From London to New Forest with toddlers - where to break journey?

[PalePinkSwan]

We’re driving from London to the New Forest with two toddlers that hate the car and need some time to run around. We’d like to break up the journey.
Any suggestions eg for family friendly cafe with a soft play, or a playground we could stop at?

Which part of London? We used to do the drive from West London very easily in one go. Where you want to stop will depend on the route you are taking :)

Where are you going in the New Forest? That's not a very long journey. Are you NT members?

Going from south east London and heading to Lymington. Route planner says it will be 4 hours. Hoping to time it so the toddlers nap for some of the journey but they will definitely need breaks or they will just scream!

We’re not national trust members but thinking about joining anyway.

4 hours??? That seems an awfully long time. It's only 4.5 for me and I am in the North West of England.

Having said that I bloody love Lymington. I am sure you can be in the New Forest in a couple of hours and then stop for a picnic at one of the many, many picnic spots and let your children run around there.

I think a lot of that time is getting out of London tbh!

you can always stop at the beginning of the forest, landford end. Have a picnic and a run around.

That's a long time. Are you leaving at rush hour? If so, it's probably factoring in the time you'll spend sitting in a traffic jam on the M25.

We always stop for a break at the Winchester services.

If you are on the M3 there is a NT property near Basingstoke, The Vyne.

You could do RHS Wisley (A3/M25 junction), or Virginia Water or Runnymede (M25/A30 junction - a bit further than need to go, but doesn’t take you far off track).
Or if you take the A3/A31 instead of the M3, Birdworld is near Farnham.

That does seem a long time - we tend to do it in 2-2.5 although we are SW london and tend to drive after 7pm so they are sleeping

South East London to Lymington is about an hour and a half if the traffic is OK. Friday afternoons from about 3pm are manic busy though, and you can queue from Basingstoke/Winchester area.

Could you leave when they are due for a nap. This might make it easier for you.

Depending on how long you want to drive before stopping - Winchester service station has an area the kids can play and run around - this will give them some exercise, and not cost you any extra in time.

Also, get off the M27 at junction 2. You won't get caught up in the dreadful Lyndhurst traffic jam. You can then either approach Lyndhurst from the other direction. Or follow the signs to Beaulieu and drive through the Forest. This is a nice run into Lymington and there are plenty of places to stop.

Thanks so much, lots of great advice here. Looks like it should be quicker than I thought if we can avoid the traffic.

Make sure you avoid the Lyndhurst traffic lights if possible.