10-12 Day Trip to London with Family

Train to Whitsable or Oxford or Cambridge.

Explore Richmond Park or the Hampstead Heath.

Walk along the Thames Path Line Art Walk from the O2 and Design Center Complex to the Thames Barrier. Explore different street markets, Portobello, Maltby, Brick Lane. Wander about Spitalfield’s. Enjoy pub lunches.

Stay in Richmond, Chiswick, Vauxhall, or Camden.

Brighton on the coast may suit.

An easy train ride from London, so you won’t lose a whole day getting there. Lots of cool cafes, bars and restaurants especially in the Kemp Town area. Great for people watching. Plenty live music.

The Lanes - a myriad of alleyways of independent traders selling anything from antiques to unique clothing and jewellery. Visit Brighton Pavilion for history, take a walking or cycling tour, take the bus to Eastbourne via the white cliffs and Belle Tout lighthouse/Beachy Head, take the old Volk’s railway the mile or so along the seafront to the marina and walk back on the undercliff walk, the i360 for the views from on high, walk Devil’s Dyke and of course the pier. There are lots of pretty villages nearby - Alfriston, Jevington (home of the banoffee pie), Rottingdean, Rodmell etc.

If you are flying into Gatwick, not Heathrow, it’s a short train ride away.

Northumberland every time - fantastic beaches, impressive castles (Bamburgh, Alnwick, Warkworth), loads of history (Hadrian's wall), The Holy Island of Lindisfarne reached by tidal causeway, boat trip to the Farne Islands, amazing countryside, superb walking, stately homes (Cragside - the house where modern living began...)

You could either fly to Newcastle and hire a car from there or catch the train...

It is completely different to London and an area few foreign visitors explore - they rush through on the way to Scotland and don't realise just what they are missing!

Portsmouth, easily reached by a car service based in Portsmouth, aquacars.co.uk. Less expensive than 5 train tickets plus they deliver door to door with your luggage. Marvelous shopping and pubs but the real attraction is the centuries of British naval history with the HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship at Trafalgar, the Mary Rose at the historic dockyard, Henry VIII's favorite ship recently discovered and raised. Get on tripadvisor.com and explore the Portsmouth travel forum for many more details including detailed offerings related to the D Day invasion, with many vessels departing from Portsmouth. We spent three nights there prior to taking the ferry over to France (landing at the ferry port, Quistreham, then a short bus ride to Caen) for five nights in Normandy. Good luck with your choices.

Winchester is an hour south from London and along with the city there are loads of country walks including a path to Southampton. The city itself holds immense historical importance, and the cathedral (among many other well-preserved artifacts) is one of my absolute favourites.

Consider York, it is worth 3-4 days. Love walking the ancient walls, the Munster (Cathedral) and National Railway Museum.

My kids were about the same age when we did this trip in 2019. We took the train to Edinburgh after London. Slower pace but lots of pubs, good shopping for my girls, amazing charm, a day trip to St Andrews, good hiking, a beach, scotch tastings. Highly recommend it!

When you say relaxing, that could mean a lot of different things. Laying on a beach, hiking in the mountains, exploring new city slowly, spending time in numerous small towns, etc.

If you could be more specific, we can be more specific.