We'll have time for one day trip from London. We did Windsor and Greenwich many years ago. Trying to decide among:
Originally we intended Cambridge but we'll be in Oxford for two days after London so I wonder if it'll be too many colleges.
No car, BTW.
Appreciate any opinions. Thanks.
You neither need or want a car for any of these, just to reassure you.
If you enjoyed Windsor and Greenwich, then definitely Hampton Court. But, like those two, I don’t really consider a day trip from London because it kind of is in London. A wonderful palace and gardens, lots to see. The advantage is that it’s very close and it can be a three-quarter day trip.
If you’re doing Oxford already, you’re right: Cambridge might be too similar. The cities are quite different in feel, but once you get into visiting the colleges themselves it might feel a bit samey. It’s the longest trip of all of these - an hour on the train then a fairly substantial walk into the city centre (or bus/taxi).
Personally not a huge fan of St Albans. The cathedral and Roman stuff is interesting but (and bear in mind I’m British) it just feels a bit too much like a normal English town. That might of course be just what you’re looking for. For me it doesn’t feel like an absolutely outstanding sight.
Hampton Court would be my first choice among those 3. A fourth alternative is Bletchley Park if you enjoy history/ computers.
Hate to piggyback on someone else's thread, but...
If staying in central London, can you use an Oyster Card for the trip to Hampton Court, or do you need to buy a ticket for the train portion?
Hampton Court is in Zone 6, so Oyster can be used. Previously you had to look for the readers (like on the DLR) to swipe off, but the station is now gated.
Thanks so much for the info.
once you get into visiting the colleges themselves it might feel a bit samey
I did wonder about the college visits, as I compiled lists of both universities colleges and the descriptions sounded similar.
Personally not a huge fan of St Albans. The cathedral and Roman stuff is interesting but (and bear in mind I’m British) it just feels a bit too much like a normal English town. That might of course be just what you’re looking for.
Indeed. We are interested in the Roman stuff but also looking for a traditional English town experience. I don't think we'll get that in London or Oxford. We're headed to the Cotswolds after Oxford so it won't all be city environment, but I think there's too many tourists in the Cotswolds for them to be normal English towns.
A fourth alternative is Bletchley Park if you enjoy history/ computers.
Never thought of that. We're also interested in history and WWII (my wife's mother is Welsh and was a WAAF (I think it's called). She serviced planes between flights. We enjoyed the PBS series. This is a definite possibility, thanks.
Here's another vote for Hampton Court Palace. I was there almost 30 years ago but plan to visit again next year and can't wait to see it. It's such a wonderful destination with so much to see and do. And as Golden Girl said, it's really not a full day there, so you would have some extra time.
Here's another vote for Hampton Court Palace.
It does seem worthwhile. Although it says 45 minutes from London, we're staying just outside Regents Park (Danubius Hotel) -- that adds another 25 minutes to the trip, making a total of at least an hour and 10 minutes, longer than I expected. So it would be a full day outing figuring close to 2.5 hrs travel time.
All are good.
Cambridge is more scenic than Oxford. If you saw the movie "Chariots of Fire" that had scenes filmed in Cambridge, you would want to go there.
Windsor Castle, if you haven'd done it.
In answer to your question…Hampton Court.
I’ll also offer a differing opinion and suggest a visit to Bletchley Park, home of the WW2 codebreakers.
We have been to Windsor, enjoyed it very much.
And we're seriously considering Bletchley; in fact, at the moment it's in the lead.
Thanks everyone.
We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Bletchley Park. Of course to prepare for the visit you might want to watch The Imitation Game with Benedict Cumberbatch playing Alan Turing or stream The Bletchley Circle, a PBS series about women who worked at Bletchley Park.
Of course to prepare for the visit you might want to watch The Imitation Game with Benedict Cumberbatch playing Alan Turing or stream The Bletchley Circle, a PBS series about women who worked at Bletchley Park.
We've seen both of them although several years ago. We'd like to Bletchley again but from what I see it's only available on Peacock, which we don't subscribe to. We've got PBS Passport but it's not on there.
Glad to hear Bletchley is in the lead.
I had no expectations when I visited. Spent nearly 4 hours there. One of my best out of London sojourns.
"also looking for a traditional English town experience"
In that case St Albans (in English terms a city because it has a cathedral) would work. As noted, there's St Albans Abbey and the Verulamium Roman ruins, plus a market (Wed-Sat). It has a historic quarter and is reasonably pretty. St Albans is very normal, albeit fairly posh (it's not at all cheap to live around there).
That said, given the choice (and having been to St Albans many, many times), I'd opt for Hampton Court - it's amazing.
Bletchley Park is interesting but Hampton Court is beautiful
The weather may contribute to the decision. If it's rainy then Hampton Court for sure.
There's a small chance we do both, if we tire of the big city. We'll have almost 7 days there, not counting day of arrival. If traffic, noise, crowds, etc. are bothersome we could do two day trips.
I would try to do Hampton Court on a nice day. The grounds, gardens and maze are very attractive in good weather
Weather could be a factor, so could be your tolerance of crowds.
Been exploring since 1972. Never fails to provide rewarding experiences. Love the cemeteries, free museums, pub grub, meandering about the parks, church interiors, theatre, and riding the tube.
Some other lesser known sites:
The shopping area by the O2. Visually Interesting.
Mudchute Farm
The fallow deer in the vast Richmond Park and speaking of Richmond Park, the Isabella Plantation portion is lovely.
Barbican Conservatory is quite nice.
Coffee and breakfast at the former public urinal, The Attendant.
Columbia Flower Show
I do hope you get to Bletchley. Fascinating history.
Cafe is nice as well.
My vote goes to Hampton Court. Other than the Tower of London is was my favourite site in the London vicinity. I'd consider it a daytrip as it took us about an hour to get there and we spent 6 hours there before coming back.
We've done more research and feel we want to visit both. So we have a new possibility.
After London we're going to Oxford for two full day, then rent a car and next to Bourton-on-the-Water. So my wife's clever idea is this:
This way we get Hampton Court for sure and three chances for Bletchley.
Renting in Oxford, then going to Bletchley then Bourton on the Water sounds a bit of a long way round.
What about renting in Milton Keynes (just up the road from Bletchley) even if that incurs a drop off fee to drop in Oxford.
It is more of a drive than we'd planned, and a rather long day, but it should be manageable. An hour to Bletchley, about 5 hours there, then an hour-30 to Bourton. I figure a 9 hour or so day including getting the car.
What about renting in Milton Keynes (just up the road from Bletchley) even if that incurs a drop off fee to drop in Oxford.
We'd have to get from Oxford to Milton Keynes by bus, which would take longer than car. Unless I'm misunderstanding your suggestion. The day we leave Oxford is the best fit for Bletchley by car. That's the first day we'll have a car.
