I just noticed that there is a thread for US travel and I am not sure if there is one already for the UK? I am heading there in September for two weeks and I would love to discuss plans with other people who are visiting soon.

Anyone... anyone?

We are going September too but 2012 lol for 4 weeks, so will be watching this thread.

We are going there in May for 1 month. We are doing a road trip and then 1 week in London and 1 week in Paris.

I am not travelling here soon but have been living here for 6 years and am returning to live in Sydney next week, I am by no means an expert at all but feel free to ask and I will answer.

Awesome looks like there are a few around!

I am so lucky because my bf and I are getting free flights and some free accomodation as he has been at his work for 10 years and this is part of his long service reward

I wish we could stay longer but we can only go for two weeks. We are starting in London and then hiring a car and going to Stonehenge, Avebury, Bath, Nottingham, York then getting a ferry to Dublin for a few days and coming back through Chester and back to London. I am so excited, but there is so much to see in such a small time.

I am also a little sad that we can't get to Scotland as I loved in Edinburgh for 6 months after school and I would just love to go back, but it's too hard

I also wanted to go to Paris, but again... no time!



Where are you planning on road tripping?

Fabulous, we might see you over there! We're off in May for 5 weeks, starting in the UK (a week in Oxford first with my brother), before London, Paris, a week near St Emilion in southern France, Florence, Venice and then finishing in Cologne. I can't wait!

Any tips or things not to miss would be great - have spend so much time on the logistics, haven't really looked much at what to see when we get there, though we're more into experiencing a country and its culture when we holiday, but still want to see some of the attractions.

We are going too, for 3 weeks with 3 kids (1,3,5). I want it to be not too challenging and fairly kid-friendly so am thinking of 3 x 1week stays. Definitely the Cotswolds, maybe also Kent, other week?? not sure. Could do London but am worried that will be too full-on.

Kid-wise we are looking at Legoland Windsor, Diggerland in Kent and a few castles (?Warwick, ?Dover, ?Hever). Maybe also Druscilla's in Sussex. I love gardens and want to go to Hidcote, Sissinghurst and Nyman's. If we went to London I'd definitely go to the Tower, maybe also the Zoo. We will also go to Oxford in there somewhere.

Oh and I love shopping so Oxford St in London and / or Bluewater in Kent.

I am at the stage of searching for accommodation and still trying to decide on itinerary, although we are going June/July so had better hurry up!!

I like tripadvisor.com for reviews, I also read flyertalk.com 'travel with kids' section and seatguru.com for choosing airlines and seat information.

I am also trying to figure out what to do about car seats, we will hire a car but i have had bad experiences with car seats and car hire over there. I wish there was somehwere that sold them at the airport. I'm sure they would do a roaring trade! Or a hire place.

Sue

I've heard great things about Diggerland from my family over there.

2 castles I would thoroughly recommend anyone who wants to see castles check out - the first is an old ruined medieval 4 turret castle which I think has been used in at least one Robin Hood film - Bodium which is a short drive from the field where the 1066 Battle of Hastings took place. It's also down the road from a lovely little town called Rye.

The other castle which I would recommend is Blenheim Palace. It's a short drive from Oxford and is where Winston Churchill grew up.

They are both completely different castle experiences - Blenheim is as opulent as they come when you're talking British castles.

Windsor's worth a look-in too, as I remember it (going back a few years) you got to check out the princesses dolls house, jewellery and all kinds of royalty stuff.

I'd love to see some castles too - thanks for the suggestions Rocket. Will definitely have to check out Blenheim Palace. Though that said, my brother's getting married in a castle in Germany (reason for our trip o/s), so that will be another to see. Bit of a difference to the Bowls Club DH and I got married in!

Sue - I found some baby equip hire places, and a few say they can deliver to you at the airport? Not sure how well this will work, but might be worth a try? Here's one site I used: http://www.all4kidsuk.com/category/baby-equipment-hire I'm a bit apprehensive about London, but we're staying in a quieter area near Hyde Park (if there is such a thing), so hoping we can escape from the madness if it all gets too much.

Can't wait til we go:) Very scared about how to pack relatively light...not my strong point despite having previously done a lot of travel for work!

Rocket, good reminders about castles. I was trying to think of the name of Blenheim yesterday!

Bella - thanks for the hire links, did you find any that will deliver to an airport or nearby? Am starting to think of starting in London so we could get stuff delivered there I guess (rather than Heathrow). What sort of place are you staying in near Hyde Park? I am about to begin the search for London apartment type accommodation.

Re the packing light - yes I know, its a constant. struggle. Are you travelling with kids? The list of places on your itinerary looks lovely. It has been years since I went to Köln but I will never forget the sight of that cathedral from the river. I love Venice too.

Sue

Buckingham Palace is open to visitors in September. I've been three times, once by myself, once with my family and once for a garden party. It's amazing to see.

If you are wanting to see a show cheaply there is the half price ticket booth in Leicester Square which releases cheap tickets for that night's shows.

Loved the view from the Millenium Wheel. Seeing the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London was amazing as well.

My favourite city is Edinburgh in Scotland. Have been there many times.

Oxford Street for shopping.

Enjoy your trip.

Cheers,
Michelle

We went a couple of years ago with our 10 year old.
We spent a few days in Paris and a few days in London then over 4 weeks we did a road trip in this order:

Hastings
Brighton
Southampton
Bath
Cardiff (Wales)
Stratford upon Avon
Aberystwyth (Wales)
Caernarfon (Wales)
Conwy (Wales)
Manchester
York
Whitby
Newcastle upon Tyne
Edinburgh
Stirling
Inverness
Loch Ness
Portree (Isle of Skye)
Glencoe
Glasgow

whew!

We averaged about 200kms driving per day, our UK rellies thought we were mad but that kind of driving was nothing to us and since we were so eager to see things we were up and on the road very early, usually arriving at our next destination in time for the first thing we were seeing to open. It was full on for 5 weeks, we came home exhausted but very, very happy.

There is nothing we saw that I think was a waste of time but a few things I think are worth recommending.

British Museum - London
Tower of London
Stonehenge
Roman Baths @ Bath
Chatsworth House
ALL of York
Whitby Abbey
Chesters Roman Fort and Hadrians Wall
Royal Mile - Edinburgh
Falkirk wheel (Google it, amazing piece of engineering)

Best Castles:
Bodiam
Caernarfon
Conwy
Edinburgh

Leeds Castle is pretty nice too...has a maze with a grotto, good for kids!

Lots of great suggestions - will have to start making my list! Bellalee - your itinerary definitely sounds exhausting, but fantastic. We usually go pretty full on with our holidays too, hoping DS will be happy with this too! He sleeps really well in his pram, and loves people watching, so fingers crossed he's a happy traveller!

Sueb31 - Yep, travelling with our 6 mth old. We've been away quite a few times with him already (just in Oz), but have taken so much stuff wherever we've gone, that I'm going to have to reduce this down a lot!

I did find a couple that delivered to London - they were twice as expensive as the others I found! We'll just us e the one in Oxford. Other option my brother recommended is to buy a car seat from a place called ARGOS - seemed to have good prices on there.

We're staying in a small apartment at a place called "Space Apart" - I found a few different apartment hotels around Hyde Park, but this was the only one that had availability. Everything is so expensive though!

When we were in London in 2009 (with kids of 5, 2 and 8 months) we stayed in some self-contained apartments in Earls Court. We were really thrilled with the location, there was a Marks and Spencer Simply Foods store on the very short walk to/from the tube station.

We took day trips to Legoland and Warwick Castle, the children thoroughly enjoyed both.

Last year we spend just over a week in Ireland, which was also fabulous. We hired a car and took day trips around the east coast.

Another amazing castle to visit is Urquart on Loch Ness. Just amazing. Edinburgh castle is stunning and they have lots of interesting stuff there too.

If any one is in Edniburgh for a bit longer I can also suggest visiting the Royal Yacht Britania. Such fun!

Ohhh me too!

We'll be in the UK in September.

I started a thread a couple of weeks ago about London, Paris, Rome.. well worth a look if you're travelling with kids, there were heaps of helpful replies with things to do.

We have a few days in London to see the sights, then catching the sleeper train to Inverness and up to a country house in the Scottish Highlands. We'll go looking for the Loch Ness Monster and let the kids learn about the "clan" they come from. Then back to England for a few days in Essex to meet my side of the family, before we head to the continent.

For London we've booked a self-contained apartment in Camden Town, I splashed out a bit (180 quid a night, from memory) because we'll be recovering from jetlag and I really wanted a comfortable, 2 bedroom place so we can sleep it off if we need to. For much of the rest of the other city visits we'll be crammed into family rooms together.

I found www.booking.com really helpful and used it a lot in planning this trip. Unlike a few of the other online sites like Wotif, you can make a confirmed booking without paying any money up front.

Legoland Windsor Special offer - Certain dates (mid-week only) - see voucher - 15 pounds for 1 adult and 1 child age 3-5 years

http://www.legoland.co.uk/Plan/parentandtoddler/

Hope that link works.
Sue

We are staying 1 night at a Heathrow hotel and then hiring a car. We are driving up to Edinburgh stopping 1 night at york on the way. We are staying 3 nights in Edinburgh then going up to Inverness and then back down to Glasgow. We then drive through the Lakes district followed by Snowdonia National Park in Wales. We then head to Bath and Stonehedge and back to London. 5 nights in London and then we are catching the Eurostar to Paris where we have hired an apartment for 7 nights. We then head back to London for 5 more nights and home.

We are doing the UK in December 2012 for 4-6 weeks.. I have just started researching. We will have 3 kids. What does everyone advise about the plane trip. Does everyone fly economy?

I am thinking of hiring a car and doing a week stays here and there and doing day trips from that point of the places we want to see.

Oh wow. That sounds AMAZING! I am particularly jealous about you heading to the Lake District, I have been there briefly and would die to go back. It's beautiful. You are going to have an excellent time, and Paris too! SO fab.

My DH, his family and friends are all from the UK so we're there every 1-2 years and going again this Dec/Jan for Christmas. We're hoping for lots of snow as the kids haven't been there for winter yet (I have and hated it). We will be in the Lake District for Christmas and it's going to be a bit of a shock I think.

My MIL and FIL own 3 properties; their main house in Hampshire, a holiday cottage in the Lake District and another 3 bedroom house in Swanage (south coast beaches) so we stay for free which helps enormously.

Places to visit - where do I start? I second Urquhart and Edinburgh Castles. For a reasonably intact castle with great displays try Harlech Castle in Northwest Wales.

Speaking of Wales - ABSOLUTELY BEAUTUFUL! Easily forgotten when planning a holiday to the UK but a must IMO. We've only been in the Snowdonia Region but it has now inspired me to travel around a bit more now that we've pretty much explored Scotland and England.

Go to West End and watch a show - any show. Buy a ticket on the day from the numerous outlets on Leicester Square as PP suggested. You might end up in the nosebleed section but last minute tickets are cheap and plentiful and you won't be glared at if you walk in wearing jeans and a shirt .

I highly suggest doing the drive from Inverness, to Loch Ness, the Cairngorns, Fort William, Glencoe/Ben Nevis then to Glasgow and Edinburgh. DH and I winged it and just booked accomodation as we went. I was 13 weeks pregnant with bad morning sickness with DD1 (crazy!). We eventually drove to the Lake District where we met the rest of DH's family. It was the best drive .

Travel to anywhere in Europe is easy and relatively cheap from the UK. We've been to Barcelona, Prague, Paris, Amsterdam, and Brussels which are just a hop from Gatwick or Heathrow. We're planning on a side trip to either Austria/Switzerland (for skiing) or to Morocco in January as our side trip. Again we will just wing it and see what's available last minute for us when we get there.

Everyone's plans sound so great. Wish we were spending more time in the UK, but 5 weeks doesn't stretch out long enough! Especially as we're trying to spend a minimum of 4 nights each stop to try and do things at a slower pace now we've got DS. Will have to make do with day trips while we're staying in Oxford with family, and our time in London. PLus, I can't give up any time in France or Italy:)

Only 6 sleeps til we leave! Need to go back and find the threads on packing I found a while back...a light packer I am not!

We are going to the UK in September with a toddler who is turning 2 while we are over there. The main purpose of the trip is to visit family in London and Wiltshire, but we would also like to do some travelling while we are there, both within the UK and other countries.

We are just in the process of booking flights and have yet to start researching the trip, but I have already got some great ideas from this thread. Legoland and Buckingham Palace both sound good.

We plan on stopping in Singapore for a few hours on the way there just to relax and refresh, and then to stop over in Singapore for a couple of days on the way back.

We went to the UK and Europe in 2005 for about 2 months, some of the places we visited were London, Salisbury, Bath, Cornwall, the Lakes District, and all over Scotland. We love the English countryside and like going for long walks and hopefully will be able to do some more of this.

We haven't travelled very much with DS but have done enough to realise that it is very different with a little one in tow and you are much more restricted in what you can and can't do. We are used to staying 1-2 days in each place before moving on but have found this is too tiring with a toddler.

YAY! Our flights are all booked I am so excited.

I have also emailed a B&B in Avebury (near Stonehenge/Bath region) to see if they have availability for 2 nights. It looks like the cutest place on earth!

I will be watching this thread with a lot of interest and will have to go back and have a good read over everyone's plans.

I am part of the USA thread as I am heading there April 2012 but I am also already in the first stages of planning our UK/Europe trip for after that, so any tips or places of interest on here will be very helpful. At the moment DH and I have agreed that it's obviously easiest to start in London and we are keen to do Scotland and Ireland too (my Aunty recently returned and said it was wonderful) but we haven't even begun to narrow the details down.

We know that after the UK leg, we are then taking the Eurostar to Paris for a week or so there, then onto Milan, Venice, Florence, Pisa, Rome and from Rome we are taking a cruise of the Med visiting Genoa, Marseille, Barcelona, La Valletta (Malta) and Taormina (Sicily) before heading back to Rome and then back to London before returning home. This whole part of the trip is basically organised but like I said, it's more the UK part that I am still searching for ideas on.

Looking forward to stalking this thread ... just like the USA one!

We are heading over end November and will be travelling through UK an dEurope until mid Jan.

We are in London for 5 nights before heading to Lapland to visit Santa and then through Denmark, Germany, Vienna and Paris before spending Christmas with rellies in Northern Ireland. We are heading to Rome for New Years and then have about 5 days spare before heading home.

I have found this trip it heaps cheaper to fly than catch the train to most places.

We just returned from our trip to the UK and Paris and we had an awesome time. We spent 10 days in London and it was very warm there, at least mid twenties. Paris was the same. Scotland was the highlight of the trip for me, just beautiful.

Mrsfoz- yes taking the plane is usually cheaper but you have to spend a lot more time at the airport with more security checks and so forth as compared to the train.

We are going end of Nov until mid Jan 2012. Stay with ILs in Manchester so flying into Manchester. There to spend time with family so won't be doing much site seeing.

Now to wait for cheaper flights to come out. Last quote we were looking at $14,000!

I'll be watching this thread with interest too! We were thinking of road tripping the south island of Nz next year (done that already) but with the quakes no go..

Think I may start saving and planning for 2013 UK, my hubby and kids have never been, and I think 2012 summer wouldn't be good as the Olympics will be on..

I haven't been since 1994!

Hiya Ladies,

I'm actually heading there on Tuesday with DH and 2 girls 6 and 3. Hubby is Scottish so we will be staying with his family over there, mainly based in Glasgow. We have hired a car and we are going to head up towards Fort William and stay for 3 days.

I have been prior kids and def recommend Edinburgh castle, we also headed to Blackpool when they had the lights on (ususally in October i think) and that was fantastic, Kids would love it.

Also have been to the Lakes district in Wales and that is lovely too.

Edinburgh Castle really is amazing. So so interesting, and the Royal Mile is fun to walk down too

I have booked a whole heap of stuff in the past couple of days. Booked our car, accommodation at these places www.brooksguesthouse.com/index.asp, www.graftonguesthouse.com and www.belvederehouse.ie, and our ferry trip to Dublin! Getting organised now!

Wow Girlygirls!! You have a great time, sounds fantastic!!!

We're going this week too...and I am going insane getting ready! So looking forward to sitting on that plane.

Midway through packing - and loving packing cells now there are 5 of us.

As the kids are so little, we are having a slow holiday, one week in each place, no big long drives...really looking forward to it!

Just wanted to warn people booking in cities to be extra wary of scammers, there has been a bit of it lately and will be more with the Olympics. Make sure you research each place, its mainly with the sort of owner-advertiser websites, where people are taking deposits for places they don't own, people turn up and there's nothing. First read about it on Trip Advisor but there's a UK scam watch website too. I got one suspicious offer when I was looking into London accommodation - so I'd recommend going through a reputable agency for London (this was for self-catering type places).

Am also looking forward to seeing some of the National trust gardens, I am hoping the roses will be out!

Sue

Enjoy your trip! I hope you have a wonderful time!

Would you believe I have a big fear of flying? I am terrified flying to QLD, I don't know how I made it overseas that many times, even my kids think I'm mad! I find myself googling safest airlines before booking anything, I get really anxious...

Anyway, enjoy your trip!!! (v jealous )

My favorite place in london to take children is the scienceworks Museum Basement playground!!!!
Hours of entertainment for all ages (2 areas wet and dry play for the younger ones aprons provided) and big room for older children to explore!!!
I used to take my charges there at least once if not twice a week!!!
The Natural history Museum next door is my favorite building in London and has a great Dino display and lots of things to touch and explore!!!!

We spent May in England, it was fantastic.

We visited Legoland, while I'm not a fan of theme parks this one was very good. Everything was free (once you paid your entry), the staff were all so friendly & there were toilets everywhere (essential for me...lol).

I found with hotels that you definitely got better service from the smaller/boutique ones. We stayed at a large hotel in Old Windsor and it just wasn't as nice as the smaller ones we had stayed at previously.

Things we did (other than visit family)...

Went to Stonehenge. Okay, but you walk around it & leave. I don't know, it just didn't strike me as worth the entrance fee.

London: Great for shopping. We only had one day there. Hung around Kensington.

Bath: Beautiful, but again only one afternoon. Would like to spend more time there. It was cold & wet when we visited & we spent most of our time trying to stay dry.

Harrogate is another option. This is where I'm from & it's another spa town. If you're up that way also check out Knaresborough, it's very pretty.

York: Great for history & shopping

If you're in Yorkshire also check out Brimham Rocks. Out of everything we did on our holiday, DD said Brimham Rocks was the "best day ever".

We went to Windsor Castle but it was marred a bit by some old biddy who worked there talking to me like I was a two year old because of my son. He had mucked up but didn't warrant the bloody telling off I got. It really soured things for me. Maybe I'm just being a wuss.

We went to Kew Gardens in 2008, lovely place. Highly recommend it.

Now this is important. If you see a Pizza Express restaurant, go in & order their dough balls. I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

Starting to freak a little now, we fly out tomorrow. I am sooo stressed out. We are sort of all packed just a few last things to go in, the kids are all organised for entertainment on the plane though so thats one thing. Now its all the ticking off tomorrow, passports, tickets etc.
This time tomorrow we will be chicking in at the airport, Excited, nervous everything AAAHHHHHHH

This is too late for you to read, but I hope you have a great trip! Looking forward to hearing about it when you return.

It is lovely. It is an historic site like Stonehenge and although not as famous it is just as interesting. The stone circles surround the actual village.

We have also booked our flights. Now to plan a rough itinerary. We spend a lot of time staying with family in Wiltshire and will be doing day trips in the region. As our LO is only 2 years old and we want to take things slow. We will also spend a few days in London and probably do a side trip - thinking Ireland or Portugal!

We will probably need to hire a car, I think someone said it was expensive, does anyone have any tips about this? I know from past experience that train travel in the UK is expensive.

Another castle to add to your list for kids is Longleat castle. It has a SAFARI park in the grounds which you drive though (and in certain areas you can get out of the car to get nearer to the animals), plus it has the most amazing hedge maze.

Hehe, I have totally been to that Safari park! So totally random but anyway, still fun!

I am so sad because the B&B we wanted to stay at in Avebury (the one inside the stone circle) was booked out but I have now completely booked everything so all I have to do now is save my pennies! This is out itinerary:

London
Bath
Nottingham
Dublin
Carlingford
Dublin
Chester
London

It is a lot for 2 weeks, but I want to see as much as possible in the time we have.

Just been checking flights. We are going with Etihad, Emirates or Singapore (singapore looking highly unlikely ).

Etihad has flights for us (3 Adults & 3 kids) for $10,500! Is that good or should we wait another month.
When I looked a few weeks ago it was about $14,000!

Sounds pretty good to me! We are going Virgin and it is costing $4,500 for 2 adults!

Fuzjuz- that sounds good to me. We went in May/June and it was $11 400 for 3 adults 4 children with Cathay Pacific, we shopped around and didn't book until we found a good deal. Christmas school holidays is peak time for airfares.

Thanks Pixie & Fabulous. It's with Etihad so hope they're ok. Will book tonight. Excited!

I found Virgin best for prices. I also factor in travel time (they're 24 hours). We flew Emirates last time, no complaints about the service but it was about 30 hours from Sydney to London.

We paid $7700 for our tickets (two adults, two children) but flew in May which is slightly cheaper than the summer months.

All booked.
Flying with Etihad, cost just over $10,200 woot woot.

Now to get travel insurance & book flights from here to Sydney.

Very excited now.

Well done Fuzjuz. Pretty good deal for that time of the year. It does feel pretty amazing when you book your flights, makes it all so real and exciting.

Thanks & yep, excited now. We're waiting for MIL to ring so we can tell her but heading to bed now. She'll find out on FB instead.