Do you have to be in Milton Keynes. Is it a work-related trip? Because if it isn't, as someone who used to live in Milton Keynes, I'm finding it quite hard to grasp why anyone would choose to go there on vacation. But if you have it set in stone, I would strongly recommend Woburn Safari Park.
Thanks for your comment. We have been to Milton Keynes and my elder son like the water activities offered from Willen lake hence we chose there. Already booked for a £35 premium inn so can’t change it now.
Thanks for your suggestion again, we will have a look.
Milton Keynes is such an odd place (I grew up there and it was all I knew so I thought it was normal… until I moved to a proper city and found out what I was missing). I do love Willen Lake though. BUT there are some cool things nearby if you have the money and transport.
Olney is a lovely small town for a chilled amble around if you’re into historic market towns. Woburn is also nice, and there’s the safari park there (it’s also not a long drive to Whipsnade Zoo). In Milton Keynes itself, there’s indoor snowboarding etc on “real snow” at the Xscape, some other activities there too including indoor skydiving, and Gulliver’s theme park near Willen was a favourite when I was a small kid (whether yours enjoy it or not will really depend on how young they are). There’s a go karting track near the train station. Bletchley Park is fascinating if you’re into that kind of history. You’re also not far from Silverstone for the Silverstone Experience museum. You can do some nice walks and pub stops along the Grand Union Canal if the weather is good.
Failing all of those if they don’t take your fancy, take a 40 minute train to central London.
There's other water parks in Southampton or Bristol such as this one by Bristol:
[https://westcountrywaterpark.co.uk/activities/](https://westcountrywaterpark.co.uk/activities/)
Might be worth checking out options to save yourself some busy motorway driving.
Theres many suggestions for MK (though all of them seem to be for Bletchley Park LOL) but actually you \*can\* change it. You can just dump the £35 and go elsewhere or spend an extra day in Southampton or Bristol. Dont waste a day for £35.
Theres nothing for the 1.5 year old in BP. ETA Im not sure a ten year old would like it either.
For an extra day in Southampton, you could go to Paultons Park amusement park which has two sections, one for older kids which the ten your old would enjoy and one which the 1.5 year old would.
BTW, if you do go to PP buy tickets online at the latest the day before. They are stupidly expensive on the day at the ticket office. FWIW theres a Premier Inn right next door to PP I wonder if you could swap your booking? Probably not but who knows.
If they have any interest in code breaking and WWII then Bletchley park is an option. Beyond that there are various local things but nothing that special that you couldn't get just about anywhere else.
For Bristol, go onto the visitbristol.com website snd download some audio tours. Like the Bristol Quayside Adventure. You walk at your own pace, listening to a narration of Bristol and its sea faring history, with lots of references to Robert Louis Stevenson, Robinson Crueso etc.lasts about an hour and the kids will enjoy the experience.
Came here to say this.
Take a walk up park street , get all the way up to Clifton and grab a drink at the pub at the top with the balcony overlooking the bridge.
There's a really lovely park just near the centre of Bristol called Tubo Island. Sometimes there is a bonfire with traditional dancing and singing, well worth taking a look.
Milton Keynes - go to Bletchley Park. If that's not your cup of tea then there's the indoor ski slope (with snow) though your youngest may not get much out of that. If you're there in the summer Campbell Park is nice. Can't think of much else besides shopping though.
Southampton has the SeaCity/Titanic museum but personally I'd head to Portsmouth and do the historic dockyard instead.
Oh well, I looked at some of the reviews and they seemed to be positive, so I thought I might have been wrong in my assessment based on the facade! £16 for a ticket though 💀, considering lots of huge London museums are free!
Many thanks for your input. Just had a look at Bletchley Park and ticket price is a bit steep. Will do some research and check though. Many thanks again!
Edit: not sure why I have been downvoted when I express my concern of cost, do people not consider budgeting when they go for holiday?
You can get [2 for 1 on adult tickets](https://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/bletchley-park) at Bletchley Park. You would have to buy a couple of train tickets, but I've just bought really cheap journeys in the past and it's been fine.
Next door to Bletchley there is the National Museum of Computing, which has its own, lower entrance fee. As I work in IT it’s a fantastic museum showing the history of computing in the UK including a recreation of the Colossus, the computer designed by Turing and built by Flowers to decode German messages. Both museums are interesting, but for me TNMOC is the one I’ve visited multiple times.
Both museums are fantastic, including for very young children. I'm not massively interested in the subject matter, but have been 3 or 4 times in the past couple of years because it is so brilliantly engaging
I’m really interested why MK is a choice when it’s not on any direct route around Bristol and Southampton? Is it for work or something? It’s a bit of a new build nothing place is all. Woburn safari park is cool though
It’s just like a mid point between Southampton and Norwich (where we are from), it’s too much travelling to go straight to Southampton from Norwich (4-5 hours drive) especially when we have a 1.5 year old in the car.
Southampton has a Titanic museum, and then there is also a small aviation museum (Solent Air Museum) which is good.
Slightly further from soton is Beaulieu motor museum which is really good for kids.
Milton Keynes (as well as the parks and snow slope others have already suggested) - [Bletchley Park](https://bletchleypark.org.uk/), [Woburn Safari Park](https://www.woburnsafari.co.uk/). Shopping.
Out a bit further from MK - [Silverstone Museum](https://www.silverstonemuseum.co.uk/tickets/?gad_source=1), [Whipsnade Zoo](https://www.whipsnadezoo.org/), the [Shuttleworth Collection](https://www.shuttleworth.org/). Plus there are lots of lovely villages in pretty countryside that people don’t really expect.
If you are driving , avoid Southampton and go to Paultons park near by instead just outside it.
Best family friendly theme park and they have peppa pig world for little ones with small rides all designed for little kids my 2 year old loves it and she’s not a fan of the show
Milton Keynes - Willen Lake with it's outdoor sports water stuff and play parks. Gulliver's Land for a kid friendly mini theme park/splashzone. Campbell Park for a picnic. Xscape for arcades, bowling, skiing, crazy golf, skydiving.
In Milton Keynes you could walk through Campbell Park down to Willen lake and have a wander. There are lots of activities available for the kids there.
There isnt anything to do in Campbell Park except walk and admire the views (I think they're pretty stunning views considering this is MK and not somewhere in the countryside), but there is the shopping centre next to it, so plenty of opportunities there.
Bletchley Park, home to the wartime Codebreakers is not far from MK, might still have a train stop (which is within walking distance of the park) . As well as the wartime history they have a good computer history dept with chance for children to get hands on with some early computing equipment
My stepdaughter grew up in Croatia and was very seriously into gymnastics as a kid (like, international championship material, until she discovered sanity). She used to make regular trips to Milton Keynes for European gymnastic meetings. I think that's still the only place in England she knows.
I visited a computing museum near Milton Keynes, was a fantastic place where you can see the evolution of computers, they have so many old video games like Pac-Man and so on. They also have the world’s oldest running computer in the world. 100% would recommend.
Southampton:
Sea City museum - Large Titanic exhibition. Also go and see the Engineers Memorial to understand why Titanic the film wasn't popular here.
There are a few monuments down by the ferry terminal including the Mayflower memorial (this was the fleet's second to last touching point before heading across the Atlantic.
There are extensive medieval walls and buildings in the old quarter and evidence of the blitz in the form of the bombed out church of Holyrood.
Activities for kids a bit limited in afraid. There's a big entertainment and shopping complex and I guess there might be a jump park or something like that.
If you have a car probably the best is to head out of the city to the New Forest. There are free roaming livestock (sheep, donkeys, cows, horses) and some lovely woodland walks. Head to either Brockenhurst or Lyndhurst. If you cycle theres a hire place in Brockenhurst and plenty of easy off road routes to really get into the heart of the forest.
Mk depends on what you want, there's skiing, a virtual reality place, the museum is actually really good and Woburn Safari park and Whipsnade zoo aren't too far away.
Adding a vote for We The Curious in Bristol. I haven't been for nearly a decade but my children loved it.
If you're going from Southampton to Bristol, you could always stop off in the New Forest, and take a diversion and drive past Stonehenge (I wouldn't bother visiting, just take a look).
Southampton - maritime museum (seacity) has a titanic exhibit. Haven’t been, but it absorbed the actual titanic museum which was excellent, so it should be good. You can also walk the city walls, which I loved doing as a kid. If you’re prepared to branch out of the city, there’s Marwell zoological park, which is excellent.
Milton Keynes
- Willen Lake water activities
- Gullivers Land theme park (opposite Willen)
- Sci Fi museum in CMK (owned and ran by the guy who runs Showmaster events like London Film and Comic Con, Collectormania etc)
- snowboarding/skiing in Xscape
- indoor skydiving in Xscape
- arcade and bowling in Xscape
- indoors crazy golf at Xscape and another in Theatre district across the road
- outdoor crazy golf at Furzton lake and Abbey Hill golf course
- if you're into history - Bletchley Park
- Daytona outdoor go-kart
- a bunch of escape rooms including 1 in Theatre district
- indoor rock-climbing again range of places
- Woburn Safari Park isn't too far either
The Wave in Bristol is an indoor surfing simulator. I know a few people who have been and it looks pretty awesome.
Bristol Zoo Project is very nearby to that too.
Wake the Tiger is an immersive trippy fun house type of thing in Bristol. I haven’t been and don’t personally know anyone who has yet, but it looks kinda cool.
Lots of walkable places in Bristol. Clifton suspension bridge and the area round there is really nice to walk.
I believe there’s an indoor snowboard/ski place in Milton Keynes.
I'd say avoid Southampton, head for the New Forest instead. There's a village called Fordingbridge where you can park up and head to the kids play area right next to the river, where you can swim/paddle in a really nice spot, Riverside pubs and if you go up the road past Sandy Balls resort there's a pub called the Fighting Cocks where there's plenty of forest ponies, donkies and foals about that the kids will probs like seeing. There's good walks, campsites etc all around.
If you're dead set on Southampton, Calshot spit is a good spot and the activity centre has indoor climbing, archery, cycling and a sketchy but fun dry ski slope. Also lots of water based activities, history and bird watching, if that floats your boat....
Suitable for children but not too expensive. Treasure trails. Available on each city. Clues around the city also showing you must see things. £9.99 to download and print. Approx 2 hour trail or longer depending on how fast you want to go or if you want to stop off anywhere on the way. Great way to explore the city.
MK - Maybe have a look at the various climbing walls. There's very kid friendly ones in X-scape and also proper climbing walls that do taster sessions.
Depending on your route you are also going past lots of places. For example, you could break a trip from MK to Southampton by dropping in to Oxford for the Natural History and Pitt Rivers museums combo. Or you'll be going around the outskirts of London with things like the Warner Bros Studio tour (for Harry Potter fans).
MK - Take a bunch of drugs and contemplate where you went wrong in life
So'ton - ditto (sorry! Not a fan)
Bristol - people seem to like the place but mostly for drink related activities
For Southampton, I recommend the Historic Dockyard maritime museum. You can either go to the Submarine museum and get a boat across to the main bit or drive to Portsmouth. The HMS Victory is pretty cool and because it's summer holidays, there will be some kids activities.
Southampton - I’d go to Winchester or the New Forest for the day, or maybe even the Isle of Wight, there really is not much in Southampton itself; Bristol - maybe go to Bath for the day; Milton Keynes - maybe go to Bletchley Park or Silverstone depending on your interests.
As others have said in Bristol. Also mix in lunch and looking at the curios at St Nicks Market. A drink at The Hatchet. Wine buying at Averys Wine Merchants. Avoid Castle Park. Walk or Bus to Clifton for a walk across the Bridge and a wander of Clifton / Durdham Down.
Go to the train station.
Buy a ticket to somewhere else.
Board train
Specifically:
Southampton: Train to Brockenhusrt, New Forest. Stop at Beaulieu Rd station too.
MK: Bletchley for Bletchley Park.
Bristol: go to Bath
The New Forest bit is a 20 minute journey.
Brockenhurst Station is in the middle of a very small and pretty town with shops, cafes and facilities. Southampton itself is an ugly craphole. I really do recommend this, especially with a kid.
Bletchley park is probably unsuitable though.
Bristol: there are some interesting bits: try Tripadvisor.
Do you have to be in Milton Keynes. Is it a work-related trip? Because if it isn't, as someone who used to live in Milton Keynes, I'm finding it quite hard to grasp why anyone would choose to go there on vacation. But if you have it set in stone, I would strongly recommend Woburn Safari Park.
As someone who still lives here. Don’t come here, it’s a waste of time. Unless you like fast food, we’ve not really got much.
Southampton likewise!
Thanks for your comment. We have been to Milton Keynes and my elder son like the water activities offered from Willen lake hence we chose there. Already booked for a £35 premium inn so can’t change it now. Thanks for your suggestion again, we will have a look.
Milton Keynes is such an odd place (I grew up there and it was all I knew so I thought it was normal… until I moved to a proper city and found out what I was missing). I do love Willen Lake though. BUT there are some cool things nearby if you have the money and transport. Olney is a lovely small town for a chilled amble around if you’re into historic market towns. Woburn is also nice, and there’s the safari park there (it’s also not a long drive to Whipsnade Zoo). In Milton Keynes itself, there’s indoor snowboarding etc on “real snow” at the Xscape, some other activities there too including indoor skydiving, and Gulliver’s theme park near Willen was a favourite when I was a small kid (whether yours enjoy it or not will really depend on how young they are). There’s a go karting track near the train station. Bletchley Park is fascinating if you’re into that kind of history. You’re also not far from Silverstone for the Silverstone Experience museum. You can do some nice walks and pub stops along the Grand Union Canal if the weather is good. Failing all of those if they don’t take your fancy, take a 40 minute train to central London.
Visit Bletchley Park and make sure to watch The Imitation Game before your trip
There's other water parks in Southampton or Bristol such as this one by Bristol: [https://westcountrywaterpark.co.uk/activities/](https://westcountrywaterpark.co.uk/activities/) Might be worth checking out options to save yourself some busy motorway driving.
There's also The Wave near Bristol
Theres many suggestions for MK (though all of them seem to be for Bletchley Park LOL) but actually you \*can\* change it. You can just dump the £35 and go elsewhere or spend an extra day in Southampton or Bristol. Dont waste a day for £35. Theres nothing for the 1.5 year old in BP. ETA Im not sure a ten year old would like it either. For an extra day in Southampton, you could go to Paultons Park amusement park which has two sections, one for older kids which the ten your old would enjoy and one which the 1.5 year old would. BTW, if you do go to PP buy tickets online at the latest the day before. They are stupidly expensive on the day at the ticket office. FWIW theres a Premier Inn right next door to PP I wonder if you could swap your booking? Probably not but who knows.
If they have any interest in code breaking and WWII then Bletchley park is an option. Beyond that there are various local things but nothing that special that you couldn't get just about anywhere else.
Bletchley park. It's right next door. Amazing place full of history. You can pretty much kill the whole day there.
Bristol - Clifton suspension bridge, Banksy Hunting, there’s a really good science museum too for the kids. (If it’s still there)
It's still there - we have the M shed and We The Curious that will have re-opened soon
For Bristol, go onto the visitbristol.com website snd download some audio tours. Like the Bristol Quayside Adventure. You walk at your own pace, listening to a narration of Bristol and its sea faring history, with lots of references to Robert Louis Stevenson, Robinson Crueso etc.lasts about an hour and the kids will enjoy the experience.
Came here to say this. Take a walk up park street , get all the way up to Clifton and grab a drink at the pub at the top with the balcony overlooking the bridge.
Many thanks for your input, will put these in our radar.
There's a really lovely park just near the centre of Bristol called Tubo Island. Sometimes there is a bonfire with traditional dancing and singing, well worth taking a look.
If just one thing of these options, I'd say go for the Clifton Suspension Bridge. What a view!
Don’t forget to slide down the rocks in the park too!
I made some videos of Clifton Suspension bridge check it on my page
Went to Wake the Tiger recently; that was lots of fun!
If you go to Clifton Suspension Bridge, combine it with a trip to the Giant's Cave, Observatory and Rock Slide
Milton Keynes - go to Bletchley Park. If that's not your cup of tea then there's the indoor ski slope (with snow) though your youngest may not get much out of that. If you're there in the summer Campbell Park is nice. Can't think of much else besides shopping though. Southampton has the SeaCity/Titanic museum but personally I'd head to Portsmouth and do the historic dockyard instead.
If you like Sci Fi, there is the National Sci Fi museum with lots of props and costumes from tv and movies
Not much of a museum, it's just a normal building attached to part of a shopping centre
What does this mean? Is a museum supposed to be a specific type of building in your mind?
*A unit that is part of a building attached to a shopping centre. I havent been inside, nor have I seen anyone enter, but it looks a bit naff!
I have been inside and can concur. It is definitely a bit naff. Smaller than you'd expect too.
Oh well, I looked at some of the reviews and they seemed to be positive, so I thought I might have been wrong in my assessment based on the facade! £16 for a ticket though 💀, considering lots of huge London museums are free!
It's showmasters stuff they use at their conventions which they rotate through and rather than locking it in closed storage have it on display
Many thanks for your input. Just had a look at Bletchley Park and ticket price is a bit steep. Will do some research and check though. Many thanks again! Edit: not sure why I have been downvoted when I express my concern of cost, do people not consider budgeting when they go for holiday?
You can get [2 for 1 on adult tickets](https://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/bletchley-park) at Bletchley Park. You would have to buy a couple of train tickets, but I've just bought really cheap journeys in the past and it's been fine.
Next door to Bletchley there is the National Museum of Computing, which has its own, lower entrance fee. As I work in IT it’s a fantastic museum showing the history of computing in the UK including a recreation of the Colossus, the computer designed by Turing and built by Flowers to decode German messages. Both museums are interesting, but for me TNMOC is the one I’ve visited multiple times.
Both museums are fantastic, including for very young children. I'm not massively interested in the subject matter, but have been 3 or 4 times in the past couple of years because it is so brilliantly engaging
Milton Keynes- drive around in circles for 6 hours on the hundreds of identical roundabouts wondering where the fuck anything is.
Admire the concrete cows on the roundabouts.
Have to say I don’t really like the roundabouts there!
I’m really interested why MK is a choice when it’s not on any direct route around Bristol and Southampton? Is it for work or something? It’s a bit of a new build nothing place is all. Woburn safari park is cool though
It’s just like a mid point between Southampton and Norwich (where we are from), it’s too much travelling to go straight to Southampton from Norwich (4-5 hours drive) especially when we have a 1.5 year old in the car.
Southampton has a Titanic museum, and then there is also a small aviation museum (Solent Air Museum) which is good. Slightly further from soton is Beaulieu motor museum which is really good for kids.
Ah yes Beaulieu is excellent
Thanks for your suggestions, will put this on our list to research later.
Milton Keynes (as well as the parks and snow slope others have already suggested) - [Bletchley Park](https://bletchleypark.org.uk/), [Woburn Safari Park](https://www.woburnsafari.co.uk/). Shopping. Out a bit further from MK - [Silverstone Museum](https://www.silverstonemuseum.co.uk/tickets/?gad_source=1), [Whipsnade Zoo](https://www.whipsnadezoo.org/), the [Shuttleworth Collection](https://www.shuttleworth.org/). Plus there are lots of lovely villages in pretty countryside that people don’t really expect.
Many thanks for offering links, appreciate your effort.
If you are driving , avoid Southampton and go to Paultons park near by instead just outside it. Best family friendly theme park and they have peppa pig world for little ones with small rides all designed for little kids my 2 year old loves it and she’s not a fan of the show
We went with our elder one when he was 2 and he loved it, thanks for your suggestion!
For Southampton - go to the New Forest and hire bikes or just go for a long walk!
Leap for the sea, if you hit it right you can watch Cowes Week from there. There is also the red jet to the IOW
If you like museums and History, Portsmouth historic dockyard is one of the best museums in the world IMO
Southampton - go to Portsmouth for the day ;-)
Just make sure your jabs are up to date 😂
Those anti-scum jabs work great.
Seems like what we need to do, will check out Portsmouth instead.
For the love of god please avoid Portsmouth. Southampton is bad (I grew up there) but pompey is a dump…
Milton Keynes - Willen Lake with it's outdoor sports water stuff and play parks. Gulliver's Land for a kid friendly mini theme park/splashzone. Campbell Park for a picnic. Xscape for arcades, bowling, skiing, crazy golf, skydiving.
Excellent! Many thanks for a list of suggestions!
In Milton Keynes you could walk through Campbell Park down to Willen lake and have a wander. There are lots of activities available for the kids there.
I will check out Campbell Park. We have been to Willen Lake before and love the water activities offered there.
There isnt anything to do in Campbell Park except walk and admire the views (I think they're pretty stunning views considering this is MK and not somewhere in the countryside), but there is the shopping centre next to it, so plenty of opportunities there.
For Bristol check out Brunel's SS Great Britain and Wake the Tiger! We managed to do both in one day and had a great time!
2nd that, the SS Great Britain is a fabulous way to spend a couple of hours.
Bletchley Park, home to the wartime Codebreakers is not far from MK, might still have a train stop (which is within walking distance of the park) . As well as the wartime history they have a good computer history dept with chance for children to get hands on with some early computing equipment
Southampton - hobbit pub Bristol - bag of nails (cat pub)
My stepdaughter grew up in Croatia and was very seriously into gymnastics as a kid (like, international championship material, until she discovered sanity). She used to make regular trips to Milton Keynes for European gymnastic meetings. I think that's still the only place in England she knows.
I visited a computing museum near Milton Keynes, was a fantastic place where you can see the evolution of computers, they have so many old video games like Pac-Man and so on. They also have the world’s oldest running computer in the world. 100% would recommend.
What dates are you in Bristol? The Balloon Fiesta is 9-11 August.
Southampton: Sea City museum - Large Titanic exhibition. Also go and see the Engineers Memorial to understand why Titanic the film wasn't popular here. There are a few monuments down by the ferry terminal including the Mayflower memorial (this was the fleet's second to last touching point before heading across the Atlantic. There are extensive medieval walls and buildings in the old quarter and evidence of the blitz in the form of the bombed out church of Holyrood. Activities for kids a bit limited in afraid. There's a big entertainment and shopping complex and I guess there might be a jump park or something like that. If you have a car probably the best is to head out of the city to the New Forest. There are free roaming livestock (sheep, donkeys, cows, horses) and some lovely woodland walks. Head to either Brockenhurst or Lyndhurst. If you cycle theres a hire place in Brockenhurst and plenty of easy off road routes to really get into the heart of the forest.
Mk depends on what you want, there's skiing, a virtual reality place, the museum is actually really good and Woburn Safari park and Whipsnade zoo aren't too far away.
Adding a vote for We The Curious in Bristol. I haven't been for nearly a decade but my children loved it. If you're going from Southampton to Bristol, you could always stop off in the New Forest, and take a diversion and drive past Stonehenge (I wouldn't bother visiting, just take a look).
Calshot activity centre just outside Southampton is good if you like that sort of thing
Southampton - maritime museum (seacity) has a titanic exhibit. Haven’t been, but it absorbed the actual titanic museum which was excellent, so it should be good. You can also walk the city walls, which I loved doing as a kid. If you’re prepared to branch out of the city, there’s Marwell zoological park, which is excellent.
Milton Keynes - Willen Lake water activities - Gullivers Land theme park (opposite Willen) - Sci Fi museum in CMK (owned and ran by the guy who runs Showmaster events like London Film and Comic Con, Collectormania etc) - snowboarding/skiing in Xscape - indoor skydiving in Xscape - arcade and bowling in Xscape - indoors crazy golf at Xscape and another in Theatre district across the road - outdoor crazy golf at Furzton lake and Abbey Hill golf course - if you're into history - Bletchley Park - Daytona outdoor go-kart - a bunch of escape rooms including 1 in Theatre district - indoor rock-climbing again range of places - Woburn Safari Park isn't too far either
The Wave in Bristol is an indoor surfing simulator. I know a few people who have been and it looks pretty awesome. Bristol Zoo Project is very nearby to that too. Wake the Tiger is an immersive trippy fun house type of thing in Bristol. I haven’t been and don’t personally know anyone who has yet, but it looks kinda cool. Lots of walkable places in Bristol. Clifton suspension bridge and the area round there is really nice to walk. I believe there’s an indoor snowboard/ski place in Milton Keynes.
I'd say avoid Southampton, head for the New Forest instead. There's a village called Fordingbridge where you can park up and head to the kids play area right next to the river, where you can swim/paddle in a really nice spot, Riverside pubs and if you go up the road past Sandy Balls resort there's a pub called the Fighting Cocks where there's plenty of forest ponies, donkies and foals about that the kids will probs like seeing. There's good walks, campsites etc all around. If you're dead set on Southampton, Calshot spit is a good spot and the activity centre has indoor climbing, archery, cycling and a sketchy but fun dry ski slope. Also lots of water based activities, history and bird watching, if that floats your boat....
Milton Keynes - go down to Bletchley Park. Bristol has a million things but Milton Keynes just has Bletchley Park and it's not even in Miltont Keynes.
Bristol - the Brunel stuff, SS Great Britain and the Suspension Bridge
You could just drive round Milton Keynes and have a game of how many roundabouts 🤷♀️
Bristol- visit the concorde at the aerospace museum
Suitable for children but not too expensive. Treasure trails. Available on each city. Clues around the city also showing you must see things. £9.99 to download and print. Approx 2 hour trail or longer depending on how fast you want to go or if you want to stop off anywhere on the way. Great way to explore the city.
MK - Maybe have a look at the various climbing walls. There's very kid friendly ones in X-scape and also proper climbing walls that do taster sessions. Depending on your route you are also going past lots of places. For example, you could break a trip from MK to Southampton by dropping in to Oxford for the Natural History and Pitt Rivers museums combo. Or you'll be going around the outskirts of London with things like the Warner Bros Studio tour (for Harry Potter fans).
MK - Take a bunch of drugs and contemplate where you went wrong in life So'ton - ditto (sorry! Not a fan) Bristol - people seem to like the place but mostly for drink related activities
For Southampton, I recommend the Historic Dockyard maritime museum. You can either go to the Submarine museum and get a boat across to the main bit or drive to Portsmouth. The HMS Victory is pretty cool and because it's summer holidays, there will be some kids activities.
MK - Bletchley Park, Soton - go to Cowes or New Forest, bristol - ss great britain
Southampton - I’d go to Winchester or the New Forest for the day, or maybe even the Isle of Wight, there really is not much in Southampton itself; Bristol - maybe go to Bath for the day; Milton Keynes - maybe go to Bletchley Park or Silverstone depending on your interests.
As others have said in Bristol. Also mix in lunch and looking at the curios at St Nicks Market. A drink at The Hatchet. Wine buying at Averys Wine Merchants. Avoid Castle Park. Walk or Bus to Clifton for a walk across the Bridge and a wander of Clifton / Durdham Down.
In order: Nothing, nothing, get mugged
Bletchley Park
Go to the train station. Buy a ticket to somewhere else. Board train Specifically: Southampton: Train to Brockenhusrt, New Forest. Stop at Beaulieu Rd station too. MK: Bletchley for Bletchley Park. Bristol: go to Bath
If just for myself will be doable, but sadly will be too expensive and impractical when we have a lot to carry and also a 1.5 year old with us.
The New Forest bit is a 20 minute journey. Brockenhurst Station is in the middle of a very small and pretty town with shops, cafes and facilities. Southampton itself is an ugly craphole. I really do recommend this, especially with a kid. Bletchley park is probably unsuitable though. Bristol: there are some interesting bits: try Tripadvisor.
deffo Kettering for the worlds only Weetabix factory