Visiting the UK with Kids? Carol’s 16-Day Trip Report (London to the Highlands)

Sixteen days in the UK with three children, three bases and one leg by car. In episode 226 of the UK Travel Planning Podcast, Tracy is joined by listener Carol from Michigan, who travelled with her husband Patrick and their children aged eleven, nine and seven in early September 2026. They spent four days in South Kensington, took the train to Edinburgh for five days in Leith, then hired a car for six days in Nairn on the Moray coast near Inverness.

Carol and Patrick booked an itinerary planning consultation with Tracy and Doug in February, and you will hear how their bases changed from Stirling and Inverness to Edinburgh and Nairn once they had talked it through. From there, the episode follows the trip: navigating the tube and the King’s Cross to Edinburgh train with three kids, a first day of driving on the left that took in St Andrews, and the slower days in the Highlands that the family loved most.

Carol also shares why the Buckingham Palace walking tour with Robin from Fantastic Walks was the children’s favourite thing in London, how the family kept food costs down, and her one tip for anyone planning a family trip to the UK. If you are planning a trip with kids, this one is full of practical ideas you can borrow.

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What you’ll learn in this episode

• Why Carol swapped Stirling and Inverness for Edinburgh and Nairn as bases, and how that decision shaped the whole trip
• How a family of five kept accommodation costs down by staying in apartments and houses rather than hotels, and why the budget stretched further in the Highlands
• How Patrick prepared for driving on the left with the Tripiamo course the week before, and what the first day behind the wheel was really like
• Why Google Maps’ fastest route is not always the easiest, and why you should add time to every UK drive
• What happened when the tube stopped on the way to King’s Cross, and how the family still made their booked train to Edinburgh
• Why the Buckingham Palace walking tour with Robin from Fantastic Walks was the children’s favourite thing in London, and how listening to his podcast episode beforehand helped
• The unplanned finds that worked, from the Sky Garden on a rainy morning and Borough Market to a tour of the Golden Hinde replica that the kids loved
• What to expect at the Harry Potter Studio Tour with a family, and why Carol says to allow plenty of time
• Why South Kensington worked so well as a London base for a family, from the museums and Kensington Gardens to the supermarkets and meal deals round the corner
• What it was like to attend a Sunday service at Westminster Abbey instead of taking a tour
• How the family tackled Arthur’s Seat and Calton Hill in a single day, and why going early matters
• Why the kids preferred the smaller ruins of Craigmillar Castle to Stirling Castle, and how the Historic Scotland Explorer Pass covered both
• What a slower week in Nairn looked like, from Fort George and Brodie Castle to a football kickabout and a family photoshoot in Inverness
• How to eat well as a family without the bill running away, including a Sunday roast at lunchtime and why Nando’s was a hit
• Carol’s one tip for any family planning a UK trip: you do not need as much as you think you need