Day trips close to London

A very cheap day trip that we are planning on doing is Greenwich. Still technically within London, its a short ferry ride down the Thames or on the tube and it gets you out of the big city. You can see the tea clipper Cutty Sark, The Royal Observatory and the Maritime Museum. If your tastes run even older in history, Avebury and Stonehenge are classic day trips from London. If you are willing to go further and stay over night, Bath (Georgian architecture), Stratford-upon-Avon (Shakespeare's birthplace) or Cambridge (famous University) are all available.

I assume by Edinberg you mean Edinburgh, pronounced ED-IN-BUR-AH. Aer Lingus has really cheap flights within the UK and the continent. You should check them out. You didn't mention Dublin in your itinerary, so I just wanted to be sure you're aware that in itself is another leg of your journey. It is in no way a day trip. You have to either fly, or train to Liverpool or Holyhead and take a ferry. That can be anywhere from 2 to 9 hours on the boat.

The flight is probably the cheapest if you buy in advance. I see as low as 55 GBP one way if you buy in advance on the Aer Lingus website..

There are LOTS of easy day trips from London. And you don't have to stay overnight at any of them. Even Bath, Cardiff or York are easy to visit in a day. You won't see everything, but can get a good tasted of any of them. I wrote an article for Trip Advisor about my favorite places in London and my favorite day trips by train, I've included a link to it:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g186338-c176673/London:United-Kingdom:London.And.Day.Trips.html

I bought a book: " Ten Best Day Trips from London "
it is avail at local bookstores in the US and from Amazon.
Wonderful suggestions of 10 day trips from London.

If you haven't been to London before, don't plan on too many day trips. There is just too much to see and do in the city. Take a look at the London Walks website. They are entertaining and informative and there are some that go on day trips. With the short amount of time you have, that may be the most efficient.

Day trips - spend a day in Oxford or Cambridge, or visit Hampton Court Palace, Windsor Castle, or if you are a WWII buff, go to Bletchley Park. Those are probably the closest.

If you're Harry Potter fans, a day trip to the studio tour is a big must. Another easy one as others have mentioned is Windsor Castle.

That's a loaded question, as it is incredibly easy to spend a month in London and do nothing but take day trips everywhere. There are entire books written on the subject. Happy to help narrow down your choices, but we'll need a bit more info. Have you been to London before? Are you looking for anything in particular? Do you want a city experience, a castle, countryside...?

I agree with the other post. If I only had six days in London, I wouldn't leave London either. There is way too much to do in London. You will be overwhelmed when you get there. In my opinion, even two weeks at a time, isn't enough for London proper. Just walking the streets is various areas, is picturesque. Going to Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park, Kew Gardens, and Regents Park, is beautiful. We loved taking a canal boat on the Thames. We also took a boat to Greenwich, and out to Hampton Court. The trip to Hampton Court is a long trip. Then we took the train back into London. London is quite breathtaking.

Another vote for Hampton Court Palace (where Henry the VIII and Elizabeth I lived)... my favorite day trip.

I'm going to pile on here and add that if this is your first time in London, one day to see nearby sights is enough....and I recommend the Evan Evans Company...I've done 3 of their trips, and the first one I did is the best to see the major nearby things -- Windsor Castle/Bath/Stonehenge. No other day trip comes close to replacing this as the "must-do" day trip. Yes, Hampton Court is great, the other 2 E-E bus trips I've done were OK (actually, I've done four...a day trip to Paris...a long day). But there are so many parks and museums in London...20th Century Military buffs would love the Imperial War Museum (and it's free!)...and the Churchill War Rooms. The Tower of London remains the most interesting place I've seen in 10 trips. St.Paul's Cathedral, changing of guards, and Westminster Abbey are all absolutely must-do's!! Again, if this is your first time in London, there's plenty of great things to see without much research to fill your five/six days. Enjoy!