Anonymous wrote:I did all of these with a 15 and 12 year old: Greenwich, Hampton Court, Bath, Salisbury/Stonehenge. But only Greenwich and Hampton Court as day trips.

We didn't have a car on our trip. We used trains to get everywhere (Except a private car service between two of the smaller cities due solely to a train strike.)

My boys liked Stonehenge the best. We stayed at The King's Head Wetherspoons pub/hotel in Salisbury and used the hop on/hop off bus from the train station to get to Stonehenge and Old Sarum. The Cathedral is in town and an easy walk from the town center. I thought it was very interesting. It had a neat art exhibit when we were there. We also pre-booked an extra cost stone-carving tour through the cathedral itself to see the restoration shop where they make new gargoyles. I liked the hotel but my husband found the 2nd room hot (we were there in peak summer, and we had to get 2 rooms.) The onsite pub is a good place to have a meal with kids.

https://hotels.jdwetherspoon.com/hotels/the-kings-head-inn/

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/salisbury-lodging-e7beac78-accd-4d24-abae-9d5c453a60d7

https://www.salisburycathedral.org.uk/visit-us/works-yard-tours/

I liked Bath. My kids were kind of museumed-out but I thought it was interesting to do the night tour of the Roman Baths with the torches flaring around the pool. There is a theater there similar to Ford's Theater in Washington and if I had known I would have bought show tickets. I also liked having a light lunch at Sally Lunn's restaurant. It's definitely a tourist place but I liked my food and the atmosphere was pleasant. Perhaps similar to Colonial Williamsburg.

There are definitely bus tours from London that will whisk you to Bath/Salisbury and one other place (usually a look at a Cotswolds village) during a day. If your family usually only spends 1-2 hours at a site, this might work well for you. I preferred having 1-2 days at each.

Regarding London, I always recommend the "London Walks" company. They do some out of town tours. I find good walking tours are useful for getting kids engaged.

https://www.walks.com/

With regard to Greenwich and Hampton Court, I would say to get an early start. It takes longer to get to them than we thought (from lodgings near Hampstead Heath). We were pressed for time at both places and I did not get to see everything I wanted. Mainly museum stuff that kids don't care about.

We did not take advantage but there are boats that go from more central London to these places. In good weather that might be fun.

You might also consider a tour of the Globe Theater and/or a performance. There is a children's theater tied to the Globe (different performance space) if your kids aren't ready to be groundlings at a Shakespeare play.

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Thanks everyone, these are great! I was actually interested in Bath as an Austen fan but really glad to know kids have enjoyed it.