Hi there, we will be in London July 2-5. Can we make day trips to Oxford and Cambridge, and if so, would you recommend taking the train and then spending the day in the city?
We have already seen significant sights and sounds in the city, so we are looking for shorter day trips. We have visited Bath and enjoyed it immensely! Are there any other places we can make day trips to? We prefer to come back to London for the night. 2 adults and two teenagers who love to travel.
From London I’ve enjoyed day trips to:
The Cotswolds (The Secret Cottage tour from Moreton-in-Marsh followed by a few hours in Oxford on my own)
Cambridge (with London Walks)
Highclere Castle
Winchester
Hampton Court Palace
Harry Potter film studios in Watford Junction
Bletchley Park
Somewhere along the way I had come across a website that listed day trips from London by duration of train journey, and I used that for ideas.
You could even take the fast train to York from Kings Cross and do a day trip there albeit a long one. I haven’t done.
Have fun!
Thank you very much! Appreciate your suggestions. I never thought about Bletchley Park! I have enjoyed documentaries on them and they would be fascinating to visit! I will look for a website that lists some of these!
Bletchley Park is well done and worth the time.
Definitely see Bletchley. Fascinating. Enjoyable train ride from Euston Station.
As you will be in London on a Sunday enjoy a Sunday Roast.
You’ll also have the opportunity to see Portobello Road market on Saturday. Go early. No later than 8am. Have coffee at Gail’s Bakery. Then wander about.
If you go to Bletchley Park, I recommend an early start. You can spend practically the entire day there, especially if you use the audio guide.
I wouldn’t go to both Oxford and Cambridge on a short visit, but just choose one. Both are excellent day trips but have certain similarities.
Salisbury is lovely, and you can take a bus from the station and do Stonehenge as well on the same day.
Portsmouth is not a pretty city, but if you have any interest in old ships and want some sea air, the historic dockyard is right by Portsmouth Harbour train station, only about 90 minutes from London.
We've just returned from London and did daytrips to Windsor and Cambridge and we enjoyed them both thoroughly. We went to a service at Kings College Chapel and heard the choir, took a punting tour with Scudamore's (this was a highlightof the entire trip), popped by the Eagle pub, checked out Market Square and explored some of the streets.
I couldn't recommend it more. It was a very easy direct train there and back and we experienced quite a lot in only 8 hours.
I also second Claudia's recommendation of Sunday Roast. We went to Blacklock Covent Garden and got the "all in" which is beef, pork and lamb and it was easily one of the best meals of the trip. You'd need to book a table now!
