Great Britian in a week
 

We will be travelling to Great Britain with our 8 year old daughter in November for a week. This will be our first visit there, and our first time out of the US as well. <BR> <BR>We'd like to take in some London sights but would also like to stay in the outlying area for a few nights as well. (Bath?, Wales?) <BR> <BR>Any favorite itineraries out there? I'd prefer to do without a car if possible. <BR>

I would recommend not renting a car, as the train service and the subway (tube) in Great Britain is very efficient and will get you anywhere you need to go. There's also the small problem of driving on the other side of the road... There's alot of stuff to do in and around London, so you might consider making London your base and taking a day trip out to Bath. My personal favorites in London are the Tower of London (get the guided tour with the beefeater-very entertaining) and Hampton Court (palace that is a short train ride from London). I also think an 8 year old would enjoy the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. You've picked a wonderful place for your first trip to Europe. Enjoy! <BR>

The sights in London itself will mostly take you a week if you take your time. There are so many things to see and do--Tower of London, Hyde Park, Kensington/Kew Gardens, British Musuem, St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Parliament etc. etc. You won't need a car in London but if you want to appreciate the English countryside you'd want one. However, the British rail system is excellent and if you like walking a lot by all means use the rail. I suggest you take one of the day trips offered by tour agencies (e.g Bath)-it will give you a general overview of the place.

We were there last Sept. and will be there again this September. England is fabulous and extremely easy - great place to start your out of the country experiences. London will keep you pretty busy - the Tower of London is great (we spent 5 hours there) and of course, you have to see Big Bend and Westminister Abbey, maybe take in a play in the evening (use the 1/2 price ticket booth). However, be sure to get out and see the countryside. <BR><p> <BR>I agree that you absolutely do not need nor want a car in London, but to see the countryside I'd highly recommend one. We spent 11 days driving all over England and Scotland staying in B&B's along the way. I was apprehensive, but driving was a breeze. Email me if you need a good car rental place. Since you have limited time I'd suggest going to Bath (you can hit Stonehedge on the way), but staying in a quaint village called Bradford on Avon and taking the 10 minute train ride into Bath. Another option is York which is really neat. You may want to hit Warwick Castle - any 8-year-old would like that! <BR><P> <BR>Email me if you'd like B&B suggestions or more info. You'll love England!

Steve: We were in London and Scotland in June with our 5 and 10 year old. London is a great city! Our kids had a great time. The tube is so easy to use, is inexpensive, is fast, and my kids thought it was the best "ride" in London. One thing I found made a big difference to our kids' interest and enjoyment <BR>was advanced preparation. We read fiction ( like Paddington Bear, Mary Poppins, or Peter Pan) and non-fiction (especially a kids level book about the Rosetta Stone) before we went. Also there is a great kids web site to the Tower of London.Some of our family favorites were feeding pigeons in Trafalgar Square, brass rubbing and lunch in the crypts at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Changing of the Horse Guard (NOT at Buckingham Palace), Peter Pan's statue in Kensington Gardens, Tower of London,double decker buses, and a ride on the Thames. E-mail me if you want further info about anything we did, especially the Horse Guards. I was advised on this site before we left that the crowds at Buckingham Palace would not be a fun experience for kids and to go to the Changing of the Horse Guards instead. It was great advice. You stand just feet away and no crowds. Have a great trip!

Steve, <BR>A couple of thoughts regarding things that might delight your daughter. If you're in London on the second Saturday in November, take her to see the Lord Mayor's parade. There are marching bands, floats, the Lord Mayor in his gilded coach; quite a spectacle. It occurs on the Victoria Embankment in the City; tube stop Temple. Consider, too, the Changing of the Horse Guards at the Horse Guards Barracks on Whitehall. You can get much closer to the "action" with far fewer crowds than at Buckingham Palace. The horses, too, would be a particular delight. <BR> <BR>You might want to consider "same day" trips rather than overnighters. Bath is only an hour and a half away from London by train; Brighton under an hour, as are Cambridge and Oxford. Saves you the misery of packing and unpacking. I think you'll find more to do in the evening in London than in its outskirts in November. Cheap Day return tickets (round trip tickets) are bargain train tickets.

Steve, <BR>Had an afterthought or two (must be getting older than I want to admit!). In addition to the Brass Rubbing Center at St. Martins in the Fields in Trafalgar Square, there is also a rubbing center at Westminster Abbey. Your youngster might enjoy Covent Garden; there are usually street performers throughout the area. Finally, there are three theatres that cater to youngsters. They are: Little Angel Marionette Theatre, tel: 071 226 1787; The Unicorn Theatre, tel: 071 836 3334; Polka Children's Theatre, tel: 071 543 4888. You might want to check them out soon after your arrival. <BR>Best way for a youngster (and oldster, as well) to see London is from a front seat at the top of a double decker bus. Busses 11, 15 and 38 pass by most of the major tourist attractions.

I was in London for a week in March with a 7 year old and a ten year old. The most important lesson <BR>I learned was to be flexible (me,not them) and not count on doing as much in one day as I'd like. They <BR>are good kids but they got tired in the afternoons and we found it was just fine to spend <BR>an hour in the hotel room after lunch watching television and relaxing a bit before going out again. The ten year old loved the <BR>Tower, the seven year old was bored silly. I don't <BR>know if that was a function of age or person <BR>preferences. I'd recommend the Tower anyway.And we wrote in advance for tickets for the Ceremony of the Keys (the nightly locking up of the Tower) and both <BR>kids were fascinated and in awe because the audience has to follow instructions and move around a bit.. <BR>And find out if the Maze at Hampton Court Palace <BR>will be open when you are there. We all had a great time there, and the kids laughed themselves silly <BR>as the adults were the ones who got lost in the Maze. <BR>Definitely not the Changing of the Guard at Buck <BR>Palace because all the kids will see are crowds <BR>and tourists' legs, except for the parade bit from a distance. I agree with the suggestion above that you opt for the Horse Guards which is less famous but much more visible. <BR>Bath is one of my favorite places which <BR>I always recommend, but except for the Disney store <BR>I don't know how kids feel about it. Windsor Castle is also one of my favorites, and the recent <BR>renovations after the fire are breathtaking--we got <BR>mixed reviews from the kids, but they didn't hate it. When we went to Fortnum and Mason for tea (downstairs), the kids had delicious icecream sundaes and hot chocolate so they were happy. <BR>Our kids also loved the Imperial War Museum (they are boys) but surprisingly didn't like Madame <BR>Tussaud's. The London Dungeon is certainly a tourist trap, but the kids liked it and it has a short indoor boat ride. <BR> <BR>If the weather is decent, do a boat ride from Westminster to Greenwich where you can stand on the <BR>prime meridien and tour the ship the Cutty Sark. <BR>The brass rubbings in the crypt of Westminster <BR>Abbey were a big hit. <BR>If you want to go to the theatre and take your child <BR>I recommend Starlight Express which is Andrew Lloyd Weber but on roller skates with rock music. Our kids were mesmerized. Of course, there are other musicals as well. And if you need a place to eat in the West End theatre area and your kid is <BR>fussy, go to Joe Allen's which has decent, if not great, food, reasonably priced (for London) and <BR>a good hamburger with fries. <BR> <BR>

Thanks so much for all of your tips on our trip to Great Britain. Wendy, We headed right out to the library. My daughter is very excited. She just saw “The Parent Trap” which is partly set in London. That was a thrill too. <BR>I have a couple of other questions:. <BR>How did your kids fair with jet lag? This is our first overseas trip, so we don’t know what to expect on our first day. We’ll be arriving around 7:00 AM. She’ll probably sleep on the plane since she falls asleep instantly in the car. But then again, the excitement might keep her awake. I know it will do it for me. <BR>Do you have any hotel recommendations for London? We’re looking for something in a good location, reasonably priced, private bath, clean and enough room for the 3 of us. We may be staying part of the week with a friend who has a “flat” in London. We thought of staying in the countryside for a couple of nights. But the consensus seems to be to stay put in London and do day trips since we will only be there for a week. <BR>How did your kids do with the food. Our daughter is very picky. Do you have any restaurant or pub recommendations <BR>

I can recommend the Bailey's (sp?) Hotel which is quite near the Glouscester Road tube stop in the South Kensington area (which means it's convenient). A close friend of mine stayed there with her son last spring. She said it was very pleasant there, and reasonably priced, for London. Had basic amenities,including nice staff, breakfast, etc.I don't have an exact address or phone number, but I'm sure a guidebook or travel agent can help. <BR> <BR>As I mentioned, the kids I traveled with (nephews) are finicky eaters, one even worse than the other. <BR>How you handle it is a parental decision. The kids' parents and I made some deals with them on a couple of nights whereby we got them an early dinner at McDonalds and they had to behave while we went for a decent dinner a couple of hours later. These kids are burger and fries addicts; I don't know what your child obsesses about when it comes to food. I mentioned earlier Joe Allens in the West End theatre district--that worked out well. We tried a Richoux one night (it's a chain that serves light meals,teas, and good desserts) but the kids decided that the burgers there had some unacceptable seasoning on them. The desserts went over well. <BR> <BR>For lunches, almost every pub or coffee shop or cafe offers salads, sandwiches, burgers, etc. Dinner was harder for us because in my group we grownups were only willing to compromise so far, as were the kids. <BR>Hence the deals we made. We were lucky because one very fine restaurant (Chez Nico) was located in our hotel, so we planted the kids in front of the tv in the room and took turns checking on them every 15 minutes while we ate dinner downstairs. The hotel is the Grosvenor House and it is wonderful but very expensive.

just wanted to get you back to the top along with <BR>the other questioner.