Two questions. We will be in London for a week in September. We will not have a car. We have a placed to stay near the Royal Courts of Justice.
First, any thoughts on a day trip to Windsor or Cambridge or Oxford?
Second, does anyone knows of a golf course that I could get to by train?
Thanks!
Windsor is an easy day trip (you can even do a 1/2 day if you don't do the full castle and grounds tour). It is a great small town, with good shopping an plenty of choices about where to eat. We would often go on days when we had theatre tickets for that evening. Trains leave Paddington station about every 30 min. and return similarly. No need to buy in advance, just get them the day you travel.
I have done each of these places as a day trip from London.
I got a great book on Amazon "10 day trips from London" and it gives all the info on how to get there, costs, where to buy the tickets....... train and bus info.
Sorry - I am not a golfer, so can't answer that part of your question.
Happy Travels
Good news that you don't have a car - it's the last thing you need in London.
Either Oxford or Cambridge would make a great day trip. I wouldn't do both but there's little to choose between them: Oxford has the Tolkien and Inspector Morse links; Cambridge has the glorious Backs (Google them) and Kings College Chapel.
For Oxford, get London public transport (tube or bus) to Paddington Station and catch the train - takes about an hour.
For Cambridge, get yourself to Kings Cross station in London and catch the train - takes about an hour. There's also a slower service fromLiverpool Street station.
As these are relatively short journeys I don't think there's any cost advantage to pre-booking. I believe each would cost in the region of £20/£25 for a return (round-trip) ticket per adult.
Details of train times and fares can be found on www.nationalrail.co.uk - use London (All) as your starting point.
I don't know anything about golf but this article (from four years ago) looks like a good starting point, and gives public transport details too. "Inside the M25" means inside the giant outer London motorway.
http://www.golfmagic.com/travel/uk-and-ireland/london-golf-courses-ten-inside-the-m25/15064
To Oxford because of the competition between the two rail companies and the coach companies there is money to be saved for buying prior to the travel day. For example on the train it is possible for an Advance one way ticket to be £5-£5.50 from either Paddington or Marylebone and the journey time on the fastest services are broadly the same. Go one way and come back the other for variation.
Re the the golf question. Two possibles I know of. Burhill Golf Club - train from Waterloo to Walton on Thames, then taxi to course. Hoebridge Golf Centre - train Waterloo to Woking then taxi to course.
I'm not a golfer so can't comment on the pros and cons of the courses. My experience of these places was through work, destinations were picked for summer day out for staff to get together. I did try the 18 hole par 3 course at Hoebridge which was fun.
London Walks offers escorted, guided day tours to those places. You meet in London at a designated point and then take the train to your destination. Once there, your guide for the day gives you a walking tour.
No first hand experience- but we are considering day trip to Oxford and will most likely take the Oxford Espress bus- takes slightly longer but costs a lot less than train (bus 14£-RT, train about 23£-RT)
https://www.oxfordtube.com
As said above, with a bit of planning the train is £10-£11. I would only consider the coach if staying more or less on top of the stops of one company or the other, eg if in Victoria.
