Britain for you

Britain for families with children

Days out that suit children, how rail fares work for families, and where our data marks places family-friendly.

Facts last checked 25 Oct 2026. Britlens is independent: see our editorial policy.

What matters for this trip

  • Rail fares: the Family & Friends Railcard page says up to 4 adults and 4 children can use one card, children aged 5 to 15 get 60% off child tickets and under 5s travel free (a child ticket still has to be bought). It showed £35 for one year on 25 Oct 2026.1
  • The same page lists exclusions, including most London Underground and DLR tickets, Eurostar and some train company offers such as GroupSave. Check the official page before you buy.1
  • Family flags: in London we mark a place family-friendly only where the venue's own website offers something for children (play areas, trails, family days). Outside London our region data has no family flag yet, so the suggestions below are based on the type of place and are editorial judgement.

London areas with the most family-flagged places

Counted from our family flag, set from each venue's own family page.

Elsewhere: places of a type families often pick

Editorial judgement based on place type (zoos, science centres, aquariums, beaches, heritage railways, farms and model villages). Not a claim that a place is suitable for every age: check the venue.

Showing 12 of 257 matching places in our data.

Cornwall4places

Wales4places

The Jurassic Coast4places

London venues whose own page offers free entry for children

From each venue's website, opened and checked on 2026-10-18. Conditions and ages change: follow the link.

Suggested routes from our itineraries

Editorial judgement

Editorial judgement: the Oxford, Cambridge and London route is tagged 'Families with older children' in our itinerary data; the first-week route has a steady pace and short rail hops.

  • Oxford, Cambridge and London

    5 days · Steady pace · London, Oxford, Cambridge

    The two great university towns, bracketed by London at each end.

    3 of 21 stops reported step-free · 1 flagged family-friendly (flags exist for London only). Suits: Students and book lovers, Families with older children, First-time visitors.

  • A first week in Britain

    7 days · Steady pace · London, York, Edinburgh

    London, York and Edinburgh: the capital cities and one great walled city, at an easy pace.

    10 of 23 stops reported step-free · 3 flagged family-friendly (flags exist for London only). Suits: First-time visitors, Rail travellers, Anyone short on time.

Practical tips

  • Check each venue's own family page for age limits, buggy access and booking rules. They change, and we show the date we last checked.
  • Travelling with a pushchair? Our London step-free flags also help here: see the accessible London guide.

Related guides

How this page is made. Lists marked with counts are computed from Britlens place data when the site is built, so new destinations appear automatically. Anything marked editorial judgement is our opinion, not a measured fact. Data last checked 25 Oct 2026.

Sources

Official pages read on 25 Oct 2026. Rules, prices and opening times change: check the source before you rely on it. Counts and rankings on this page come from Britlens place data and are not official figures.

  1. Family & Friends Railcard (opens in new tab), Railcard.co.uk (National Rail)