'Must Do' British Activities / Events / Places etc

WestonDave

From where you are a day out at the railway centre at Didcot might be a nice idea. Unlike some of the longer steam railways where you really just end up sitting in a carriage riding along, the place at Didcot is pretty good for kids (as long as you don't mind them getting dirty!).

On operating days (check on the website) there can be up to 3 trains (normally 2 unless Firefly is running but that is good fun as its an open "truck" carriage!) running on short 2 minute runs which are ideal for kids attention spans - once you pay to get in you can have as many rides as you want. They normally turn at least one engine on the turntable (normally around 2pm), you can go into the engine shed and climb on some of the out of use engines, and there is a "learning" carriage which has things for kids to do (useful if its a wet day - although we went on Monday and whilst it did rain a bit we didn't really get wet as we were mostly on trains or in the shed!).

As for areas Snowdonia is great with the mountains - with smaller kids that can be harder but you can get quite a long way up the Miners track on Snowdon on easy paths that at a push would take a buggy (obviously be sensible about weather etc as it can be very wet and cold on the wrong day). You won't get to the top that way unless you want to get into harder walking and carrying the kids but getting into the horseshoe is pretty dramatic. The mountain railway would take you to the top as a family but is fearsomely expensive. Its worth thinking about some of the less well known areas of Snowdonia such as the coast from say Fairbourne up to Harlech/Porthmadog - some nice beaches along there, castles and little trains to ride.

Similarly Scotland is very dramatic - we had a good week based at Corpach just outside Fort William - nice walks up the canal and places to visit.

[Deleted User]

This is a personal list of some (of the many places) we have enjoyed in the UK


In the Spring see the snowdrops and then bluebellsperhaps at a National Trust property





London with all its sights. Tower of London and Greenwich

Brighton as it isa unique city. Edinburgh. Stratford for the Shakespeare connection

Liverpool waterfront. The cities of York (for themedieval streets and Minster) and Bath for the baths and Georgian architecture.

Norwich - for thearchitecture and the shopping including the market

Cambridge, Oxford and Durham all beautiful universitycities.

Faversham for the medieval architecture



Areas of great natural beauty - Lake district, Derbyshireand the Peak District, Yorkshire. New Forest is relatively close to you andgood for children. The Broads. Snowdonia and Pembrokshire. Trossachs andHighlands.



Orkneys Scara Brae prehistoric site. Stonehenge

Hadrians Wall.

A castle. Bodiam is beautiful and the Welsh castlesspectacular.

Fountains Abbey

Industrial sites like Ironbridge, Saltaire and Beamish outdoor museum is excellent forchildren.

Morwellham Quay.

A stately home. Perhaps Chatsworth or Castle Howard



Weymouth for the beach with its fine sand, donkeys andpunch and Judy.

Beaches of South Devon and Cornwall. North Norfolk coast.

Whitby for the Abbey and Dracula connection and the fishand chips!



Museums take your pick -art galleries like the Tates,Manchester and Liverpool both have good galleries. Rail Museum in York.

If you borrow or buy a good UK guide book - perhaps Lonely Planet or the DK you should be able to find places that suit your interests.

Horace

Another thing you could do - certainly good for a day trip look for old woodland in your area and visit at the end of April/beginning May to see the bluebells. Bluebells are native to this country and are absolutely gorgeous and if you want to have their scent at home then Penhaligons do a range of bluebell scented products that smell exactly the same as the real thing. You might be able to find out about bluebell walks in your area in your local newspaper.