7 nights London?

Kim,

IMHO, seven nights is definitely not "too much" for London as there's so much to see and do there (as long as your budget will allow).

Taking the EuroStar to Paris or Brussels would not be good options, as you'd lose too much time in transit there and back. There are lots of easier day trip locations, all easily accessible by train or coach (National Express). Bath (with side trip to Stonehenge) or York are some possibilities.

If you pre-book rail trips London to Glasgow well in advance, they may be cheaper than by air. I prefer to avoid the airport hassles whenever possible, and travel by train will be a much more pleasant trip and probably faster than by air. Hopefully Nigel or one of the other U.K. members can provide more specific information on this.

Last May we spent 7 days in London, but it was us two middle age adults. London is quite spread out, I am not sure with the kids not liking museums that you would find enough to do. We took the River cruise to Grenwich and enjoyed that. There may be more activities in July with all the summer tourists. They would like the Tower of London. It is one of the largest and most expensive cities. I almost think kids would like the English country side more. We also spent a few days in York. You might want to look through the information on the family tours Rick has of London and see where they actually take families with kids on that trip.

I spent 6 nights in London last September. It was my 2nd time there. Not only did I not run out of things to do, I didn't have time to do all the things I wanted. We only took one daytrip out of London. We went to Bath. I don't think you will regret spending the entire time there.

Good ideas... thinking maybe an option is to spend 4 days in London, then train up to Glasgow, stopping somewhere along the way. Lake District? Trying to figure out what that is all about.... or somewhere, then it will break up the week but get me closer to my destination, cheaper....

Where else might be good to go on the way from London to Glasgow?

or maybe 5 nights/4 full days in London, then to York? 1 1/2 days there?

Kim,

York would make a fantastic spot to visit for a few days on the way to Glasgow. It's a very historic and beautiful city, with lots to see. A couple of possibilities.....

• Walking tour of the city (check at the T.I. for times, etc.).
• Visit the fantastic Railway Museum (free as I recall).
• Visit the famous York Minster and if possible attend an Evensong service (it's beautiful!).
• Walk through the area known as "The Shambles", which used to be the meat selling area (which is one reason the houses were built to overhang the streets, so as to provide some shade).

Yorkshire Dales and Yorkshire Moor might be interesting if they like walking.

Still, if a child aged 10 or 12 gets bored in a week in London that says more about the child than the city. Options in London include:

• Stadium tour of a big London club given they like football (soccer)

• Changing of the Guard

• Hampton Court

• Tower of London

• Greenwich

• Imperial War Museum (boys find it fascinating)

• Churchill's War Rooms

• Natural History, British and Science Museums.

• Visiting Portobello Road Markets

• Walking around

• Seeing a live show

-Visiting Kew Gardens. One of the greatest botanical gardens in the world.

• Having a proper English fry up breakfast in a greasy spoon.

• A day trip to Bath, Oxford or Cambridge by train.

Six days is NOT too long. I spent 14 days in London (did a lot of day trips) on my first trip to Europe and did not have time to do everything I wanted. Your trip will be cheaper, easier and more relaxing if you stay in London.

If you want to stop somewhere on the way to Glasgow, as others have said, York is an excellent choice. An even better choice, IMO, is Edinburgh. It's not exactly on the way, but it's very close to Glasgow and you can get a fast train that will take not much more than four hours. Edinburgh is my favorite city in London. It has a fabulous castle at the top of an extinct volcano, which I bet the kids would love.

So much to think about!! I am sure we can easily fill the time in London - some of the side trips sound great too! I think wanting to tack on another location is more about me wanting to see another place than the boys being bored. :)

I think I am leaning toward staying in and around London, but then maybe taking the train instead of flying up to Glasgow, stopping maybe just one night in York, maybe Edinburgh (though we will probably get a chance to pop over there while my son is busy with soccer). :) I do not like 1 nights, but if we have 6 in London, followed by 7 in Glasgow, I think we could handle one quick overnight. And we shouldn't need to be in Glasgow until the evening, so we can squeeze out almost 2 days.

Thanks!! And any more suggestions, keep them coming, but this is amazing and more than enough to keep up happy, thanks everyone for your responses!

Kim

IMHO there's never enough time for London. Been visiting for nearly 40 years and each time find new, interesting and rewarding places to experience. That said I'm not traveling with 10 and 12 year old boys. However here's a few suggestions to keep them occupied and involved. Mudchute Farm, http://www.mudchute.org, check with the Hampstead Rugby Club and see if they are having a match in the Heath, bike ride in either Hyde or Regents park, http://tinyurl.com/l9oyxq5, check London walks to see if there are mudlarking tours taking place during you time in London http://www.walks.com and I think all of you would enjoy the madness and fun of Camden Lock Market including a walk along the adjacent canal. Lastly, when you arrive at Heathrow purchase an issue of TimeOut London. As you travel from Heathrow to your accommodation check to see what festivals, markets, exhibits, etc are occurring when you are there. LOADS to see and do during the summer months.

So much to see in London. Seven nights is good, especially is you want to do day trips. Plenty of things to do.

The London Transport Museum in Covent Garden is interesting - old trams from a hundred years ago and buses. If you are going to York, this could be followed by National Railway Museum. Boys always seem to like ghost walks - there are several round London.

If you are going to Glasgow (west side of the country) by train, there are few direct trains from York (east side) and you will most likely have to change at Edinburgh, which may influence where you break your journey. There is a good, speedy rail service between London and York.

Really, no hard copy TimeOut. Dang. Thanks for the update Emma. Won't look like a twit looking for it in November!

Plenty to keep you and kids occupied for a week or more in London. Besides those suggested by others here, there are boat rides on the Thames -- Westminster to the Tower, east to Greenwich, west to Hampton Court. The London Eye is exciting and fun. The stoic guys in fur hats at Buckingham Palace and Horse Guards Parade. When I was 10 and 12 I was deeply into Sherlock Holmes, whose (imaginatively reimagined) flat is at, roughly, 221B Baker Street.

The Churchill War Rooms are a museum, to be sure, but in the actual place where Churchill & Co. managed the war while bombs rained down. The place was locked up in 1945 and looks just as it did then. Wonderful place for a history lesson about WWII and how very close we all came to losing Britain and who knows how much more.

Yes, IMO 6 days will be too long, given the fact that the kids don't like museums.
Our last London trip was 11 nights with 3 day trips, so that 8 nights in London. That amount of time is perfect for 2 adults, but for a group that includes 2 kids that don't like museums. One of the big attractions of London is that many/most of the world class museums there are free. Since you're not doing museums, you'll run out of things to do a lot quicker.

Popular day trips are listed in Rick's London book, some of them require signing up for a tour so the tour can provide transportation. Several that don't require a tour and would probably interest your kids, and can be reached by rail/Underground, are: Hampton Court, Kew Gardens, Greenwich, and Windsor. These are on the outskirts of the city.