travelling with 4 children on a train for 3 hours, madness?

[misdee]

i may hav to take my 4 kids on hols without a car later this month. i have looked at train times, and prices and fr all of us, its only £42 return, which is a lot cheaper than hiring a car, petrol etc etc.

its 2 changes though.

has anyone travelled with children for longer than normal journies.

any tips please?

yes, quite freqently, though only with 3. but mine are mad. Aged 5, 4 and 17 months last time.

its ok. Be prepared. talking books, real books, puzzles, etc. presents every so often. Don't feed them in advance and give them lots of fiddly food on the train. Scavenger hunt out of the window. Etc.

Just grit your teef and do it.

the smug sense of "I did it" afterwards makes it all worth it

Or do what chappie did on the train last week. Had 5 children, threatened to punch them all in the face if they didn't shut up.

Agree, books, fiddly food, puzzles, games, don't sit in the quiet carriage by mistake.

thanks.

its the 4year old i'm worried about.

but car journies with her are awful.

am thinking an onboard loo on a train would be a lo less hassle than every 5mins of 'i need a weeeeeeee'

4 yos can be a faff if they can't read or do puzzles or anythign.

seriously, talking books

and "spot the telegraph pole".

also arm yourself with chocolate coins or something else a bit exotic and offer a reward for each 10 telegraph poles spotted. or some other similar shite.

works for mine

it IS hell and tedious in the extreme but quite doable.

will there be another adult with you also?

if so, (tedious) piece of piss.

otherwise tricky as you have to be "on" for whole time.

me on my own. its depends on whether dh gets the ok from the gp and if his job allows him 4days hols 2 weeks into training. we forgot about this hol as its a bit of a last minute one. if dh gets the ok from the doc, then knowing him, he'll say he cant take time out 2 weeks in and tell me to go on my own. which i dont mind doing. as i think he could do with a bit of adjusting and being able to sleep uninterrupted, as its nightwork.

It's not so bad if you have to change trains. Worst is sitting a long time in the same carriage. The glares you get from yr fellow commuters get a bit chilling after a couple of hours...

Couple of years ago I ended up in DESPAIR with three of them on a delayed train from Shitstable armed with half a bag of haribos. Told them each time they managed to shut up till the next station they could have one

The most i have done with my 4 is an hour and 20mins. They did start to get bored but we played games.
I have a big fear of changing train and so far have only had to do one change but that was without luggage. I don't think i would want to do it with luggage TBH.
But i would worry we would miss the connecting train or wouldn't be able to find the right platform lol!

Sure i will have to do it one day as we have no car.