Southeast or Southwest England

Well, I've been to Canterbury and Dover and loved it there, but will be traveling to Cornwall and Devon in the spring, and am really looking forward to that.

How long are you there for? If it's a short amount of time, then probably Canterbury and Dover would make a nice fit, but if you have longer, there is so much to see and do in Cornwall and Devon. I used public transportation when I was in Canterbury and Dover, but it would have been a bit easier with a car. That said, having a car in Cornwall and Devon, while not absolutely essential, makes it so much easier to get around the area. I will be renting a car for my 10 day stay there.

Have you checked out some guidebooks? Rick Steves curates his and a lot of the SW is not in his book, but Rough Guides are wonderful guidebooks and would give you a good idea of what's in both areas.

Thanks! We'll be starting our trip in London and finishing in Bath, but we have 3 nights in the middle that are open. With only 3 days I was leaning towards Canterbury due to the travel distance between London and Dartmoor, but the romance of the area is so tempting.

Is there something specific you have your eyes on doing in and around Dover?

There are a couple of good things to see there (not so sure about a 7 year old though) but the town is pretty much a dump, and - perilous to both children and adults - there is a huge amount of heavy trucks and cars passing through the town on the way to and from and associated with the ferries. Be aware that while the white cliffs are iconic they are by far better seen from the water, only one ferry company takes foot passengers on only some of its services. Much better cliffs from the land are at Seven Sisters all the way along the coast nearly to Brighton.

Dartmoor is a whole lot closer to Bath than Dover or Canterbury are.

Thank you! We were mostly considering Dover for the cliffs, but we were also considering going to and staying in Brighton after spending an overnight in Canterbury. Maybe this would be a better option to take a day trip to the area you're speaking of.

With only three days, I would base yourself in the South East and work your way over to Bath.

What sort of things does your daughter like doing? Canterbury has the cathedral and oldyworldy centre. Dover has one of the best castles in the country. Both are easily accessible by train

If you have a car you also have access to the Weald which is a large rural area between the North and South Downs, and regarded as one of the best one of the best surviving medieval landscapes. Lots oif unspoilt wooded countryside and small towens and villages.

Rye and Winchelsea are delightful unspoilt towns and there is also Romney Marsh with all its tales of smugglers. Go for a ride on the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch railway.

A bit further is Battle Abbey and the site of the BAttle of Hastings in 1066.

Brighton has the Royal Pavilion - real OTT splendour!

You also have Dorset, still to be discovered by foreign visitors with the New Forsest with its ponies, superb coastline (Lulworth Cove, Durdle Door) ruined castles (Corfe) and small unspoilt towns and villages in a rural environment, but you do need a car here.

This is super helpful! My daughter likes anything really. She loves a good view and will come along to most historical sights without complaint. She does request we try to fit in a castle or two, obviously! Thanks again.

I was going to suggest Dorset. It’s more accessible than Devon or Cornwall and very charming. Swanage, Studland Bay, Lyme Regis and Bridport are all nice places to visit among many others. On the way back up to Bath you could stop at Glastonbury, Wells, Bruton or Frome.

We were mostly considering Dover for the cliffs

Consider the 7 Sisters Cliffs over Dover. Much more spectacular. If you have a car and your daughter wants a castle, take a look at Bodiam Castle. It's out of the way, but spectacular.

I suspect your daughter might love to see the Dartmoor ponies:

https://visitdartmoor.co.uk/things-to-do/dartmoor-ponies

You don’t have to go all the way to Penzance; There is lots to see and do right around Dartmoor, or on your way there.

https://visitdartmoor.co.uk/

Driving would be best; you could take the train to Bath, rent the car there, and return it there.

regarding the Seven Sisters cliffs - if you take your daughter you can say they made one cliff for each of her years. Probably too old to be that gullible though.....

Many years ago we took our young daughter to England for her first trip out of the US. Being a typical suburban US child, she was not used to using public transportation and for her, that became a highlight of the trip. In London she helped to plan our use of the Underground and she also learned all about local trains, intercity trains, etc. Travel by car gives you a bit more flexibility, but unless you are experienced with driving on the left side of the road, it takes some practice and concentration.

As far as itinerary, Penzance is a long trek from your other destinations. I'd recommend Canterbury for a 3-day visit, but be aware that the trip from there to Bath is at least 3 hours.

An alternative could be to stay a night or 2 in Portsmouth to visit the Historic Dockyards (climbing all over historic ships, taking a boat ride, going into a submarine, etc.) and stopping for a day in Salibury to visit Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral. Is your total itinerary flying into London and staying there for a while, then 3 days as yet unplanned, then Bath, then returning to London to fly home? If that is correct, then I'd suggest saving your days in London until the end of your trip.

I suspect your daughter might love to see the Dartmoor ponies

An alternative would be the New Forest ponies which would easily fit in with Wasleys suggestion for the Southeast.

https://www.thenewforest.co.uk/explore/wildlife-and-nature/ponies/

If you only have 3 nights between London and Bath, I highly recommend not going that far east or west, because you'll be spending so much time driving just to get from place to place. When my son was that age these are the places in the area closer to Bath/London he really enjoyed: Stonehenge, Corfe Castle, Monkey World, Avebury, Lyme Regis, Dorchester, and Oxford.

Lyme Regis gives you a nice white cliffs vista, and you can hunt for fossils on the beach. Corfe Castle sometimes has reenactment days in the summer, if you can make it there for a special day like that it's super fun for kids. Likewise, we saw a joust at Old Sarum (just outside Salisbury) and it was amazing. Oxford's museums are fun for kids and adults.

For Stonehenge, we joined a sunrise tour that left from Bath, but we were staying in Salisbury, so we contacted them ahead of time and arranged to just meet the tour at Stonehenge. I don't know if it's as worthwhile to visit if you go during regular hours and have to stay behind the barrier, we really liked getting close to the stones. Avebury has impressive standing stones that you can wander among, the town itself is less exciting for kids, but you can see the stones, grab a meal, and also check out the nearby West Kennet Longbarrow for some more prehistory exploration.

Places we've stayed that were great for families: Burley in the New Forest with free-roaming ponies everywhere (only enough to keep a kid entertained for one day/night), Salisbury (lots to see/do, lots of accommodations, lots of food options), Dorchester (some fun kid-oriented museums, lots of food options).

We've done Cornwall on a different trip, and it's well worth it, but I think you need at least a week devoted to just that. We took a few days just to get to Cornwall from London and we still felt like we were driving a lot (stayed in Dorchester and then Exeter on our way south just to break up the driving reasonably).

Since your daughter has requested a couple of castles, I suggest Leeds Castle, not far from Canterbury and Dover:
https://leeds-castle.com/
You can stay there overnight if you wish:
https://leeds-castle.com/stay/

For the second castle, you might consider Windsor Castle.
Windsor is very near Heathrow Airport.
You may wish to stay in the town of Windsor for your last two nights in England, if you will be departing from Heathrow.

Both are very grand castles, sure to please your daughter.

My first trip to the UK will be in May. If you are heading east consider Ashdown Forest, the real Hundred Acre Woods for Winnie the Pooh. AA Milne use to live there and the forest inspired his books. I watched a video on it and looks so cute! You can see everyone's little house, play Pooh Sticks, and walk through the forest. https://youtu.be/P6INBuTau4U?si=vhqOt87sGjNhi3T1.
Folkestone is suppose to be a really quirky cool beach town.

If you do head south (which I am doing) consider the riviera sleeper train to Penzance. You can get connecting rooms to make room for the three of you plus your luggage. Rent a car and head along the coast to Exmoor and Bath.