Quick Trip to England in March

Suggestions include, Canterbury, Cambridge, Salisbury, Stonehenge, Oxford, Windsor Castle, Bath, the Cotswolds.

A Train trip to Cambridge where you can see the college and some of the old town (we took a day out with London Walks www.walks.com) they are cheaper than any bus tours and they also offered punting on the Cam. I prefer Cambridge over Oxford as I think the city is more compact. Also St. Albans is a short train ride away, on market day it is filled with stalls of real people selling their wares, there is a cathedral, and walk through the park you get to a Roman ruin across the road where you will probably be the only people and there are pubs etc. Another trip to Bath is fun with the Roman baths and a pretty city. Hope this helps.

Day trip. Easy train ride to see Hampton Court if that has interest. I also like the short train jaunt to St Albans when the market is occurring.

A longer jaunt and worth an overnight IMHO is Durham. The Castle is gorgeous. Try to enjoy a meal by the fire at Ye Olde Elm Tree Pub. If your travel date includes Thursday 16th March the town's farmers market will be occurring.

You can also wander about Durham's Indoor Market place, take a stroll along the river although in March I'd pay attention to the weather. I also found the small Durahm University Asian Museum impressive.

Down a stairway leading to the river path (right after Bella Italia restaurant) is the tiny 9 altars cafe/Bakery. Grab one of the 3 tables upstairs for breakfast or light lunch. For me a hidden gem. http://www.9altarscafe.com

If you liked you could stop in York on the way to or the way back from Durham.

Dress in layers.

You don't give much of a clue as to what your interests are!

March will still mean relatively short daylight hours. Unless you have been to London before, I would suggest that you spend 5 days there. Edinburgh will be cold and early March, there would still be a risk of snow. Unless you are flying home open jaw from Edinburgh, I would suggest that you stay closer to London.

I prefer York to Durham, as other than the Minster/Cathedral, York has far more to offer a visitor and the city is more picturesque. Durham is more like hundreds of other towns/cities in the UK. Plus, it's a shorter train ride from London.

Chester is another possibility if you want an older city with character.

I used to live close to St Albans and never realised that it's market was so well-known - most English towns have similar markets and I certainly wouldn't rate this in my top 20!

Places closer to London are:
Rye, steeped in history and with good walks along the coast;
Brighton, with its combination of history and modern vibe;
Lewes - a good castle, the former home of Anne of Cleeves and a nice, historic town centre;
Cambridge - more character than Oxford;
Greenwich - markets and Greenwich Observatory day trip;
Canterbury is a day trip rather than an overnight trip;
Hampton Court or Windsor;
Whitstable or Hastings for a seaside town day trip.

Personally, Stonehenge isn't my thing, so I wouldn't recommend that, but many on this forum seem interested.

Train tickets are cheapest booked 12 weeks out, so book asap if using trains.

Thank you- to clarify- I lived in Hampstead for 6 years as a child and spent a semester in London in College. We were in London for 5 days three years ago- but stayed strictly in the city- looking to explore a bit - so all these suggestions are great!