Great Britain trip with 18 yr old granddaughter

Why not ask your granddaughter what she would like to do/see? I'm sure she has ideas. Start by checking out some guidebooks from the library before you purchase one or two to use for the trip. Once you have a general idea of where you might like to go, we can help you fine tune your itinerary.

I had to laugh. I almost posted a while with a very similar question--Why does your granddaughter want to go to UK as opposed to, well, say France? Did she fall in love with Shakespeare? Did she read Young Bess as girl or is she a Camelot person? Does she love history, or maybe just intrigued by Prince William or Prince Harry? I can think of a lot of reasons why she might pick the UK over other countries and once we know them we can help with fine tuning an itinerary.

Pam

Nevonna,

Both you and your Granddaughter might enjoy reading the Great Britain 2009 Guidebook. There is LOTS of information there on the main sights in that area, and it will provide you with somewhat of an idea of places to visit.

It would help to have some information on your Granddaughter's interests? Why is she focussing on Great Britain?

With only 10-days for travel, you'll need to be a bit selective, and be sure to allow adequate travel time between destinations. It's a small island, but still something to consider.

I'd suggest allowing at least three or four days for London, as there are an enormous number of sights to see. You may want to take in a musical while you're there, and of course there's the Changing of the Guard and other "usual" attractions.

The U.K. is probably a good choice for a first visit to Europe, as it won't be too much of a "culture shock" for her (although keep in mind the old saying about "two peoples separated by a common language"!).

Happy travels!

Of course we have talked & will continue to talk with her about why she wants to go to GB, & what she wants to do while there. I threw out the question hoping I would get some new ideas to add to the discussion with her. Thanks

This may be off the wall but maybe she wants to go because of the rock culture? You never know with a girl that age.

I fell in love with Britain while in school but it was because of the writers, etc. I wanted to go to all the places I associated with certain ones. When I actually got there, some were a big disappointment but I have never lost my fascination. If she likes history, it is wonderful.

The theatre would be great as someone else said, and probably the London Eye and Mme. Tussard's although the last 2 I never go to but then I am not 18!!!
I think the Crown Jewels at the Tower fabulous but you must go early as it gets a huge crowd and long lines. The boat ride on the Thames might be fun as well. SHe might be interested in Kensington Palace where P. Diana lived. They usually have a special
costume exhibit of some sort. And the setting in
Kensington Gardens is lovely and you get to have some fresh air.

It really is difficult to predict what an 18 year old would like as they are all so different. Is she a good student? Does she read a lot? Is she addicted to music you hate? Does she like big cities?
London is a huge very busy city but perhaps she would like riding the Underground.

These are just some areas to explore with her. Then again being that age, she might change her mind by next year!!!!! One thing I am sure she would like is shopping but London prices are high compared to the US.

Good luck exploring this with her. I do agree on getting some guide books from the library and showing her photos. Or maybe you could get Rick's
video and you could watch it together...or separately!

I bet she would like to explore some of the markets. Covent Garden is great (and it has fashions that your Granddaughter would probably love to see without breaking the bank). Camden Town markets are funky and she will love it- you can people watch and antique shop. There are lots of others, too. I'd also suggest you consider Kew Gardens as a peaceful break. As for theatre- check out Queen's "We Will Rock You" it is amazing (we've seen it 12 times). I'd also suggest you consider time in either Cardiff Wales, Inverness or Edinburgh Scotland or York or Stratford-upon- Avon. Windsor is great for a whole or half-day trip, too.

Big Shopping Mall as well maybe??

If you ladies get tired of culture and history one day, take her to a Mall!! It is fun to see the different (and some same) shops in the indoor mall. My favorite is a huge one, the Westfield Shopping Centre in Shepards Bush. It is not very old. It also has a large food court as well as popular clothing shops like Top Shop, Next, New Look, and Accessorize, etc...

It is very easy to get to. Take the Central or Hammersmith tube line to the Wood Lane station. Takes only 5 minutes to walk to the mall from the station. Just exit the station onto Wood Lane and make a left.

I discovered this mall when I was waiting to attend a taping at the BBC Across the street.

Tammi,
I gotta ask...what did you see taped at the BBC?

The shopping ideas are great. She is a clotheshorse, & loves funky stuff. She is a Harry Potter fan from book 1, and I thought we might look for a Harry Potter tour. Any one know of a good one?

I see that your granddaughter is a Harry Potter fan, take to Kings Cross Station so you can take her picture at Platform 9 3/4 she'll love it. For clothes you can shop on Kings Road, dtake the tube to Sloane Square station as you exit the station cross the street straight ahead and that's Kings Road.

Look at the site www.walks.com. They have a great site with lots of ideas to get both of you excited and talking about the trip. They do have a Harry Potter walk, as well as ghost and pub walks.

There are several Harry Potter tours in Scotland- much of the filming was done there. You can even do a train tour that goes over the huge bridge they cross going to Hogwarts. Some leave from Fort Willima. Others from other towns. There are also tours of Cambridge (I THINK thats right- maybe Oxford?) for the locations used there. The 9 3/4 platform is currently not very good according to poster on this board as Kings Cross is having renovation work. I'd suggest a Google search to find the tours.

If she wants to see Harry Potter locations then you will have a full itinerary, since it is filmed throughout Britain. Oxford has Christ Church where they film the dining hall scenes and the many castles around England and Scotland are also lovely. Definitely have to take her to King's Cross for the 9 3/4 photo, I have one and my niece is clamouring to go to England now so she can get one taken too. http://www.classbrain.com/artmovies/publish/article_74.shtml
The above is a link that tells where they filmed the various books/films for Harry Potter.
If she likes to shop, and to say that she has been you could take her to Harrods, very nice, HUGE but still very nice.

Hope she has fun,

Elaine