Looe Area

You are close to Portsmouth. The kids would have lots of fun visiting the Maritime Museum and see the HMS Victory and the Tudor ship the Mary Rose. Check the National Trust UK site for Days Out suggested itineraries. It is also fun to take the train to Penzance.

Portsmouth is great , good place to visit and one of my favorites - but close is not how I would describe it . It is about two hundred miles from Looe and a four to five hour drive . As an overnight or , even better , a couple of days would be suitable .

One other thought - with a six and seven year old , you may find that their patience for the historic dockyard may be somewhat limited , as wonderful as it is . Just south of Old Portsmouth is a Victorian style amusement site called Clarence Pier, that would buy you a bit of sanity if the kids get jumpy .http://www.clarencepier.co.uk/

Looe is in Cornwall, Portsmouth is nowhere near Cornwall.
Try the seal sanctuary at Gweek, The Eden Project, St Ives, or just go on a boat trip, that should be a novelty for kids from Germany.
The whole seaside thing will be a novelty. Just let them loose on the beach, splashing in the sea.

I think Kathleen may be confusing Portsmouth with Plymouth; Plymouth has long had connections with the British Navy and is the port from which Drake sailed to defeat the Spanish Armada. It is also the port from which the Mayflower sailed so has strong connections to the US. I agree that the beach would probably keep most kids happy and busy. They are of the age where building sandcastles with moats, collecting shells and generally beach combing will keep them busy for a few hours. Look for other kids playing where they can join in - beach cricket and soccer for example. There are sure to be some playgrounds or tot lots close to the beach. There is a woolly monkey sanctuary nearby which the kids would probably enjoy.

I don't think this is a confusion of two places , since Kathleen distinctly cites The Victory and the Mary Rose , both of which are in Portsmouth . Just a guess on my part though , It is possible that she looked at the map and , as travelers often do , judged the distances as closer than they really are . Certainly her suggestion of Portsmouth is , on balance , a good one , and I think many people underestimate travel times . It's pretty easy to do .

According to http://www.viamichelin.com/ Looe to Portsmouth is 306 km by road, and takes 03h59 driving (excluding stops). By train it is 6½ hours as you have to take a circuitious route. That is too far for a day trip in my book.