What are your best tips and ideas for great days out by train with the family? Share to win a £250 John Lewis voucher, courtesy of Great Northern and Thameslink.

[RebeccaEMumsnet]

We have been asked by the team at Thameslink and Great Northern to find out your top tips for great days out with the children on the train, your tips on travelling by train with children and how to keep the kids entertained on the rail journeys.

Here’s what they have to say:
"Family days out create lasting memories but can sometimes be costly! To help combat this, did you know that you can get 2FOR1 tickets on certain attractions around London, Brighton and Cambridge when you travel there by rail with Thameslink and Great Northern?

Thameslink operates train services to and from the heart of London, between Bedford and Brighton via Luton and Gatwick Airport, and St Albans and Wimbledon.

Great Northern connects King’s Lynn, Cambridge and Peterborough, via Stevenage and Welwyn Garden City with London King’s Cross. Metro services run to and from Moorgate weekdays, late evening and at weekends.

^Kids travel for just £2 when accompanied by an adult on our great value Off-Peak tickets, plus get 2FOR1 offers to heaps of attractions when you travel by train: thameslinkrailway.com/spring^

We'd love to hear how you manage to have your own great day out using the train with your family."

Please share on this thread your top train tips for all thing family - whatever it is that you do, Thameslink and Great Northern want to know*.

Everyone who posts on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £250 John Lewis voucher.

You can find out more about the Great Northern and Thameslink 2FOR1 promotion here

Thanks,

MNHQ

*Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

Think about which station to go to. I live between 3 mainline stations and some are much quicker for some destinations than others. Also consider the drive back/parking at the station

Get the kids involved in finding the information about the train and locating the platform etc. They will be more confident using trains as,they grow up.

We live in Bury StEdmunds and have 3dc one disabled and in a wheelchair !!! We drive to Redbridge, park and travel on the underground ... The kids love it but DS is getting too heavy to lift the wheelchair up the stairs !!!

Definitely get a Family Railcard, our first trip paid for it, then all other trips had a massive discount. and use it once you have it, it can often work out cheaper to go by train by the time you count in diesel, parking etc.

Book seats in advance, around a table if possible, and take plenty of snacks and entertainment. My DC usually take a book and top trumps, and sticker books. We try and look out of the window as much as possible though, to see what we are passing.

Anything involving the train is a total win, including just a visit to the station. I spy is tricky with things flying past but totally agree bringing puzzles/ games and colouring. Anything that would hire them at home suddenly is great on a train when they don't have other choices!

Planning ahead is a must - check out the train company websites to see if there are faster trains on the same route or trains without changes. Getting kids on and off trains and switching platforms can be a pain so it's so much easier to go direct.

We usually take things like colouring books, card games like Uno and lots of snacks!

My mum made the children a little "finding sheet" for our train journeys - not just the usual eg a blue crane, a red train etc, but things like a person with a buggy, a Tesco (our usual journey is up through the London suburbs so there's usually one around!), a football stadium etc.

Lots of snacks - each in the children's own rucksack so no arguments.

Colouring, puzzle books and sticker books.

Whatever their age get them to pack their own bag so they feel a sense of independence when they travel. Let them eeek out their snacks to last the journey and save an activity for later so they are in control of their time. They seem to enjoy it more if they feel a little in control. Make sure they have a list of stations to spot as they go past and any landmarks too. No more sweets till we pass Cambridge!

We take the train into London, get the kids involved in choosing a place to visit and working out the route. If you take a map of the line you can have fun working out crazy ways to go, or who can find the shortest, we let my son navigate the tube and he led us a merry dance for the fun of it 😂

Snacks, colouring books, stickers and 'first one to find' game. Love train journeys!

We plan the return journey to start at around bedtime. They're so exhausted by a day out that they're fast asleep within no time and we can enjoy a cheeky mini bottle of wine

Totally agree with the previous comments about bringing snacks, raisins and carrot sticks were always a favourite with my DD.
Writing a check list of things to spot on the train journey is good fun!

We're lucky to have a number of gorgeous family train excursions, run by volunteers, near us. All our babies (4,2 and 7 mths) all adore steam and diesel trains so we save money by buying the family tickets that save us a few pounds. We bring a picnic, we know the areas for decent walks near the area but we also spend money to help these volunteer-run companies continue.

My 3 year old loves the train, I make sure that we pack plenty of snacks and try to get a table seat so she can colour if she gets bored of the scenery! I do find it easier when I have another adult present such as my husband or parents due to practicalities like toilet ing etc but we usually have a good time as long as the journey isn't too long

We all love going anywhere on the train. We live in a very scenic part of the country and when our DC where little we used to go to the town at the end of the line (30 minutes away) have lunch and a play on the park then come back. The bridges in winter used to have great big icicles hanging off them.

Kids loved the trip on Thomas the Tank Engine when he visited Didcot Parkway. They were disappointed there was no Fat Controller, although I did my best to fill that role.

Snacks and drinks are essential, plus colouring books and activity books eg peppa or paw patrol for our little girl. Try to avoid travelling during peak times if you can, getting a pushchair or a toddler safely on a train full of commuters is not fun!

We haven't done any long train trips, but we brought snacks and toys when we did go on a short trip. If we did a longer trip I'd book a table and bring sticker books and colouring. On pur short trips they have been excited just looking out of the window etc.

book in advance and take a packed lunch and games to play like cards and travel draughts
there is normally electric sockets on board so maybe download some programmes onto a tablet and watch them

My 2 year old loves train journeys! Not sure the other passengers always appreciate his excited singing of the "wheels on the train go round and round".
We always take lots of unmessy snacks and wrap up old toys so he thinks he's getting a present every half hour or so of a long journey. It keeps him much more interested in the toys that he otherwise would be! A small colouring book and crayons goes down well but for that we need to book in advance table seats!
We try to limit the amount of bags as well and he has always sat on our knees with the pushchair folded down to save having to move half way through a journey.

I save any unused bits and pieces given out by restaurants to entertain the children and take them on train journeys. That way they're both novel and disposable so provide good entertainment with no worries about losing them.

Book in advance and pack plenty of snacks and drinks, buying food and drink at stations can be quite costly, research the area before you travel to discover things to see and do in the area.

Book seats etc and anything else that you are able to beforehand, its usually cheaper. For train journeys and children, keep them entertained with games of eye spy etc.

A day out to York on the train is brilliant when combined with a visit to the Railway museum and a sampling of bettys or one of the many restaurants

I go on the train to visit my mom with my 2 children (a 2 and 6 year old), and we have done trips to the zoo on the train. I will take things to keep them entertained on the train; books and colouring, and will take snacks with me. I sit close to the toilets, as my 2year old most likely would need the toilet, and I don't want to have to be walking from down the other end of the carriage to get to it. I find out the train times for the journey there and back, so I know what time to be at the stations for, so theres not a lot of waiting around with the children.