Places I should take my kids before they leave home

[HearTimesWingedChariot]

I grew up in a benignly neglectful family where entertainment was a trip to Asda. I now have lovely kids of my own and want to give them as many experiences as possible.

Where in the UK should every teenager have been before they are 18?

Places I want to take my kids is do a proper visit to London, because I've never really had a proper London trip, I've had two days in London one as part of a Legoland trip and one with a friend to see a show.

Theme park,
Local museums and art galleries are a given.
Theater show - proper show not just a panto.
One or two munros.

The theatre

London (including a big department store as these don't seem to exist outside of London these days)

The beach

A theme park

Camping or glamping if you're me

A stately home

A cathedral

A walk in the woods/up a hill/down a dale.

As many museums as possible

Rowing on a lake

On a long bike ride

A decent zoo

A steam train

Strawberry picking

A restaurant with tablecloths where you pay the bill at the end. (My DC were so used to Nando's/McD's that when I took them to an Indian restaurant DS2 asked if the food was free because we didn't pay when we ordered!)

To a proper hotel (I didn't realise I hadn't taken my DC to a hotel after they were babies, until they we're teens. It only occurred to me when we went on a city break and they were amazed our beds had been made, and they thought the receptionist had kindly done it )

Cadbury's World is crap these days

@Snowdropanddiddums how on earth did you manage a whole weekend at Stonehenge! I don't hate it by any means, but when it comes down to it it is a load of big stones with a lot of people looking at them and once you have walked around there really isn't much else to see! Yes - it is nice to try and drink in the atmosphere, but it's difficult when you are surrounded by lots of other tourists. I drive past Stonehenge several times a year and there are two main things about it that stick in my mind. There is ALWAYS a traffic jam on that part of the A303, and there are some really excellent apple trees in the hedges that you can't pick from because you are always stuck in a traffic jam! I find the barrows much more interesting, particularly the ones that have the cottage built right next to them, but I would much rather spend time in Salisbury looking round, and going to the Cathedral, than going to Stonehenge itself.

London, Bath (especially the Roman baths - I was fascinated by them even as a young child), a good beach, one of the national parks - eg Lake District, New Forest, etc. apart from that a range of experiences
Would be good as PPs have suggested - theme parks, museums, zoos etc

@LynetteScavo your list is 💯👌🏼

Expose them to some of the things that are involved in the running of their country. Many of them are free.

Take them to Parliament. You can email your MP who will get you in, for a tour and to watch a session. But it's popular, so if you want to do it out of term time you may have a wait of many months. Do your DC know who their MP is, and what s/he can help with, regardless of their personal political allegiance?

Take them to Court. Over 14s are allowed in the Public Gallery. Your local Magistrates' Court would be a good start, but I really recommend a visit to the Old Bailey (there are two buildings, the old one is more atmospheric). Mobile phones are absolutely forbidden, so leave them behind or trust a local shop to hold them for a fee. When I've taken DCs, I found the officials really helpful at recommending which court had the interesting case.

If in London, wander round the Inns of Court. Fascinating and historic. Also the Temple Church - it's small but they offer tours for a few pounds.

Take them to a service or two in a cathedral. A High Mass and something more relaxed. Maybe a contrast between Roman Catholic and Protestant. Let them see what goes on and appreciate the high quality music. Also a service in a local church. A mosque, and a Hindu temple (eg the amazing one in Neasden, London). I don't know enough about them to know if anyone can turn up to a 'service' or if it would be more appropriate to arrange a visit. (See, a gap in my life education.)

Make sure they are familiar with the library and borrowing books. Also the concept of the reference library, generally in larger towns, where you can consult all sorts of tomes, maps and local history. Do they know their County Town and its significance? Which are towns and which are cities?

Familiarise them with art galleries and museums, local and the big London ones. Also theatre, ballet and age-appropriate opera. The ENO at London's Coliseum is free for under 21s, performs in English and has the words up on a screen above the stage so it's easy to follow. They don't just do 'heavy' opera; they've just had a wonderfully silly and funny Iolanthe (Gilbert and Sullivan - political satire brought up to date). They also have 'relaxed' performances with the house lights slightly lit, wandering in and out not frowned upon, and a room to go and sit in if escape is needed.

All these things, and there must be loads more, are things that people can feel 'aren't for them'. But they are. They are for all of us. Religious services can be used to mark events that might be relevant at some point. Just about anyone can get called up for Jury Service. We could be summoned to the Magistrate's Court, or threatened with it. It's good to know what these things are really like not just something scary and incomprehensible that other people understand. It's our children's country; they should feel at home in all aspects of it.

Is there anywhere they want to go?
I have nothing specific but we’re theme park junkies some weekend and beach days other so try and visit multiple places

Lots of wonderful suggestions here. How about a family-friendly concert or music festival?

I think going to lots of different areas is best if you can - Yorkshire, London, Highlands and Islands, Devon/Cornwall, North Wales etc. It's been very useful as an adult to have a general knowledge of where places in the UK are in relation to each other, the different landscapes, getting used to hearing different accents, understanding some of the differences between the regions and countries

My children were taken to all the obvious places ie theme parks,museums London,big football and rugby matches . As they became more independent they explored places with their friends ie Lake District,different cities. They were taken to the Alps skiing a few times but that is not everyone choices and bloody expensive!

This is such a wonderful wholesome thread. I am saving stacks of these ideas. My little one is only 18 months but I cannot wait to do all of this with him

Agree with Beamish and the Lake District but also www.theforbiddencorner.co.uk
Visited with friends when my son was in Secondary and they were quite a bit younger. Lots for all ages.

For all those of you saying Stonehenge is rubbish because you can't get close, they do early morning/evening tours when you can go inside the circle. It's a much better experience (although obviously more expensive) with limited numbers and we got the tail end of a nice sunrise. If you're only going to visit once it's definitely worth it.

I'm also enjoying the thread. I've realised my own list of high I posted earlier is heavily geared towards the north, with the exception of London, Cornwall and Dorset. Need places to go to in midlands, east and south east!

Thank you so much to everyone that has contributed.

My plan for next year is to squeeze as many experiences and visits in as possible and you have given me some brilliant ideas. I'm going to comb through the thread and make a spreadsheet of everywhere we should go.

We have tried to make our children's childhoods different from mine. We have National Trust membership, we've done city breaks and museums but I can't help but feel it isn't enough. The person who made the comment about instilling a sense of belonging is absolutely right, I don't always feel that I do so, although I try to offer them more, I often play safe so that I don't feel out of my depth.

We are definitely going to Stone Henge next year, I need to see this marmite place with my own eyes!

OP, when I dropped my eldest off at university we passed a brown sign for The world of James Herriot and I cried because we'd never taken him and his childhood was over. I didn't know the place even existed before I saw that sign .

What I'm trying to say is, you can't do everything in one childhood. DD still complains I never took her to see seals off the coast of Norfolk, and there's not a lot she hasn't experienced!

My parents didn't do pay for entry things as a standard thing, except for castles in Wales, which I do not regard as a good thing having seen far too many. I'm talking about the ones with walls and a few noticeboards too, not like Warwick Castle. We normally went on a wet and windy day too.

I'd say for basics:
A zoo
Something with history (stately home/castle/museum)
Something to do with WWII
The Lakes
London
Somewhere you can read a story in a book and explore using the book
A sporting event
A West End theatre
A wood/forest preferably at Bluebell time.
A nature reserve
A pick your own place or Farm Museum

If I'm getting more specific I'd go for:
Battle Abbey (where the battle of Hastings was fought)
Wisley Gardens
Matilda/Les Mis shows in the West End
Rye in Sussex (lots of stories written round there)
Beacon Fell (hill in NW) and gather bilberries
WWII I'd go to the Channel Islands and do the underground hospital (Jersey and Guernsey both have them)
Stoke Manville (home of the Paralympics) museum
Dover and look across towards France.

OP, when I dropped my eldest off at university we passed a brown sign for The world of James Herriot and I cried because we'd never taken him and his childhood was over. I didn't know the place even existed before I saw that sign .

What I'm trying to say is, you can't do everything in one childhood. DD still complains I never took her to see seals off the coast of Norfolk, and there's not a lot she hasn't experienced!

Fantastic suggestions here. I would add camping, the more basic the facilities better. Although not keen on roughing it, the opportunity to build a fire (find a site where its permitted), cook, play in the river & observe wildlife & stars at night was a real adventure for my kids. All the better of you can chuck in some map reading and meeting new people around your campfire.

I totally agree that it's more about experiences than specific places, although I do think every child should go to London and see the sights at least once....it really is a fabulous city.

On my list for DDs is:

Take them to as many museums/galleries as possible

Be regular library users

Visit a big castle

Have National Trust membership and take them on the house tours as well as just round the grounds

Make sure they've travelled by car, taxi, train, bus, boat and aeroplane

Go camping and slept in a tent

Stargaze and teach them some of the easily identified constellations

Eat in and get them to order off the menu in a nice restaurant

Read as many books as possible, including the "classics"

Swim in the sea

Roll down a big hill

Build and light a campfire

Visit the theatre

Get them outside as much as possible

Teach them to cook at least five different meals

Make sure they know how to do their own laundry/get them to change their own beds

Talk to them about life admin/budgeting/paying bills/the importance of paying into a pension

Take them to the polling station with you to see you voting in elections

Teach them critical thinking, fact checking, how to be discerning about where they get their news from

Royal Albert Hall (Proms, maybe Cirque de Soleil), Barbican (cinema or theatre and a wander around), South Bank Centre (tons to choose from), Hampton Court concerts, NYE fireworks in Central London, Tate Modern (art and scupltures), Crystal Palace, Houses of Parliament, arcade food hall just behind Covent Garden (but lots of nice little food places round there), Forbidden Planet, Battersea Power Station (shopping centre plus food).....
London's got loads to offer.

Take her now! I bet she’d love a trip with her mum still. 😃

Anywhere that shows life as it was before electronic technology. If you can include some examples of how early industry developed, so much the better. So a pass for all the Ironbridge Gorge museums would be perfect. The Blists Hill Victorian village is fabulous (I think Beamish, between Durham and Newcastle, is similar if that's closer to where you live).

I'd also agree with all the suggestions to get them exposed to as wide a variety of culture as possible: all kinds of music, dance, theatre, film, art, etc., so they can see/hear beyond marketing-driven, manufactured pop, television and Hollywood blockbusters.

I missed this one and it has given me a lump in my throat. I love it, thank you