Rail service from English countryside to London

Stow-on-the- Wold in the Cotswolds is magical. You can reach it by train from Paddington Station to Moreton-in-Marsh. It is a short bus ride to Stow from there, or take a cab. The area was made for country walks to the most interesting little villages right out of a picture postcard. You can train to Oxford, visit Blenheim Palace, and train in to London. We especially enjoyed waiting for the bus which gave us time to chat up the area and get info from locals. Whatever you choose will be delightful. Hank, Novato, CA

I hope I'm correct in this because we have always had a car. I believe the train from London goes to Ely which is a nice little town. From there you can take the train to King's Lynn and then transportation to Sandringham. I love East Anglia - much to see there and public transportation can get you around. Also, can go into Cambridge from there - all these for day trips.

Take a pin and stick it anywhere on a map of England and you'll find somewhere!

Here's a map of all the rail links https://mapping.dorsetforyou.gov.uk/TravelDorset/Rail/RailMap, it focuses on Dorset but the map can be expanded. I like Dorset, There are plenty of cottages to rent, there's a fantastic coastline and gorgeous countryside to explore plus a wealth of small villages.

Be aware that the peak time restrictions on trains on many lines into London extend well into the morning, and for around 3 hours in the evening, so the trains will be crowded and expensive if you are traveling at the same time commuters are.

If you don't want to drive you need to be based close to the station and the station needs to be close to the high street so you can get supplies and get a meal, and close to a number of bus lines.

Combine that with a requirement to have interesting places to go in the area, and only an hour away will be a challenge - beyond my skill.

While Stow on the Wold fits some of the criteria it fails on others, including that it is well beyond a one hour train trip to London.

Suffolk is remote and generally not well connected to other parts of the country.

How much time have you got to work this out?

I might tend towards northwesterly parts of Kent or northerly parts of Sussex or southerly parts of Surrey.

I think that you should look at maps of the rail system:>http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations_destinations/maps.aspx

Then double check the fares/frequency to places that you can visit:> www.nationalrail.co.uk
Note that for longer trips of say over 1 hour, that it is cheaper to pre-book specific trains. Prior to 9.30am (generally) Mon> Fri, peak fares apply. So, if you wish to go to London, you are more likely to find it cheaper on a Saturday. Also beware of Sunday engineering work.

Then check for accommodation. Most self catering cottages are likely to be in isolated locations where a car would be needed. You may like to consider splitting up your vacation to stay maybe 7 days in different places or just split your time between 2.

I would consider Salisbury as it is not too far from London and has rail lines going NW to Bath and Cardiff; SW to Exeter and SE to Portsmouth Harbour. You could also travel south to the seaside town of Bournemouth or east to Winchester. Use this site to figure out if buses are better:> www.traveline.info

Shuttle buses run from Salisbury to Stonehenge.

This is a place we have considered for a similar stay in the U.K.:

https://www.merryfieldcottage.com

Website says it is one hour 15 minutes into London; a short journey to Hastings and other towns on the southeast coast.

It is also listed on booking.com and other third-party sites if you are not comfortable booking directly.

Lola, that place sounds wonderful. I love that part of England. One time we stayed in a B&B in West Malling. Noticed the train came right into the town very close to our B&B. We had a car so there were many places to visit in that location.

Robertsbridge to London takes almost 90 minutes and the last train from central London is at 2345. Trains will probably be very crowded in the early morning to reach London.

More generally, anywhere that is within an hour from London will be in the commuter belt. As such if you want to get into central London at a reasonable time in the morning to explore, you will be travelling in the peak hour and the trains will be very crowded. If you do want to do it, I would recommend getting a monthly season ticket from the local station to London including a London Travelcard - you will need a passport photo and you can only buy it at the local station, not online, but it will probably be the cheapest route and you will not be charged extra for travelling in the peak hour.