I'm going to say Edinburgh and the Lake District.
You can fly into Glasgow or Prestwick from the US, Edinburgh is 45 minutes on the train, the Lake District is an hour and half or so. The Lakes is perfectly doable by public transport, though I won't pretend that it would be easier by car - the main 'centres' are Keswick, Ambleside, Penrith, and Kendal.
Edinburgh is a superb city to spend a week in. Loads of stuff for kids, loads of stuff for adults. You won't need a car.
Please don't bother with 'the Cotswolds' - it's just a rolling landscape with some pretty towns - like, well, most of rural England - there's not much for kids, and public transport is pretty rubbish. Bath is very nice, it's a lovely little city.
If the Lake District seems like a bit of a hassle, try Northumberland: it's an hour south of Edinburgh, it's a rural landscape of endless beaches, pretty towns (Berwick, Coldstream, Peebles, Galashiels, Alnwick, Seahorses, Wooler, Rothbury and down to Hexham and Allenheads), and more castles than you can shake a stick at. Bamburgh is the daddy of these...
Windermere has a station and a connection to the mainline at Oxenholme (Lake district). From Windermere there are excellent bus links to most places you might like to visit in the lakes.
"Please don't bother with 'the Cotswolds' - it's just a rolling landscape with some pretty towns - like, well, most of rural England - there's not much for kids, and public transport is pretty rubbish. Bath is very nice, it's a lovely little city."
I live in Swindon, so do the odd trip, and it's nice, but it's nothing special. I go because it's on my doorstep. I particularly like Cirencester, Burford has an excellent farm shop on the outskirts (not the Clarkson thing) and Huffkins tea rooms are great, Lechlade is nice by the river. The Cotswold Wildlife Park is nice. But I wouldn't make a special trip to it.
I actually think the area to the south of the Ridgeway in Wiltshire, around Hungerford, Marlborough, Aldbourne, Ramsbury, Avebury, Devizes is more interesting. The countryside is more dramatic. The towns are historic and charming, but they haven't been faked up for tourists. Go into a cafe, the people live there.
Absolutely this - The whole place is covered in finer landscapes than the Cotswolds (and I lived in the Cotswolds), though I have a soft spot for Stroud, but Shropshire, or the Peak District, or Dorset, or Exmoor, or 50 other places? Nah, doesn't compare....
If you go for Northumberland, the X18 is a very helpful bus service, and connects to the Trainline at Alnmouth (and I think Berwick and Newcastle too, but Alnmouth is the one at the heart of Northumberland sights more I'd say). Edinburgh and Northumberland is a great suggestion!
I'm biased because I live here but Oxford is a great choice.
There is easily 3 days of museums and things to see. The child will really like the Natural History Museum and Pitt Rivers. The open top bus is a great way to see all of the architecture and get around.
There are a lot of open spaces where you can picnic if the weather is good. A day trip to Blenheim Palace is very easy.
Then I'd move to Bath. There are a number of child friendly things to do there.
You can see from my other posts that I'm a bit negative about "The Cotswolds" - as I think children don't care about the beautiful countryside, fine hotels or gastropubs.
edit: Oxford has great choices for dining out with children.
The Cotswolds will be tricky without a car too. You can get the train to, say, Moreton or Evesham, but you’re at the mercy of local buses to get you anywhere else. A city like Bath or Oxford is a much better choice both for travel by PT from London and travel around on the days you’re there.
Chester is a great place for a few days, easy with a kid. Boat ride on the river, zoo is excellent, HOHO is a hit with little ones, walk on the walls, maybe a day to https://www.pontcysyllte-aqueduct.co.uk
Or to llandudno (beaches and tram up the Great Orme, possibly wild goats :) ) or Conwy, a real castle, complete with small town (smallest home in the UK) and town walls.
I mean by train, you can get to most places from london in 4 hours. Are you looking for ideas of places to visit that are kid friendly or places to stay and locations? Wales always gets overlooked in these posts, but it’s easy to get to from london and has lots of do. Stunning scenery, great beaches, lovely history and nice towns.
You could do part of your week somewhere like Bath, which is extremely pretty and historic and then travel West on the train to Swansea (about an hour and a half from Bath). From there I would hire a car and base yourself somewhere in the Gower. There are so many beautiful beaches (look up Rhossili, Three Cliffs Bay, Oxwich etc) castles and walks. If the weather is crap then there’s lots in nearby Swansea (a nice indoor Waterpark, Plantasia an indoor rainforest, the arcade in Mumbles) that will keep your little one amused. Or head further west to Tenby which is a lovely seaside town with loads of family friendly attractions very close by- Folly Farm, Tenby Dinosaur Park, Manor Park farm etc. Wales is overlooked and offers far more than the Cotswolds.
I'm going to be a bit rogue and say somewhere in Kent for one half of your trip. It's mostly accessible from London by train or coach, so you can go into London for visits if you wanted to. It has so many beautifully kept historical places to visit; Leeds Castle, Hever Castle (Anne Boelyn's family home), Scotney Castle, Rochester Castle, Dover Castle, Bodiam Castle, Sissinghurst, and many others. There's also some beautiful towns and cities; I'd recommend Canterbury because it's super pretty in summer, has loads of history and a great Cathedral, amazing tea rooms and pubs, fab shopping, but is pretty small so its all walkable and you can do it in a day with a toddler. I would also check out Port Lympne if you like wildlife - it's a zoo and safari and is one of my favourite days out ever. They also have a smaller sister zoo called Howletts about 10 minutes outside of Canterbury.
I’d say Oxford and Bath. There are some nice day trips from Bath too (Bristol, Salisbury etc). They’re both quaint with lovely buildings but also have a lot going on and to do. They also both have good rail links.
Bath, 100% yes. Then go the other way out to Kent, specifically Whitstable. In an airbnb you'll love being able to walk around on foot to nice places in a slower/nice pace of life. There's a few neighbouring towns to dip into and plenty for the youngen by being by the seaside.
Yep you'd have to lose a bit of a day getting there. But imo that's still worth it. Planned correctly with advance tickets you could quite cost effectively be out of Bath at 9am say, and in London by 11am (its 1 hrs 30 mins), then on a train at noon (or a slightly transit friendly stop with lunch say, you'd go from Paddington to Victoria on one underground train) in London, then on to Whitstable (it's 1hr 18mins)for before 2pm.
Really easy journey.
There are lots of great places, the one thing I would add is avoid if you can is public holidays.
These will be:
Around Easter April 18-21st, the school holidays are likely to run before easter as it is a late one.
The week with monday May the 27th in it, this is school holidays, and things are very busy.
I would also avoid the 1st of may if you can. This is only a holiday on the Monday, so it isn't as important.
The best weeks would be
The last week of April 28th,
May the 12th or may the 19th
not that other weeks are not great too, just these are busier times. hotels will be mroe expensive queues longer etc so if you can pick do.
I would look at Bournemouth and a stay in the New Forest. Bournemouth has a lovely beach and the New Forest is pretty special if you like nature, famous for its wild ponies. It isn’t too far from London.
East Kent is not bad without a car as the train lines are quite good,. You can stay in Canterbury and then do day trips by train to Ramsgate, Whitstable, Herne Bay, Dover and so on, e.g., it's a 25 min train from Canterbury to Ramsgate, 35 mins to Whitstable, 30 mins to Dover.
Canterbury is 2-3 hours from Heathrow by train. It's closer to 2 hours if you pay extra for the high speed trains. Closer to 2.5 to3 hours if you use the cheaper train routes.
[https://www.canterbury.co.uk/](https://www.canterbury.co.uk/)
[https://www.visitkent.co.uk/](https://www.visitkent.co.uk/)
[https://www.visitthanet.co.uk/](https://www.visitthanet.co.uk/)
Bath and Oxford are also both lovely and have the advantage of being to the west of London of London like Heathrow.
If you're looking for access to the cotswolds, Bath, or Oxford, then Cheltenham might be an option. Either of the cities is easy by train. However, it would be a much better experience to hire a car for 24 hours and explore the cotswolds that way, regardless of where you stay.
Another vote for York. Fabulous historic city. Make sure it isn’t school holidays! You can get the bus to lots of other areas in Yorkshire and there are lots of kids activities around in the county!
I'm going to say Edinburgh and the Lake District. You can fly into Glasgow or Prestwick from the US, Edinburgh is 45 minutes on the train, the Lake District is an hour and half or so. The Lakes is perfectly doable by public transport, though I won't pretend that it would be easier by car - the main 'centres' are Keswick, Ambleside, Penrith, and Kendal. Edinburgh is a superb city to spend a week in. Loads of stuff for kids, loads of stuff for adults. You won't need a car. Please don't bother with 'the Cotswolds' - it's just a rolling landscape with some pretty towns - like, well, most of rural England - there's not much for kids, and public transport is pretty rubbish. Bath is very nice, it's a lovely little city. If the Lake District seems like a bit of a hassle, try Northumberland: it's an hour south of Edinburgh, it's a rural landscape of endless beaches, pretty towns (Berwick, Coldstream, Peebles, Galashiels, Alnwick, Seahorses, Wooler, Rothbury and down to Hexham and Allenheads), and more castles than you can shake a stick at. Bamburgh is the daddy of these...
Windermere has a station and a connection to the mainline at Oxenholme (Lake district). From Windermere there are excellent bus links to most places you might like to visit in the lakes.
To add to this - there’s also frequent bus links across from Penrith rail station to Keswick
Oxenholme is on the Avanti West Coast line from Euston - Glasgow. Straight line, no changes.
Another vote for Northumberland! The beaches are stunning, and the natives are very friendly!
Another vote for Northumberland - its the best part of england🖤🖤 There's loads of beautiful castles, beaches, nature. It really is stunning
"Please don't bother with 'the Cotswolds' - it's just a rolling landscape with some pretty towns - like, well, most of rural England - there's not much for kids, and public transport is pretty rubbish. Bath is very nice, it's a lovely little city." I live in Swindon, so do the odd trip, and it's nice, but it's nothing special. I go because it's on my doorstep. I particularly like Cirencester, Burford has an excellent farm shop on the outskirts (not the Clarkson thing) and Huffkins tea rooms are great, Lechlade is nice by the river. The Cotswold Wildlife Park is nice. But I wouldn't make a special trip to it. I actually think the area to the south of the Ridgeway in Wiltshire, around Hungerford, Marlborough, Aldbourne, Ramsbury, Avebury, Devizes is more interesting. The countryside is more dramatic. The towns are historic and charming, but they haven't been faked up for tourists. Go into a cafe, the people live there.
Absolutely this - The whole place is covered in finer landscapes than the Cotswolds (and I lived in the Cotswolds), though I have a soft spot for Stroud, but Shropshire, or the Peak District, or Dorset, or Exmoor, or 50 other places? Nah, doesn't compare....
If you go for Northumberland, the X18 is a very helpful bus service, and connects to the Trainline at Alnmouth (and I think Berwick and Newcastle too, but Alnmouth is the one at the heart of Northumberland sights more I'd say). Edinburgh and Northumberland is a great suggestion!
Prestwick hasn’t had US flights in decades. Edinburgh itself has far more US flights than Glasgow! So they should just fly directly to there.
I'm biased because I live here but Oxford is a great choice. There is easily 3 days of museums and things to see. The child will really like the Natural History Museum and Pitt Rivers. The open top bus is a great way to see all of the architecture and get around. There are a lot of open spaces where you can picnic if the weather is good. A day trip to Blenheim Palace is very easy. Then I'd move to Bath. There are a number of child friendly things to do there. You can see from my other posts that I'm a bit negative about "The Cotswolds" - as I think children don't care about the beautiful countryside, fine hotels or gastropubs. edit: Oxford has great choices for dining out with children.
The Cotswolds will be tricky without a car too. You can get the train to, say, Moreton or Evesham, but you’re at the mercy of local buses to get you anywhere else. A city like Bath or Oxford is a much better choice both for travel by PT from London and travel around on the days you’re there.
Correct. Also, going back to my previous million posts, The Cotswolds are better suited to a dirty weekend away than a family holiday.
I am happy to endorse this message.
Chester is a great place for a few days, easy with a kid. Boat ride on the river, zoo is excellent, HOHO is a hit with little ones, walk on the walls, maybe a day to https://www.pontcysyllte-aqueduct.co.uk
Or to llandudno (beaches and tram up the Great Orme, possibly wild goats :) ) or Conwy, a real castle, complete with small town (smallest home in the UK) and town walls.
I'd jump on the train to York for the city part, and go out to the yorkshire coast (probably Scarborough for ease) for the second part of your holiday
Doing that this fall
I mean by train, you can get to most places from london in 4 hours. Are you looking for ideas of places to visit that are kid friendly or places to stay and locations? Wales always gets overlooked in these posts, but it’s easy to get to from london and has lots of do. Stunning scenery, great beaches, lovely history and nice towns.
Looking for all of the above! And, we would definitely be open to Wales.
You could do part of your week somewhere like Bath, which is extremely pretty and historic and then travel West on the train to Swansea (about an hour and a half from Bath). From there I would hire a car and base yourself somewhere in the Gower. There are so many beautiful beaches (look up Rhossili, Three Cliffs Bay, Oxwich etc) castles and walks. If the weather is crap then there’s lots in nearby Swansea (a nice indoor Waterpark, Plantasia an indoor rainforest, the arcade in Mumbles) that will keep your little one amused. Or head further west to Tenby which is a lovely seaside town with loads of family friendly attractions very close by- Folly Farm, Tenby Dinosaur Park, Manor Park farm etc. Wales is overlooked and offers far more than the Cotswolds.
I'm going to be a bit rogue and say somewhere in Kent for one half of your trip. It's mostly accessible from London by train or coach, so you can go into London for visits if you wanted to. It has so many beautifully kept historical places to visit; Leeds Castle, Hever Castle (Anne Boelyn's family home), Scotney Castle, Rochester Castle, Dover Castle, Bodiam Castle, Sissinghurst, and many others. There's also some beautiful towns and cities; I'd recommend Canterbury because it's super pretty in summer, has loads of history and a great Cathedral, amazing tea rooms and pubs, fab shopping, but is pretty small so its all walkable and you can do it in a day with a toddler. I would also check out Port Lympne if you like wildlife - it's a zoo and safari and is one of my favourite days out ever. They also have a smaller sister zoo called Howletts about 10 minutes outside of Canterbury.
And the beaches along the north and east coast of Kent are amazing!
I’d say Oxford and Bath. There are some nice day trips from Bath too (Bristol, Salisbury etc). They’re both quaint with lovely buildings but also have a lot going on and to do. They also both have good rail links.
Bath, 100% yes. Then go the other way out to Kent, specifically Whitstable. In an airbnb you'll love being able to walk around on foot to nice places in a slower/nice pace of life. There's a few neighbouring towns to dip into and plenty for the youngen by being by the seaside.
This looks lovely! Though sounds like it would be quite a journey from Bath - we'd take a train to London, then another train to Whitstable?
Yep you'd have to lose a bit of a day getting there. But imo that's still worth it. Planned correctly with advance tickets you could quite cost effectively be out of Bath at 9am say, and in London by 11am (its 1 hrs 30 mins), then on a train at noon (or a slightly transit friendly stop with lunch say, you'd go from Paddington to Victoria on one underground train) in London, then on to Whitstable (it's 1hr 18mins)for before 2pm. Really easy journey.
There are lots of great places, the one thing I would add is avoid if you can is public holidays. These will be: Around Easter April 18-21st, the school holidays are likely to run before easter as it is a late one. The week with monday May the 27th in it, this is school holidays, and things are very busy. I would also avoid the 1st of may if you can. This is only a holiday on the Monday, so it isn't as important. The best weeks would be The last week of April 28th, May the 12th or may the 19th not that other weeks are not great too, just these are busier times. hotels will be mroe expensive queues longer etc so if you can pick do.
This is SO helpful, thank you!
If you go to Scotland be aware that the school holidays there are different to England!
I would look at Bournemouth and a stay in the New Forest. Bournemouth has a lovely beach and the New Forest is pretty special if you like nature, famous for its wild ponies. It isn’t too far from London.
East Kent is not bad without a car as the train lines are quite good,. You can stay in Canterbury and then do day trips by train to Ramsgate, Whitstable, Herne Bay, Dover and so on, e.g., it's a 25 min train from Canterbury to Ramsgate, 35 mins to Whitstable, 30 mins to Dover. Canterbury is 2-3 hours from Heathrow by train. It's closer to 2 hours if you pay extra for the high speed trains. Closer to 2.5 to3 hours if you use the cheaper train routes. [https://www.canterbury.co.uk/](https://www.canterbury.co.uk/) [https://www.visitkent.co.uk/](https://www.visitkent.co.uk/) [https://www.visitthanet.co.uk/](https://www.visitthanet.co.uk/) Bath and Oxford are also both lovely and have the advantage of being to the west of London of London like Heathrow.
Look at trains over buses. Trainline will give you an idea of rail services.
Oh look another reason for all the British people to whine about Americans wanting to see the Cotswolds.
If you're looking for access to the cotswolds, Bath, or Oxford, then Cheltenham might be an option. Either of the cities is easy by train. However, it would be a much better experience to hire a car for 24 hours and explore the cotswolds that way, regardless of where you stay.
Another vote for York. Fabulous historic city. Make sure it isn’t school holidays! You can get the bus to lots of other areas in Yorkshire and there are lots of kids activities around in the county!
If you have a car Wells near Bath is lovely and less hectic
And *Hot Fuzz* was shot there