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Part 3 Come On Kids—Field Trip!
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| Visitbritain photo |
Off to Windsor
The whole family will enjoy a visit to Windsor Castle. Some of the rooms have extensive displays of armor, which many kids
find interesting, but of course it can get a little boring going through all those ornate, staid, royal apartments. So a Windsor
highlight for most children is the display of Queen Mary’s doll house. This is one of the largest, most elaborate doll
houses imaginable, literally fit for a queen. And if they have not had their fill of guards changing already, Windsor Castle
boasts a fairly impressive ceremony. Guard changing is every other day at 11:00 a.m., except Sundays, and the schedule alternates
monthly between odd or even-numbered days.
Click here to visit the Queen's Windsor webpage.
While in Windsor, take time to walk down to the pedestrian bridge across the Thames to the tiny town of Eton. Eton
offers some antique shops, a few pubs, and a glimpse of the famous boys’ school whose students have included royal princes.
Touring the school—Eton College—is a bit like visiting Harry Potter’s Hogwarts Academy. No magic classes
and Quiddich matches here, but the buildings and atmosphere of this ancient school seem vaguely familiar to Harry Potter fans.
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| VisitBritain photo |
In search of the Stones
Nearly everyone has heard of Stonehenge, but it comes as a surprise to many tourists that Britain is dotted with many other
stone circles. Some are large and well-known, but there are a greater number of obscure stone circles lying literally in the
middle of cow pastures. While the major sites have been excavated, x-rayed, and studied by scholars, the smaller stone circles
are explained only by local legends.
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| Gary White/Rollright Trust |
The Rollright Stones are located in pastureland near the tiny Oxfordshire village of Long Compton not far from the town of
Chipping Norton. In the Oxfordshire fields, we learned several of the legends associated with the Rollright Stones. The best
known story is documented back to at least the 1500s, so this is not something the locals recently made up at the village
pub. (More likely they made it up at the pub 500 years ago.)
It seems a king and his men were traveling through the
area on their way to conquer all of England. They were intercepted by a local witch who made the king what seemed to be a
great offer:
“Seven long strides shalt thou take
And if Long Compton thou canst see,
King of England thou shalt be.”
Did he become King of England? Hint: do witches keep their promises?
“Buy our book soon online,
and the answer thou shalt find!.”
Baby, you can drive my car
“Drive a car, on the wrong side of the road? You’ve got to be kidding!” is a common reaction from American
tourists.Generally, driving on the left is less of a challenge than first imagined. It helps that the driver’s seat
is on the right, along with the appropriate controls. No the gas and brake pedals are not reversed, but the gearshift is on
the left and that means shifting with your left hand, something which may just overtax your coping skills. Our strong recommendation
is to rent a car with automatic transmission, despite the extra cost.
Once on the road, repeat this mantra: keep left, keep LEFT, KEEP LEFT! Actually, this is not overly difficult because everybody
else is keeping left too—just follow them. Maybe the most difficult maneuver is turning right at an intersection and
remembering to head for the left lane as you get on the next road (keep left, keep LEFT…).
Train Wizardry
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| VisitBritain photo |
Arriving at Kings Cross rail station, Britain’s most famous modern day wizard was as confused as any London tourist.
To catch the Hogwarts Express train, Harry Potter searched the station for the elusive, invisible platform nine and three-quarters.
While most “Muggle” travelers won’t face this problem, Harry’s experience proves that it pays to know
what you are doing before walking into a London rail station.
With London as your base, trains let you add day trips to your visit. This gives your family a chance to broaden its horizons
beyond London proper, even without renting a car and trying your hand at driving on the left. Some of the great places within
an hour or two by train from London include close-in Windsor and Hampton Court, or more distance places like Bath, Oxford
and York.
Click here for rail schedules and information.
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