MBG Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I live in US and I have an opportunity to travel to England with my 3 kids in May. My children are 13, 11, and 7yo and we homeschool. We are mid way through SOTW vol 3. My kids loves Harry Potter and now Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. My youngest is a huge Paddington fan (yes, even before the movie came out) My husband has work to do in London and also in Chesham. I defintely want to see London, Tower of London, London Bridge, etc. But I'm open to all ideas. I don't have to stay in those areas. Traveling to opther parts of the country is a possibility. I just don't know if or when I'll have the chance to take my kids on a trip like this again so I want to get the most of it. :) What is not-to-miss? What is overrated? Many thanks, MB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerileanne99 Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 We just returned from a trip to Europe, including extended time in England. I will come back later with some favorites, but I wanted to tell you if the kids love Harry Potter...in the London King's Cross station there is now a 'Platform 9 3/4' complete with a luggage trolley that looks embedded in the wall with photo ops. There is a store next to it that sells anything and everything HP related as well:) Also, the National Rail Museum has a Hogwart's Express--I wouldn't go JUST for that but there are so many cool things to see there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aiden Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 If your family likes the Harry Potter movies, then by all means do this: http://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/ . We did it when we were in London early last year and LOVED it. You can see sets (including the Great Hall and Diagon Alley), props, machine characters, costumes ... you can taste butterbeer. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. One tip, though--we paid a little extra for the last tour of the day, which gets an extra 10 minutes in the Great Hall. However, upon the recommendation of our bus driver (we arranged for transport from London as part of the package), we went in early. We sacrificed those 10 minutes in the Hall, but we gained extra time in the rest of the studio, and since you can stay until closing no matter what time of day you go in, and there's a lot to see, it was a good trade-off. We also did a Big Bus hop on, hop off tour in London. It included a trip on the river. Both were very nice and worth the price to us. For your Paddington lover, there is a Paddington Store at Paddington Station. Very appropriate. There's also a Harry Potter store at Platform 9-3/4 in ... my mind is blanking on the name of that station. Since you homeschool in particular, but even if you didn't, the Churchill War Rooms are not to be missed. World War II field trip, anyone? We were extremely impressed. Look into the London Pass. If you go to 3 or more eligible attractions per day, it comes out less expensive than paying for each attraction individually. We also did a day trip to Oxford and did a walking tour while there. It was nice, worth the trip, easily doable in a day from London. We arranged a walking tour while we were there. Have a great trip! I loved London and really want to get back there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Tower of London is not to be missed. I know you said that is on your list but I want to be sure you don't decide to skip it. :-) My kids adored the British Museum. We spent two days there and my older (7 years old at the time) would have gone back. If you can go far north, visit one of the Hadrian's Wall sites. National Railway Museum is wonderful. So is Yorkminster. The city of York overall is a great place to visit. Maybe it's changed, but I remember being able to walk along the top of the city wall. What great ages to make this trip. My kids were a bit too young when we had our opportunity to go there. We'd all love to go again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonlight Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I didn't think the London Eye was worth it. It was nice, but eh for the money.. My kids enjoyed all the museums immensely: science museum, history museum, british museum. I would definitely do a high tea somewhere fancy if you can. My boys loved it! Have fun! My goal is to spend a month there this summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmarango Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 If you only have a week, then London will certainly keep you occupied. My family enjoyed the V & A museum, and riding anywhere in a double decker was always a favorite. My children loved the London Eye, but it is quite expensive. We also liked going to the National Gallery and then heading over to see the Tate Modern. Kensington Gardens has a great playground and is just lovely to walk around. You could take an easy day trip to Bath. Avebury is better than Stonehenge, imo, if you want to see something like that. However, it is not super easy to reach just using public transportation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I don't know if it would be the same to your family, but we love the lake district. It is in Northern England, jus below the scottish border in the west. As the Netherlands and Belgium are really flat ( at least where I live(d)) we are very impressed by its nature. the Lake District is als known as Cumbria www.visitcumbria.co.uk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawyer&Mom Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 The Hop on Hop off bus is a great overview of the city. I lived in London for several years, and always enjoyed taking the tour with guests. I would recommend taking the tour right away to get your bearings. Tower of London is a must. Westminster Cathedral is a must. British museum is a must. Stonehenge and Bath is a nice one day tour bus trip from London. Bath is a lovely Georgian town with Roman ruins. A whole lot of history and a peek at the country side in one day. If you only have a week I would devote max one day to getting of town. London will more than fill the remaining days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Westminster Cathedral is a must. Just for clarity: people mostly visit Westminster Abbey (where the royal wedding took place). There is also a Westminster Cathedral - it's the Catholic cathedral and was completed in 1903. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I did a long London post in thishttp://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/538154-summer-trip-to-europe/threadand can't multiquote unfortunately. May is our best time of the year imo. Beautiful flowers and Yorkshire is gorgeous then. Definately consider a day or two out of the City. York has lots of fun things to do. Jorvik and the Dig can be fun http://jorvik-viking-centre.co.uk/ and walking the walls is beautiful in May. My dh loves the rail museum. As I am sure your 14 year old has realized Chesham is close to the Harry Potter Studio which we love. They say it takes 3 hours and we normally finish in 3 hours but we know we can go back anytime so it might be different for you. Lots of film locations scattered around. Just in case you drive up to York, Hardwick Hall right off the M1 is Malfoy Manor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stutterfish Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 If you have the time Oxford is only an hour and a half by coach and less by train from Paddington Station. There is lots to see there and you can take a tour of the colleges where Harry Potter was filmed. London can be an exhausting place and it takes longer than you might think to get from one place to another by tube (even longer by bus). Focus on visiting one or two areas and spend the whole day there, otherwise you'll find yourself frazzled. We usually opt for the free stuff - the natural history museum, the science museum, a walk along South bank or a visit to Covent Garden - where there is always on-street entertainment, but if money isn't an issue there are lots of other options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBG Posted January 26, 2015 Author Share Posted January 26, 2015 Thank you everyone for all these ideas! I have two weeks in London. I can decide how much of that to spend in London and how much visiting other areas. I'm taking notes and looking into all these ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawyer&Mom Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Westminster Abbey, of course. Let me add that Saint Paul's, the Church of England cathedral, where Charles and Diana were married, is also spectacular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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