My family is planning a trip to England the last week of June/first of July. My two children (15, 13) love all things British and can't wait to see London and little bit of something beyond the city. They love Harry Potter, Ted Lasso, Great British Baking Show, football, castles, you get the idea. This is our first time to England as a family. We have 10 nights. It seems that 4-5 should be dedicated to London and then we would be interested in getting outside of the city for a bit. Reading through the forums has given me some direction, but I would love some more opinions. We always enjoy renting a car when we travel, so pairing that with train travel would be ideal. Seeing and/ or staying in a Castle would be a nice touch if possible. Seeing Stonehenge would be of interest. The places that keep popping up as potential stays are Salisbury and Bath. It looks like there are flights to Bristol from Montreal but that involves a layover vs in and out of London to Montreal non stop. Open to suggestions for what and how to divide the last half of our trip. Thank you travelers!
Posted by
Duluth 🛶
8350 posts
I'm taking two of my grandkids to London in late March/early April (ages 11 and 15). We will have 10 nights altogether there, but I would suggest you give it 5 nights rather than 4. That gives you 4 full days (plus a little extra) to enjoy the wonders of London. Here are a few places I have lined up for my grandkids in London.
Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studio Tour: If you decide to visit, book your tickets as early as possible as they sell out quickly. It's a quick train from London and everyone that's ever been there has loved it.
Hampton Court Palace is another must see for older kids, in my opinion. There is so much to do and see there.
Richmond if they love Ted Lasso. I'm a big fan myself, and was there earlier this year, so I went to Richmond to visit the pub they went to, a few other sights that were noteworthy in the show, and really enjoyed it there. It's a lovely town and I wound up having lunch at the Prince's Head (aka The Crown & Anchor).
In addition, my 15 year old grandson has also told me he wants to visit the Science Museum, and my 11 year old granddaughter wants to shop. :-) Of course we will visit the main attractions like the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul, and so on. We also plan to have at least one afternoon tea. Here are a couple of threads that discuss that, and there are plenty more.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/five-of-london-s-finest-afternoon-teas
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/afternoon-teas
You could potentially do Hampton Court Palace and Richmond in the same day, although it would be a long day. But they're both in the same direction from the city.
Posted by
Cornwall
429 posts
Seeing and/ or staying in a Castle would be a nice touch if possible.
You can’t stay there but the mother of all castles is in the middle of the city. Just outside is the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world.
Posted by
London
40 posts
An additional suggestion, if they love football, is to visit/tour one of the stadiums (there won't be any matches on that time of year)- do you know what team they support?
Posted by
Atlanta
5273 posts
...Seeing Stonehenge would be of interest...potential stays are Salisbury and Bath.
Getting to Stonehenge from Salisbury is very easy. It also has a cathedral and one of the few copies of the Magna Carta. Bath is also interesting, but is a bit farther away from Stonehenge.
Regardless, you should be able to go everywhere you want using the train system.
Posted by
Charleston & Birmingham
4668 posts
i think they would enjoy York or even Edinburgh more than Bath and Salisbury. Or do 1 overnight in Bath to see Stonehenge, but I think it's also possible to do a day tour from London to Stonehenge.
Posted by
Downingtown, USA
2479 posts
You could easily base yourself in London and do day trips as well. York is very easy as is Windsor. You could also fly multi city say into Edinburgh for four days then train to London and home from there or London, Eurostar to Paris for four days and home from there. So many possibilities. Don't forget to look into London Walks for ideas. Good luck.