England with kids – Lonely Planet

You may have heard the old expression “children should be seen and not heard.”

Well, this dates back to 15th-century England, and unsurprisingly, some things have changed since then. Yes, of course there are still the occasional grumps who will turn up their noses at the sight of a child in a pub, or roll their eyes when a stroller laden with a babbling toddler is being pushed onto their train car, but for the most part, attitudes to kids in England are open and friendly.

Is England a good destination for kids?

One of the best things about traveling with children in England is that the bulk of the best museums have permanent collections that are completely free to visit and almost always have some kind of child-centric activity in progress, whether it’s a table for coloring with markers and paper or something more elaborate, like a treasure hunt. 

Many mid-range pubs and restaurants have a children’s menu. Staples include nuggets, pizzas, burgers – all served with chips, aka fries – and pasta. It’s unusual to find much in the way of gourmet or healthy kids’ dishes, but if you have a more discerning little foodie on your hands, it’s worth asking about half-portions from the adult menu.

A relatively new development in many recently opened or refurbished places is that baby changing areas are not just found in a cubicle in the ladies’ toilets any longer, which means that carers of all genders can take their turn dealing with the dirty diapers.

On the transport systems around England you’ll find plenty of family-unfriendly foibles, such as steps or bus gangways that aren’t quite wide enough to fit a stroller down, but there are wide accessible ticket barriers at each train station and a dedicated storage area for strollers on long-distance trains. Old cities also often have cobbled streets, which can make you wish you had a baby carrier to transport your infant instead of a fancy set of wheels.

Where are the best places to travel in England with kids?

If you should be blessed to have decent weather (which locals will remark upon frequently), then you’ll be delighted by the 10 national parks and many Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in England, all with vast…