2 weeks in England: tourism, cycling, camping and more

I'm just back in Kenya following two weeks back home; most of which was spent visiting tourist sites together with the family and some visiting friends from China as well as a mixture of other outdoors activities.

With Hannah having two Chinese friends (and their mum's) visiting, we visited a carefully curated list of tourist activities that would be kid-friendly and also diverse:

• A day at Legoland in Windsor, which was somewhat disappointing with only a half-hearted attempt to really use lego and not too many rides that are actually any good (for the cost and long queues) but the kids had fun, and I suppose lego doesn't really have any particular stories or characters unlike Disney that can really engage.
• A day at Mountfitchet Castle, a rebuilt Norman Castle (though in those days they were only made of wood and were quite simple) and village which is entertaining for the children to run around in and explore: there are various instruments of torture, villagers' houses, and buildings for the baron, doctor, workshops etc as well as a catapult demonstration. Next door is a toy museum which was also a hit of course.
• A day at Knebworth House with its massive playground (including a play fort and long slides), dinosaur park, maze, and country house.
• A day in London with a short walk around Trafalgar Square, Horse Guards Parade and Big Ben then a Boat along the Thames down to Greenwich and a couple of hours on the Cutty Sark and another couple of hours in the wonderful Museum of London in the Docklands. The Cutty Sark is a famous ship that originally transported tea from China to England and has been faithfully restored and has many fun things to do on a visit; the Docklands Museum was fantastically well done with great exhibits on the Docklands, its role in the slave trade, its role in the Wars, and its transformation--and also an indoor playground. Of course the driverless DLR is also fun for the kids.
• A day out at Bekonscot Model Village which has incredible replicas of British life with an airfield, hospital, race course, marina, castle and much more. It is the attention to detail that is delightful, especially for adults, with the fox chase, model trains and lots of other things.
• A day out at the Chiltern Open Air Museum which is a working farm but focuses on exploring what farms used to be like and various farm buildings through the ages. It also had a medieval themed series of events with dancing, fighting and costumes which went down well, though the rain was a bit of a dampener.
• A visit to the Science museum
• Visits to pubs and indoor and outdoor playgrounds, as well as time playing at my mum's house

There is so much to see and do in England from the weird to the strange to the normal to the famous; and no matter where you are there are so many things to see - so much is kid friendly too. It can be cultural, historical, natural, or even mad-made. It is one of the best things about England, if I am to be honest. Even better than the great pub lunches (just about) and all the public playgrounds in most towns and villages!
Then without the Chinese we went camping for a few days and did some walking and cycling, as well as visiting the very interesting Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker which was where the UK government would have been evacuated to during a nuclear attach to continue running the country. It is a three storey underground structure that houses 600 people and has a wonderful audio tour - highly recommended.
There was also time for a kids musical in London and a trip to Wembley for Hannah to see her first Spurs game (against Juventus; 2-0 victory). We also found time to see our cousins, ensure my sisters could spend time with the kids too, and for me and my Dad to do a 100-mile bike ride. phew, what a busy two-weeks.