There are many places in the British Isles that are good for kids. Natalie Paris chooses the top 10 On for a weekend trip, there are many places in the UK that are fun for both adults and children. Read about our favourite places for families to go on vacation and choose your own adventure, whether you want to visit a historic city, a unique stretch of coast, or a peaceful part of the countryside.
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- Dorset’s Jurassic Coast
On the Jurassic Coast, you can have traditional beach fun and learn about monsters. Lyme Regis is a great place to stay and is surrounded by two beaches, one with sand and one with grey pebbles, and a fascinating section of ammonite pavement.
The Dinosaurland Fossil Museum in the pretty town has more than 12,000 items on display, such as a collection of Ichthyosaurs. The South West coastal path has windy clifftop walks. The section from Branscombe to Beer is beautiful; try fishing for mackerel from the shore at Beer. The Undercliffs National Nature Reserve is also worth seeing because the plants are so thick and lush that kids will feel like they are on another planet.
Alexandra Hotel
The elegant Alexandra Hotel has views of the sea, a big lawn, a variety of rooms, and two apartments that are great for families. The Llechwedd Slate Caverns are deep below Snowdonia National Park. They are a strange place with fluorescent trampoline nets and zip lines where kids can jump, climb, and fly through the dark chambers of a mine that is no longer used. Above ground, there are 4×4 quarry drives, or families can drive 20 minutes to Zip World Forest and fly through the forest canopy or ride an alpine coaster powered by gravity.
Lake Windermere, Cumbria
The natural beauty of the Lakes is appealing to people of all ages, while Windermere is perfect for families with younger children. Bowness is a tourist town with all the things that small children might need, as well as access to the still, blue lake, where you can take a slow walk along the gravelly shores.
Brockhole is a country house that looks out over a lake. You can rent boats and kayaks there, as well as treetop swings, archery, and an adventure playground. In the World of Beatrix Potter Attraction, the fluffy characters that come to life in Mr. McGregor’s garden are also very popular. In the evening, try Zeffirellis in Ambleside, a cute independent cinema and pizzeria that has been open for almost 40 years.
Stay at Linthwaite House Hotel (leeucollection.com), which is up on a hill above the lake and has family suites that are all on their own, bikes you can borrow, and a tarn with a rowing boat on it.
London
There are plenty of activities to do in London. You can walk past Parliament and the guards at Buckingham Palace or look at the exhibits at the Natural History Museum, the British Museum, and the Science Museum. You can also take them to Kew Gardens or any of London’s parks, like Hyde Park with its boating on the Serpentine or Crystal Palace with its stylized dinosaur statues, to get them moving. Or even visit the London Dungeon or Madame Tussauds.
Cornwall
If your kids like to ride waves and bodyboards, you should go to the north coast of Cornwall. Other than that, the area around Fowey and along the Roseland Peninsula has a lot for families to enjoy.
The most well-known is the Eden Project, which has sculptures, outdoor gardens, and a canopy walkway, as well as the world’s largest rainforest that is kept in a zoo. Just to the west of here, the Lost Gardens of Heligan had become overgrown since World War I until they found again and brought back to their former beautiful state. In other places, you can have a lot of fun jumping down waves in hidden coves or imagining what it would be like to be a smuggler in villages like Polperro that seem to just fall into the harbour.
York
Older kids and teens will love learning about this city’s rich history. To get an idea of how big it is, you can walk a section of the 13th-century city walls, which still stand for almost two miles.
The Jorvik Viking Centre remembers the Jorvik Vikings by giving you a multi-sensory ride in “time capsules” through streets from the 10th century, as well as live explanations and galleries. At Jorvik DIG, kids can get their hands dirty in four excavation pits that look like real archaeological digs in York and are filled with artifacts.
Finally, if you or your kids love railways, stop by the National Railway Museum or the York Dungeon to witness live re-enactments of some of York’s more horrible historical incidents.
Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor has two main things to do: its castle and Legoland. The Queen’s weekend home is a castle built in the 1100s. It’s easy to find—just walk out of the train station, and there it is. The best way to see how grand it is, though, is from the three-mile-long tree-lined avenue that runs through the huge Windsor Great Park. The next day can spend at Legoland, a theme park that is sure to get kids thinking of new ideas. As well as tiny brick-built copies of famous places, you can also find roller coasters and boat rides from fairy tales. Awesome, as a man with a cylinder for a head might say.
Giant’s Causeway, Antrim County
The hexagonal basalt columns that make up the stepping stones here are a natural World Heritage Site and may be Northern Ireland’s most famous landscape. They are a lot of fun to hop over and take pictures of. The National Trust owns them and gives guided audio tours to people who want to see them. Children can learn about the story of giant Finn McCool, how rocks formed in the past, and how the coast changes over time. There are fairy-tale rock formations to see, and the wider coastline along the Causeway Coastal Route has other things to do, like sea safaris, the medieval Dunluce Castle, and the terrifying Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge that wobbles nearly 30m above the raging Atlantic.
The Dales is a place with soft fells and pikes that will appeal to families who like to get outside and take easy walks. In the south, the romantic ruins of Bolton Abbey and Fountains Abbey are near rivers and have many paths that are good for a stroll. There are also waterfalls to see, including one at Malham Cove, a large limestone crescent, and others along the four-mile Ingleton Waterfalls Trail, which goes past the spectacular Thornton Force. White Scar Cave, England’s longest show cave, is nearby. It has underground waterfalls and an ice-age cavern with stalactites. You can also mountain bike with your family in many places.
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Edinburgh is impressive because of its interesting castle, which towers over the city, and the cannons that are fired every day. Children can explore the dungeons, see the crown jewels, and hear exciting stories about the fortress’s past. There is a lot to see, so give yourself plenty of time.
Teens might enjoy a funny ghost tour on the Royal Mile or The Real Mary King’s Close, a tour that tells scary stories in underground passages. Holograms, illusions, and light shows at the Camera Obscura play tricks on the mind while also teaching kids about the city. If you still have some energy left, you can climb Arthur’s Seat or walk around the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh.