Drive from Glasgow to Cornwall with kids

[Goscat]

We're going to Cornwall for a week in September and trying to decide whether to drive or fly. We have extra days either side to spare so would drive 5 h, 5h down and same back, breaking it up into 2.5h stints each day.

Pros-
. much cheaper even including fuel and hotels
. Get to spend a few hours in a couple nice places in the eat down and back
. Flights are really late so kids bedtimes would be haywire, driving avoided that.

Cons-
. Driving 10h with a 1 and 4yo 🤣

Anyone done similar?

Would recommend walby farm park in Cumbria if you could get there on the way home and completely tire the kids out before the final stretch to Glasgow. That's what we did on the (much shorter but still awful) drive from Sheffield to a bit further past Glasgow (we had about 3 hrs of our journey still left after it)

How are you going to drive from Glasgow to Cornwall in 5 hours? You'll barely be at Birmingham in 5 hours!

Then it's another 4 hours from Birmingham to Cornwall!

Glasgow to Cornwall is an 8 and a half to 9 hour drive on a good run...

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We did this when our children were little - the first time with a 4 year old and 2 year old, and the next year when they were 5 and 3 with a 6 month old. It was ok. We stopped around Bristol on the way down so got a lot of the way down. You know your children but depending on their temperaments, it is completely doable, if a bit tiring for the drivers and yes, not nearly so limiting as taking stuff on a plane (then hiring a car?)

Respectfully it’s not a 5 hour drive from Glasgow to Cornwall. That’s a 2 day journey with a night stop over half way - midlands area, both stretches a long long day of driving for you plus kids as passengers. I’d plan as above and make it part of your road trip or fly and hire a car at the other end

Thank you! Yes park/farm/bike track/hike stops in mind mid way each day and the bribe of a McDonald's lunch 🤣

Can’t see how you can do that journey in 5 hours even if just on the Devon/Cornwall border

We drove from Edinburgh to a premier inn in Stoke and then drove the rest of the way (& same on the return).

My brother did this a few years ago back when his kids were about 6 and 3 and they survived! They did have two weeks down there, so a longer break in between the journey. They also stopped overnight both ways so that would increase the cost, but it sounds like that's what you're thinking too. They gave the kids tablets and unlimited screen time so they watched lots of films, and made multiple stops too so it was two full days of travel in both directions. To be honest I couldn't have done it with my kids at the same age because they wouldn't sleep in the car, and one of them gets really car sick so it probably depends on how well your kids travel and how relaxed you are about giving them screen time. If you do it and you've got a Historic Scotland membership there are lots of places you can stop that are not too far off the route where the kids can get a good run about (you can use the membership to visit English sites once you've had it a certain length of time).

Respectfully clearly it’s 5 hrs, stop the night, then 5 hrs the next day, making it a 10 hour drive, which it is.

Drive, you’ll need a car when you get there, I drove that far in a day when mine were small, and regularly 6 hours in a day. I’m guessing you are in the central belt - where I live near Bristol is an easy drive, we do it (kids adults) with one stop at the services or Preston north Sainsbury’s (I’m cheap!) but it’s easy with 2 stops to here, Cornwall is then an easy 3-4 (allow extra couple of hours for a stop plus traffic if a Friday especially) ideal for a 3pm check in. Young kids travel really well, it’s moany preteens that were far more annoying

I assumed they meant five hours driving one day, then five hours driving the following day?

Ignore .. I misread.

That’s what we did. It is doable especially with stopping on the way.

its not the kids that will struggle it’s the drivers.

The OP means that she will be doing the 10 hour drive over 2 days, so 5 hours per day.

Snippy!! Not “clearly” at all given others replies too!!

But that is 10 hours in good conditions. Driving during the day it could easily end up nearly double that.

Why Cornwall?

We’re in Cornwall and our best friends live in Newcastle…. Takes between 7-11 hours each way depending on traffic. Obviously depends on where in Cornwall as can easily take a couple of hours to get from top of the county to the bottom.

both us and them tend to do it as an overnight drive while the kids sleep. Tends to be quicker too as far less traffic. Both adults in each family drive so are able to swap over a few times.

we’ve only flown once and it was a pain…. Flight itself, airport parking, car rental at other end…. Carrying luggage and wrangling the kids. Never again.

I've done this drive many times, but not with kids.
Depending on your kids abilities to sit in the car for long periods, it's perfectly doable in a day. Bonus if your kids are the type to sleep in the car!

I found driving on a Monday and a Thursday to be the least prone to awful traffic when driving during the day, which made it less stressful.
If you don't mind driving at night, then leave at the kids normal bedtime and drive overnight if that's an option? Especially if you already know they sleep well in the car.

We’ve done this and stopped just outside Bristol on the way south and busy north of Birmingham on the way back.

You need an overnight stop.half way both ways.

I've done this journey and I would no way do it without a stop. And I don't have kids!

We've done it before with a 2 and 4 year old, I definitely recommend doing it in 2 5-hour stints like you plan to, and if possible drive in the early hours to avoid traffic! It's about 7 hours from where we live. The first time we went with our eldest, it took us nearly 11 hours because we set off late morning and hit loads of traffic. We survived but it was awful and DD was sick when we arrived - probably due to motion and tiredness!

The second time we went, with both kids, we got up at stupid o'clock and set off between 4 and 5am. No traffic at all, kids slept, we got pretty much there by lunchtime with a planned stop half way.
Plan all your stops - find the nicer service stations with outdoor areas for kids to run about, or just places of interest on your route (we usually try find national trust places as we're members so it's free and child friendly) and time it well so that you won't hit busy spots during peak times.
Disney playlist in the car helped our little ones, as well as their screens and a few toys.
Loads of snacks!

I'd be going for longer than a week if I was driving as far as you though.

We did Glasgow -Exeter every year for 20 yrs, often twice. No tablets in those days but we did audio books! Lots of Harry Potter and Arthur and some children’s classics. We stopped every 2-3 hrs and I’d bring out comics or Rubik’s cubes, or a new clothes outfit for a toy. Just changed it up. Sometime wrapped surprises like pass the parcel and you could take a wrapper off when you saw an Eddie Stobbart lorry. Or sticker books …
we timed trips to be really early or late so they slept a good part.
Eventually they knew seeing Granny and Grandad was a long trip but accepted it.
Once flew with a nearly 3 and a six month old and our flight was delayed 10 hrs at Glasgow Airport on FlyBe. DH was driving it on his own and had set off. All the other passengers rallied and my 3 yr old had an amazing time. She’s 28 now. Good luck!

In what world is Cornwall to Glasgow 5 hours haha

I wouldn’t do it, I would fly - in Cornwall you can hire a car or use buses