help in planning itinerary to UK

Old Sep 20th, 2016, 01:19 AM
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ngs
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help in planning itinerary to UK

Hi ,

We will be visiting London in this October for 7 days. We will have a 6 year old child with us. I need help on the following things..

1 We intend to stay near lincoln inn field....need suggestions on good hotels or Bed and breakfast. Our budget is around 150GBP( its flexible). we r undecided on whether to stay in a BB or a hotel. We r considering a BB bcoz of the advantage of having a kitchenette. r there any security concerns in BBs?
2 Since we have a young kid , we r planning to visit Legoland. Is it a good idea to visit ireland or scotland in this season since we r not used to extreme cold climate? Also which other places we can visit around London which might interest my child?

Any suggetsions will be highly appreciated!

NG
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Old Sep 20th, 2016, 02:27 AM
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Hi,

A B&B won't necessarily give you a kitchenette - for that you need an apartment. What a B&B usually provides is a room, plus breakfast cooked by your hosts. You don't normally have the full range of facilities found at a hotel, but there is more of a sense of staying as a 'guest' of the family. They are usually a bit cheaper than hotels.

You could think about adding a castle - children seem like those when accompanied by fairy tales/stories about knights/people getting shot with arrows etc! - and a steam railway, of which there are few in the south east of England.

I doubt Scotland (or Ireland) would be very cold at that time of year - October is autumn rather than winter - so very probably some grey days and rain, but very unlikely to have bitter cold or snow that early on. However, 7 days isn't long so you'd struggle to combine that and London. Maybe a day in Edinburgh/1 night stop would suffice using the train (4.5hrs each way from London).
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Old Sep 20th, 2016, 03:03 AM
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As RM67 says, a B&B in the UK does not normally come with cooking facilities. You really need an apartment for your needs with a 6 year old. Lincoln's Inn Fields is as good a spot as any, bearing in mind that London does not have one "centre", but is spread over a wide area.

Places of interest for your child could be the London Eye, Sea Life Centre, Mme. Tussauds, Natural History Museum, Windsor Castle-you could "do" Legoland in the same day, etc. There's a lot to do within and around London without heading off to Scotland or Ireland, unless you have particular reasons for going.
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Old Sep 20th, 2016, 04:29 AM
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A B&B means that the people in whose house you are staying in gives you a bedroom and also breakfast.

They don;t turn their kitchen over to you - it's theirs - for their personal use. Not saying they wouldn't let you make a cup of tea or whatever, but if you want your own kitchen to make snacks or meals in you to rent your own apartment or a room in an apart hotel that has a kitchenette (an be sure what equipment they supply).
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Old Sep 20th, 2016, 04:40 AM
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Not all B&BS provide breakfast.
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Old Sep 20th, 2016, 05:44 AM
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In the UK, a B&B means "Bed & Breakfast". It's therefore a given that you get breakfast. A Guest house will usually provide breakfast too, very occasionally it may not.
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Old Sep 20th, 2016, 06:16 AM
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I don't know if I'd recommend Madame Tussaud's for a 6 year old. Or anybody at all. But I agree with Rubicund's other suggestions. Here's some more: Most young children would like the zoo. And you can go to the zoo by way of a boat on Regents Canal. The boat also goes to Little Venice, which would be fun to see, lots of houseboats, some with bounteous gardens. There's also a boat ride on the Thames. And look for children's theater presentations.


London has numerous parks, good for a little running around. I hear Princess Diana's Memorial playground at/near Kensington Palace is good but gets very busy.

And I have it on good authority that Hamley's Toy Store is a must-see.

Some sort of train trip would be good. But I'd lean to staying in London. Both Scotland and Ireland are rainy in October. How are you getting to Legoland? You could take a train to Windsor.

At most, you could do an excursion by train to York (walkable Roman wall, railway museum, diorama history museum, historical center of narrow streets, old houses).
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Old Sep 20th, 2016, 06:29 AM
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Coram's Fields playground and petting zoo would be pretty close to where you're hoping to stay:
http://www.coramsfields.org/

You could also try along the South Bank, for free street entertainers, and the carousel near the London Eye (though the Eye may well not be of that much interest, given the expense).

The big museums put in some effort to providing things for children to do, though maybe they're more oriented towards older than 6, but it would depend on what your 6-year-old is interested in. I should check out the museum's websites to see what they have on offer for children.

You could consider Greenwich - a boat ride one way, and the Docklands Light Railway the other way (it's driverless so you can sit at the front to see where you're going, which usually appeals to children), and in Greenwich there's the Cutty Sark, the National Maritime Museum, as well as the Observatory and a huge park to run around in. A couple of stops away on the DLR is the Mudchute City Farm.
http://www.rmg.co.uk/national-maritime-museum
http://www.mudchute.org/
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Old Sep 20th, 2016, 07:15 AM
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>

B&B is a Bed and Breakfast offering 1-5 rooms of accommodation. A Guest House is a B&B offering 6-10 rooms.

To the OP: you are not going to do anyone any good by trying to drag a hobbit 5 hours away or more from your base in London to visit Ireland or Scotland. You won't have time to do either any justice in your time frame and you cannot hop around from place to place with a gnome in tow the way you would if you were just with you and the other half. There are plenty of places to visit within easy 2 hour one-way trips from London (or less) that would interest your kid.

Fact is, you need to hit the books and do some research. London is catnip for kids and you seem to lack any clue as to where to go. And the resources are innumerable.

Finally, if you want kitchen facilities, RENT AN APARTMENT. There are TON(NE)S in London that are on offer solely for travelers. And no hotel of any sort (B&B, Guest House, full service) offers its kitchens to the guests.
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Old Sep 20th, 2016, 01:31 PM
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If seven days is all you have for this trip, then no, you don't have time to visit Ireland or Scotland.

Wear layers and bring something waterproof to wear as well, and you should be fine for clothing.

Lee Ann
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Old Sep 20th, 2016, 01:35 PM
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if you need a kitchen why not look at an apartment?

or a hotel with a kitchenette:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/HotelsLis...-zfp26424.html

isn't google wonderful?
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Old Sep 20th, 2016, 03:22 PM
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>>Is it a good idea to visit ireland or scotland in this season since we r not used to extreme cold climate?> Also which other places we can visit around London which might interest my child?
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Old Sep 22nd, 2016, 09:13 AM
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Thank u all for the earnest reply.....it has given me gud leads to plan my stay ....u r right i havent researched much as was preoccupied with an exam! but yes with such lovely suggestions, the research will be less time consuming!
We have 9 days of ground stay....I'll plan my itinerary in more detail and then get back with more queries
And yes got the point i should be looking for an apartment and not B&B

NGS
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Old Sep 22nd, 2016, 12:08 PM
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OK- great, 9 days on the ground (11days all together) is much better.

I don't have time for a full reply now but I'd think about something like 6 or 7 days in London with a day trip or two and a couple of days in one other place. Could be Bath or York or even Edinburgh.
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Old Sep 22nd, 2016, 03:12 PM
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Is it a good idea to visit Ireland or Scotland in this season since we r not used to extreme cold>

What is extreme cold to you? About 50-55 highs and not much for lows- rarely gets bitter cold in either place except at high altitudes due to the warming effect of the Gulf Stream.

Yes you can take the train to Edinburgh in about 5 hours and fly out of there. www.nationalrail.co.uk has all the fares - some are really cheap if you book way ahead of time to get those limited in number deep discounted ducats. there is also an overnight train that the kid may consider a treat - https://www.sleeper.scot/

Again really cheap fares for booking early. Anyway from central London the train is probably just as quick as going out to any airport and flying and getting then into Edinburgh.

For lots on British trains including overnight trains check www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com. Even if doing also two day trips in addition no BritRail Pass would be of use to you.
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Old Sep 22nd, 2016, 03:17 PM
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>>About 50-55 highs and not much for lows- rarely gets bitter cold in either place except at high altitudes due to the warming effect of the Gulf Stream.
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Old Sep 23rd, 2016, 02:40 AM
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>>Trust me -- it can be a lot colder than that in Edinburgh in late October (or in August for that matter)
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Old Sep 23rd, 2016, 03:56 AM
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It's been a long time since my kids were six...but I think the Tower would be fun. A real castle with Beefeaters in costume, a view of Tower Bridge, the jewels, the armor & weapons [Note: you didn't say whether your child was a boy or a girl, and I don't want to perpetrate stereotypes.], the ravens...

Your child is probably too young to appreciate the history, but I always say that if you can only visit one sight in London, it should be the Tower.

BTW, the Tower qualifies for the 2-for-1 vouchers [search this forum for details], which makes it a pretty good half-day (or more).

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Old Sep 23rd, 2016, 04:13 AM
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Agree that the Tower is probably the no 1 sight if you have limited time. The fact that Tower Bridge is right alongside is a bonus. I loved the ravens as a child. They are 'employed' by the Tower, get a salary of meat and eggs (I think) and can be sacked if they misbehave. One was dismissed a few years back for attacking television ariels and it made the national news


You can also walk from there (in literally just a few minutes) to St Dunstan in The East which is a ruined/bombed out church left as a wild garden.
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Old Sep 23rd, 2016, 04:14 AM
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PS and you will get to see some of the newer architecture juxtaposed at very close quarters with the older landmarks eg the walkie talkie building
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