London or Edinburgh for family with 7-year-old boy?
Jun 20th, 2012, 07:34 AM
#21
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Hi - we live in London (we are originally American) and have a 9 year old girl, so know about kid friendly stuff. Your idea of a few days in London followed by Edinburgh sounds great. Some suggestions:
In London - great museums for kids include the Science museum and the Natural History museum (both are hands on places and will take the good part of a day, if you want). Also recommend the mummies in the British Museum and you will see other stuff on your way to/from the mummy section. If you also want to expose him to an art museum, the Tate Modern is always fun and has a great kids station where you can get some good activities/maps/arts and crafts so that he has something to 'do/look for' while you are enjoying the art and views. The Tate Britain has a great art cart too. If he is into armour, the Wallace collection has a fantastic armour exhibits, including horses and knights in full kit and they quite often have a craft session for kids - one time my husband took my daughter there and she made a knight's helmet with moveable parts which she still has.
Take him to the Tower of London and have him join the knight's apprentice sessions... He'll love it and will get knighted at the end - very fun, but book your tickets in advance to avoid the lines. Hop on hop off bus is also fun and it's a double decker so will likely be something he will remember (hopefully traffic won't be too bad, but if it is, you can always hop off). Hampton Court is also fun, but I would probably do the Tower before Hampton Court if you can only do one. HMS Belfast has now reopened, and kids seem to love going onboard and clamboring about.
Also, playgrounds are always important when traveling with little ones so that they can have some fun too. In Hyde Park, the Princess Diana playground is great, but can get crowded in the summer so they sometimes limit entry. Regents Park has some great play areas and paddle boats too (as does Hyde Park). Holland Park also has a fun 'adventure' playground, but may be a little off the beaten path for you.
Then there is the general walking around and soaking up the sights of London that you will need to do. Make sure you spend some time in Convent Garden watching some of the street performers and consider going to a theatre matinee while you are here - there are a bunch of kid friendly theatre shows on right now, Matilda, Lion King, Wizard of Oz... etc.
If you want to go further afield, we love taking people with kids to Warwick Castle. Someone on the forum said not to, as it is too touristy. It is run by the Madame Tussaud's group, so it is touristy, but in a good way, and especially for a seven year old, it will be fantastically fun. There are people walking around in period costume (including a rat catcher and musicians), he can practice archery, there is a falcon show, they do a fireball trebuchet once a day, the rooms are 'staged' with wax people, food, furniture so it feels alive, and there's loads of general castle interest - moats, portcullis, ramparts, etc. that he will learn a lot too. Besides, you can combine it with a quick visit to Stratford upon Avon which is nearby... (If you were to do that, I would do it as an overnight trip. Go to Warwick Castle in the morning, spend most of the day there, drive to SuA, spend the night in a B&B, wander around a bit the next day to see Shakespeare's house and Anne Hathaway's cottage then head back to London stopping in some of the cute Cotswolds towns on your way).
I have to say that when we go up to Scotland, we usually head straight out to the Highlands as it is so beautiful, so I am probably less helpful there, especially as regards kid stuff. If it were me, I would stop in Edinburgh for a day to wander around, see Holyrood and walk the royal mile and then I'd head out of town to some of the most stunning scenery anywhere, even for a day or two. If you want to do that, that is another itinerary (and reply ;P)
In London - great museums for kids include the Science museum and the Natural History museum (both are hands on places and will take the good part of a day, if you want). Also recommend the mummies in the British Museum and you will see other stuff on your way to/from the mummy section. If you also want to expose him to an art museum, the Tate Modern is always fun and has a great kids station where you can get some good activities/maps/arts and crafts so that he has something to 'do/look for' while you are enjoying the art and views. The Tate Britain has a great art cart too. If he is into armour, the Wallace collection has a fantastic armour exhibits, including horses and knights in full kit and they quite often have a craft session for kids - one time my husband took my daughter there and she made a knight's helmet with moveable parts which she still has.
Take him to the Tower of London and have him join the knight's apprentice sessions... He'll love it and will get knighted at the end - very fun, but book your tickets in advance to avoid the lines. Hop on hop off bus is also fun and it's a double decker so will likely be something he will remember (hopefully traffic won't be too bad, but if it is, you can always hop off). Hampton Court is also fun, but I would probably do the Tower before Hampton Court if you can only do one. HMS Belfast has now reopened, and kids seem to love going onboard and clamboring about.
Also, playgrounds are always important when traveling with little ones so that they can have some fun too. In Hyde Park, the Princess Diana playground is great, but can get crowded in the summer so they sometimes limit entry. Regents Park has some great play areas and paddle boats too (as does Hyde Park). Holland Park also has a fun 'adventure' playground, but may be a little off the beaten path for you.
Then there is the general walking around and soaking up the sights of London that you will need to do. Make sure you spend some time in Convent Garden watching some of the street performers and consider going to a theatre matinee while you are here - there are a bunch of kid friendly theatre shows on right now, Matilda, Lion King, Wizard of Oz... etc.
If you want to go further afield, we love taking people with kids to Warwick Castle. Someone on the forum said not to, as it is too touristy. It is run by the Madame Tussaud's group, so it is touristy, but in a good way, and especially for a seven year old, it will be fantastically fun. There are people walking around in period costume (including a rat catcher and musicians), he can practice archery, there is a falcon show, they do a fireball trebuchet once a day, the rooms are 'staged' with wax people, food, furniture so it feels alive, and there's loads of general castle interest - moats, portcullis, ramparts, etc. that he will learn a lot too. Besides, you can combine it with a quick visit to Stratford upon Avon which is nearby... (If you were to do that, I would do it as an overnight trip. Go to Warwick Castle in the morning, spend most of the day there, drive to SuA, spend the night in a B&B, wander around a bit the next day to see Shakespeare's house and Anne Hathaway's cottage then head back to London stopping in some of the cute Cotswolds towns on your way).
I have to say that when we go up to Scotland, we usually head straight out to the Highlands as it is so beautiful, so I am probably less helpful there, especially as regards kid stuff. If it were me, I would stop in Edinburgh for a day to wander around, see Holyrood and walk the royal mile and then I'd head out of town to some of the most stunning scenery anywhere, even for a day or two. If you want to do that, that is another itinerary (and reply ;P)
Jun 20th, 2012, 08:16 AM
#22
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To HG001: homeaway offers no contingency if the listing proves to be a fraud or overbooked; VRBO has a better track record for honest brokers.
To the OP: do NOT do the hop on/hop off bus. You will have some transportation tickets for yourselves (<b>get a paper travelcard for you and hubby, look up how in these forums b/c there are TONS of posts on this and go to daysoutguide.co.uk for big savings</b>; the boy will cost less than an adult or nothing at places like the Tower or War Rooms because he's a hobbit and most museums are free for all of you) that will include bus and Tube in central London. The HOHO buses cost over 20 quid each ($32-35) and just play tourists for suckers. Just take the No. 9, 15 or 136 bus lines through central London and you'll see whatever you'd see on the HOHO.
To the OP: do NOT do the hop on/hop off bus. You will have some transportation tickets for yourselves (<b>get a paper travelcard for you and hubby, look up how in these forums b/c there are TONS of posts on this and go to daysoutguide.co.uk for big savings</b>; the boy will cost less than an adult or nothing at places like the Tower or War Rooms because he's a hobbit and most museums are free for all of you) that will include bus and Tube in central London. The HOHO buses cost over 20 quid each ($32-35) and just play tourists for suckers. Just take the No. 9, 15 or 136 bus lines through central London and you'll see whatever you'd see on the HOHO.
Jun 20th, 2012, 11:18 AM
#25
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thanks bigruss
so is fraud on these sites where the frauds only post once, take their first booking and then run with the money? As once they have ripped someone off once surely the guests who have been cheated can let HA/VRBO know to take the advert down or even just post a bad review....what i'm getting at is, frauds can only do it once on a site i'm assuming??
so is fraud on these sites where the frauds only post once, take their first booking and then run with the money? As once they have ripped someone off once surely the guests who have been cheated can let HA/VRBO know to take the advert down or even just post a bad review....what i'm getting at is, frauds can only do it once on a site i'm assuming??
Jun 21st, 2012, 08:26 AM
#26
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It takes some time to verify a fraudalent rental so the scammer can collect a lot of money in the meantime. Once that listing is removed, they can pop up again under a different name with a different rental.
