Good options with kids?

With one week my thoughts turn to staying in London as a base and day-tripping instead of packing up and relocating. There is so much to do in London and easy trips like Richmond Park, Windsor, the Harry Potter tour, Bath, and so on. The London Transportation Museum is a hit with children and adults. Maybe even some of the London Walks tours will appeal to your family,

Agree with Laurel stay in London:
Theatre
Harry Potter
Free Museums: Water and Steam, Natural
History, Pollocks Toy Museum, Horniman Museum, Science Museum, Transport Museum to name a few.
Street Markets
Carnaby Street
Camden Lock Market
Mudchute Farm
Greenwich Observatory

Lovely parks: Hampstead Heath, St James Park, Holland Park, Richmond Park are examples. Crystal Park dinosaurs
Thames River Path
The Stables
The Venice Canals
Mercado Mayfair
Liberty
Brick Lane
Spitalfields
Are just some places worth your time and attention.

I’ve been visiting since 1972. Always changing always the same. On every visit I discover something new to experience and explore.

Mind the Gap and stay in London

Sudden falls of snow can be a problem in February and could scupper any plans for getting around... That makes stopping in London for the full week a better option. You won't and DON'T want a hire car in London. If there isn't snow, there is plenty of scope for days out on the train.

I get that anyone from the PNW is used to snow and ice as a fact of life in winter. But the UK generally isn't. We don't have the huge fleets of ploughs and gritters you have, and don't know what winter car tires are.
So when/if the snow falls it causes far more disruption than you are used to encountering. Although pretty unusual snow even in central London is not unheard of. Nor does anywhere in the UK have anything vaguely like wsdot to keep people informed about road clearance, expected road re-opening times and networks of on line traffic cameras to physically see conditions.

I certainly wouldn't plan to go to the Cotswolds at that time of year.

Somewhere like York will more than likely be reachable by train from London, unless conditions are really bad, but with only a week to play with I think I would stay in London. If the weather is good then York is easily within day trip distance by train, if you don't mind travelling one or both ways in the dark. You should be able to get last minute cheap 'advance' fares on the train.

I'm planning a trip to London with my 2 grandkids (age 9 and 14) in April of next year. We will be there for 2 weeks and plan to base ourselves in London the entire time. I posted some questions a while ago and got lots of wonderful responses if you are interested.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/traveling-to-england-in-2025-with-grandkids-and-looking-for-guidance

As others have noted, with only one week, I would definitely just stick to London. Your kids will have fun taking the train to places like the Harry Potter tour, Hampton Court Palace, taking boat rides on the Thames, Warwick Castle, and many other places. There is SO much to see and do in London and the outlying areas that there is no need to travel elsewhere.

I get that anyone from the PNW is used to snow and ice as a fact of life in winter

Isn31c, not necessarily so. West of the Cascades, for the most part, we are much like England (think roses and rain) and my area, near Portland, Oregon, comes to a screeching halt at the mere thought of snowflakes.

It was difficult for this native Minnesotan to get over the fact that there few snowplows, lots of hills, and no one knows how to drive in it.

Agree with the posters who advise staying in London and day tripping. It's amazing how much time you will lose relocating. On another note, if you've not already done so, get the kids involved in the plans about where to go and what to see and do. Much less chance of having "unhappy campers" if they have skin in the game.

Hi all. Thank you for your thoughts. We have traveled extensively as a family and have a sense of our timing and preferences in terms of how long we stay in one place. We could of course stay in London for a month and still have more things we could do. I was more looking for thoughts about other places that could be a decent home base for 2-3 days other than York. We may still decide on York, but I was curious if others had different ideas that they have enjoyed.

Durham or Rye or Whitsable.

As well as the fantastic museums, particularly the railway and the castle museum for kids, walking the walls and visiting the shambles and the snickleways, York has lots of events on in February, to attract out of season tourism, that would be suitable for children.
The ice trail is 3-4th February 2024 (visityork.org/york-ice-trail). The Minster colour and light show (yorkminster.org/colour-and-light) was in February this year and again likely to be same next year. Their is also a Viking festival held during school half term, 12-16 Feb next year. Lots of things going on Viking related (suitable for more genteel times!) - such as wrestling, battles, Viking bootcamp and culminates in the burning of a Viking longship on the Ouse!

We traveled a lot when our daughter was young and I would definitely go with London and York. If your kids haven't been to the British Museum, I would make it a priority so they can see mummies, Rosetta Stone, Assyrian statues, Elgin marbles(look at books with good pictures before going so they have some knowledge of what's depicted).

I agree with getting the kids involved-let them watch the relevant Rick Steves video on this website.

Oxford, plenty see and do there with Blenheim Palace close by and a visit to the Cotswolds.

We were in York in May and the transport museum was not open Wednesday to Saturday, you might want to check that out before you decide on York.

Stay in London and then side trip from there. The kids will love London; I just took my 4, ages 6-14, there in March and we had a jolly good time.

So much to see and do, especially if it’s their first time, that I don’t think you need to side trip. You can visit a different part of the city and feel like you’re in a different place. If you want to, day trip to Oxford or Cambridge.

If you do come at the school half term week then a lot of the museums in London and York will run events aimed at children, which are often free. Check out the family section of their websites.

Hi Cary -

I’m going to be wishy-washy or controversial, dependent on how you view it by suggesting you base in London but do an overnight in York, perhaps travelling by rail in the afternoon from London and overnighting somewhere in York, spending a full day day there and travelling back the next evening. This will definitely give you the best of a full day in York (it deserves much more, but…..) but London is possibly the best place to be for the rest of the time with kids as there’s plenty there to keep them occupied, probably at a price (!) but lots of options. Splitting your accommodation in London is going to be the difficult part, but maybe you could try two different hotels or wherever you plan to stay, variety being the spice of life and all that.

I’d also agree there’s not enough stuff in the Cotswolds at the time of year you plan to visit to warrant spending time there - it could be stunningly beautiful or desperately bleak, it all depends on what the weather gets up to and nobody is brave or daft enough to attempt to accurately forecast it this far out.

You may well be prepared for the weather conditions, but as isn31c points out, we frequently aren’t. Also it will still be dark early mornings and afternoons, although there may be a sliver more daylight depending on when in February you arrive. That’s not to put you off in the slightest, just forewarned is forearmed! I’m sure you and the kids will have a great trip whatever you decide!

Ian

Hello!

We are heading to the UK for a week in the next month along with our kids: 11 & 8. Granted, we haven't gone yet, but our plan is: London for two nights. Then taking an overnight train to Edinburgh/which will prevent losing some transition time. We will spend 2 nights in Edinburgh. Following that, a morning train to York for 1 night & then morning train back to London for a night & flight out the next day.

While I know there's tons to do in London we are confident we will be back. We love to move around, especially on a week long trip & have traveled enough with our kids to know they can handle it, as I'm sure you know your kids.

Good luck with your trip planning!

Thanks again for some of your suggestions. @stephallen, sounds like you all travel similarly to the way we do. Good luck in Edinburgh! My wife and I stayed there for several days back before we had kids and we loved it!

We'll likely visit York in some capacity, but we haven't made firm plans just yet.

Thank you all, again!

Don't have anu suggestions currently, but best of luck with your trip.

I was more looking for thoughts about other places that could be a decent home base for 2-3 days other than York.

My family based ourselves in Windsor. There's not much to do in the winter, but with two nights you could explore the town some and have a full day for the castle.

I’m a bit suspicious about the above posting.

Let’s just say that as far as I know York doesn’t have a zoo, I have no idea where ‘Durhammoor’ is, and the link goes to an apparent travel website, advising on cheap Ryanair flights - not overly helpful with regard to York or the Cotswolds. The list given for the Cotswolds is hardly the greatest hits of the area.

Caveat Emptor!

UPDATE: webmeister has apparently zapped the nonsensical post I refer to. Bravo!

Yes. It's definitely ChatGPT generated.

I'm more than amused at the idea that Cradley Heath is one of the most charming villages in England. Must have changed a bit since I was last there.

good grief that's poorly executed spam.. Don't usually see it so far from truth.

For goodness sake don't click on the embedded link before the webmaster has a chance to zap it.

I promise you, from years of working nearby, that Cradley Heath is neither a village nor charming despite being in the heart of the Black Country - so named for the colour of the sky and everything else when all the factories were coal fired.. The sound of a drop hammer all day and half the night should be a start, even today, and then there's is the very large shopping mall and peripheral factories and shops.

EDIT glad to see the offending post has been removed

oh, and the Black Country is nowhere near the Cotswolds. Nor is Bristol.

I'm more than amused at the idea that Cradley Heath is one of the most charming villages in England. Must have changed a bit since I was last there.

At least Cradley Heath exists, unlike Bigborne and Cornwallis Castle.

To be honest it was the Cradley Heath reference that first raised my eyebrows, but I didn’t want to be rude because I have no idea who on the forum might live there and love it to bits. Apparently this is, or at least was, the sole posting from this source.

There is a York Zoo but it’s in Maine, USA!

York is a great place for kids and there is so much for them to do there. Chocolate Story, Railway Museum, Cliffords Tower, Dig (hands on Archaeology), Jorvik , walk the walls, Castle Museum (and see the cell Dick Turpin was put in), boat trip on the river...