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Day trips from London

I will be in London in early September with my father. We have time for two maybe three day trips as we did a lot of London last year.
So are there any must see day trips?
We had a few ideas (in no perticular order)
Bath
Windsor
Stonehenge
Stratford
The Cotswolds

My father wants to do Windsor so that is probably a “must”

Thanks for any suggestions

Posted by
1217 posts

Stonehenge along with the other Neolithic sites of the area like Avebury, Silbury Hill, and West Kennet Long Barrow. I would stay in Bath and do Stonehenge from there. We also did Glastonbury Abbey/Wells Cathedral from Bath. And there is enough for 1 full day in Bath itself. Depending on your interests maybe more. Do you have to stay in London or can you stay 3-4 nights in Bath?

Posted by
3428 posts

Windsor is an easy 1/2 or full day trip. No need to buy train tickets in advance as they are the same price on the day of travel. Easy 25-30 min. train trip with one easy transfer at Slough. Trains run every 30 min (appx) so you can head back whenever you are ready. Windsor is probably my favorite castle. And the town has great small shops. We often would 'do' Windsor on days that we had theatre tickets for the evening.
Bath is also an easy train ride, but DO buy the tickets in advance (about 12 weeks prior to travel) as day of tickets are VERY expensive. If you want to see Stonehenge, you can do a Madd Maxx tour out of Bath- just look for the signs.

We have also enjoyed Stratford-upon-Avon (don't shorten place or station names in Britain, you'll wind up where you didn't want to be). It is especially nice on market day, but good on any day. There is a butter fly 'museum'/place that is fun, and we enjoyed the walk along the river to the church where Shakespeare is buried.

York makes a nice, though long, day trip. Again- buy your train tickets in advance. We like the market, the Shambles, and the shopping. The Jorvik museum is fun and gives you a taste of the history (including Vikings) of York. The Minster is good and do try to walk park of the wall. We found a local microbrewery and did a cheap tour that included samples (hubby had the ale and beer, I drank soda).

Canterbury or Dover or Winchester also make nice day trips by train.

Posted by
337 posts

We did a day trip from London to Salisbury and Stonehenge through the London Walks tours. It was great. The guide was knowledgeable and witty and we had a great time. Google London Walks if you want more information. I can't recommend them highly enough.

Posted by
1067 posts

"We have also enjoyed Stratford-upon-Avon (don't shorten place or station names in Britain, you'll wind up where you didn't want to be)."

Exactly, there is a "Stratford" in London.

Posted by
2383 posts

Go on www.nationalrail.co.uk and put in for your journeys and compare the prices for today v 11 weeks ahead. (The Cotswolds are virtually impossible to do by public transport). However, if you Google ‘Day Tours from Moreton-in-Marsh' (which has trains from London Paddington), you will find several options.

For Stonehenge - you need to put from WAT = London Waterloo > to SALisbury. From Salisbury station, the Stonehenge shuttle bus is the way to go. On returning to Salisbury - visit the Cathedral before returning to London.

For Bath PADdington is your London departure station.

For Startford-upon-Avon - MARYLEBONE is your departure station.

Windsor can be reaches from either PAD or WAT. (Pay on the day for this short journey).

Posted by
449 posts

As noted above, have a look at the London walks offerings. www.walks.com. I've done a few of their trips in the past, they're very organised, have blue badge guides, cover a lot of ground. They do trips to all of your ideas. (Have to say, not a big fan of Stonehenge, a bit dull IMO).

To add to your list of possible day trips, if you are interested in WW2, Bletchley Park is in easy reach of London. Other suggestions would be Winchester (lovely city, interesting cathedral, ruined castle, and the Winchester boys college), or Hampton Court Palace, or Kew Gardens, or Oxford, or Cambridge - really lots of possibilities.

Katy

Posted by
3719 posts

To comment on the destinations you mentioned.

My top choice and easiest day trip would be Windsor. You have already received info on how to get there. Arrive to tour the castle as early in the day as possible. Don't miss St. George's Chapel, where Henry the 8th is buried.

The town of Windsor is interesting; walk around and see the pubs and have lunch. Walk down to the River Thames to see the swans and beautiful scenery.

If you get there when the castle opens (the tour will take about 2 hours), you will be finished by lunch.
I recommend for lunch:
The Horse and Groom pub, 4 Castle Hill, Windsor. Right across from the Henry the 8th Gate, where you exit the castle.
Good fish and chips. Good chicken and mushroom pie with mashed potatoes (mash) on the side.

Stonehenge--Take the train to Salisbury. Stonehenge is right outside of Salisbury. Catch the "Stonehenge Bus" (clearly marked by the bright painting on the side of the bus) near the Visitors Center (Tourist Information Center).
Your bus ticket to Stonehenge is round trip.
You can buy your ticket at the Visitors Center or from the bus driver.
Way to save money: Tell them you DO NOT wish for your ticket to include Old Sarum. This is something they regularly include when you buy your bus and Stonehenge ticket at the Visitors Center.
Always ask for a senior discount.
(Bath is not the closest town to leave from to see Stonehenge.)

Don't miss Salisbury Cathedral. They have their own copy of the Magna Carta. Walk around the area of town closest to the Cathedral. Charming old medieval town. Lots of places for lunch.

If I had to choose one town to see, and I was choosing between Bath and Salisbury (tough choice), I would choose Salisbury.

Stratford-Upon-Avon--We went there last spring and stayed for 3 nights. The houses associated with Shakespeare were interesting to see. The church where he is buried was interesting. Staying a couple of nights there made it ten times better.

We took a tour of the Cotswolds while we were there, with the "Go Cotswolds!" company. They pick you up early morning at your hotel and tour 5 Cotswold towns.

You can also take the train from London to Moreton-In-Marsh train station and be picked up by Go Cotswolds for just a day trip to the Cotswolds.
https://www.gocotswolds.co.uk/tour-details/
Send our friend Tom an email to make your reservation or to ask questions.

Posted by
3719 posts

Greenwich is an easy day trip from London. Actually, it's on the eastern fringe of London. You can stand atop the hill there and see the London skyline; an amazing view of London.

If you are staying at Tower Hill you can access the Thames Clippers--the river boats--for transportation. There is a pier located at the Tower of London on the riverfront. Tap your Oyster card when you get on, tap your Oyster card when you get off. Not an expensive trip by boat. Takes maybe 6 to 7 pounds off your Oyster card.

If you end up staying at Premier Inn County Hall behind the London Eye, you can board the river boat at Westminster Pier, taking it eastward to Greenwich.

The National Maritime Museum is there. (Admission is free.) Really interesting exhibits. They have the jacket on display that Lord Nelson was wearing when he was killed. And many other nautical paintings and items.

I would not walk all the way up the hill behind the museum to see the Greenwich Royal Observatory. The hill is too steep for your dad--he would be winded after the first 20 feet. However, there is a road that goes up the back of the Royal Observatory which is an easy grade walk, if he really wants to go up there.
https://www.rmg.co.uk/royal-observatory

You can see the old Cutty Sark ship and tour it in Greenwich. There are great pubs on the main street in Greenwich, and the National Maritime Museum has a good lunch room.
https://www.rmg.co.uk/national-maritime-museum

Thames Clipper river route map:
Note: You want to get off at "Greenwich", not "North Greenwich" on the map.
https://www.thamesclippers.com/assets/doc/TC_A3_Route_Map_APRIL2017-640222a9dc.pdf

This is perhaps the easiest day trip out of London.

This is a very inexpensive day out. The boat trip is cheap. The Maritime Museum is free. The Museum's lunch room has great sandwiches, salads and soups, and is one-fourth the cost per person of a pub lunch.

This is a good way to save money on your London trip. > See a lot of museums that are free.

And their lunch rooms are usually the best deal in town, price-wise, with good food.

Posted by
3719 posts

P.S. In Salisbury, you can also catch the Stonehenge bus at the train station.

When you do your return into town, you could do the Cathedral, then walk back to the train station.

P.S. About Windsor Castle. When you line up to enter the State Apartments, there are two lines.

The long line on the left is to see the Dollhouse and its miniature furniture. If you are not interested in that, you want the shorter line to the right of that. When we were there in May, the line for the Dollhouse was long. The other line--no wait--walk right in and start seeing the armor and the first drawing room.

Posted by
28 posts

On our second visit to London we took a day trip to Portsmouth. We took a bus round trip from the Victoria Coach Station(near Victoria Station) to Portsmouth. Once there you can visit the Mary Rose, HMS Victory and the HMS Warrior. We also went on a harbor cruise and visited several museums. It was a nice day!

Posted by
1542 posts

Oxford, Blenheim Palace and Woodstock, Windsor and Eaton, Henley. I must admit to not knowing much about public transport.

Posted by
337 posts

I agree with Rebecca about Greenwich. A few weeks ago, after doing the London Eye we took a Thames River Service cruise to Greenwich. We had a nice half day there. Visited the Royal Observatory and the Prime Meridian. My kids played in the park. It was really nice and the kids enjoyed the day very much. We took the docklands light rail back to Bank station. Definitely worth doing.

Posted by
2599 posts

I just booked my flights for 5 days in London at the end of August and have 2 day trips planned--train to Bletchley Park on my own, and a guided tour to Highclere Castle and nearby villages. I am a total Downton Abbey nut and the prospect of this is making me ridiculously happy.

I last visited London in 2012 and did a guided day trip that included Windsor--lovely little town, would go again by myself to see more beyond the castle--Oxford--not nearly enough time to explore so a definite return at some point--and Stonehenge, the least impressive, to me.

Posted by
4256 posts

You've probably already booked your accommodations in London, but if not, you should consider spending a couple of nights in York. There's lots to see there.

Posted by
274 posts

I have taken the train from Waterloo to Windsor, and it's really long, it seemed to be a commuter train and was much longer of a trip than the green coach bus from Victoria station to Windsor. Also, when the Waterloo to Windsor train comes in, it comes into the 2nd train station that Windsor has, which is much farther away from the castle. If you take the train, going from Paddington to the Windsor train station that's right near the castle is the better of the two ways.

I would really recommend the green coach bus from Victoria station, though. Also it gets you dropped off the closest to the castle.

If you get your tickets validated at the end of the tour of Windsor Castle, you can return for free. We've stayed at the Travelodge (the only way to search their availability is on www.Travelodge.co.uk they're not on booking.com or anything else) and they were basic but good.

I searched my family tree and found some Knights of the Garter in it, so we went looking for their names and coats of arms in the great hall that has the ceiling covered with them, and took photos. That made the trip more special, my daughter (27 yrs old at the time) loved the whole place, the shopping, everything.

Also it was VERY helpful to have a small binocular with me, to see the towers, distant gardens, even inside Windsor Castle, the artwork had name plates WAAAYYY up at the top that I never could have read without the ability to zoom in. I also find they're really helpful for reading distant schedule boards in train stations and airports, gave me a real advantage this last trip :)

When I volunteered at Pax Lodge (Girl Scouts' hostel in Hampstead) and we had older guests (anyone can stay there, registered scouts/guides get a discount), they REALLY appreciated the suggestion to go to the British Library's Treasure Room. It's got a zillion historically nifty things all in a large room with lots of comfy benches throughout, and a cafe' right next to it. If your Dad feels tired, that's a great place to go. The pub across the street was really great too, when I went in 2011. :)

Have fun!
-Alison

Posted by
4256 posts

Agree about the Waterloo to Windsor train-I think it had about 20 stops!