and "Air"- a roller coaster you ride facing downwards.

Vindolanda near Hadrians wall is also very interesting- especially if the guide there does the Roman Armour demonstration. The actual ruins of the fort and walk along the wall are good too though.

 

[Danauk]

I agree with the posters above. Alton Towers (as much as I love it - 6 days there last season, 3 nights in the hotels there!) it is more for older children and thrill seakers. I second the Natural History museum for dinosours. The Science Museum is excellent for children - very hands on and is next to the NHM. Your children might enjoy a few days at a traditional English seaside resort. I love the East Coast, especially Scarborough (but I grew up there.) There are lots of things for kids to do at these places.
If you love Disney and are in London Disneyland Paris is easily to reach from London on the Eurostar. You could travel there for a couple of nights.

 

[leise]

I have two young boys aged 3 & 5 , and they love Legoland, near Windsor, and the Science Museum, in South Kensington, London. We just discovered the Science Museum and it is great; loads of stuff for kids of all ages to do, lots of hands -on exhibits. I didn't think we'd ever get out....and right next door is the Natural History Museum which is full of dinosaurs...

Legoland is good for younger kids, but if you do like Disney, it is definitely worth going to Disneyland Paris, and you can usually get a deal..

Also worth a visit if you like history is York, really beautiful old city with loads to do , Like the National Railway Museum, which is free, and the Jorvik Centre, all about Vikings. A great place to stay for exploring the North.

There are sooo many places I don't know where to start. Most of these places have websites so a trawl on the net would be worthwhile. Hope you have a great trip.

 

[SaveDisney]

Cant offer you any advise on where to go because I dont have kids. I do but have to say however that after you've been (if you decide to stick with London this is) please please please don't become one of the people who meet UK travellers in the US and immediately say 'oh yea LONDON'.

Its a real teeth grit for me whenever it happens. Its like a Brit' mentioning New York to every American they meet. I know we are a small island with London being the major destination for US travellers but........ I could rant on but I dont want to seem like a nutter in my first week on the boards

Only slight advise I can give for travel down south is to have a look at the Kent area. I went there not expecting much and there are tonnes of stately homes and gardens (which I love) with a good little group of hopper busses that circle them.

SD

 

[lmhall2000]

I forgot about the Natural History Museum!!! That will be a MUST! And I know the kids would love legoland, too!! And someone who's actually been to Vindolanda!! How neat!
And SD...I know how you feel! I'm from the southern US...and believe me I hated the stereotypes placed on me by my accent...very few could pronounce Alabama...it seemed it was always "Alabima" hard for them to say "Ala BAM a"....it always made us chuckle. When I travelled there my gal pals (5 of us) rented a car and made our way up to Edinburgh...we had great stops at Nottingham and something upon Tyne? I loved just hitting the quieter spots of England...but I missed all of southern England and would love to hit Cambridge and Shakespeare spots. But, alas, I was in college and clubbing was the entertainment...don't think my children would enjoy that...and I've become too much of a fuddy duddy to even think that was fun!
I'm making lists of all the mentionables...I think y'all are right...Alton would be too above my children...they just love exploring and soaking in how Englanders live. We'll definitely hit Tower of London, National History Museum, Legoland, and Cambridge area...
any castles that are not to be missed? We would like to plan 1 or 2 for our visit. Thanks for all the great ideas...London is wonderful I just think we get a better feel of the country as a whole by venturing off...my husband and I love two British comedies (Keeping up Appearances and As Time Goes By..not sure if that's the name of it but that's the song that goes with it) and he expects England to be just like those shows...I hope for his sake we don't run into Hyacinth!

Thanks!!!
Tara

 

[SaveDisney]

I moved to warwick last year and its got a lovely castle. I was a bit sceptical because it doesnt look like it would be worth the 20 odd pounds it costs to get in but we chanced it and spent nearly a full day there when friends came up from London.
http://www.warwick-castle.co.uk

I'm originally from Liverpool and if you ever get chance to drive that far up North again I would give it a whirl. Lovely city (don't believe the rumours). It has come a very long way in the past 5 years and is heading towards a European Capital Of Culture for 2008.
http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/capitalofculture

SD

 

[SplashMtn]

Don't worry Imhall2000, I have'nt saw Hyacinth wandering the streets lately!!

 

[Jane and Ian]

Portsmouth - on the south coast has a naval dockyard. You can go onto HMS Victory, look at The Mary Rose. My DS10 thoroughly enjoyed the day out with his Grandma.

Jane

 

[Goofyish]

For Roman history and artifacts the city of Bath is a very good place to visit. The Roman baths there are very interesting. There is also a Roman street and other buildings. All very well preserved and presented.

With all these great places to visit in the UK your main problem will be transport!
If you have a car you should be able to travel around the country, but it will take you some time. Especially if you visit during the summer or if you hit one of our public holiday weekends. Driving in the UK is a lot different to driving in the US - more traffic, crowded roads, roundabouts! You should allow around an hour to travel 50 miles (on a good day).
Our train system can be a bit slow and over crowded - again depending on the time of year and the time you want to travel. Can be expensive to travel long distances too. The different ticket types and train operators makes it very complicated to plan a journey!
For air travel there are a number of cheap operators now for domestic flights - Easyjet, BMIBaby etc.

Check out their websites for flight costs and options:

BMIBaby

Easyjet

 

[lmhall2000]

Thanks Goofyish! (And your pup is ADORABLE!!!) We have a Broadhouse Black Lab and she's almost 12 years old...miss those puppy days!
We will be renting a car....when I went in college I was elected as the driver because I was the only one who could drive a manual (they didn't have any automatics available the day we picked up our car)....believe me, I still hear the words of my navigators (ROUNDABOUT, PEDESTRIAN, DO NOT ENTER!) London was a beast..some very nice gentlemen helped us out of a one-way street...to me those one way street signs begged me to enter..there should be a big X not a little dash. And I never caught on to the speed limit signs...We were on the main motorway and I guess I was going 70 mph not 70 kmh...got lots of stares. I'll be better this time around...and my worst dumb moment....you had signs stating "No football coaches allowed" at certain rest stops...my first inclination was why were Englanders so discriminating against college football coaches (I took that to mean Pat Dye, Bear Bryant..football "coaches" were not allowed to stop....took a good 5 minutes to realize coaches meant buses and football meant soccer...) So this time around I think residents of England will be much safer with me on the road.
And I had completely forgotten about Bath...I think they would love that! Thanks for the tips!
Tara

 

[BONZO]

Hi,

I'm dashing around at the moment but as I've lived, worked and played in London for over 40 years I may be able to offer some "local" knowledge.

Here's a quick link for http://www.castles-abbeys.co.uk/Links-Page.html

We are also coaster / theme park freaks - here are a couple that may be of interest: -

http://www.alton-towers.co.uk/

http://www.chessington.co.uk/

http://www.thorpepark.co.uk/

http://www.legoland.co.uk

 

[lmhall2000]

Thanks BONZO! As a Londoner, do you have any suggestions on decent hotels/B&B's? The last time I went we rented a flat in the Kensington area...I think for our purposes we may just want a nice hotel...we only hope to be in the London area for 2-3 days to hit Tower of London, National History Museum, National Gallery of Art....is there an area that would be central to these that's in a nice area...or would you recommend staying in another area and riding the underground to the museums? I think the most I could budget for the London nights would be around 150 pounds per night. There are five of us...so I was thinking a B&B might be a better value than getting two rooms at a hotel...so much to consider! I hope I can pull this off!
Thanks!
Tara

 

[BONZO]

Hi,

Back again!

As I live about 14 miles away from Central London I've had no need for hotels (except after heavy christmas parties etc )

As you are a party of 5 you must be used to the fact that most "family units" are 4 people (I notice a lot of similar threads on the accommodation board here too).

Try these chains for good budget lodging: -

http://www.travelinn.co.uk

http://www.travelodge.co.uk

http://www.bestwestern.co.uk


There are lots of very good and inexpensive transport links in and out of london

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl


http://www.visitlondon.com/


and a general link for the whole of the UK

http://www.visitbritain.com/


I gave some similar info a while back - I'll try and locate the thread for you.

Keep the questions coming and I'll try and help as best I can - I'm on the boards most days.


Oh - the $ / £ is running in our favour at the moment so things may be a bit pricey at the moment.