Day trip from London by train to see some small villages and have lunch in good pub

Shere is nice:
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g186338-i17-k3296127-o20-To_go_or_not_to_go_Shere_Guildford_Surrey-London_England.html

http://www.sheredelight.com/

BTW, "quaint" tends to have negative connotations in England, as does "cute" when used in reference to a place/town/village or really anything else than a baby/young child.

Thanks for the info, no disrespect intended with the "quaint" word used......

It seems to me that the context and voice tone indicate if quaint is quaint or quaint is not quaint.

So much communicated contrarily in England by voice inflection....

Most villages with railway stations fairly close to London soon become commuter places, with housing estates. This may mean that they also have good pubs, but they are unlikely to remain rural in character, let alone quaint. I don't know the Home Counties well enough to know if there are exceptions to this general rule, or exactly what you hope to find, and it can be that the railway station is some way from the centre of the village. If I wanted to do this, I would probably look at some of the places on the Southeastern network such as Wadhurst, Staplehurst or Etchingham.

Shoreham, Kent, located in the Darent Valley. Pretty village with pub near the small river. Fairly frequent train service and a pleasant walk from the train station to the village centre.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/SEH/details.html

Go to Lewes... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewes

You've got a castle, tudor buildings (Anne of Cleves house), Thomas Paine, a brewery...and regular trains from London. You can get an off peak DaySave pass on Southern rail for £15 and go anywhere on the Southern network all day long (after 10 am) so if you wanted to pop along to Brighton or anywhere else you could do that too.

Wow! Thanks for all the suggestions...part of the fun of travelling is researching, so you have given me lots to look at.

"I thought quaint was common term to describe a very old town or village."

By Americans yes but in England more often than not it is used mockingly. What I was trying to get across in a subtle way is that if you used the word quaint when asking directions etc, you may get a few sniggers.

Best pub I have been to in Trembling Madness in York.

You can also take the tube to places out of London, e.g. Amersham on the Metropolitan Line. I love this site and have done various walks: http://www.londontuberambles.co.uk/

I'm always intrigued by the Guardian's coverage of food and beer, such as 10 Craft Beer Pubs in London. Their online guide covers other areas, when you've picked a destination. In a small village, you can visit all the pubs before choosing.

The Cotswolds are known for being CUTE-like-a-baby-duck, but travel time is 1:40 each way by train to Moreton-in-Marsh, then a local bus or taxi connection to/from the smaller towns.

Easy train ride to St. Albans which is about 20 miles outside London. Roman Walls exist, thatched roofs, lovely churches, village feel, has charm. Nice half a day out. I recall we wandered the charming streets close to the Cathedral and came upon the White Lion where we enjoyed a pint and meal. I trust it's still there. Believe we took the train from St. Pancras. Have a great time!

Yes, St Albans is an excellent suggestion and if you go on a Friday, there is a street market near the cathedral, which is a lot of fun. Very lively town altogether.

For a day trip, I would go to Canterbury or Rye, especially the latter, for quaintness. Rye is interesting as it used to be at the water's edge, so was a fishing village at one point.