Day trip from London? Suggestions?

Winchester, St Albans, Oxford

Karen, you might consider a trip to Hampton Court.

We need to know what you're interested in seeing and doing. There's a wide range of possibilities from a cute cathedral town (Canterbury) to another university town (Oxford) to the code-breaking center at Bletchley Park.

Bath has a lot of sights of the sort one goes inside (after paying, usually), including the Roman Baths and a number of museums. However, I found Bath rather dull, visually, due to what I considered repetitive Georgian architecture. But it's a very popular destination; I seem to be in the minority. Bath can mean a very expensive rail ticket (check fares for your potential dates here: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ ). Those fares would give me pause, given that you're thinking about a day-trip rather than an overnight or longer stay. In addition, the train time alone will be 3 hours.

Oxford and Nearby Blenheim Palace, Salisbury, Stonehenge and Avebury. Brighton, Ipswich, Whitstable, Henley on the Thames, Bletchley Park and any of these: https://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/ten-chocolate-box-villages-within-reach-of-london

Amazing what you can find via Google.

Besides the ideas already posted, this site might also help:
http://www.beenthere-donethat.org.uk/londondaytrips.html

Within London but feels like a day out:

• Greenwich
• Hampstead

I'm one that loves Bath but I love Georgian architecture and Regency era novels so it's perfect for my imagination. I can always find lots to do there but it's not to everyone's taste.

How about Salisbury? Interested in the Cathedral which is spectacular plus the Cathedral Close and the city center? There is one of the original Magna Carta at Salisbury Cathedral but it was attacked and the case damaged back in the Fall and it may or may not be on display by the time you are there. If you do an overnight you can take the local bus loop out to Stonehenge if that's of interest.

I enjoyed Canterbury as well but I'm partial to cathedrals.

Some people like Rye for a day trip but I've visited there and didn't see what the hubbub was about. It just didn't catch me at all.

Portsmouth? Any interest in seeing the historic Dockyards with the original HMS Victory sailed by Admiral Nelson and the Mary Rose which was the era of Henry VIII?

I cant believe all these replies and not one person has mentioned Stonehenge?! Its approx 90 mins from London and there are some brilliant tour companies such as Evan Evans, Premium Tours and Golden Tours that package these up with other destinations. You can compare these companies and tours here - Tourzopia.com.

However, just a disclaimer... while I love Stonehenge, my wife hated it! Any big let down she always calls a "Stonehenge moment". She was expecting something massive and was very let down when she saw it, I on the other hand loved it! Marmite some might say... enjoy!

Hampton Court Palace-Henry the VIII's house. After the Tower of London it was our favourite site while we stayed in London.

Car or public transportation? If you have a car and are interested in horse racing, then a trip to Newmarket would be good. Depends a lot on your interests

Chris79....I believe I mentioned Stonehenge...just saying...

Depending on the OP’s interests maybe Colchester or somewhere like Great Missenden

Claudia... doh! Sorry, I missed that!

Frommers has a great guide, Best Day Trips from London. I have used it several times for ideas. It tells you how to get there, what to see, etc. Try to get the latest edition and check to see if your library has it.

Colchester is interesting as a day trip. One of the oldest towns in England. Has some gruesome history and Roman ruins.

We did Stonehenge and Bath last year with Golden Tours.
And bath was nice and the Roman baths in Bath were truly worth the trip. And seeing Stonehenge was fascinating.

But do keep one thing in mind about any bus based day trips. You will odds are spend more time on the bus then at you destination as the tragic in and out of London is horrible.

So choose your trip accordingly.

Please tell us your interests. I took a train to Lingfield Park Racecourse for an afternoon of racing and had a terrific time. I also trained to Portsmouth for everything boats (don't miss the Mary Rose) but that's a much longer day. You can even take a train to Wool and a taxi to the Tank Museum. But my all time favorite trip is out to Parham where my father was stationed in WWII.

Yes, I went to Bath once. For me it felt like checking off a box rather than something I was fascinated with. The Roman section was interesting - but you can also see Roman ruins at the Tower (part of the Roman wall remains nearby), the Museum of London, and the newly-opened Mithras Temple.