Hi,
I have been to London so I am not really interested in going back. My husband and i really love picturesque towns/cities and beautiful landscape. We went to Windsor and really loved it. Do you have any recommendations for us of some of the most beautiful places to visit. We will end up in South Hampton for the cruise.
Posted by
Lincolnshire, UK
2402 posts
Pick somewhere close to Southampton - you've loads of choice. There's cities like Salisbury or Winchester. or a bit further is Bath. You have the New Forest or South Downs if you want somewhere a bit more rural. There is also Dorset and the Jurassic coast - a lovely area which doesn't yet feature on the tourist tick list.
There are some wonderful place names too - Blanford Forum, Wimbourne Minster, ,Winterbourne Kingston, Droop, Milterne Magna, Puddletown, Piddlehinton... and many many more!
Posted by
London
79 posts
If you need to end up in Southampton I definitely recommend anywhere in the New Forest- and it is easy to get between the main town (Brockenhurst) and Southampton by train. Good for walking/relaxing and you can see the local wild horses. Enjoy the trip!
Posted by
Nashville, TN, USA
3939 posts
Great recommendations above by Wasleys and Cat.
From Southampton you could go East to visit castles and their nearby villages. Hever Castle, home of Anne Boleyn before her marriage to Henry VIII. Then on to Leeds Castle, remodeled by Henry VIII to suit his large entourage.
Both castles have overnight accommodations which I recommend for a really memorable visit.
https://www.hevercastle.co.uk/
https://www.hevercastle.co.uk/stay/
https://leeds-castle.com/
https://leeds-castle.com/stay/
Then onward to Canterbury which still has its medieval buildings and streets and lovely Canterbury Cathedral.
While staying in Canterbury for several nights, you could take one day and take the train to Dover Castle, which overlooks the English Channel. The town of Dover is nothing special, but the medieval castle is.
There are a number of historic houses with lovely gardens where you could stop along the way, such as Sissinghurst.
Will you have a car? This route is easier done by car but can be done by train and bus.
Posted by
Nashville, TN, USA
3939 posts
If you will only have a short time, I would do Winchester, Salisbury, and Bath, as mentioned by Wasleys.
You could also take the train to Oxford. It's not a village but a lovely and interesting university town. From there you could go to several Cotswolds villages.
I hate to say this because of the blow-back we get for mentioning the Cotswolds on this forum.
But you will find one lovely village after another there.
Posted by
USA
286 posts
Bristol was on Rick's radio show this week.