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

This thread came just in time for the five and a half hour train journey with my dcs. Picked up lots of great ideas.

My top tip based on today came about by accident. It's to take loose leaf drawing paper in an A4 plastic folder: a nice fresh sheet each time and a safe place to tidy away.

Also good has been one of those little squeezy bottles of concentrate squash and an extra water bottle so dcs can switch from water to squash and not get bored.

Also, don't wear long sleeves. We are all boiled!

The things that I stole from here that have been great are top trumps, list of stations to tick off, spot it lists.

Make sure you take a packed lunch with you with lots of treats in!

I would take with me sticker books, tablets (with headphones so as not to annoy other passengers), colouring books/crayons.

I'd also take lots of drinks/snacks as the food available on the train is expensive and not very children orientated.

I'd also take a guide book of where you are going if you are going anywhere particular to get the child interested (you could get a themed sticker book if poss). This would help make the journey more interesting and seem like an adventure.

My child also likes to play I spy on journeys so that would keep her interested.

We don't travel by train often, so when we do it is a treat for the DC.
We make it a part of the day out as a whole and going through the ticket barriers is our first step into Adventureland.
We take books and a single toy each but where possible we try to budget for the DC to have a snack from the cart; they have the excitement of choosing a chocolate snack and are also aware that we don't have endless food for them. It is expensive but my two would snack endlessly given half a chance, so worth it!
We play games such as I Spy and counting the number of stops until we get to our destination. Add those to a few turns up and down the carriage for the toilet and we can easily pass hours on the train

Get a railcard, obviously, for 1/3 off and other discounts.
We always pack lots of snacks and let the kids choose a magazine before they board.
I often buy those gingerbread man kits with icing and sprinkles from the supermarket that you can decorate. It's an activity and snack all in one then. Perhaps only for older ones though because of the potential for mess!

we love to travel by train. I usually bring a lot of snacks and some easy board games to entertain kids on the train.

Pack plenty of snacks and drinks that won't easily spill or get squished
Make sure that your phone is well charged in case of any delays
Download journeys/routes to your phone ahead of time
Take a few books and games for the journey
Use a sturdy rucksack to keep everything in
Take photos and keep tickets of everywhere you've been to make a nice scrapbook when you get home!

Make sure to book in advance of travelling. Bring lots of snacks and an iPad!

Try to get seats with a table and then play 'train bingo'. I make up some bingo cards with landmarks and sights (bridge, cows, sheep, river etc) and as you see them mark them off, first one to get a bingo gets a prize!

Definitely get a F&F railcard. I save up my Tesco Clubcard points and get one every year, I must have saved hundreds of pounds.

While on the journey, relax the rules with screens. DS has a tablet, and I usually restrict how much he can use it but he gets as much as he wants on journeys. It means he can sit quietly watching something or playing games while I read my book and we both arrive in much better moods than if I had forced him into endless games of ISpy! Also, remember chargers and headphones. And twice as many snacks as you think you'll need.

I will always plan the journey, book ahead and get the kids involved; they help to choose the places we will visit and help pack the snacks so they know what we have and therefore hopefully wont start moaning later that there is nothing they like! Book seats with a table and bring the tablets with games and headphones for the kids to play quietly. I don't like to carry too much and so bring enough cash for lunch, ice cream or treats whilst we are out, we save the snacks for in case we get delayed. Water bottles are a must though. I make sure we have light rain coats and the kids wear zip up sweatshirts they can tie round their waist if they get hot. I also bring a spare T-shirt each- Just in case. Don't forget kids pain killers, plasters and paracetamol for me !

Last time we went on the train I bought my kids a new book each. It was lovely and peaceful. It kept them quiet for ages while I could enjoy the scenery.

The children loved it as we don't go on the train all that often - we have tried to before but the tickets were extortionate. I think it helps to book at the right time and plan in advance.

Take some snacks and get on the train to the nearest sea-side town. The kids are too excited to do anything other than look out the window because they find it so fascinating!

Definitely agree with plenty of snacks. As soon as we're on board on of the DDs will tell me they're hungry or thirsty.
We love getting the train, but don't often do any long journeys. The furthest we've done is when I took DD1 to London when she was 3 (3 hours). I took a packed breakfast, snacks, colouring books and reading books. I had the iPad with CBeebies loaded on the iPlayer and some headphones for her in case she got restless, but we didn't need it.

I live close by to Loughborough which runs the old fashioned steam trains which run every weekend and the do themed days for the younger kids. My nieces recently went to a pepper pig event. I guess A short journey for younger kids with lots of colouring and pens.

A lightweight buggy makes life a lot easier.

When mine were small I used an Ergo type baby carrier with toys tied to it with toy ties. Sitting in the seat, the top of the carrier could be unbuckled and laid across my lap with the toys still attached so couldn't be dropped. If the baby fell asleep I could buckle him back in without leaving my seat (front carry)

For slightly bigger children, buy or pick up a free paper at the station. Let them play with it on the train (folding, shredding, hide behind full pages). At the end of the journey can be bagged up and recycled.

Once they get even older, get them to be in charge of the timetable, even plan the route. Our children love the train

Snacks, drinks, tissues. Eye spy is always a winner, and for long journeys we sometimes take those Usborne books for journeys. They have some great activities.
I try to stay off my phone, help DD to enjoy the journey as part of the trip to the destination.

You can never take too many snacks or drinks!!

There's nothing worse than being stuck on a train or station platform due to delays and having bored/hungry children when there's no access to a shop or cafe.

i spy books are good (expect there's an app version too nowadays but save your battery and give them the books). Michelin even do ones for regions of the UK like The Cotswolds or Lake District as well as more specific themes here

We've even visited places that we've been to before by car - makes it a completely different adventure going by train.
Family & Friends Railcard is a brill thing to invest in - you'll definitely make your money back on with some great deals, not just on the actual rail fares, but also days out/tickets/places to eat etc.
Pre-book seats if you can - not too close to the toilet, sometimes a bit whiffy...

We always book table seats and often take - courtesy of my generous parents - a wicker picnic hamper. The kids love 'setting the table' and our on-board 'tea party' is preceded and followed by I-spy, card games and - for my eldest, aged 9, - very intense games of chess.

Completely agree with what others have said...

Railcard - even if your children are under 5 and don't technically need a ticket, check the total price when using a railcard and buying a child's ticket. Often cheaper plus you'll get a seat then

Yes- we book seats with a table and I always check times of later and earlier trains just in case anything happens and we need to come home at a different time. Won't be able to use reserved seats though if this is the case!
Yes-we take snacks and drinks. I try to wait as long as possible before having these, see how long the novelty of just being on a train lasts!
We pack some small toys and a new magazine to keep their attention
We always have lots of baby wipes!
Oh, and check where the toilets are on the train as soon as you get on, just in case!

Plan in advance; book assistance and know where to sit take a rucksack and a sling instead of trying to fit a pram on the train and make sure your destination in within walking distance from the station

Be prepared-snacks and toys, books and puzzles to keep little ones entertained. Nothing that is going to annoy other passengers too much though.

My children have always seen rail travel as a bit of an adventure when they were really little -a good window seat and a table is a definite plus to try and pre book your seats.

If you can book early make the most of offers and deals to make it as cost effective as possible.

I keep one of the 2 for 1 leaflets easily accessible to check what attractions are covered to help with planning and also to have the voucher part ready when needed. Also make sure to keep all train tickets, even incoming onceused, to be ready to show.

When traveling, the key is tasty snacks and things to do/read.