Day trips out of London

From your post I'm not clear on whether you are going to try and to Hampton Court and Kew on the same day? I'd suggest doing them on separate days. I've done both and they both took most of a day for me.

Have you been to Canterbury? I loved that cathedral!

Rick suggests doing a “Kew Gardens/Hampton Court Blitz” in his 2019 London guide. I was hoping to do Hampton Court in the morning, Kew in the afternoon and see the Chihuly Exhibit in the evening. I also thought about taking a boat back to London however It may be too late in the evening for the boat ride, I’m still doing research on that.

It sounds like you don’t think this is a good idea? My travel style is “up early, go all day, in early, sleep, repeat”.

Thanks for the tip on Canterbury, I will look into that.

Hampton Court and Kew need separate days unless you rush the trip and miss things.

Brighton is a good seaside option with some history thrown in - the Royal Pavilion. Other options include Whitstable -- some great seafood restaurants and art galleries. Rye Harbour - a circular walk incorporating a nature reserve and the old town centre is also worth a look, of course. Hythe has some interesting history including its Royal Military Canal and Napoleon and good walks along the coastline. Hastings old town and the Fishermans huts are far more interesting than the newer part of town.

I haven't been to the Titanic Museum, but Southampton city centre is best avoided - redeveloped after the war damage and characterless.

I have found this website helpful: http://www.beenthere-donethat.org.uk/londondaytrips.html

Day trips I’ve done by train — and enjoyed tremendously:

Cotswolds (train to Moreton-in-Marsh then met at station by Becky’s Secret Cottage small group minivan tour

Winchester on own, using this Guardian travel article as a rough guide https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2017/may/04/winchester-walk-cathedral-alfred-castle-hampshire

I considered Eastbourne/Beachy Head/Seven Sisters as a day trip but it felt too squeezed with all I wanted to see and do (I enjoyed it as a 2-night stay instead)

Cambridge with London Walks

Greenwich on own (still London but feels like a day out)

Hampton Court Palace on own

Windsor and Eton on own

I’m planning to see St Albans as a day trip in October. Only about 25 min north by train and lots of history from Roman times forward.

Enjoy your trip!

Cambridge and Oxford are fabulous university towns with beautiful architecture, museums. With either cannot go wrong. Also u can go by bus.
Also taking the Canals is a fun thing to do either from Windsor or from London.
I have done all, wonderful .

Jennifer – Thanks for the “sea town” information. Your knowledge of the countryside is a great resource!

Accidental Southerner – I’m going by train as well. Thanks for the internet sites info. I have a lot of research to do. Planning is half the fun!

JS – Thanks for the information on the Universities. Architecture and museums are my thing. I understand that Kings College Cambridge has a wonderful evensong.
I had not thought about going by bus. I have been planning to travel by train since we don’t have much opportunity to do so on the west coast of the US.

Whitsable or Margate if you want to see seaside spots.

The Chihuly exhibition is in the gardens so you will see all of the sculptures as you tour Kew.

Check out London Walks (http://www.walks.com) as they offer numerous escorted days out.

Well, I love Rick's tours and I read his guide books but some of his advice makes me shake my head. I suppose if someone has no interest in Hampton Court's history and doesn't want to go thru the Palace or see the gardens, then you might manage in a couple of hours. (First tennis court! Oldest Grape vine (or something like that, haha)! Maze! Tudor Kitchen! William of Orange! Henry VIII!)

Kew is immense. I went last year with my brother (a retired forester), my SIL (an avid gardener with a Master's in Hort.) and her sis who is also an avid gardener. I almost could not get them out of there. At one point my brother was going from tree to tree saying wow...I only ever read about this in a text, and oh wow, look at this.... We probably made it thru about half of the acreage and were there from opening at 10 to just before 5. The Chihuly exhibit was not even up then! That would have taken longer, lol!

We also took the boat back from Kew. I would not recommend it - very slow and if you are "blitzing" this will drive you nuts. The river is tidal and can be slow going. Took an hour from Kew to Westminster Pier plus it was about a 15 minute walk to find the dock from the gardens. You'll do better to take the tube back to London. If you take it from Hampton Palace it will be an even longer ride.

"Has anyone gone to the Titanic Museum in Southampton? " - unfortunately yes - it is very poor

"Any other “sea towns” where there are good beach walks? - Portsmouth doesn't really have a beach, but it has an interesting sea side walk along the fortifications put in place at the time of Henry VIII. The city also has the Historic Dockyard which contains the Mary Rose Museum. If your interest in history extends to Tudor times, then I highly recommend it. It is also possible to visit HMS Victory (18th century , 100 gun warship)

Portsmouth doesn't really have a beach

Portsmouth (or rather the attached seaside resort of Southsea, which is very much part of the city of Portsmouth) DOES have a beach - I spent much of my childhood summers on that beach.

About a three mile stretch of beach, in fact. It’s mostly shingle and pebbles, with a few patches of sand, so in that sense it’s much like Brighton - and no one would claim that Brighton doesn’t have a beach. It also has a proper pier.

You can walk from the fascinating sea walls & fortifications of Old Portsmouth past the funfair of Southsea, past Henry VIII’s Southsea Castle and to the pier and its amusements.

Southampton’s Sea City Museum, with the Titanic section, is okay but not worth a special journey. Portsmouth definitely has the better attractions - the Naval Dockyard & Historic ships are awesome.

I have found Earl Steinbicker's book "Daytrips London" to be very helpful.

Well, I love Rick's tours and I read his guide books but some of his
advice makes me shake my head.

I agree. It's not a bible, it's one man's opinion. Research is your best friend. I appreciate the RS books for it's step by step instructions on transportation and as a 'starter' guide to my own research for hotels and sites. But I tend to do most of the legwork myself using a series of guidebooks and of course, Google.

As for the question, last Fall we got to Hampton Court as soon as it opened and we stayed until about 3:00. How long you stay will depend on your level of interest and how much you typically immerse yourself in that type of environment, but I stayed all day and can't wait to go back another time.

I have used Frommer's "Best Day Trips from London: 25 Great Escapes by Train, Bus or Car." I also took a day trip to Hever Castle a few years ago by following their instructions on the website. I took a train from Victoria Station, changed to a 2 car train south of the city and then walked the public foot path to the castle. I am a big Tudor/Stuart history fan and this was definitely a great day out for me. There are also lovely gardens around the castle.

For a history-lover, I highly recommend a daytrip to Bletchley Park, home of the WW2 codebreakers.

https://bletchleypark.org.uk

And I have always wanted to go for a ride in Richmond Park, but haven't yet managed the time.

https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/travel/where-to-go-horse-riding-in-london-a4098596.html

If your visit is early September, you might like to head up to Stamford for a day at the famous Burghley Horse Trials:

https://burghley-horse.co.uk

Thanks everyone for all the great ideas! I appreciate all of the information.

I have decided to do Kew Gardens on one day and Hampton Court on another day.

I’m still working/researching the rest.

As for London itself, what do you plan to see and do outside of day trips? As others stated, London Walks is excellent. I went on the daytime walks and twice on the pub walks which I highly recommend. I have been to London five times and went to London recently in 2018 and 2017 and going back next year for two weeks and plan to see things I have not seen and do some day trips too. I have been to Hampton Court and loved it and spent a whole day there. I was lucky, i went a few days after they had a wine and food festival and the place was fairly empty! I also did not go on the weekend.

What hotel are you staying in, if you don't mind my asking?

I can't wait to go to Kew Gardens as I have not been there yet. Are you planning to go to Windsor Castle, it is a wonderful place to visit and I saw the Changing of the Guard there. I also spent the whole day at Buckingham Palace which was exceptional.

I loved the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Wallace Collection and the Sir John Soane's house musuem. I have not been back to the British Musuem since 2005 and can't wait to see that museum as I really don't rememeber it. I do recommend making a reservation for the Churchill War Rooms they were excellent and saw that museum twice.

Are you going to Greenwich and taking the boat ride up the Thames River and walking across the Tower Bridge, did all three in 2005. Want to do it again next year. I loved St Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. I also enjoyed the Portrait Gallery, the National Gallery is good but really liked the Tate Britian. The Tate Modern is ok but not a fan of modern art. If you are then it is a must see.

I also enjoyed St Martins in the Field church and have seen four plays over the years in London. Next year I want to see at least two more plays and go to a concert at St Martins in the field church.

I have so much more I plan to see that I have not even mentioned as most everything above I have seen and now I plan to see other stuff I have not seen on this next trip.

There are plenty of museums in London to keep you busy, along with castles, or palaces, Windsor, Buckingham Palace, Hampton court and of course some nice pubs and Selfridges and Harrods department stores where you can have some really nice lunches or dinner.

If you need more ideas on what to see or eat, please PM and I will give you more info.
Have a great time. Bath is lovely too.

Winchester Cathedral & cute town
Salisbury Cathedral & cute town
Prehistoric sights: Stonehenge, Avenbury Ring, others in that area.
York Cathedral, city walls, & cute old town

Portsmouth (or rather the attached seaside resort of Southsea, which is very much part of the city of Portsmouth) DOES have a beach - I spent much of my childhood summers on that beach.

Very true. To claim that a pebble beach isn't a beach is odd. Sure, it's not as comfortable or easy lying on or walking along it as it would be if it was all sand but it's still a beach. The more easterly you go towards Eastney the more sand you'll find but then you risk hitting the nudist beach.

However, if you do want sand then the Beachlands area of Hayling Island has a huge expanse of sandflats which are great for walking when the tide is out.

If Rick suggests a “Kew Gardens/Hampton Court Blitz” in his 2019 London guide is doable and your travel style is to get as much in as you can, I'd say go for it. It may be a good idea to have a good plan in mind for your Blitz. I'm sure Rick suggests getting an early start and be there when the gates open. On separate days, we spent 3-4 hours each at Hampton Court and Kew Gardens when we were visiting friends in that part of London. We had adequate time to see what we wanted. We found Urber works well in the area and may save some time getting between the two. We ate at Kew, but I see that there is a place in Hampton as well to grab a bite.

Portsmouth is an easy day trip by train. Nelson’s flagship Victory is very interesting if you know the battle of Trafalgar. The Mary Rose is a miracle of restoration of a 1700s warship. There is a harbor tour, also.