Best Side Trips from London?
 

We're taking our 16 year old grandson to London for a week next summer. Can anyone recommend their favorite day trips out of London? Thanks.

York - walled city & trains

Stonehenge & Windsor Castle

Not too long ago I did a day tour that went to Stonehenge, Windsor and Salisbury.

Excellent!

Would a 16 yr old boy be impressed by Salisbury & Windsor?

Actually it would be helpful to find out if 16yr has any interests apart from sulking in his room.

I visited Windsor Castle for the 1st time when I was 12, and I thought it was way cool.

As an adult, it's still way cool!

When I was 16, I'd have wanted to see Kew Gardens. But I was not your average 16 year old boy.

I think Oxford is a great city with great architecture.

I had a great time in Brighton.It is not too far from London.....I used to read all the articles in the newspaper by a journalist who used to commute between London and Brighton.She used to try to find the most controversial thing to say,about current events,and put this in her article.Never knew why she was never tackled on the train by people......Excuse me for deviating.It has a great beach,nice pubs,antique shops....But it also has a large gay population....Just incase a chap is reading this and does not know how gay this place is,and is going there to find a nice girl.....But I had a terrific time there......

Warwick Castle - we took our 13 and 18 year old sons as well as a group of college students to Warwick this past summer. They really enjoyed the trebuchet, jousting, dungeon, weapons, etc.

We did a daytrip with our kids ages 10 and 13 with Astral Tours (www.astraltravels.co.uk) to Oxford, Stratford-on-Avon and Warwick Castle. We really enjoyed the variety and while I didn't think we would enjoy seeing Shakespeare's house, it was actually quite interesting. Warwick Castle is probably the most interesting, so if you didn't want to do all three I would pick that one.

i second brighton. it has a great atmosphere in the summer. he would enjoy a walk through the cool stores and street vendors in north laine. and of course the old fashioned pier. many young people to meet.

There are enough things to see and do in London, there is no reason for a 16 year old to run out of things in a week. But if you must - Portsmouth for Nelson's flagship and Henry's Mary Rose.

Our 17 yr old definitely wanted to see Stonehenge while visiting London. The combination tour with Bath, and Salisbury worked well since he was travelling with his sister.
We asked them though before booking .....which might help with your decision.

I enjoy Brighton too & would think a teen would also. Ditto the Windsor/Eton trip which I usually manage at least every other year. Will you be going to Greenwich?

For a sixteen year old:

1. Windsor
2. Warwick Castle
3. Stonehenge
4. Dover castle and white cliffs

Take him to a bookstore and look at some pictures of these places and see which one he is interested in. The English countryside is beautiful.

If your 16 year old is intereted in airplanes, the Imperial War Museum at Duxford, near Cambridge, would be an ideal day trip. Among the highlights is a walk through a real Concorde (one of the test planes), and the American Museum which has everything from WWII fighters to an SR-71 Blackbird. There is usually someone around test flying a Spitfire or other old warplane.

Here's a link for Duxford: http://duxford.iwm.org.uk/

A note on Warwick Castle (mentioned by PWAbbott), that is the school in Harry Potter films. Also if you go to Duxford, the University town of Cambridge is not far away.


In London, take a sightseeing tour bus, then: Bank of England, History museum, Science museum, Victoria and Albert museum (all 3 museums are near to each other), British museum, Tower of London, (inside) Tower Bridge, across river to London Dungeon and the HMS Belfast, a sightseeing ship moored on the River Thames. Either a train, or a boat along the Thames to Greenwich to see the Maritime museum, Cutty Sark, International Dateline by the Greenwich Observatory in the Park.


You can take a day trip on the Eurostar train to France, and spend most of the day in Paris if you leave early.


In the small park area back of Leicester Square tube station is a ticket booth where you can get cheap tickets to London shows. There is something to suit all tastes.

I forgot to mention that we also went to the Imperial War Museum (Tube: Lambeth North/Southwark) and spent HOURS there with our two teenage sons. The museum is free and the exhibits are amazing. There is a WWI "in the trenches" experience that is great. The Holocaust museum was extremely well done and while it is not recommended for those under 15, my 13 year old learned a great deal and we thought it was a good experience for him. I would highly recommend this museum, especially for a family with boys.

Although Warwick Castle may provide entertainment for all ages with its Madame Tussauds wax re-enactments, dungeon, torchure chamber, ramparts, towers, Kingmaker exhibition, landscaped gardens and armoury it is NOT the school from the Harry Potter films.

if he's interested in castles then I recommend Leeds Castle (which is only about 1.5 hrs from London in Kent not Leeds as you may think!)

a teenage cousin of mine came to London recently and spent a whole day in Greenwich - Royal Observatory (with museum of time and Meridian Line) and National Maritime Museum if hes into ships etc