Slow Travel With Children: Fewer Stops, Longer Lunches

Many family holidays are packed with too much to see and do. Travelling between three bases in a week and eating at strange times can even leave parents more tired than when they set off. However, slow travel can provide an antidote to this sort of break. Slow travel generally involves going to fewer places to stay and spending more time in each location. Meals and ordinary local life are part of the holiday, not gaps between places of interest.

What slow travel looks like with children

By visiting fewer places and staying longer in each, you can base yourself in one place for the week, or two at most, and explore from there. The children will settle quickly into their new surroundings and you will save so much time packing, unpacking and loading the car. A self-catering cottage or apartment is a good choice as you have a kitchen and loads of space to spread out. This allows you to eat whenever your children are hungry and not be restricted by the times that restaurants open for dinner.

Trains also suit the pace. On National Rail services within Britain, children under 5 travel free. With a Family and Friends Railcard, get a third off adult fares plus more off children’s fares. Even a train journey with a picnic and a window seat can be an event in itself, and nobody has to spend it driving.

Make lunch the main event

Eating out as a family at 8pm is rarely a relaxed affair. A long lunch is usually more suitable. Children are less tired, many restaurants are less busy, and you can often get more for your money from their lunchtime menu than you would have done had you eaten an evening meal. Keep the evening simple with a meal cooked in your accommodation or a picnic tea if the weather is kind.

Markets are where slow travel and good food meet. Let the children have a little money to spend in the market and a job to do, such as choosing the fruit, the cheese or tomorrow’s pastries. They will find out where their food comes from and may even discover foods that they would not eat at home. Involving the children in the planning is better than dragging them along.

Leave room for nothing much

Remember that day at the beach where you spent hours exploring the rock pools, or playing in the town square playground, or even just building a dam in a stream for an hour or so? Those were special days and the key to them was that they had a slow itinerary and were full of ‘downtime’ and opportunities for the child to create their own memories. Choose one proper outing for the day and let the rest of the day fill up as it will.

Slow family holiday: a simple plan

• One base for the week, with a kitchen
• One planned outing a day, ideally in the morning
• Lunch out, dinner in
• A market visit early in the stay, so you can shop for the week
• At least one day with no plans at all