Family Travel8 days, 7 nightsUnited Kingdom

United Kingdom in 8 Days: Family Route

London museums that are free, a Cotswolds village base with space to run, and a train up to Edinburgh.

Destination

United Kingdom

Travel style

Family

Duration

8 days, 7 nights

Approximate budget

Approx. 1,650 to 2,350 EUR per person, excluding flights

Best time to travel

Late May to August, or December for markets

Route overview

The UK is unusually good for families because so many of the best museums are free, which takes the pressure off a rainy afternoon. London's Natural History Museum, Science Museum and British Museum all cost nothing to enter.

The route balances a dense city, a quiet countryside stretch and a second city with a castle on a rock, which tends to work with children better than a third set of galleries.

One activity a day is the rule. Everything else is parks, playgrounds, trains and food. Trains are their own entertainment here, and the four and a half hour run to Edinburgh passes along the coast.

Day by day

Day 1
Arrive in London
Stay in South Kensington or Bloomsbury, both within walking distance of free museums. Nothing planned beyond a park and an early dinner.
Day 2
Natural History and Science Museums
Both free, both enormous. Pick two halls each and stop before anyone melts down. Hyde Park and the Diana Memorial Fountain afterwards.
Day 3
River, Tower and a boat
Tower of London in the morning with tickets booked ahead, then the Thames Clipper downstream to Greenwich for the park and the observatory hill.
Day 4
Train to the Cotswolds
Ninety minutes to Moreton-in-Marsh. Pick up a hire car or use a taxi to a village cottage. Afternoon in the garden or the local playing field.
Day 5
Villages, a farm park and a walk
Bourton-on-the-Water has a shallow river children can paddle in. A nearby farm park or the Cotswold Wildlife Park fills the rest of the day.
Day 6
Train to Edinburgh
A long rail day, roughly six hours with a change, but comfortable. Book a table of four with seat reservations. Apartment in the New Town.
Day 7
Castle and Arthur's Seat
Edinburgh Castle first thing, then the climb up Arthur's Seat, which takes about an hour and feels like a mountain to a seven year old. Ice cream at the bottom.
Day 8
Departure
Tram from the New Town to Edinburgh airport in half an hour.

Accommodation approach

Apart-hotels or apartments with a kitchen and a washing machine in both cities, and a village cottage in the Cotswolds. Family rooms in standard UK hotels are often tight, apartments are usually better value for four.

Getting around

National rail with advance tickets, which are dramatically cheaper than buying on the day. A hire car for the Cotswolds only, since rural bus services are thin. Buses, tube and trams in the cities.

What to eat

Pub lunches, where children are welcome until early evening in most places
Borough Market or a covered market for a graze lunch
Fish and chips once, eaten outside
Self-catered breakfasts, which saves both money and morning arguments

Planning tips

Book advance rail tickets as soon as dates are fixed. The same journey can cost three times more on the day.
Free museums still need timed entry in school holidays, reserve online.
Pack a light waterproof for everyone in every month.
Children under 11 travel free on London buses and tube with an adult, which adds up over four days.