For Kids, a Jolly Good Show

Sturdy, stolid, elegant but grumpy old England, land of cold showers, warm beer, bad menus and declining GNP--my wife, Alden, and I knew it well from past travels.

But we had heard that England had grown hospitable to families on vacation. With our two daughters, Celia, 5, and Lydia, 7, we set out on our first trip overseas as a family to see if that was true.

To our delight (and moderate surprise), it was a terrific place for kids. Castles, parks, towers, ships--they’ve all adopted a kid-friendly approach that works.

Much to the delight of Lydia and Celia, a big part of this gearing up for children was the use of actors (actually reenactors) at many of the historic sites. Taking on the roles of figures from ancient times and places, they made the experience more real--and playful--for all of us.

Alden and I were determined not to “nanny” the girls out. We wanted them to encounter another world, so we were going to drag them everywhere.

We started with a visit to the Tower of London. This was exciting for the kids because they knew of castles from fairy tales and movies, but here was a real one. Even better was what’s inside: the crown jewels.

This was a happy surprise. You no longer have to wait hours to see the collection, but glide through efficiently on moving walkways that you can retake if you want, allowing for many dazzling views of Queen Victoria’s 1870 diamond crown, a favorite of our family.

When spirits flagged, Alden asked, “Want to see where queens were beheaded?” She got enthusiastic yeses. The execution block--on the tower grounds--was also a hit. You can overdo gore in London, but we kept things light with misbehaving royals.

The playful reenactments at some of our next stops made things even more colorful.

After leaving the tower, we went farther east to St. Katherine’s Dock, there boarding the Grand Turk, the frigate used in TV series such as “Horatio Hornblower,” a tale about a fictional member of the Royal Navy in the late 18th century that has been airing on A&E.;

One sturdy reenactor dressed as a midshipman signed up our older child as a powder monkey in the navy, then threatened to shanghai “the lot of you colonials,” as he called us--even though for him the year was 1797, well past the date of America’s independence.

Falling into the spirit of things, my wife told the midshipman to look across the docks to a yacht that flew the Stars and Stripes, saying it proved our nationhood.

“Exactly, Ma’am,” the midshipman said. “That’s why I’m keeping a close eye on you.” Joining in, I warned, “Someday you may need America as a friend,” to which he responded with a groan, “That will be a sad day indeed, sir, for the British Empire.”

The next day we set out for the Museum of Transport at Covent Garden, which is filled with hands-on exhibits about trains, buses and cars specifically geared for children. But we never got past Covent Garden itself. As Alden and I took turns touring the old outdoor market stalls, the children stood in the plaza watching street performers--skilled unicyclists, acrobats, magicians and others providing cheap entertainment. (You donate what you want.)

Even what one might think of as an adult experience, the “New” Globe Theatre, worked out. On a rehearsal mini-stage, student actors mesmerized our daughters with sword fights (from “The Importance of Being Earnest,” in some inventive staging of Oscar Wilde’s witty combats). Audio equipment allowed kids to try roles in various plays. Lydia read and recorded some lines in the lovers’ quarrel from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and played them back. Again and again.

Between our thespian adventures we relied for play breaks on London’s plentiful green spaces. (Tip for all parents visiting with children: To get from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey, cross St. James’s Park. It has ducks.)

Hyde Park framed our days. Some mornings we took in a playground first, to exorcise restless energy. At the west end of the park, near Kensington Palace where she lived, we found the Princess Diana Memorial Playground, an enclosure with a Peter Pan theme (Indian village, sandy coast and a fair-size mock-up of a pirate ship, complete with rigging and crow’s nest).

It was not just London we were after, but England--two different things.

Back in B.C. (before children), we visited rural Kent; this time we headed for more rural Wiltshire, southwest of the capital, familiar in bestsellers like Ken Follett’s “Pillars of the Earth.” It was easy to get there and get around--even to get safety seats with our rental car.

Although the recent foot-and-mouth disease scare led to cancellation of some events for the spring, summer events have been confirmed, and British officials emphasize that the south of England, at least, is open for tourism.

Adults can mine Wiltshire’s history--the Neolithic (Stonehenge), Roman Britain (Rockborne Villa, AD 200) and the Middle Ages (Salisbury Cathedral). If a cathedral visit sounds hopelessly stuffy for kids, this one was yet another surprise, offering a children’s tour of its artwork. They got supplies to draw all the unicorns and griffins they could spot in the stained glass and sculpture. We got quiet.

We also found historic sites--with one major exception--family-friendly. Stonehenge was a bomb; to young kids, it’s just big rocks to look at from a distance. (The monoliths have been roped off for some years because of crowd control problems.)

But the children were enchanted and engaged by things to see and do at other sites. The best was two miles north of Salisbury at Old Sarum Castle, a hill fort on the elevated site of the first city in the area (abandoned in 1226 because of water supply problems). After circling the ruins, we sat in the castle yard and watched “The Bard and the Blade”--swordplay from Shakespeare, in another case of inventive staging. This one was from “The Taming of the Shrew,” with blades replacing slapstick between Katherina and Petruchio. The lead actress (she was what Shakespeare would term a buxom red-haired lass) invited kids in the crowd to learn how to fake a fight, and takers were plenty, including our 7-year-old, who gleefully “tossed aside” a hefty attacker.

Estates--the grand blueblood homes within parks--that we visited also were open with pint-size visitors in mind. One was Wilton, whose grounds were used in the movie “Sense and Sensibility.” Aware that room after room of elegance brings out the fidget in children, Wilton has an outdoor play area with trampolines, slides and rope ladders, where our daughters cavorted. Afterward we strolled in the gardens, discovering a picture-book-perfect Palladian bridge over a stream (actually the River Nadder).

Longleat, an estate of the Marquess of Bath, also had a playground, this one tapping into imagination with a large wooden castle and a maze said to be the longest in the world. (We tried to navigate it but were baffled.)

When we tired, we buckled into our car for a tour of Longleat’s Safari Park, 350 wild acres with lions and tigers (but no bears), stocked by the marquess. The car had to be locked tight because the big cats came up, mostly, it seemed, to inspect the side mirrors.

When a monkey later jumped on the car, I heard a sweet little voice in the back seat blurt out: “This is the best day of my life.”

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Guidebook: Taking Tykes to England

* Getting there: From LAX, nonstop service to London is available on British Airways, American, Air New Zealand, Virgin Atlantic, United and TWA. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $934.

* Where to stay in London: When booking a hotel, ask if they have family rooms or suites--two bedrooms and a shared bath. They’re often not advertised, but they can lead to savings. We got such savings at the Basil Street Hotel, Knightsbridge, London SW3 1AH, telephone 011-44-207-581-3311, fax 011-44-207-581-3693, Internet https://www.thebasil.com, one block from Harrods. A family suite there goes for about $380 a night.

Also recommended: The Gresham Hotel, 116 Sussex Gardens, London W2 1UA, tel. 011-44-207-402-2920, fax 011-44-207-402-3137, https://www.the-gresham-hotel.co.uk; family suites from $150 a night.

Also welcoming families: Allandale Hotel, 3 Devonshire Terrace, Lancaster Gate, London W2 3DN, tel./fax 011-44-20-7723-8311, https://www.allandalehotel.co.uk. Rates for a family room begin about $150.

* Where to eat in London: Rouge, 15 Frith St., W1, Piccadilly, local tel. 7437-4307, a chain with a French accent, is for adults as well as children. Maxwell’s, 8-9 James St., WC2, in Covent Garden, tel. 7836-0303, has good pizza, hamburgers and milkshakes. Both Rouge and Maxwell’s have a kids’ menu for about $10; adult fare will cost about $15 to $20. In southwest London, try the Chelsea Kitchen, 98 Kings Road, SW3, tel. 7589-1330, which features inexpensive roasts and chops. At the Globe, walk a block to the Anchor Pub, Southwark Bridge, tel. 7407-1577, where the Sunday roast beef is hearty.

* Getting to Wiltshire: You can take the train from Waterloo station to Salisbury (about 90 minutes) and rent a car. A similar strategy is practical for other cities with historic attractions (Bath, York, Durham, Edinburgh).

* Where to stay in Wiltshire: Renting a cottage provides a good home base. As You Like It, PMB126, 38 Miller Ave., Mill Valley, CA 94941; tel. (415) 380-9848, fax (415) 380-9850, and Ville et Village, 2124 Kittredge St., No. 200, Berkeley, CA 94704; tel. (510) 559-8080, fax (510) 559-8217, https://www.villeetvillage.com, provide good selections.

Through As You Like It, we arranged to stay on Witherington Farm near Salisbury. The cottage (with three bedrooms, a kitchen, big living and dining rooms, garden and a pool) was $2,500 for a week.

* For more information: Helpful in trip planning: “Kids’ London,” one of the Dorling Kindersley travel guides for parents, and Cadogan’s “Take the Kids to London.” Useful Web sites: https://www.aboutbritain.com and https://www.kidsnet.co.uk. Also check out family-oriented events at https://www.english-heritage.org.uk or https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk or https://www.salisbury.gov.uk/tourism.

Also, the British Tourist Authority, 551 Fifth Ave., Suite 701, New York, NY 10176-0799; tel. (800) 462-2748, https://www.btausa.com.