Traveling with kids requires adjusting your expectations – and theirs. Adults understand the expense of travel, the potential to see amazing sights, and the power of making the most out of each day. Kids, on the other hand, prioritize fun and comfort. Appreciating historical sites, enduring travel, and activity-packed days often don’t meet a child’s priorities.
As a result, our extended family stay in Europe has become a series of compromises. With five people of varying ages, interest, and needs, 
compromise is a necessity. Tim and I have numerous places we long to see, but we want this to be an enjoyable experience for all. Some days, we do push our family to the limits, especially on Saturdays. Many times, however, we take a less harried approach. Rather than expect to see and do everything on our list, we gauge our family’s needs and enjoy what we can.
Our kids are far from perfectly behaved, but I have to give them credit for patience with travel, new experiences, and often hanging in there for “just a little bit longer.” Throughout our summer travels we’ve discovered the magic of open green spaces, a swing set, and a slide as a universal pick me up for our kids. Europe, and England especially, seems to recognize this need for a green oasis for kids and adults as well, offering a plethora of gorgeous parks in the midst of the city and tourist attractions.
My friend, Emma, grew up in England and tells me these parks are a gift from the Victorian Age. Many park spaces were left to cities with the stipulation that they remain untouched. This means it isn’t uncommon to see grand green spaces, lush with grass, trees, gardens, and walkways for miles. It also means regularly updated parks with dreamy, well-maintained equipment that is often handicap-accessible.
If you are planning a trip to England’s hot spots, I recommend searching for parks ahead of time. It’s amazing what a break at a playground does to rejuvenate kids or rescue a disappointing day. We’ve only been to a few of these amazing recreational areas, but I thought I’d share a few from our travels.
Greenwich Park, London, England. The Royal Parks are truly incredible. It’s difficult to know where to begin. Greenwich is incredible, with enough sites to fill at least a few days. Our flat is in walking distance to one entrance, but it’s worth taking a bus or train in the heat one direction, especially if it includes steep hills, to get to additional areas of the park.
Features
- The Children’s Play Area, located in the Southeast corner of the park near the Maze Hill Train Station, is incredible. This play area is suitable for multiple ages and ideal for a growing family. Free bathrooms are located on site, as well as an ice cream stand. Kids can enjoy slides, swings, a large sand area, and much more. The biggest obstacle is keeping track of your kids in such a large area, although England’s habit of fencing in parks is very helpful.
- Roman Remains
- The Queen’s Orchard
- Royal Observatory (some fees)
- View of the Royal Thames.
- Deer sanctuary and gardens.
- Short walk to Cutty Sark
- Restaurants
- Much more!
Mary Arden’s Farm, Sratford Upon Avon, England. Visiting Shakespeare’s birthplace proved a thrill for mom and dad, but not so much for our kids. They enjoyed the double decker bus tour, finding hidden stuffed mice at Nash’s House, and trying butterbeer at a Harry Potter store in town, but they were worn out of sightseeing by mid afternoon. Some volunteers recommended lunch and play time at Mary Arden’s Farm, so we decided to visit. The farm exceeded our expectations and proved a fond memory for all.
Features
- Kid-friendly dining, with healthy boxed meal options our kids enjoyed. It even included an “American style” cookie, in case you’re longing for home. The restaurant also had books available for the kids to borrow and read.
- Wooden Playground. This play area features carved wooden animals that the children can climb on, swings, slides, and giant Lincoln Logs. This provided a great respite more than once for our family that day.
- Farm Animals. Kids can see a variety of animals, including a horse, pigs, turkeys, and goats. They can also be a part of milking and feeding animals.
- Real Tudor Living. Your family can witness employees living the authentic tudor style, with bread making and more.
- Falconry. This afternoon show proved a highlight of our visit! We enjoyed listening to the program and watching the birds perform. Kai and I even participated in the end of the show!
Regent’s Park, London, England. This park is a bit less convenient for us and requires underground travel, our least favorite way to get places in England. It’s well worth a visit, though, and includes many sites w have yet to enjoy. It’s the largest grass area for sports in Central London and home to the London Zoo.
Features
- Large playground area, with fun for all ages. My older kids loved the huge rope climbing structure and all three climbed and played on the slides. This park is a nice size for keeping track of multiple children, is fenced in, and has free facilities.
- The London Zoo. We haven’t visited yet because a large zoo with 3 children and 1 adult on a weekday is a bit daunting. We might try a smaller zoo.
- Cycling, sports, and picnic areas.
- Open air theatre.
- Children’s boating pond.
- Geese grazing area.
- Close proximity to the eclectic Primrose Hill area.
People’s Park, Banbury, England. You’re probably familiar with the nursery rhyme about riding a cock horse to Banbury Cross. People’s Park is 
located in the heart of Banbury, home to the “cross,” an intersection in the center of town, and a statue commemorating the famous lady on the horse. We discovered this park during our month long stay in Banbury and it is one of my kids’ favorite spots there.
Features
- A semi-hidden pathway from town into a surprising open, green space.
- Children’s Play Area. Kai discoverd a deep love of rope swings, similar tire swings, in Banbury. He loved the swing at People’s Park so much, he insisted on riding for a long period of time, threw up his lunch, then asked to ride again. This fenced in play area is fun, but is probably just an “ok” park as far as England goes. The charm of People’s Park really comes when taken as a whole, in my opinion.
- Aviary.
- Walking gardens.
- Tennis Courts.
- Picnic, cycling, and walking areas.
- War Memorials.
And, just for fun, a park from Paris:
Jardin de Luxemburg, Paris, France. This piece of paradise is conveniently located next to an underground station. Our stay in Paris was incredibly short, so we missed most of the kid friendly attractions in this park by visiting in the evening. We often found ourselves randomly going from place to place due to limited language skills, funds, and time, but this park is worth planning ahead to visit.
Features
- 25 acres of land, split into French and English gardens.
- Orchards, geometric forests,106 statues, tons of green lawns for play.
- Seating by a large pond, with gorgeous views of state houses.
- A large playground (which was closed when we visited). It has a cost, but could be a day’s worth of fun.
Bonus: We spied Woody Harrelson in the park, hanging out with some college age guys, unnoticed by Parisians. We didn’t want to disturb him, so the pictures are difficult to see, but a fun memory!
These are just a few of the parks we’ve visited while in England. Where ever you visit, there is sure to be a park! Save money by planning to picnic and save your sanity by stopping to play. Even consider a few tourist days at the parks – you won’t regret it.
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