Two weeks in June with a 13-year-old for an introduction to England

If you want to go to the Harry Potter studio tour (just expanded) you should know that tickets go very fast and you must have reservations ahead - way ahead.

It is worth trying for them as soon as you firm up the London dates.

After Bath and Oxford, Cornwall seems the obvious destination as you're in the south of England.

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/cornwall

How many days actually in the ground? First and last days don’t count as this is just getting over jet lag and getting back to the airport.

If you have 10 days, I wouldn’t venture as far as Cornwall, which takes time to explore plus a car is a huge advantage here unless you have plenty of time.

London itself can easily fill 5 full days plus another day for HP near Watford. The London Transport Museum maybe of interest to the 13 year old (plus the adults!).

Oxford can be covered as a day trip from London by train.

If you are going to Bath, then it doesn’t make sense to head to York. As a child, I appreciated York far more than Bath as the Rail Museum is interesting plus there are the old city walls and the Minster to visit. Whitby is worth seeing from York with the ruined Abbey, the Captain Cook Museum and the Dracula connection.

What are your interests? With several people visiting, you need to ask them for their input.

It sounds like 7 days in London including Oxford and HP plus a visit to either York or Bath unless you can manage a full 2 weeks on the ground.

We did a 4 week drive tour of S. Wales and England in Fall of 2017.
Looked at going to Cornwall, but that would have involved more days that we wanted to spend.

I found a great Viator tour recently for Cornwall, it is 7 days and includes Stonehenge.

York is easy to get to via the train from London and we did the city thoroughly staying 3 nights.

Bath can be seen in one full day. The Cotswolds are great, we did 6 nights in Chipping Campden and used it as a base to visit Stratford Upon Avon, Oxford, Blenheim Palace and of course the Cotswolds. Warwick Castle might be good for your 13 year old. We saw many children there. Warwick is just north of Oxford.

geovagriffith - you know Viator is a 3rd party consolidator of tours and does not actually run them? With some leg work you can figure out the actual tour operator and book directly with them.

As to Cornwall vs York - while I love Cornwall, I'd choose York since you'll have a grandson in tow.

For a 13-year-old boy I would say 2 nights in York are a must.
Only 2 hours from London by train. It has real city walls you can walk on, and city gates where they really did shoot arrows from. Lots more old stuff, streets, Vikings, Romans. It was my favourite at that age.

OP here -

We are all easily interested. I've done major and minor museums with the teen and his mom, lovely!

We thought Bath the first night and next day as a way to rest after travel. Stonehenge and other standing stones are interesting to them both, and I thought crossing Salisbury plain might make Cornwall feasible - but it is best with a car. Was thinking we might end the trip with three days in London - knowing we will be back someday soon.

Pam,
Yes, I am well aware that Viator is not the originating tour company. When I research for tour and find a Viator tour that I like, either a one day tour or multi-day tour, sometimes I cannot find the tour company that operates the tour for Viator. It may be that marketing is not high on their list or their website is not very effective.

I am familiar with British tour companies like Trafalgar and a couple of others, but I could not find the tour company responsible for the Viator tour of Cornwall.

We have used Viator extensively in East Asia, Australia and even in Europe. Never had a problem, always enjoyed their tours.

The times when I have found the actual tour company and compared it with Viator the price difference is usually negligible. The one advantage with Viator is that I can pay on line in US dollars.

Hi MomMom -

Stonehenge, while admittedly iconic, may be less interesting to kids, as you can’t approach the stones too closely. Better would be Avebury which is on a much grander scale and where you can get up close and personal and touch the stones and wander the vast circle and it’s ramparts.

Maybe, in an ideal world, there is a tour that would cover both you could book from Bath as the two sites aren’t that far from each other. As a now rather elderly child I know I prefer Avebury!

Hope your trip is all you hope it will be!

Ian

We did a Mad Max tour of Avebury and Cotswolds that left from Bath. It had some HP sites, including his parents' house.

Cornwall and York are two distinctly different areas so much depends on what the interests are of everybody. Cornwall obviously entails more time devoted to it due to the scale of the county and the variety within whereas York is very compact and can be easily seen over a couple of days. Even one day will provide a sufficient taste if you wanted to explore further afield. Both Cornwall and York are amongst my favourite places so it would be a difficult choice between them however, considering the logistics of where else you'll be visiting then Cornwall is the obvious choice. You'll never see it all but what you do see I'm sure you'll enjoy.

It’s completely up to you, but I think Rick’s ‘Start off in Bath’ advice is probably the worst advice he gives. After a busy day of travel, the last thing I’d want is a bus trip. With a day devoted to Harry Potter and a trip to York, I’d skip Bath. Moving around from place to place takes time, especially when it’s coordinated among 3 people, two of which aren’t likely to be experienced travelers.

I would suggest letting your grandson have his own camera so he’ll be able to take pictures of ever he wants to. Then when you get home, you can help him make a photo book on Shutterfly or a similar app.

At 13 the lad probably has ideas of what he's like to do in England. What are his hot-buttons, besides Harry Potter?

Instead of Cornwall - which is a long way to go - look at Dorset. Some lovely beaches - and Corfe Castle is a joy for an imaginative child. Much as I love Cornwall, Dorset - and indeed Devon - offer just as much in the way of cliffs and beaches for a much shorter journey.

Thanks for the sugggestions.

Cornwall for next visit -with a car. York is really what my young man wants: Vikings, walled city, castle and minster - ye olde stuff.

I'm thinking we could get a train from Heathrow (we arrive 8am) and get to lodgings in central York, where we could crash over a nice supper. Does that sound sane? It's a two-hour train ride from London. We will arrive on a Friday - is the weekend likely to be lively, or will there be many closures to plan around.

Then back to do London during the week, and off to Bath-Salisbury-Oxford-Henges before we return to London for Sunday flight home.

My boy says he wants to see the British museum and Shakespeare's theater and Harry Potter and Oxford. Is there a Neil Gaiman site of some sort? He is very into Norse gods and Arthur and Merlin. He can do "reconnaisance" for the next time.

We've traveled together in the US and Canada, and he and his mom in PR and VI. But this trip seems higher stakes, as it's his first time "abroad" and I do want him to love England.

The problem with going straight to York from having landed is that it is very difficult to estimate when you would arrive at Kings Cross Station (KGX) for your train to York. Sure, the trains are about every 30 minutes but if you just show up and pay on the day for the next departure, it will be quite costly. You can gett much cheaper tickets if you pre-book around 11 weeks ahead specific trains. (Friday is also the busiest day on the railways so fares tend to be higher - as they are at commuting times). You also might like to consider buying (£30) a Friends & Family Railcard - not valid before 9.30am on weekdays. This will get you about a third off the fares and you can pre-book on the assumption that you already have the card - if you intend to buy it. So, I would consider spending your first night in London to get over jet lag and have a quick look around. On the Saturday morning, take a pre-booked train to York.

I also think you should get familiar with the railmap as you don’t need to return to London to reach Bath from York - just take a direct train from York to Bristol (Temple Meads) where you change for the short (15 minutes) hop to Bath.It may be cheaper to pre-book York to Bristol and just pay on the day for Bristol to Bath. www.nationalrail.co.uk
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/static/images/structure/css/nationalrailnetworkmap.pdf
https://new.trainsplit.com
https://www.familyandfriends-railcard.co.uk

For Stonehenge - consider taking the train (pay on the day for an off-peak return) Bath to Salisbury and then tale the shuttle bus to Stonehenge. (If you want to go to Cornwall - go Bath to Bristol and then down the main line to Cornwall - one or 2 trains go direct from Bath via the same route). Dorset has been mentioned - and direct (slow) trains go from Bath down to Dorchester and Weymouth.
Best coast scenery in this area is not Weymouth but Durdle Dor/ Lulworth Cove. To fond buses > www.traveline.info

James, that is a great lot of information - thanks!

Daughter is in charge of scouting out trains - she's already telling me routes and length of trip, and will appreciate the fare guidance. I'd best get a rail map myself - we're planning across a thousand mile separation.

We seem to have stabilized our expectations to a sandwich of Wiltshire, London, York. The order in which we sandwich London is still hazy. Daughter thinks Bath for headquarters for Wiltshire scenes. Would a day trip to Oxford make more sense from Bath or London?

I haven't looked for one-night lodging in London, but will definitely check that out for our arrival day. It's tantalizingly restful.

I'm finding everyone's insights and information extremely helpful - Many Thanks, Each!

Young people like to go high, go low, go fast, go by water. London has it all.

The Tube is a great first experience of subways. Your companion can do the on-line research so you both know how it works. https://tfl.gov.uk/

London Eye is a busy tourist attraction, a very high Ferris wheel. But a cheaper, and probably higher 'high", is the Skygarden atop one of the new skyscrapers, and free although it has an array of pubs and restaurants. A reservation won't hurt.
https://skygarden.london/plan-your-visit

Thames boats ferry the visitors to the navy museums in Greenwich, a good way to spend half a day.

Young people, and gearheads of all ages, like the Science museum where the displays range from early steam engines to space satellites, with lots of hands-on stuff. The British celebrate their history in the industrial and medical revolutions; here's is a list of 10 such museums in London, many much smaller than the Science extravaganza: https://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/sightseeing/london-attraction/museum/top-10-best-science-museums-in-london

The West End theatre district has what appears to be a permanent resident hit in The Play that Goes Wrong, an astonishing exercise in live slapstick. Reserve ahead of time because it is so popular, and in a very intimate theatre.

You mentioned Vikings. In York and the surrounding areas it is not just place-names which have Viking/Norse origins (---borough, ---by, ---thorp etc.), it is also the street-names. The meaning has been "lost", but the name survives, with mangled spelling and pronunciation.

The streets are often called ----gate, which if you've ever been to Norway you will recognise. The main street in many villages is "Kirkgate" (church street). The gates in York city walls are not called gates, they are ---bar (same origin as modern word "barrier"); the hills in Northern England are called "fells" (Norwegian: Fjell) and the valleys ---dale, same as modern Norwegian and German "Tal".

By looking on a map you can spot which parts of England had Viking settlement.
Your son might (or might not) be interested in spotting these difference, the English did not always speak English, it is a modern hybrid language (since ~1400).