I know we done this before, but humour me:Things for a 16-year-old to do in England

In My Humble Opinion
1

We lost Ivylad’s father almost three years ago, and since then, Ivylad’s mother has not returned to her roots in England, probably because she visited there with Dad and the memories will be too hard.

However, this summer she’s going, and has decided to give our 16-year-old son his early graduation/birthday/Christmas/Easter/Halloween/St. Swithen’s day present early, by taking him with her for a month to visit England and Scotland.

She told him yesterday, his face turned beet-red, we thought he was going to cry, and certainly he was gasping for air. They’re leaving in June.

She’s told him to list four things he’d like to see, distance is no object, and not to list Windsor Castle and Wembly (?) Market, since those places will be on her list.

So far, he’s listed Stonehenge, St. Andrews, Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Loch Ness. (Yes, I know that’s more than four).

They will be staying with relatives, and he’s been warned to keep his wallet in his front pocket and not to go wandering off on his own. Any customs, any sights, any must see/do? My MIL has told him one of the things they do in England is the minute you get up, you make your bed, and he’s already practicing that.

Sorry for the repetition, and I thanks everyone for their suggestions!

(P.S. Noted how I spelled “humor” in the title? :slight_smile: )

2

Go to the Lakes district! Jemima Puddleduck and Peter Rabbit are around every corner.

It truly is a magical part of England.

3

Um, he’s 16, not 6. I think I’m missing something here. Is it like a park?

4

Um no. I was 20 when I was there. It is a beautiful part of England, a place that is well worth visiting.

Of course if you are looking for excitment central don’t go there but if you are looking for a place that is “English”, gorgeous and well worth visiting…

Seriously don’t miss the Lake District.

5

Lake District homepage
Other than the obvious tourist stuff, what is he interested in? Music, sports, anything like that?

6

Ah, thank you for clearing up my ignorance. I will recommend it. I’m sure Grandma will like it to.

What’s blooming in Kew(?) Gardens in late June-early July?

Ivyboy is into writing and computers. He’s on the track team and seems to enjoy it. Grandma wants to take him by Oxford…not that he’d ever get in, but just to expose him to higher education.

7

I’m sorry that sounded a bit more testy then I intended, but if your 16 yr old is looking to see more then theme park England then look at GorillaMan’s link .

8

I visited England for 3 months when I was 16 and had a great time!

Things he really must do:

Climb to the top of St. Paul’s Cathedral (great views!)

Visit the Crypt in St. Pauls. Lots of Famous People are there. They’re too dead to notice you dropped by, but it’s still fun to say you dropped by to say hello to Lord Nelson but he was terminally indisposed at the time. :smiley:

Visit Westminster Abbey (And see the Stone Of Scone!)

Spend a whole day at The Imperial War Museum (Guns, Tanks, Planes, Missiles… all sorts of neat toys!)

Spend another whole day at the British Museum! Back in the Good Old Days, when Britain ran the world, they sent their scientists and explorers out to search for antiquities from (among other places) Greece and Egypt, then stole them and bought them back to England. As a result of this far-sighted blend of Imperialism, Academic Research, and Looting, some of the greatest treasures of the Ancient Era are yours to behold in the civilised surrounds of The British Museum, London, England- saving you the hassle of going to some Foreign country where they might shoot at you, not have any decent Tea, or worse, not understand the intricacies of Cricket. The Rosetta Stone is just one of the many important artefacts on display, along with lots of Mummies and other cool stuff.

Go to France via the Channel Tunnel. Why the hell not? It’s cheap, different, and you can legally drink in France at 16. :smiley: While you’re there, make sure you find a McDonalds and order a Royale With Cheese. :cool:

Before you go, read Bill Bryson’s Notes From A Small Island. It really is a spot-on depicition of England and English people, and if it doesn’t make you laugh then you’re either a soulless monster or else you had a humourectomy as a kid. :wink:

Oh, you can also have hours of fun with the Tube as well. Find a group of locals at a pub or takeaway and ask them how to get to Mornington Station… :smiley:

9

Bletchley Park may interest him - it was the wartime codebreaking centre (the Engima machines & all that), and also has a museum devoted to computers. It’s not too far from Oxford, so would fit in with that.

Also, late June/early July fits in with the World Cup. Hopefully England will still be in the competition by then, so one of the matches on TV will be the perfect time to enjoy an authentically-rowdy pub :wink:

If someone over 18 buys it for him, and they’re eating a meal, Ivylad can have alcohol in England.

10

I lived in London with my family for about 9 months when I was 16, and I had the time of my life (partly because I was not in a local school, but enrolled in a correspondence school in Australia, so I had a lot of free time to wander around.

There are a whole lot of museums that a 16-year-old should enjoy, including:
the Science Museum in South Kensington.
the Imperial War Museum (IWM) in South London
the National Railway Museum (NRM) in York.

I think he needs to see at least a couple of castles, a couple of cathedrals, and a couple of the major standard museums and galleries, like the British Museum and the National Gallery.

I should also mention one of my favourite places, which is free (because of the terms of the former owner’s bequest) and was in walking distance of where I lived: Sir John Soane’s Museum. It is full of objects collected and used by an architect in his private home – a lot of it knick-knacks, but including J.M.W. Turner paintings, a few Canaletto paintings, a lot of Hogarth paintings, and an Egyptian sarcophagus. It would have been an interesting house to live in.

11

(correction mine, Ivylad is my hubby, Ivyboy and Ivygirl are the kidlets. :slight_smile: )

Well, I don’t think Grandma will let him. I don’t think he’s there to see the theme parks, we live in Orlando(ish), after all, so he’s been to a theme park or three before. I know Grandma will want to show him her old house, and his Great-Grandpa’s old house, and her brother said something about going to Spain for a few days…

I must tell you, I was most proud of Ivygirl. Upon learning her big brother would be going to England for a month, did she pitch a fit? Did she pout? Did she sulk because he was going and she wasn’t?

Nope. Little sweetie volunteered her allowance to her brother so he would have more spending money.

I swear to Og, sometimes you want to strangle them, but other times, my heart feels too big for my chest. :cool:

12

No, you’re fine…I’m fighting a bit of a headache this morning and I may be a bit foggy.

You guys are making it hard to keep the list to four…but this is exactly what we’re looking for, and I wonder how many of these Grandma hasn’t seen.

13

Ah, right, understood. Ivylad can buy his own pint :smiley:

Good suggestion, but I’d say IWM Duxford has far more going for it, everything from a Spitfire to Concorde.

14

I’d second Bletchley Park, especially as he’s into computers.

A wander round Camden Market probably wouldn’t go amiss, if you’ve got the time.

15

IMHO, the natural history museum across the road is much more interesting. Then again, entrance to both is free so he can see both if he’s willing to spend 2 - 3 days fully exploring them.

I really liked the Jack the Ripper tours and some of the other tours run by the same group may interest him as well.

16

I don’t know if he likes old stuff as much as I do, but two of my favorite things were quite close to Stonehenge–Avebury and Old Sarum. Avebury isn’t as well-known as Stonehenge, but it’s this giant stone circle with a village smack dab in the middle of it. You can wander around and it’s neat.

Old Sarum is an earthworks just outside of Salisbury, and has the foundations of the old cathedral that was torn down to make the new one. I had such a great time hopping around on those ruins! Anyway as long as he’s going to Stonehenge he might like those as well.
The Lake District really is great–we went up to Derbyshire, and it was like entering a James Herriot book.

Man, your son is so lucky. I’m jealous.

17

Free stuff is good. The Jack the Ripper Tour sounds most excellent!

Any tips on customs? He told me this morning he was going to practice his British accent, and I told him not to bother, he wouldn’t get it right, and he might as well be himself. He’ll be with relatives, and Grandma said once he’s identified as So-and-So’s Great Nephew, he’ll be accepted more than just Another Yank Visiting from the States.

18

Small nitpick: the Lake District is in Cumbria. If you went to Derbyshire, you probably went to the Peak District, while James Herriot lived in North Yorkshire. All very different regions of England, but all having some great scenery and great hiking trails.

19

I enjoyed Loch Ness. The tour of Loch Ness was pretty interesting, and the surrounding countryside is beautiful.

I second Giles’ recommendation for the Science Museum in London (where you get to see the replica of Babbage’s Difference Engine), and the National Railway Museum in York. If he likes that sort of thing.

20

Someone already mentioned the Science Museum, but I’d like to add due to the Lad’s interest in computers, that the museum owns the only working model of Charles Babbage’s Difference Engine – they built it using Babbages plans and using only technology and materials that would have been available at the time. I believe they are in the process of building another one for an American Museum.

There’s actually a pretty cool book about the experience called, unsuprisingly, The Difference Engine by Doron Swade.

When I was 16 I went hiking in Nothern England with a group through Hosteling International. (No, my parents didn’t come, yes, I flew alone internationally, yes, I was very mature for my age). There are some beautiful hostels along the Coast-to-Coast trail in Yorkshire (including one in Hawes, where Wensleydale Cheese of Wallace & Gromit fame is made)