The Talking Suitcase

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England

London Itinerary: Top Family Attractions in London with Teens and Tweens

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Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link & I may have been compensated for my time writing this article.

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It’s really no surprise that London is a top vacation destination.  It’s full of history, culture, food, shopping, theatre, nightlife, royalty and more all lumped together in England’s capital city. And you don’t have to look far to find countless family attractions there to entertain the entire clan.  We recently spent 5 days in London with our tweens.  While it wasn’t nearly long enough to experience all the kids attractions in London,  we were able to visit many of our must-see spots.

Getting around London is easy with the extensive public transportation system.   We alternated between the bus and tube, depending on where in the city we wanted to go. Grab a tube map when you arrive to help navigate all the different lines. We found everyone to be super helpful and willing to answer our questions when we weren’t sure how to get to our destination.   Having the Oyster Card made it easier (and cheaper) to get around as well.  The city is also extremely walkable.  While we used public transport to get us to from point A to point B, we walked whenever possible.

For our London itinerary, we tried to balance the wants of both parents and children.  We typically strive for at least one youth activity and one adult activity per day. As my kids are older, this is a lot easier than traveling with little ones.  Many of the attractions listed will be fun for teens as well as adults traveling without kids.   Keep reading to find the best family attractions in London.

Family Attractions in London:

Fun things to do with kids in London

  • Platform 9 3/4
  • Hamley’s Toy Store
  • Piccadilly Circus
  • British Museum
  • Changing the Guards
  • Westminster Abbey
  • Big Ben
  • Kensington Palace & Princess Diana Memorial Playground
  • Tower of London
  • London Bridge
  • Shrek’s Adventure
  • London Eye
  • Sea Life London Aquarium
  • Afternoon Tea

London Day #1 – Apartment, Relaxation & Cars

cars-in-london

Lucy and I stayed in the apartment during our first day in London.  Lucy was on a high dosage of pain medication from her surgery, so she was sleepy and spent the day resting.

Derrick & K explored the Chelsea neighborhood with the goal of seeing how many exotic cars they could find. They couldn’t get over how crazy it was to see $200,000+ cars parked all along the street!  I think Derrick wanted to go around with a bucket and sponge to wash the dirt and grime off the high priced McLarens and Bentleys parked throughout the neighborhood.

Prior to the accident, our plan was to take a sightseeing tour of London which included an early look at the Crown Jewels and watching the changing of the guards.  The tour would have lasted until 12:30pm.   Afterwards we planned to have lunch at Piccadilly Market, then wander around sightseeing for the rest of the day.

If you don’t want to take a tour and would like to follow the rest of our itinerary, you could visit the ZSL London Zoo and Platform 9 3/4 for my fellow Harry Potter fans.  The Camden Market is near the zoo, so that’s an option for another activity if you have time.

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One Week Family Road Trip in England Itinerary – Visiting the Cotswolds From London

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Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link & I may have been compensated for my time writing this article.

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One of the best ways to explore England is by car.  Yes, the public transport system in the UK is awesome but there are so many villages that you’ll miss if you don’t go by auto.  We wanted to explore the countryside of England and see more than just the typical tourist destinations.  And we only had one week to pack in as much as possible.  Follow along on  our “family road trip in England itinerary” to see what we did and what we would do differently.  While there are many destinations and road trip itineraries you could follow, we found this to be the perfect way to visit the Cotswolds from London. You may, however, want to skip the trip to the hospital. Continue reading for more on that!

My biggest concern with road tripping in England was driving on the opposite side of the highway.  Derrick did a LOT of research before we started our trip.  He looked at images of the roads, general tips for driving on the left side and information on UK road signs.  We were surprised to find how easy the road signs were to follow in England.

Auto Europe Car Rental

We booked our rental car through Auto Europe, which compare’s the best rates.   We typically go with the smallest and least expensive option.  For our road trip in England, we once again chose a small car (some of those country roads are TINY) but we upgraded to a diesel to save on gas money and went with an automatic.  Usually we lease a manual transmission, as it’s significantly cheaper in Europe.  For this trip, we didn’t want Derrick having to deal with shifting with the opposite hand AND trying to stay in the left side of the road.  While it will cost you a bit more, he definitely recommends going with the automatic.  We also spent under 75£ for diesel during our entire trip.  That is significantly less than we would have paid for gas.

Lots of arrows and road signs

Lots of arrows and road signs

Driving on the left ended up being easier than Derrick thought.  While he did keep drifting on the first day, he quickly became used to the difference.  Because the driver sits on the opposite side of the car,  it made sense for him to drive on the left side of the road.  And because I was sitting in what “should” have been the drivers side,  I kept feeling like I needed a steering wheel and wanted to adjust the rearview mirror so I could see behind us.

The second morning of our trip, Derrick and Lucy went to get the car while K and I checked out of the hotel.   K and I walked up to the car as Derrick was getting out laughing and shaking his head.  I didn’t realize what was going on or notice which side of the car he was getting out.  Apparently he got in on the left side as he normally would in the US, buckled his seatbelt, then realized the steering wheel was on the other side.  We won’t mention that even after a week, I was still trying to get in on the wrong side of the car…..

I think the biggest help during our road was a Garmin Navigation System.   We purchased ours in France, so it’s a slightly different model what what you can get in the States.  I can’t overstate  how having a GPS helped on this road trip. It’s possible to rent one though the car rental agency, but we decided that  it was a better investment to purchase our own. Whether you should buy or rent will depend on how often or much you plan to travel. I only missed our turn a few times and during each instance the navigation system instantly altered the route.

Another plus is the postcodes  system in England.  The Royal Mail has given every deliverable location a unique code.  These postcodes are an abbreviated form of address with the first letter(s) indicating the general location.   Making it super easy to plug it into our navigation system and head off to our next destination.

Tip – write down the postcodes for each destination on a sheet of paper in advance.  This will be helpful when you’re plugging in each stop during your road trip.

One Week Family Road Trip in England Itinerary

Day #1 – Arrival & Oxford

Herford College – the Bridge of Sighs is out of the image on the right.
Souls College
Bridge of Sighs with Harry Potter tree in the background
Bodleian Library
Busy streets of Oxford
The well is fed from the river and overflows as the river rises
Love the colorful buildings
Autumn in Oxford
Another view of the Bridge of Sighs

 

We flew into Gatwick Airport on Easy Jet around 10am.  Another option would have been British Airways into Heathrow, but that was more expensive.  We also planned an early flight to maximize our time in Oxford.  If you arrive late, you will need to add an extra day.

Starting off our exploration of the Cotswolds from London , we picked up our rental car and drove from Gatwick Airport, on what we consider the wrong side of the road.   We spent the day exploring Oxford. This was probably the most stressful day of driving.  I’m still in awe that Derrick didn’t end up turning right on one of those roundabouts.

After dropping our bags off at the hotel, we parked our car and took the shuttle bus into the center of Oxford.  The shuttle bus was inexpensive and we didn’t waste time finding parking in the city or paying an expensive parking fee.

We saw the Bridge of Sighs, Carfax Tower, Magdalen College/Chapel, the Covered Market, Radcliffe Camera, the Old Bodleian Library & countless other sites.

Due to time constraints, we chose not to go on any of the University tours.  We simply wandered around the town viewing most of the tourist attractions from the outside. We even saw the College tree from Harry Potter.  Under the tree, Draco Malfoy says to Harry “you won’t last 10 seconds.” While you can only see the top of the tree, it’s still cool to pass by.  I wanted to see the “Great Hall” from Harry Potter in Christ Church College, but we missed visiting hours. Poor  planning on our part If you want to see more Harry Potter filming locations, check times and plan ahead.

I spent a lot of time trying to convince the kids how cool it would be to attend Oxford University. K now has the sweatshirt, but doesn’t seem too interested in picking out colleges.

We had dinner at Bill’s Restaurant. The food was delicious and we loved the decor. I thought it was hilarious when a college guy came in and told the hostess they were having a party over the weekend, so he was apologizing in advance for the noise.

If you want to see more of Oxford, you’ll need a full day. Our itinerary only included a half-day visit.

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24 Hours in Bath, England – Fun Things to do in Bath with Tweens

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Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link & I may have been compensated for my time writing this article.

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Bath, a World Heritage site, is famous for it’s beautiful architecture and fascinating history. This lovely city is located only a 2.5 hour drive west of London or just a 90 minute train ride from Paddington Station. The city became a spa in 70 AD when the Romans built baths and a temple in the valley of the River Avon.   Today, Bath is well known for these Roman baths and attracts millions of visitors every year.   If you’re planning a day trip to Bath or plan to make it your home base for a few days, take a look at our family friendly guide to things to do in Bath. It’s a city we didn’t get to spend nearly enough time exploring, but I think I can get you off to a good start with these helpful hints!

We had intended to spend more than just a day in Bath. Unfortunately, we experienced our first major travel emergency the morning of our second day.  Lucy fell and broke her wrist. This accident and it’s aftermath took up almost 2 days of our travel time. We spent a significant amount of time at the medical facilities in Bath and now have first hand experience with the Royal United Hospital. The staff was great.   My poor baby broke two bones in her wrist and needed a pin inserted surgically to ensure it healed properly.   We drove straight from the hospital to London, so we only had the chance to explore Bath for one day.   Thankfully, Lucy is recovering nicely.

Things to do in Bath, England

 

exploring-bath-from-the-avon-river

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Getting Up Close With the Animals at Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens

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Disclosure: This post may contain an affiliate link & I may have been compensated for my time writing this article.

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If you’re searching for Cotswold’s attractions for kids, look no further than the Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens in Burford.  A mix between a zoo and a safari park, the Cotswold Wildlife Park will delight visitors, young and old. The park boasts of over 260 different species of animals & has the largest privately owned zoological collection in the UK.

As you walk around the grounds, you’ll notice spacious enclosures for the animals that blend in with the natural environment, taking advantage of the beautiful Bradwell Grove Estate. Visitors can get closer to animals than in many of the other zoological collections we’ve visited. Even the kids noted how nice it must be for the animals to have so much space.

The park is divided into several sections, each with it’s own unique plant and animal life. Our first stop was at the Large Animals section, home of the giant tortoises and the parks oldest resident, both in age and duration. These massive reptiles were fascinating to watch. They may be slow and ponderous but their size amazed us when compared to their smaller turtle cousins we were used to seeing. We had seen the giant tortoises at only one other park.

So close!!
Large rhino enclosure with the Manor House in the backdrop.

 

Next, in large paddocks you’ll see the white rhinoceros up close and personal.  Never have we been this close to one. They are usually so far back at our home zoo that you need the long-range camera lens to get a good picture. These guys were just hanging out, having breakfast near the moat.  While we were safe from the animals (and they were safe from us), the design of the wildlife park made feel it like you could just walk right up to the them.

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