Top 10 tips for solo train travel with kids
We live in London and my parents are in Liverpool, so I have spent a lot of time whizzing up and down the West Coast Mainline with one or more kids in tow – starting when my eldest was just a few weeks old. It can have its challenging moments, but I think it is a breeze compared to what navigating the M1 with a background chorus of whiny children must be like. Key thing is to plan in advance so you’re ready for anything!
Train travel with kids - 2020 style!
In advance:
1) Use a rucksack for luggage, and a cross-body bag for valuables, so that you can keep your hands free. Once your kids are old enough, get them to pack their own little rucksack with their choice of a couple of toys and books.
2) Stock up on snacks. Nothing alleviates boredom like eating! I always try and book a journey that goes over lunchtime so that we can take time eating a packed lunch as well as numerous snacks. Those mini boxes of raisins (you can even get Peppa Pig themed ones at Poundland) are great because they take ages to eat. Breadsticks. Little packets of rice cakes. Biscuits. Satsumas.
3) Save treats for train journeys – my kids know that a long train journey usually means they get a magazine bought for them. I tend not to do this at any other time, which keeps it special, and then I hold them back for that inevitable moment in the journey when the dreaded words ‘I’m bored’ are first heard.
4) Invest in some decent child-friendly headphones (we love these because they fold to avoid damage, and have a jack so that you can add an additional set of headphones, allowing two children to watch the same thing) and don’t be afraid to use screen-time. I download pretty much the entire Cbeebies back catalogue before a journey.
5) If your children are of an age where unexpected emissions of various bodily fluids are still a frequent occurrence, then keep a change of clothes for them (and possibly a clean top for you!) along with some wipes or a damp flannel in a sealed bag handy at the top of your luggage. I like to pack anything I might need for the journey in a cotton tote bag which then goes inside my main rucksack and can be lifted out easily without unpacking everything.
6) Book seats in advance. Book seats so that you can sit together and get a table, and you aren’t left hovering in the vestibule. You can request seats together by booking at TheTrainline.
7) If your destination isn’t the city centre, don’t forget to plan your onward travel. Citymapper works in lots of other cities. If not, Google Maps is a very good second-best. Nothing worse than arriving in a strange city with tired children and realising you don’t know which number bus you need, or even where the bus station is!
On the day:
8) Allow plenty of time to get to the station – nothing gets the journey off to a bad start like sprinting up an escalator at Euston with a toddler on one hip, a suitcase and a buggy! Not that I would know… We generally add 25% to the time Citymapper suggests.
9) Check out another family travelling with young kids in your carriage. When you need to take one child to the loo or change a nappy, but don’t want to make it a family trip, bribe the child(ren) you are leaving behind to sit still, and ask the parent in the other family to keep an eye on them. Offer to return the favour when they need to do the same.
10) Do a very thorough check for belongings around/under/behind your seats before leaving the train. Get the kids involved and make it into a game. I learnt this lesson the hard way when a much beloved teddy got left behind on a train. Eight years later White Bear is still mourned, and the maternal guilt is still strong.
