British Isles with Kids

[The Chandlers]

We will be sailing on the NCL Dawn in July with 2 other families.  We will have 5 kids between us, ages 4-10.  We depart from Copenhagen and end in Southampton, with ports of call including Edinburgh, Inverness, Kirkwall, Stornoway, Dublin, Belfast, Falmouth, and Portland.  I would love to hear from anyone who did any of these ports with kids.  What did they love?  Was there anything you did that was super special?  Anything you would avoid?  

 

Thanks!

[John Bull]

Can I suggest you use the "search" facility top right on the British Isles forum.

Type in a city or port, leave "this forum" as it is, and click on the little spyglass alongside the box.

Give it a moment r two for the magic to work and it will bring up all the threads which mention that place.

 

Here's the results when I did that for Invergordon (that's your port, some distance from Inverness)

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=Invergordon &quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=148

 

Plus, if you're hooked on TV's "The Traitors" (we were hooked on both the UK & US versions) it was filmed at Ardross Castle, only 8 miles from Invergordon.

It's a function hotel - weddings, conferences etc - so I don't know what sort of access you'd have and you might be chased off by a fierce kilted and shotgun-carrying Scotsman. Mebbe worth researching, though like many other imposing residences it wasn't built as a "castle", it's a Baronial manor house.

 

Likewise for Portland

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=Portland&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=148

 

They, and Kirkwall, Stornoway and Falmouth, are infrequently visited by cruise ship so the experiences of other cruisers are much more useful than generic tourist information.

 

For Edinburgh, certainly the castle and the Royal Mile which leads to it. Or if that's too much for the little-uns, the Royal Yacht Britannia.

And for Belfast, the Titanic museum.

With the kids, mebbe ship's shuttle into the Victorian seaside resort of Weymouth, then back a little early to visit diminutive Portland Castle and the D-Day museum. Both small but interesting, worth 30 to 45 minutes a-piece.

 

With three families perhaps split your forces in some ports to explore independently.

 

JB 🙂

[The Chandlers]

@John Bull,thank you for your reply.  I did, in fact, search each port separately in this forum.  I am specifically hoping to hear from families that have done these ports with children.  I really didn't find much of those type of posts.  

 

[fruitmachine]

For Edinburgh, my #1 recommendation with kids would be the Camera Obscura; I keep hearing great things about it from families.  It's right next to the Castle, so no route deviation if you're visiting other major sights.  Make sure you book tickets in advance to avoid what look to be lengthy queues when I pass.

Another paid attraction that might be suitable is Dynamic Earth.  It's at a stop on the route of the main HOHO bus offerings.  The HOHO bus itself is very good, and all the kids will go free.  I'd recommend either the live guide offering on the Edinburgh Tour

Top free attraction has to be the National Museum of Scotland on Chambers St.  There's something for everyone.  And a quick drop-in visit to see a million pounds at the Museum on The Mound (again free access) would probably go down well with them!

 

Schools in Scotland start their summer break at the end of June, and large numbers head off to distant shores before prices skyrocket when England breaks up in late July; so there will be lots of children around, but it shouldn't be as busy as it will get in August.

[irvington]

For Belfast I might recommend the black cab tour of the murals. I did it as a part of a land based trip with "kids" in their early 20s, but I know they would have been interested as younger ones too. 

[sleepingcat]

I grew up about 10 miles from Falmouth.  As children we loved the castle which has cannon and lots of history (I'm not quite sure where cruise ships dock or tender, but it ll almost be walkable from the docks). There is a lovely beach (Gyllingvase, with a good cafe, but nb the water will be cold by US standards). Since I grew up the National Maritime museum has opened: a great museum right by the docks and the harbour with lots of interesting stuff and things that kids can climb on and do.  There are also river trips up the Fal or across the estuary to St Mawes (another castle there, the twin of the one in Falmouth but smaller).  

 

[Scottishclover]

I totally agree with the recommendations from @fruitmachine. I’m a teacher and often go to Dynamic Earth and Museum on the Mound on school trips. You can press pennies there too. National Museum was a favourite of my own girls when they were younger. There is quite a big area dedicated to children. While Camera Obscura is great ( especially if it’s wet) we find it expensive for the amount of time you spend there. We also used to enjoy The Museum of Childhood on the Royal Mile. It has lots of toys from previous times. Not huge but if you are on the Royal Mile anyway - why not? Also there’s quite a good playground in the “Meadows” for children and lots of space in Princes Street Gardens to let off steam.

 

BTW Copenhagen is a great city for children. Lots to do. 

[edinburgher]

The National Museum should certainly be #1 on your Edinburgh day.  Has been a huge hit with children AND adults for decades.  And entry is free although donations are welcomed.

 

Also Our DynamicEearth.

 

And they might also enjoy one of the several  "Underground" tours, of which I would recommend The Real Mary Kings Close, opposite St Giles Cathedral so not out of your way. Explore the hidden streets and houses underneath the city. Read about it on their website.I think they would love exploring that as it is a popular group activity for kids birthday parties. And the adults might also be fascinated.

 

Had you been visiting for longer, I would have recommended the second castle in Edinburgh,  (Craigmillar Castle) instead of Edinburgh Castle.  Our kids used to say it was " a real castle" and had huge fun exploring it each time they visited. Edinburgh Castle they were not as impressed with "as it has houses in it and real castles don't have houses in them"

[eileeshb]

For Dublin there’s a few options that would be kid friendly, the Viking splash tour with an amphibious vehicle, the Natural History Museum has recently re-opened it’s nicknamed the Dead Zoo. When I was about 11 my school brought us to Dublin for the day and we did: the book of Kells at the long room in Trinity college, the Natural history museum, the national history museum, the wax museum and Dublin Zoo. Apart from Trinity college all the others have been overhauled in the decades since I did that tour. The Viking splash tour didn’t exist back then as the major Viking archeological discoveries in the city hadn’t been made yet. There’s also Epic which is a new museum in the financial district concentrating on the Irish diaspora and more modern history than the other museums.  

[kasi1979]

In Dublin we just used the ship shuttle into the city, and from there the HoHo bus, close to where the shuttle picked us up again was a big playground which my kid loved.

 

In Belfast we rented a car and drove at our own schedule to the Giant´s causeway. The car made it possible to take our time where needed and not visit sights that held no interest to us and if the kid needed a break that was possible, too.

This time we´ll head into Belfast for the Titanic museum.

[The Chandlers]

Thank you all for the awesome recommendations!

 

[eileeshb]

I just came across a news story this morning that the Natural History museum in Dublin will be closing again later this year. They are moving some of their exhibits to the Collins barracks museum while they undergo renovations to stop their roof falling down, the joys of old buildings.

This round of renovations is expected to take 5 years as they're going to do a full renovation to bring the building to modern energy saving standards. They haven't announced a closing date as yet as they are still doing the planning and everything for the works.

[The Chandlers]

Are the castles worth seeing with kids?  If so, any your recommend specifically?

 

[The Chandlers]

On 1/30/2023 at 3:39 PM, sleepingcat said:

I grew up about 10 miles from Falmouth.  As children we loved the castle which has cannon and lots of history (I'm not quite sure where cruise ships dock or tender, but it ll almost be walkable from the docks). There is a lovely beach (Gyllingvase, with a good cafe, but nb the water will be cold by US standards). Since I grew up the National Maritime museum has opened: a great museum right by the docks and the harbour with lots of interesting stuff and things that kids can climb on and do.  There are also river trips up the Fal or across the estuary to St Mawes (another castle there, the twin of the one in Falmouth but smaller).  

 

Awesome!  I will look into this.