My family will be making their first trip to London in January. My 14 year old son is wild about anything concerning medieval history or King Arthur. Can anyone suggest things for him to see or do? Are the medieval dinner's a silly rip-off?<BR>thank you, vicki

would suggest a visit to the Tower and London Dungeons, then. Also if you can a day trip to Warwick castle. We also went to Glastonbury (a bit far, but we enjoyed it) the old ruins of an medieval abbey are there, purported to be the graves of King Arthur and Queen G, and also supposed to be the site of Camelot. Didn't go to a dinner there, but did one in a castle in Germany, it was awesome!

Hi Vicki<BR>Here are just a few ideas for your son's intrigue with medieval history. There are several sites in London he will enjoy:<BR><BR>The London Dungeons where you learn about the awful tortures of past London. You have your photo taken as you go in the front door - make sure its a good one as its a great one to buy on your way out (for a higer price than normal of course!).<BR>http://www.thedungeons.com/<BR><BR>The Tower of London is worth a visit<BR>http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/heads/footnotes/foottower.html<BR>http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk/england/toweroflondon/toweroflondon_info.php<BR><BR>A visit out of London for the day to Cantebury you can catch the train from Victoria Station<BR>http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/guide12/timeline11.html<BR><BR>An absolute MUST for all of you is King Henry VIIIs home, Hampton Court Palace. You can use the free audio cassette guides or just wander yourselves. I would use the guide as you can stop it and start it as you please. There is a pub across the road which is quite nice to stop for lunch. Or they do have a cafe inside the palace grounds. Otherwise take a packed lunch there is plenty of lawn to sit on.<BR>http://www.hrp.org.uk/webcode/hampton_home.asp<BR><BR>St Pauls Cathedral. You can walk to the top of the spire and look over the whole of London. Quite a view! I took my Australian mother there recently and she loved it.<BR>http://www.letsgo.com/LON/04-Sights-241<BR><BR>Westminster Abbey burial ground of many Kings, Queens and other Nobles. Absoultely beautiful inside.<BR>http://www.letsgo.com/LON/04-Sights-299<BR><BR>Warwick Castle outside London is said to be the best medieval castle in Britain. Info on how to get here is on their website. There is a town to visit close by too. So you can spend the whole day out there.<BR>http://www.warwick-uk.co.uk/useful-info/summary.asp

Don’t forget Leeds Castle. Its easy to reach from London Charring cross Station. Well worth a day trip.<BR>http://www.leeds-castle.com/<BR>I suggest a walk around the City. This is the old medieval part of London. Unfortunately, the great fire destroyed most of medieval London’s buildings , but the street names and lay out is the same. For King Arthur, you really want Cornwall and Wales.<BR>Enjoy!<BR>

I second the recommendations for the Tower of London and Warwick Castle. <BR><BR>But you should be aware that the London Dungeon is considered by many to be a gross and nasty tourist trap. Do visit their web site before you go, so you at least know what you're getting into. It's not a real dungeon, or anything of historic significance, it's just the stuff that was too revolting to put in Madame Tussaud's. My kids decided against it after visiting the web site.<BR><BR>I took my 13 yo son and 15 yo daughter to the medieval banquet at Hatfield, a few miles north of London, and we had a wonderful time. The entertainment is based on the history of Henry VIII and the performers were outstanding. We visited in the summer of 2001 and the kids still talk about the amazing feats of the juggler!<BR><BR>Arthur, as you probably know, predates the Medieval period by many centuries and might even have been mythical, or the concatenation of several leaders named Arthur. You won't find any places or relics that can be definitively identified wtih him, despite the many claims. it's just been too long, the Dark Ages weren't well-documented! <BR><BR>Do go to the British Museum, and seek out the displays of buried hoards of treasures that DO date back that far, or even farther to Roman times -- we especially liked the jewelry and trinkets found in the excavation of the burial ship at Sutton Hoo -- being from the 7th C., these are approximately the Arthurian era. You can imagine Guinevere wearing this stuff!<BR><BR>http://www.britannia.com/history/h12.html

Arthurs Round Table is in the Great hall in Winchester which is a great city to have a poke around and is easily reached from London by train (Waterloo Station).<BR><BR>Of course its not the actual (mytholgical table) but a mediaeval attempt at producing a tourist attraction. v interesting though. Winchester is the ancient capital of Wessex (sort of proto-England) and has many connections with Alfred the Great. Just to the south of the city is St Katherine's Hill which is the site of an ancient Hill Fort - the kind of castle that Arthur would have used (stone castles werent built in the British Isles before the Norman Invasion except a handful of Roman forts).<BR>Anyway I'm sure regular contributor David West who is expert on all things Winchester can shed more light on things. But definitely you ought to have a day out down there.<BR><BR>Have a good time!<BR>Dominic

Before you plan your itinerary, you should decide whether your kid is more oriented towards &quot;locations&quot; or &quot;stuff&quot; and whether he responds better to authentic old stuff or to activities that re-create the feeling of hte times. It depends a lot on the type of imagination a kid has. Some will be thrilled to be on the actual site of an ancient castle or fort, even if it's completely ruined, others want to see actual Stuff (like the Sutton Hoo relics). Re-enactments like the medieval banquets can bring ancient times alive much better than looking at paintings and rocks - for some kids. The banquet at Hatfield is actually held in the very hall where Queen Elizabeth I held her first council meeting -- she spent her childhood there.

Hi<BR> You can visit Caerphilly Castle (Medieval ruins)outside Cardiff, Wales and Cardiff Castle (19th Cent restoration) in Cardiff in a day trip from London.

My husband and I did a &quot;King Arthur tour&quot; of our own design a couple of years ago. Mostly in Cornwall where lots of Arthur stuff is. Actually saw the cow field (now) that was supposed to be Camelot. And the VERY best--Tintagel Castle, reputed birthplace of Arthur. A must do, if not this trip, then next!

Altizerk,<BR> I have to laugh remembering our own self-designed Arhturian tour a couple of years ago (atually, the Blue Guide has a lot of great info pertaining to Aurhturian legend) mostly in Cornwall and around Glastonbury. Anyway, we drive through cow pastures, down rutted lanes and finally reach Dozmary Pool--a large &quot;puddle&quot; in the middle of the field with 2 cows standing there looking at us like the idiots we are--but happy idiots who had a great trip. As good a &quot;theme&quot; as any and helps pin down the myriad choices before us. PS: Loved Tintangel so much--what a location, what gorgeous ruins!

Glastonbury is the capital of King Arthur legends and the Wells cathedral is amazing. Our particular hotel dated back to 1400 something and our room WAS haunted (lightening flashing inside the bed canopy in the middle of the night, ice cold drafts coming from nowhere, etc. Our room was actually at the top of turret. My husband and I almost left weeping and shrieking at 3AM except we were too scared to descend the stairs. It was terrifying but that is what you will run into in that region. Check it out.

Vicki,<BR><BR>I agree that the Tower of London is probably the top spot in London for kids who are interested in medieval history (and I agree with the person who said that the London Dungeon is best avoided).<BR><BR>You've got time to write away for free tickets to the nightly Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower. I'm sure the details are on this site, but email me if you need more information. <BR><BR>Also, your son may enjoy the Museum of London, which traces the history of the city in an interesting manner. <BR><BR>Enjoy London!<BR><BR>David White<BR>http://www.KidsToLondon.com

Hi,<BR>I'm going to England at the end of Jan and was interested in taking a day trip to Glastonbury. Does anyone know the best way to get there by public transportation from London? And if there is a bus tour that goes out there?? Thanks.

If your son is interested in armor, a day trip out to the Royal Armouries in Leeds will certainly satisfy him. The best of Britain's armor is now displayed there with lots of good explanatory material and perhaps even some demonstrations. Check their website.