Inlaws make 10 of us for 10 days in England

A few questions:

Have you read some of the other threads here in the England Forum and the England Reviews Forum?

Are you aware of the requirement that all of those children will require booster seats or child car seats?

Quoting:

The law requires all children travelling in the front or rear seat of
any car, van or goods vehicle must use the correct child car seat
until they are either 135 cm in height or 12 years old (which ever
they reach first). After this they must use an adult seat belt. There
are very few exceptions.

It is the driver's responsibility to ensure that children under the
age of 14 years are restrained correctly in accordance with the law.

How did you intend to deal with that? The police here are really strict on that one, and where the children sit in a car.

If you travel by car, the maximum normal (huge) car is a 9 passenger people mover, which will have next to no luggage space, and you will have too many people for it.

Next up is a minibus if one of you is qualified to drive it - and are comfortable driving a large vehicle on very narrow streets, and streets with cars parked on both sides half on the pavement and half into the road, with traffic coming from the other direction (more common than you would think).

Or two cars which brings up the problem of communicating between the two cars.

Is this your first transatlantic adventure?

Given that at least one in your party is likely to deal with jetlag poorly, those three days in London - how many actual nights is that? You won't count that first day, will you, while you are settling in after a long flight?

Are you counting the day moving between London and the Cotswolds as day three of London, so you really only get one sightseeing day? If so, I sincerely hope that you have been several times previously so this is just recapping favourite places.

You have been vague about the kiddoes ages. Are those the ages today or next May?

Do you know that on trains (different than Tubes or buses) children under 5 are free with fare paying adults, and that 5 to 15 are half price?

Do you know that the Cotswolds can be a challenge without a car, especially with children?

Where are you looking for your accommodation in London? Apartments or multiple hotel rooms?

I would drop Cardiff as it holds little attraction compared to the other places you mention.

Day 1 London (4 nights)
Day 2 London
Day 3 London
Day 4 London
Day 5
Train to Bath (1 night)
Day 6
Pick up hire cars (x2) in Bath and drive to Cotswolds accommodation (3 nights)
Day 7
Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral
Day 8
Cotswold Villages
Day 9
Blenheim Palace and Oxford (1 night)
Day 10
Drop off hire car in Oxford and train to London

Are you flexible for your destinations? I realize that with 5 adults you may have already made a number of compromises in deciding where you want to go.

If you do have some flexibility, I would start by thinking about what kind of activities you want to do with the kids. I would think you would want to visit at least one good castle! Castles can be in various states of disrepair. I think you want a castle where the kids can climb a circular stairway, preferably with a dry moat where they can run around and maybe some dress up clothes and picnic facilities, or a restaurant where you can get tasty treats! Look at English Heritage. They often have audio tours that the adults might enjoy, but or usually quite child friendly.

I also think walking is a good family activity. England is full of walking paths. You don't have to go to the Cotswolds to walk.

I would think that given the size of your group and the ages of the kids, taking public transportation would be easier than driving. Trains are easy to use and for my teens they are fun in themselves because we rarely use trains at home.

If you decide to use trains, I would save the Cotswolds for another time. Or I would get to that farm and stay put for a few days. You could always taxi or work with the farm where you will be staying.

Also, Bath would not be my first choice for a group of 10 with little kids. It's congested. Roman stuff is good for kids and I think the baths would make a good visit, but I wouldn't want to stay there with a group of 10!

I think the less you change accommodations, the better.

I think you will have a wonderful adventure! Try not to lock yourself in too soon because it will be a bit of a puzzle to get everything to fit together.

Thanks for the comments everyone!
We've been to London & travelled Europe a bit, just not with kids before & it seems that planning for accomodation & transportation for such a large group is our biggest hurdle.
I love the idea of picking the car up outside of London. We've travelled before with the kids & have the same cars seat regulations here- so options are to bring with seats with us or rent from car rental company. Also, could we pick car up in Bath and drop in Oxford?

Our flight into London would arrive in the morning, but I'm assuming that Day 1 would be a bit of a right off- although I know everyone will be excited to see where the Queen lives! We're looking at staying in Paddington- safe with kids?
Day 1- Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Hyde Park, & Kensington
Day 2- tower of London & hop on/off bus tour
Day 3- British Museum & ...?
Day 4- venture out of London & after looking at some other posts I'm thinking about Windsor Castle?

Love the Blenheim Palace suggestion! And we do want to do some castles with the kids- that's why we were looking at Cardiff a bit: harbor, castle & St. Fagans National History museum

Wow- glad we're starting the planning now!

Have rejigged above taking into account last night in Oxford to drop off car.
Paddington is very safe. Cardiff was quite disappointing for me. The castle is mostly a 19th century rebuild.

dip-sid says that Cardiff Castle was mainly a Victorian re-build and hence - disappointed. Yes, Cardiff Castle is mainly a Victorian re-build but is still quite impressive and does have a Norman Keep in the middle. Within 7 miles of central cardiff are 3 other castles = Castell Coch (another Victorian re-build); St.Fagans (1500's Manor House really but with extensive grounds containing buildings of architectural interest from all over Wales); Caerphilly Castle - a massive medieval fortress surrounded by a moat.

The kids might also like the Dr.Who Experience in the bay area. Consider Techniquest Science Centre - 10 minutes walk away.

http://www.visitcardiff.com
http://www.cardiffcastle.com
http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/stfagans

http://cadw.gov.wales/daysout/castell-coch/?lang=en
http://www.castlewales.com/caerphil.html

You might like to consider staying in this place for some of your time: http://www.centerparcs.co.uk/villages/longleat/ (Car essential).
Nearby is Longleat House & Safari park.http://www.longleat.co.uk

As you asked specifically about staying in the Paddington area, may I recommend that you get as close as you can to the aforementioned Diana Memorial Playground? It's rather close to the Queensway tube station, so also look for hotels in the Bayswater area and make sure to google the address. And no worries, it's rather residential and very safe.

https://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/kensington-gardens/things-to-see-and-do/sports-and-leisure/diana-memorial-playground

My young niece and nephew (ages 6 and 8) absolutely love the Transport Museum in Covent Garden, the Science Museum, the Natural History Museum, the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, and the Museum of London. All of these have interactive things to do and they can run and jump and touch and play and burn off lots of energy. As Emma says, Westminster Abbey doesn't hold much for a 4 year old's interest...would you be splitting up and having smaller groups do different things each day?

Since you asked about the Paddington area, I would suggest the Hilton London Paddington as a place to stay (unless you decide on an apartment). It is connected to Paddington Station, which is your entry point to London if you fly into Heathrow Airport, and take Heathrow Express or Connect in. It's hard to beat Hilton Paddington for convenience as you arrive and walk straight from the train to your room. It's also a convenient location to catch the tube or bus to other places around London.
http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/united-kingdom/hilton-london-paddington-LONPDHI/index.html

I will second the suggestion to see Windsor Castle. It is easily reached by train from London. The castle is magnificent. Queen Mary's Miniature Doll House is perfection, and would be of great interest to the children.

Another castle I would suggest (instead of going to Wales) is Warwick Castle. It is a restored medieval castle, with some modern touches. They have medieval jousts, falconry/birds of prey on display, people in medieval costumes, and sometimes a "medieval fair" going on. All these things were added by the entertainment group/company that owns the castle now. But the castle itself has a most interesting history.
Here is the link to the Warwick Castle website. Their website makes the castle look like a Disney-type attraction, but I would go to see the historic castle. The children will like all the other stuff. https://www.warwick-castle.com/

A great place to take the kids in London is Regent's Park, and the Zoo. Sure, going to the zoo is something you can do at home back in the US; why do it in London? 1. London Zoo is a really good one, better than many here in the US. 2. It's a good break for the kids from sightseeing and looking at old buildings they're not really interested in. The zoo is in Regents Park, entrance on the north side of the park.
https://www.zsl.org/zsl-london-zoo

Regents Park is also a lovely place for them to play, or for your group to take a walk. It has a lake, rose garden, and several small cafes.

I second taking the kids to Warwick, my son loved the dressed up knights jousting, and visiting the dungeon. Beautiful grounds too.
A large group like this means two or three hotel rooms. It also means two cars, do you have two people willing to drive? You simply will not get all of you in a van!

I would simplify trip.