London Country Tours - David Stubbs

I hope you get that resolved. The model village at Bourton on the Water is a good diversion.

In the meantime, closer to London, are you aware of the original model village - Bekonscot - near High Wycombe at Beaconsfield, just outside London.

Easy access by train from London Marylebone to Beaconsfield station. From the Plan Your Visit page:

Chiltern Railways run regular services to Beaconsfield station from
London Marylebone (25 mins), Oxford, Aylesbury, Birmingham,
Stratford-upon-Avon, High Wycombe and beyond.

Bekonscot is a short 5 minute walk from Beaconsfield station so you
can be with us in less than 45 minutes from London’s West End.

Good fun for my wife and me last year.

https://www.bekonscot.co.uk/

Than you so much for this information!

Nigel - I'm not sure if you'll see this reply. We're reconsidering about would like to see Bekonscot, especially with my son being a huge train-fan.

Is the town worth exploring as well? Do you know if there are other towns nearby worth visiting that we could get to by train? We'd like to see more but not go as far as Oxford.

Thank you!

If son is a train fan, have you got London Transport Museum on your list? Your parents may also enjoy the nostalgia too.

Completely different is the Postal Museum in London complete with Mail Rail, the underground train used to take the mail ...

I don't know how this fits in with your day trip to the Cotswolds, but there is also the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway Steam Railway running between Cheltenham and Broadway. It is a lovely run through attractive countryside along the foothills of the Cotswolds behind a steam loco.

The town of Beaconsfield is all the way around the model village, and is very pretty in its own right. The answers from wasleys are also good. The London Transport Museum is, for both kids and adults, like being a kid in a candy store. There is just so much to see which is railway related in many different ways. After all, the London Underground (The Tube) is really just a really big trains set.

As someone who lives about 5 miles from Beaconsfield, I wouldn’t say that the area around Beckonscot is “pretty “. It’s in the New Town which grew up around the railway station in the late 1800s and 1900s, so nothing old. It’s ok but nothing to write home about. The Old Town, about a half mile level walk away, is quite pretty but fairly small.

As a Grandfather with young grandsons, a good day out is a Number 11 bus from Liverpool St past a lot of the main sights. Get off at Westminster Abbey or Victoria St (the stop is outside a Pizza Express restaurant), then walk to Westminster Pier for a boat ride to Greenwich (get one with a commentary,
Which takes about an hour) then one stop on the river bus to the O2 arena where you can take the cable car to the north bank of the river and get the DLR back to more or less where you started. Loads of forms of transport and not too much walking for a 5 year old.

London Bus route #11 no longer runs east of Westminster to Liverpool Street since about a year ago- it has now been diverted after Westminster to Waterloo.
Instead take bus #15 from the Tower of London to Charing Cross, then either walk down Whitehall to Westminster or take the boat from Embankment Pier.

I hadn’t realised the change in the route of the number 11 bus. But, looking at the TfL website, it seems that the number 26 does the exact same route between Liverpool St and Victoria.

Thank you for all of the responses!

Yes - The Transport Museum was one of the first sites we planned on. I'm not sure we'll make it to the Postal Museum this trip, but we left one day open for that possibility. The same goes for the Greenwich visit, which does sound quite enjoyable for someone interested in transportation. I will look into the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway!

Thank you for the information about Old vs. New parts of Beaconsfield - if this ends up being our only destination that day, we will certainly make our way to the old part of town. If anyone has recommendations for specific restaurants or other stops in Beaconsfield, I would appreciate it! Thanks so much.

If you do get the boat to Greenwich, the pier is close to the National Maritime Museum - which is free to enter - and does have some sections for young children, I believe. You could also go to the nearby Prime Meridian (zero degrees longitude) and stand with a leg in each hemisphere. Kids love it.

Sorry to keep adding random thoughts, but it’s worth knowing that Beckonscot is outdoors so go on a dry day, if you can. I wouldn’t have thought that there’s enough to do in Beaconsfield for a whole day, more like a morning in my view. You could go to Didcot Railway Centre, although it’s about an hour and a half by train from Beaconsfield (change at Oxford) but they do have steam days at weekends and a few weekdays.

Perhaps have a picnic on the train from Beaconsfield to Oxford?? There’s a large Waitrose supermarket near the station in Beaconsfield.

Thank you all!

Now a logistical question - I believe I have only taken the tube as opposed to the train. Do I need to/should I buy tickets on Chiltern Railways ahead of time?

There is no cost benefit to buying Chiltern Railways local tickets in advance and no assigned seating (there are cheap Advance long distance fares) so no purpose is served by buying tickets in advance.

Beaconsfield is outside the "Oyster Zone", that is the area around London where you can touch a credit/debit card or a special Oyster card to pay for your journey.

https://www.buckinghamshirelive.com/news/buckinghamshire-news/oyster-card-beaconsfield-milton-wycombe-4769163

You'll need to buy a ticket at Marylebone - there is, I think, still a ticket office there but it's easier to use the machines which will take plastic (and maybe not cash). Keep an eye on the train indicator boards as it takes a minute or two to reach some of the platforms. Also, sometimes during the day they park two short trains on one platform (front train and rear train) and be sure to get on the right one.