fun things to do with kids in england - family travel    
  Travel for Kids
   
     
    England
Kids hiking in Devon, England
Traveling in England with kids, London is a teeming, exciting city with tons of things to do, but the English countryside is not to be missed, especially with plenty of castles, Roman ruins, Neolithic standing stones, great places to walk on the moors, boat on the canals, scramble on rocky coastlines, or just amble through peacefull rolling hills.
Tip: Don't miss our top picks for children's books on England recommended by the staff of Travel for Kids, see below.
  London
    Take the Hogwarts Express
South
  Kent – Canterbury
    East Sussex – Hastings
    West Sussex
    Hampshire – Portsmouth
    Wiltshire – Stonehenge
    Dorset – Maiden Castle
West
  Somerset – Bath, Glastonbury Tor
   

Devon – Plymouth, Dartmoor

    Cornwall
Central
 

Heart of England – Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon, Nottingham

  East Anglia – Cambridge, Norfolk
North
  Yorkshire – York
  Durham and Northumberland
    Lake District
   
kids books england
     
Peter Pan in Scarlet - kids books England
 
Peter Pan in Scarlet
Geraldine McCaughrean

Swashbuckling sequel to the original Peter Pan, Wendy and the Lost Boys return to Neverland to clean out the bad dreams. Once again on the Jolly Roger, a ghostly ship adrift, they find a map to Hook's treasure. Ravello, the Ravelling Man, is the key to the mystery, and Peter Pan will fight Captain Hook again. Filled with magic and adventure, it's a super read. (Chapter book)

 

     
London (Through Time)
Richard Platt, Manuela Cappon

Illustrated history of London, from Roman times when it was called Londinium, down through the Middle Ages, Shakespeare's London, to World War II and London today, one of the historic cities in the world. Super illustrations and cross-sections bring the city to life. (Picture book)

 

 
     
The Time Travelers - kids books England  
The Time Travelers (The Gideon Trilogy)
The Time Thief
The Time Quake
Linda Buckley-Archer

Peter and Kate time travel to 18th century England, where they encounter Gideon Seymour, a gentleman thief, and the nefarious Tar Man in the first adventure. Kate returns to present day London in The Time Thief, along with the Tar Man, while Peter remains trapped in the past. It's an exciting conclusion to the trilogy in The Time Quake. Dashing, spirited adventures that crisscross England past and present. (Chapter books)

 

     
Saint George and the Dragon
Margaret Hodges, Trina Schart Hyman

Wonderful retelling of the story from Spenser's Faerie Queen, "in the days when monsters and giants and fairy folk lived in England." The Queen of the Fairies sends the Red Cross Knight on a quest to kill the fearsome dragon. Lovely old-world illustrations. (Picture book)

 

 
Saint George and the Dragon - kids books England
     
 
Arthur of Albion
John Matthews, Pavel Tatarnikov

"A king shall come who shall rule over these lands, and his name shall be Arthur." All the magical stories of King Arthur, Camelot and the Round Table, Merlin the wise, adventures of the knights, and the realm of Albion, the name for England in the mists of time. Enchanting illustrations! (Illustrated chapter book)

 

     
Good Queen Bess
Diane Stanley and Peter Vennema

Timeless story of Elizabeth I – her education by university scholars, house arrest in the Tower of London, refusal to marry, love of drama and music, decisive leadership and unfolding of the Elizabethan Age. Richly illustrated. (Picture book)

 

 
Good Queen Bess - kids books England
     
Assassin (Lady Grace Mysteries) - kids books London
 
Lady Grace Mysteries
Assassin, Betrayal, Conspiracy, Deception, Exile, Feud
Grace Cavendish

Mystery adventures set in the court of Queen Elizabeth I. Lady Grace, a maid of honor to the queen, solves the mysterious disappearance of her unwanted suitors, takes on Sir Francis Drake, uncovers a deadly conspiracy, seaches for a counterfiting ring, finds a stolen jewel, and unmasks a poisoner at court. Each mystery is filled with Elizabethan history and lore. (Chapter books)

 

     
Day of Deliverance
Johnny O'Brien

Jack and his friend Angus travel back in time to Elizabethan England, meet up with the playwright spy Christopher Marlowe, uncover a plot to assasinate Queen Elizabeth, and find themselves in the midst of the great Spanish Armada battle. (Chapter book)

 

 
     
 
Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow
Robert D. San Souci, E.B. Lewis

"Long ago in England, there lived a great archer named Robin Hood." Exciting retelling of Robin Hood and his merry men, as they enter an archery contest in disguise, and outsmart the Sheriff of Nottingham. Fabulous illustrations. (Picture book)

 

   

Imagine if Sherlock Holmes had a younger sister, and here she is, Enola Holmes, a spirited teenager, hot on the trail of Viscount Tewksbury, as well as her mother, who's also disappeared. Enola solves the ciphers, disguises herself as a widow and embarks on a London adventure. (Chapter book)

And don't miss her next mysteries: The Case of the Left-Handed Lady and The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets

 

 
     
Death Cloud
 
Death Cloud
Andrew Lane

On summer holidays in a quiet village, teenage Sherlock Holmes steps right into a mystery of two dead bodies, involving a strange black, buzzing cloud. Confronted with a sinister mastermind, Sherlock uses his logical mind. A super adventure! (Chapter book)

 

     

Wonderful Victorian-style adventure – cousins Bonnie and Sylvia, helped by Simon, narrowly escape ravenous wolves in the snow, only to fall into the clutches of a scheming governess, who's taken over Willoughby Chase. (Chapter book)

Simon's adventures continue in Black Hearts in Battersea and the exciting conclusion of the Wolves Chronicles, The Witch of Clatteringshaws

 

 
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
     
The Flint Heart  
The Flint Heart
Katherine Paterson & John Paterson

Long ago on the moors, a wise man makes a flint charm, but it's so destructive it's buried deep on Dartmoor, until a farmer digs it up and is betwitched. His children consult the pixies to find way to destroy the Flint Heart once and for good. A fabulous fantasy with luminous illustrations! (Illustrated chapter book)

 

     
Charles Dickens
Catherine Wells-Cole

Step into the world of England's most captivating storyteller – Charles Dickens. Inside are notes from the author's manuscript's, original book covers, portraits, drawings, Victorian illustrations. Like a long lost scrapbook, open up an extraordinary life in 19th century England. Good for older kids. (Activity book)

 

 
Charles Dickens
     
Beatrix Potter: A Journal - kids books England  

Fabulous scrapbook with tons of good stuff about Beatrix Potter, best-loved author of Peter Rabbit. Fold-out letters, exquisite drawings of animals and nature, photos of family and friends, illustrated Christmas cards. Good for all ages. (Activity book)

 

     
Titus Rules!
Dick King-Smith, John Eastwood

Hilarious fictional adventures of Titus, a dog who lives in the royal palace (by Dick King-Smith, author of Babe: The Gallant Pig). Titus is Queen Elizabeth II's favorite corgi and he catches a palace burglar, sleeps on the Queen's bed and loves custard cream cookies. (Illustrated chapter book)

 

 
Titus Rules! - kids books England
     
B is for Big Ben - kids books England  
B is for Big Ben
Pamela Duncan Edwards, Melanie Rose

England from A to Z in quick rhymes and fun facts – from Anglo Saxons, castles and cathedrals, famous people, Stonehenge, the Union Jack, to zero longitude. (Picture book)

 

     
The Story of Britain
Patrick Dillon, P.J. Lynch

Riveting panoramic history of Britain (including England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland), two tiny islands that once ruled a worldwide empire, from the Middle Ages, through the Tudors, Stuarts, Victorians, up to the twentieth century. Good for older kids. (Illustrated chapter book)

 

 
     
 
Great Britain Discovery Journal
Mary De Jager and P L Byrne

This is a wonderful way for kids to travel around Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales) and put things in a journal. Go on a London scavenger hunt, spot the lion (heraldic emblem of England), look for kids playing cricket, climb and count church towers, rate British food, 100+ pages of fun activities!
(Activity book)

 

(More children's books on other England pages)
travel for kids | england