Day trip from London: Bath or Rye

In my view, Rye is very pretty but there isn’t much to see there. In Bath there’s the Roman Baths, pump room, Crescent etc.

Rye is lovely, but there is much more to do in Bath. If you want quite an active day seeing a lot of sights etc, I would go for Bath. There are lots of places on or near the coast (like Rye) which are nice for a more quiet relaxing day, but in April the weather will still be quite unpredictable which limits outdoor activities. Windsor is a good one as well and is much closer than Bath so you will spend less time in transit. Good luck with the planning!

I enjoyed Rye, but it is very small with little to do. My vote goes to Bath, Windsor, or Hampton Court. For places you didn’t mention, York is worth a visit.

My vote would be for Rye. It's smaller than Bath and less busy for a start. However I would disagree with jaimeelsabiio's comment that there is little to do...

It is a delightful town to explore on foot and has hardly changed over the years with its cobbled streets and narrow alleyways. There are black and white timber frame buildings as well as wooden clapperboard and brick.

Rye Heritage centre in an old sail loft overlooking the river is the place to start as it covers the 750 history of Rye in a 15 minute sound and light show as well as having a very good model of Rye and lots of information about the town and its smuggling heritage (made famous in the Dr Syn novels by Russell Thorndyke).

It was one of the most important ports and harbours on the south coast in the early Middle Ages, although the sea retreated and it is now a couple of miles away. A devastating fire following a French Raid in 1377 destroyed nearly all of the town.

Ypres Tower was built in 1249 to defend Rye against French raids. It now contains a museum.

St Mary's church is the only pre 1200 building to survive in Rye. It is a splendid building, reflecting the status and importance of Rye at the time. Climb the tower for views of the town and Romeny Marsh.

Lamb House is a beautiful Georgian Brick house now in the ownership of the National Trust. It was built by wealthy wine merchant and local politician, James Lamb and was later bought by the author Henry James and then by EF Benson of ‘Mapp and Lucia’ fame. (If you haven't read his books, they are a wonderful, reflection on the foilbles of English life in a small rural town with all the assorted person politics.)

There is the Mermaid Inn. There's been an inn here since the mid C12th although the present building is C15th. It was the haunt of smugglers. It has secret passages, priest’s hole and the reputation of being one of the most haunted buildings in South East England.

It's not just me that thinks so, have a read of this article which also includes lots of ideas of places to eat. There's lots of photos and information here as well.

Let me preface this by saying I have never been to Rye, but it is very high on my places to visit in the UK.

That said, I agree that Bath (which I have been to) probably has more things to do. But for me, that's not always what I want. I like smaller villages where you can meander and not have to worry about squeezing all the sights in. As wasleys noted, there are things to see, but it is also a place where you can just relax and enjoy the charm of a small English village. If you sew at all, stop in at Merchant & Mills, which sells their wonderful fabric, patterns and sewing notions all over the world.

And of course, Windsor and Hampton Court Palace are very nice day trips as well, and worth going to, especially if you've never been before. I've been to both, but will be taking my grandkids there when we head to London in a few weeks, as I think they will enjoy them both. FWIW, we have 10 nights (9 full days) there, and I've got day trips planned for HCP, Windsor, Greenwich (not really a day trip but we're devoting a day to that area), and Warner Bros. HP Studio Tour. It might be possible for you to squeeze in an extra day trip.

I liked Windsor, been there multiple times. Has the great mix of a very small town feel with excellent shopping, and of course the big castle right on the main street. It's also close to London, can be accessed by bus or train. I found out the hard way that there are 2 train stations, and not to take the one that leaves from Waterloo, connected by a much longer trip and to the station that was farther away. The bus was a green bus I took from Victoria, that was easiest, it went straight to the main street in Windsor. I liked the Travelodge, but that was years ago. There was a hop on hop off bus too, so could see the whole town and the farmer's market.

I would go to Rye.