jefnstef

We are going to London 2/12-2/17 and are so excited. Let me know what you think of the following revised itnerary, I did post one under another thread, and based on your wonder suggestions, revised it a bit. The two day trips are a must...specifically requested by the kids! But are they doable? Should we try to put a day in between them? Warwick Castle starts a "gross out fest" on 2/15 and we wanted to see it so we'd like to keep this one on the present date, could adjust the otherone if necessary. Thanks in advance for your kind adivice and constructive criticism.

Here's our Tenative itnerary:

2/12- Arive London at 1pm (get to hotel around 3pm), free/rest early evening, Tickets to Lion King Theater play at 1930pm

2/13- Big Red Bus tour during the day (Tower of London), free evening(British Museum?), Tower-Ceremony of the Keys ceremony at 2130pm

2/14- Salisbury (stonehenge/avenbury)-by early train. Free late afternoon/evening (London).

2/15- Warwick Castle Tour (Sunday)-by train. 2000pm Tickets to Complete Works of William Shaspeare

2/16- Market Shopping or National History Museum, free afternoon and evening, Ride London Eye pm

2/17- Kensington Park Am (princess Diana's playground), Hamely's toy store Leave london at 3pm.

jefnstef

for clarification:

*Our kids are ages 3yrs and 10years.

*The theater tickets were very Cheap thanks to a link on this board, but were restricted to certain days:

*We purchased the Lion King for only 20 pounds per ticktet but the only night available was 2/12. (Not ideal, but worth the $ we saved)

* Tickets to the Complete Shakespear were 10 pounds for the adults and only 5 pounds each for the little ones. (Again restricted to specific days and times but worth trying to work around for the reduced price of the tickets.) Our three year old does quite well at the theater, and watches many plays her 10 year old sister is in. So she's going to do fine. We realize that it might be a bit over her head but the 10 year old acts in a theater group at home and specifically asked to see this one....it's gotten good reviews from families with children, so should proove to be a valuable experience, and is supposed to be presented with sword fighting and some comical overtones.

rickmav

Didn't see your earlier thread so forgive me if I say something someone else has already said. My suggestions -is it possible for you to separate day trips to Warwick and Stonehenge, my experience has been that back-to-back train trips can be exhausting. I'm assuming that it is the kids who want to see Stonehenge, personally I wouldn't make a special trip to see, but would certainly stop if I was travelling by car and passing. I suppose it's one of those things that if you don't see you feel bad about, although once you are there you may be disappointed. A suggestion for London, that kids will really enjoy is the Imperial War Museum. It doesn't sound as if it is a 'kid thing' but they have lots of things, including a working submarine, Blitz Experience and bunkers from WWI that are geared for kids. It also has a very moving exhibit on the Holocaust that if you've never discussed with your kids is an amazing way for them to understand what it was about. Another suggestion, perhaps for an hour or two in the morning or afternoon is the Old Bailey where the kids can actually watch a trial with lawyers and judges in wigs and robes. These are just ideas you may want to slot in to some of your free time. Also wandering through Covent Garden is great with lots of street entertainment and places to eat. Or the British Museum to see the mummies. Hope you have a great time.

luv2explore

What is the address of the link for cheap theater tickets in London? We're taking our three kids there in June. The Lion King in Toronto was fabulous, enjoy. Our kids loved it.

jefnstef

Here's the link that we used for the cheap theater tickets.

I retrieved from another post on this board.

http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk

A hint would be to buy the tickets as soon as you can, Chitty Chitty bang bang was listed 5 days ago but was sold out when I went to purchase tickets. Some shows like Rent etc. still have the 5 pounds per ticket promotion.

RachelG

Agree totally with rickmav's suggestions. My boys loved the Natural History Museum and the Tower of London. Also try to go up in the London Eye. Boys also loved riding the subway everywhere.

janis

If I remember right you were originally going to the Keys ceremony on your first night - or do I have you confused with another family? But now you have the Lion King on the first night. I know you already have your tickets so that is a done deal. But be prepared to have one or more of you to zonk out completely by the interval. A play on the first night, even a lively one like Lion King, can be a killer because no matter how well you sleep on a plane you will be exhausted. Don't let this deter you - but do be ready to leave the theatre early (or leave someone back at the hotel). Lion King is a long show and I can't imagine a 3 year old being able to stay up til 11 PM after a transatlantic flight. You may be lucky - but hae some contingencies in case.

It would be better if you could separate the Stonehenge and Warwick days out. But if Warwick is set in stone you'll cope. It is probably too late to consider this now - but if I were taking a family on those two day trips consecutively, I would rent a car, drive to Salisbury, Stonehenge and up into the Cotswolds to stay the night. The next day I'd drive to warwick and then take the car back to LHR and back into London. More efficient than two fairly long round trips one day after the other. Just a simple loop LHR > LHR with an overnight in the middle.

Susan56

We have taken our kids to London twice and I would recommend highly that you include Westminster Abbey, St. Pauls (they loved climbing to the top- great view of the city), and the Victoria & Albert Museum - great stuff in that museum and kids love "stuff". If possible visit Salisbury and the Salisbury Cathedral when you are visiting Stonehenge. My kids loved it. Also, is My Fair Lady still playing? We saw it last year and it was wonderful. Have fun!

jefnstef

We are the family that orginally had tickets to the Ceremony of the keys the 1st night. We switched them to the 2nd night by calling the number on the tickets. FYI they were very polite, acomidating and did this over the phone. Doesn't sound like this is a busy time of year though.

Thanks again for the advice. (Per the lion king tickets....the first night was the only one available....the three year old falling alseep is all part of the plan!
Love,
Stefanie

KidsToLondon

Sounds like you've made some wise revisions to your original itenerary.

It is good to learn that the folks at the Tower of London allowed you to switch your Ceremony of the Keys dates The Ceremony is really worthwhile, but it only gives you a "taste" of the Tower itself. Be sure to go back during one of your days to explore a bit more.

I agree that you might want to put a day between your two train trips. Weather might also be a factor in scheduling here...the Salisbury Plain (Stonehenge) on a cold/windy/rainy day is no fun.

See that you will hit Hamley's just before you leave. If you suitcases are already packed, make some provision in your carryons for your kids' purchases...

Have a great trip

David White
[email protected]

lawyerwithachainsaw

Someone mentioned Covent Garden as a good destination. I agree. While there, check out the London Transport Museum, if your children enjoy the Big Red Bus and the Tube.

http://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/exhibitions/index.html

jefnstef

Wonderful advice! Thank you so much. I particuarly appreciated the advice about Hamley's and the toys in carry on bags! Great TIP!

We may try to sqeeze this in elsewhere if we're able to.

Also, I do agree with the advice to place a day between our trip to stonehenge and warwick. Would a tour of stonehenge be worthwhile for our 10 year old?

rickmav

Re: Stonehenge for your 10 year old - maybe you can do something ahead of time to get him excited/imagining what went on there. I don't know of any books for his age, but I'm sure the local library would have something that talks about the Druids, etc. Or maybe there's a site on the Internet where he could read about some of the wackier explanations. The thing that might be hard for a 10 year old is that you can't actually get very close to the rocks and he'll/she'll problably want to get in there. The suggestion about going into Salisbury. I believe at Salisbury you can also see one of the only remaining copies of the original Magna Carta.

Ruth

It looks like a great itinerary. I do agree with Janis that a two day trip would make it simpler to see Stonehenge, Avebury and Warwick Castle much more easily, especially if you could rent a car. Trains on Sundays are less frequent than on other days, and a car at least means you don't have to carry everything. Also, do I remember you had a plan to visit Oxford? It would be a good place to stop for the night between Salisbury and Warwick.

Hiroshi

You may re-evaluate where you are staying. London hotels tend to be more expensive. It looks like you won't be spending too much time in London.

Be flexible. The day that you plan for London Eye may be foggy or rainy.

kaudrey

Hi,

I think your itinerary sounds fun! I just got back from London about 5 days ago, and the Tower of London was a highlight. You definitely have to go during the day as well as to the Ceremony - we did both. You are only there for about 1/2 hour for the Ceremony, and of course you will probably want to see the Crown Jewels.

I also saw the Shakespeare show - you will love it. It was quite hilarious.

I think your kids will like Stonehenge, and I LOVED Salisbury! I'd definitely spend some time walking around this cute little town (and the cathedral is very impressive). We had rented a car, which made it easy to go to Stonehenge, Salisbury, Bath and a few other towns over a 4 day weekend.

And although I never got to see it, your kids might like the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace.

Have fun!
Karen

carolv

This thread has been very helpful since we're leaving for England next week as well.
I wasn't sure we'd have time for Salisbury as we're hoping to cover many of the smaller towns, but after reading how wonderful it is, now I'm rethinking it. (As it stands I already decided I'd just have to take another trip to some of the other areas we wanted to see).

Would a day trip loop to Salisbury, Stonehenge and Avebury be too rushed starting from Bath?
I know we wouldn't spend much time at Stonehenge, but we would want to see it once. Thanks!
Stephanie, have a wonderful time!

janis

carolv: if you mean you are staying in Bath - sure you could easily do a day trip loop Bath > Salisbury - wander around, shop for antiques, have lunch; Salisbury > Stonehenge; Stonehenge > Avebury, wander through the stones, walk through the village, stop in the pub; Avebury > Bath. In fact - you'd probably have enough time to visit other sites near Avebury -- West Kennett Long Barrow, the White Horse, etc.

peggi

I agree that the Imperial War Museum would be great! Can you still feed pigeons in Trafalgar Square??? Maybe not, but that was a highlight for my kids.

TT

In the opinion of those of you who have been there, is the "Ceremony of the keys" at the Tower of London a highlight - that is, worth the family outing at 10 PM to see? The primary way to get tickets is to request by mail 4-6 weeks ahead of time - true? Is there a cost?