Gatwick Airport - 7 and a half hour wait!!

[annie0000]

Going with the kids for a school trip to Italy next week,we have a 7 and a half hour wait between flights at Gatwick. Anyone any suggestions of what we could do? 8 adults and 8 kids (age 9-11).

[annie0000]

lol Jane - might need to send in the Gluten free person in on her own - can't see the kids fancying a veggie restaurant - though they do do pasta and pizza, I'm guessing they will be living on that all week. God knows how our GF parent is going to cope in Italy!!

[Jemisa]

annie Take lots of money going to Italy, Its veeeeerrrrryyyyy!!! Expensive & beware of Pickpockets.

Jem

[annie0000]

I know ladybirder, I am sure they will all be taking all sorts of games devices and ipods etc, but I don't want my kids (and I am sure other parents are the same) playing those for 12 hours. Mine will happily read for an hour or two as well, but they have the flights and coaches and trains to do that on as well.

[SpikeyBush]

I regularly do the three and a half hour ferry crossing between Dublin and Holyhead with my son, we play Scrabble, DAF Trucks Transport Game, and watch endless episodes of TopGear that I have burned to DVD

[annie0000]

thanks Jem, I was sure that would be the case. I am taking both my boys so it will be an expensive trip all in.

[annie0000]

yup spikey those are all good - we did 6 hours on the train to London a couple of weeks ago and that was fine - we played card games etc too. Out total journey will be over 15 hours this time and I don't like them spending too much time watching a screen.

[joggerjayne]

Okay, well also on that road is a fab pub called The Cricketers. Apparently (I was away, so I've only heard this on the grapevine), Pippa Middleton went there this weekend just gone. Also, Graham Greene wrote a lot of stuff there, and there's a room upstairs where they will take you and show you the "Greene Room". And Joe Orton, he wrote there too. It has a sort of indoor patio ... bit hard to describe, but you'll see what I mean ... where I sometimes sit and have lunch with a book and a bottle of vino. Very jolly place.

[annie0000]

sounds nice JJ - my boys both have ambitions to be writers amongst their other ideas - pretty talented already if I say so myself :o)

[annie0000]

Nice looking menu and the bonus of free wifi too :o)

[Jemisa]

annie, get the kids to write a diary of what they do & where they go each day. My kids enjoyed doing that & they've still got them to reeniss any time + photo's. It truly is a beautiful country I hope you enjoy your trip

jem

[annie0000]

thaks jem, i'm sure we will, the school we are visiting is near Pisa and they have a programme of things that we will be doing but parents can opt out of some things - I think we will maybe do a market one afternoon and we plan to take all the kids into Pisa one evening so that they can do the photo holding up the tower - that's basically all they have asked to do! lol