Queen’s Guard at the Tower of London. Copyright Gretta Schifano
English Tourism Week is an annual celebration of the many great things for visitors to see and do in England. This year the event runs from 5th – 13th March, and I’m taking part in a blogger carnival to mark the occasion. Each of us has chosen three locations in England to showcase. My chosen places are all in South East England, which is where I’ve lived for most of my life – they are London, Kent and the Isle of Wight.
London
We live a half hour train ride from London, and I love visiting the capital because there are so many interesting historical, cultural and fun things to do there. I recently went on a tour of the Houses of Parliament in the Palace of Westminster, which has been a royal palace for around 1,000 years. In December I went on the Warner Bros Studio Tour with my family to see where the Harry Potter films were made.
I’m always looking out for London news to share here, and I publish a monthly roundup of fab things to do in London with kids – the current version is Things to do in London with kids: March.
Great Hall Hogwarts, Warner Bros Studio Tour. Copyright Gretta Schifano
Kent
The county of Kent is in the southeast corner of the country, and is known as the Garden of England. We’ve had many happy family days out in Kent, to places like Hever Castle, Penshurst Place, Groombridge Place, Chartwell and Quex Park. You can find out more about all of these places in my post 8 historical Kent attractions for families.
Afternoon High Tea at Mama Feelgoods, Quex Park. Copyright Gretta Schifano
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight lies just a few miles off the South coast of England, and it’s a charming, tranquil place to visit. I spent a few days there with my husband and son one October half term holiday, and I was amazed by the range of activities on offer. Highlights were fossil hunting on Europe’s most important site for dinosaur fossils, visiting 12th century Carisbrooke Castle, and the spectacular coastal walk to The Needles Batteries. You can read more about our trip in my post Things to do in the Isle of Wight with kids.
Yaverland Beach, Isle of Wight. Copyright Gretta Schifano
Elsewhere in England
Check out these posts by some of my fellow bloggers about more great places to visit in England:
Sam from North East Family Fun shares her top three English Heritage properties to visit with kids, featuring Stonehenge, Bolsover Castle and Hadrian’s Wall.
Helen at Actually Mummy tells us about three great days out for families in London.
Ting from My Travel Monkey looks back at her top three favourite National Trust sites in the South East of England, which not only combine majestic historic houses, but breathtaking gardens and landscapes: fantastic days out for the whole family.
From castles to yurts, over on A Residence Penny shares three awesome places to stay with the family in Warwick, Somerset and the Lake District.
Sarah from Extraordinary Chaos shares her favourite educational but fun family days out. Featuring Warwick Castle, Stratford-Upon-Avon and Blists Hill Victorian Town.
Jane from Practically Perfect Mums shows off three fabulously family-friendly places to stay in the South West of England – and they’re all spacious enough to accommodate a family of five!
Karen at Mini Travellers shares 3 Child Friendly National Trust properties to visit with kids near Chester.
Yorkshire Girl, Jo Addison, shares her favourite family days out in her home county.
Erin from Yorkshire Tots shares three family adventure trails in Yorkshire, where you can follow in the ‘footsteps’ of Stickman, re-tell the story of Room on the Broom, and enjoy tunnels, slides, bridges and beams on an amazing welly walk.
Cathy at Mummy Travels heads to the coast with three of her favourite family-friendly seaside attractions in Devon, Cornwall and Brighton, including the chance to spot a giant octopus and be an Elizabethan explorer.
Alison, Helen, Penny and Katie pick three of their favourite cool places to take kids, glamp at the zoo, hire a beach hut or be an outlaw in Sherwood Forest.
Over to you
Where’s your favourite place in England, or where would you like to visit in England?
There’s a wide variety of events and discounts on offer during English Tourism Week – for more details go to the official Visit England website.
We love Kent too, from our South London days, it was always a brilliant escape! Dungeness is one of my favourite places in the world – I know, a bit eccentric and desolate, but I love that, England’s only desert is so mind blowing!
Penny recently posted…Of Mice and Men: Theatre Royal Nottingham
I haven’t been to Dungeness – I’ll have to check it out. Is it really a desert?
I’m planning a trip to London with the children this year so thanks for all your ideas. I’ll be checking out your things to do in London with kids feature too!
Jane Batt recently posted…Fab Family Friendly Places to Visit in England
Thanks Jane – you’re welcome!
I am SO excited to visit London this Easter with the kids – there are 100’s of things to do and it’s definitely a child-friendly destination.
It definitely is – I’m sure you’ll have a great time!
It’s incredible how much there is to do on the Isle of Wight – I had a long weekend with my daughter last year, and even with a few places closed as we were out of season, we still struggled to fit everything in. Living in London, I really have to make more of the great attractions here too – although I have been to the Warner Bros tour (solo!) and it’s fantastic for Harry Potter fans, still fascinating if you love film at all.
Cathy (MummyTravels) recently posted…Three family-friendly seaside attractions in England
Great post, for London you ticked so many of our favourites, Kew, Natural History Museum, Horniman, the WWT centre! For the sensational butterflies we loved them last year but would recommend it few weeks after the opening for hatching reasons:) We also love National Trust but for Kent we still need to discover all the places you mentioned. Thanks Gretta!
That’s a really good tip about the hatching season, I hadn’t thought of that, thank you!
Lots of great ideas here Gretta. We are so fortunate to live in England, it is a stunning country with so many incredible places to visit
Lisa (Travel Loving Family) recently posted…Easter school holiday events in Gloucestershire (and beyond)
We are indeed!
Oh exciting, we’re going to the Isle of Wight in June! So look forward to walking The Needles – and checking out your post on what to do 🙂
Ting at My Travel Monkey recently posted…The Magic Lantern Festival at Chiswick House and Gardens
I loved our trip there – I’m sure you’ll have a fab time!
I did plan to get involved in this carnival but time just ran out. Great to see the suggestions from everyone.
I’m just discovering Devon and Dorset for the first time and appreciating how beautiful both counties are. While I’m down there, I should try heading east and then nipping to the Isle of Wight. My brother lived there for a year or two and I still didn’t get round to visiting!