My husband and I and our two girls, 6 and 9, have about 12 days in August to travel. London is a definite (and he and I have both been there)...but we live in NYC so after a week or so in London, we would like to see some countryside. Here are the questions: Do you have a london apt rental site to recommend? Should we go to Scotland, Wales or some part of the countryside near London for our five days or so after London? I am sure we will need to rent a car for that part...though getting out of London feels horrifying. And, finally, I looked at bit at Wales, can a two hour train ride, Paddington to Cardiff, really be $500 round trip for the four of us? all thoughts appreciated!

And, finally, I looked at bit at Wales, can a two hour train ride, Paddington to Cardiff, really be $500 round trip for the four of us?>

Could be if you just show up at the station and buy full fare and fully flexible tickets that can be used on any train but go to www.nationalrail.co.uk for all the various discounted and restricted fares to see what you could do by buying online far in advance to insure the cheaper tickets - For $500 you could actually buy a BritRail Pass cheaper than that that would cover all four of you and give you three days unlimited train travel in a 2-month period. But if you want to lock yourself in far in advance then i'm sure you will find something at www.nationalrail.co.uk to be cheaper. For loads of info on British trains and passes i always spotlight these super info-laden sites: www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com. But be sure not to just show up at the station and buy tickets - even though there are some discounted tickets often available even on the day of travel this is not guaranteed and the deep discounts must be booked far in advance to be guaranteed.

You could find somewhere you could reach by train from London, and then hire a car locally to get about in the area. A lot depends on what you want to see and do.

You don't need to travel hundreds of miles to get a small village or country life experience. Some options might be chunks of Kent, Sussex and Hampshire, or the Hampshire/Dorset borders or the Isle of Wight, which could give you the option of some seaside and countryside. Or the Cotswolds or the Essex/Suffolk borders are popular for gentle scenic countryside.

I'm going to throw out there something off the beaten path that my kids will love!

The Roald Dahl museum in Great Missenden. If your girls like Roald Dahl books (The Twits, The BFG, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, The Witches, etc.) they will love this! It is more than just a museum and has many creative, hands-on activities for the kids. I visited in February and will take ours in spring...


http://www.roalddahlmuseum.org/

This is a great age for kids to visit the UK. It is the age when we first took our children.

I would suggest that after leaving London you concentrate on the area roughly defined by Winchester-Salisbury-Oxford-the Cotswolds-Stratford upon Avon-Warwick.

There is a lot to do for kids in this area. Ours found Stonehenge fascinating, though it leaves many adults unthrilled. Winchester and Salisbury have two great cathedrals, about as many as most kids can manage, and Jane Austen is buried in one of them. The Vale of the White Horse is great for kids. It is a prehistoric horse cut through the grass into the underlying chalk. Our kids loved rolling down the hill, again and again.

In the Cotswolds, they will love Bourton on the Water and will not care that it is full of tourist busses. They can cross the little stream on the tiny bridges and visit the model village.

They can visit Shakespeare's birthplace, Chedworththe valley of the Coln, Minster Lovell near Burford, Kenilworth Castle (a fantastic ruin) and on and on. Would they like the Roman villa at Chedworth? I did when I was 9. I lived in this area for three years, from 9 to 12.

Almost all of this is accessible by B roads, minor A roads and country lanes. so driving is not bad and can even a joy. Get the right, good maps, and you can show them when they are riding on a Roman road. Most villages have massive charm, all have good places where the kids can run around and pubs and restaurants where you can enjoy yourselves, too. There are B&B's on farms in the area where the kids might enjoy the animals. The larger market towns and smaller cities (Witney and Cheltenham, respectively, come to mind)offer plenty of shopping.

I am not giving you specifics for food and lodging because I have stayed with friends on my last few visits. But I heartily recommend the area.

Akislander makes some great suggestions IMO

Yup kids will find Stonehenge fascinating as long as you have them do a little homework about its history, etc

And just north of Stonehenge is the Avebury Circle, which to me is a much more imposing, even, sight/site than Stonehenge - and you can walk right up to the zillions of smaller stones there.

Kids will also love Warwick Castle

Kids will also love Warwick Castle>>>>

It's got my uncle George in it. What's not to like?

George is in the dungeon i gather?

The drawing room old boy. With his wife. And some king or other.

Uncle George (actually great uncle George):


http://www.clickmagique.com/images/E...kCastle059.jpg

He was married to the one on the left. Apparently she was that lively in real life. (according to my Granny who loathed her).

*quick hijack -- surfmom -- we're reading James and The Giant Peach, after reading the Twits and George's Marvelous Medicine, in preparation for going to the Roald Dahl Museum!*

Any chance I get I offer up the website
http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk/
It will give you an idea of all the amazing castles you can visit.

Ditto Ackislander's post. My children enjoyed that area of England very much. We spent a month in England and Wales 2 summers ago.

Reminds me of a friend who had won a week holiday in London as first prize in a contest.
Second prize was two weeks in London.
It ain't what it used to be, that's for sure.
The suggestion of renting (hiring) a car is absurd, by the way. Been there 6 times and NEVER rented. Same friend did and was almost killed 10 minutes into his car hire!

Been there 6 times and NEVER rented. Same friend did and was almost killed 10 minutes into his car hire!>

Wonder if there are figures on accident rates with foreign drivers who at home drive on the right side of the road - yes the right as in correct as well side of the road vs locals who are used to motoring on the wrong side of the road - the left side?

And pedestrians as well who look the wrong way when crossing streets?

I drove cargo vans for a decade in England - Dutch vans which were even worse because the steering wheel was on the left side - but though on dual carriage ways it is obviously easy to go with the flow on smaller secondary roads with no lane markers i often found myself reverting to a right-side of the road mentality until i saw someone coming at me in the distance on that side as well. Anyway yes the train system is so so comprehensive and frequent that it makes getting anywhere in Britain a snap - along with buses that always serves areas without rail service.
In fact if i were taking two young tykes around i'd rather have them on the train where they could move around than in a car. And they and you also meet the locals that way - cars are pretty isolated in that regard.

hijack: BKP, love those books. enjoy the Roald Dahl... it is very creative and very fun! (I met Quentin Blake the illustrator in February... trip report in progress). enjoy!

on point: Carolyn, have you thought about the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London? We are doing with our kids in late April -

A Britrail pass is the way to travel in the UK. You can just hop on a train and relax. My granddaughter loved it and we plan to take our grandson this summer too. We traveled all over England, Wales, and Scotland. One child (if under 15) can travel free with each adult pass holder. Also if you purchase your passes before April 29 this year, you will get an extra day free on your passes.

Have fun!

If you have a Scout or (have been a scout)in your family, you might consider staying at the Baden Powell House in London which is the headquarters for the Boy Scouts. We have stayed there and it is very convenient to the tube. You get to meet scouts from all over the world. It is not fancy, but is very clean.

Just a suggestion.

If you are going to Scotland why not try the Caledonian sleeper - It's probably no cheaper than flying but the kids might enjoy it and it saves a night's hotel expense

http://www.seat61.com/CaledonianSleepers.htm

....
It's got my uncle George in it. What's not to like?....

I see that Christopher Cazenove,the bloke who played him on telly has recently died.

I see that Christopher Cazenove,the bloke who played him on telly has recently died.>>>>

Did he? In what? I had no idea he'd been on the telly. (was it relation to WSC - these things usually are. I've even been told I look like him (WSC) despite sharing absolutely no DNA with him. People just assume....)