venture out of London

There are so many wonderful options.
Consider the cotswolds, oxford or cambridge, how about bath and stonehenge. There are alot of options and so close to london.

Getting places is fairly easy with the trains, coaches etc.

Consider Bath for an overnight or Windsor for a day trip. York maybe, with a long train ride. Scotland or Ireland may eat up a lot of time travelling unless you do open jaw flights and return home or arrive into one of them.

I'm not a great expert on outside London though.

London is the hub, with railways emanating north, south, east and west like spokes. Decide where you want to go and the likelihood is that you can get there by train.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/default.aspx

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/css/OfficialNationalRailmapsmall.pdf

--Oxford
--Stratford upon Avon
--Bath
--Salisbury and Stonehenge
--Canterbury
--Cambridge and Ely
--Lincoln
--York

Many options for day trips as noted by others above, and easy to do. Also have a look at London Walks website. walks.com. They do day trips outside London, taking the train from central London.

Hello bxintx,

I have been to England several times and used London as a base. Once we went to Bath for a few days and explored the environs. Another time we went to Cambridge for 2-3 days and took a train up to Edinburgh. Oxford is a great place to visit with the Ashmolean Museum and Blenheim Palace nearby. Also, you can take a train from London up to Windsor Castle which is delightful and historic. I think Stratford-Upon-Avon and the Cotswolds and York would all be wonderful destinations.

Wow, just love England! What kinds of activities do you like to do?

Have fun, you will get many good suggestions and ideas here on forum.

Judy B

WE LOVE doing day trips by train out of London. Some of our favorites are:
Windsor, Cardiff Wales, Bath, York, Stratford-upon-Avon, Canterbury, Dover, and Winchester. All VERY easy to do and have good site seeing and/or shopping. Depending on when you are going, Windsor,Bath, York and Canterbury have good Christmas markets (Bath's is quite large). You can even do Edinburgh as a day trip if you fly. That's how I got hubby interested in Scotland! LOL! Bath, Cardiff, York and Edinburgh would also make good 1 or 2 night trips.

I went to Bath once as a day trip with someone who knew the city well, so no wasted time. It's a bit far for a day trip but good for an overnighter. I was fascinated by my day at Bletchley Park. In my many visits, I still haven't been to Oxford or Cambridge - I find it too hard to leave London!

London Walks is an excellent suggestion. I've only taken some of those in the city, but they are the best city walks I've taken.

I would suggest York and staying at least one night. It's an easy trip by train, and York is easy to get around in on foot. York Minster, the Shambles, the walled city -- I'd think both of you would find something appealing about it. And it has a completely different feel to it than London.

Whilst it is true that you can reach any part of Britain by train from London, it does not mean that you must stay in London. London has the most expensive accommodation in Britain. You will get more bang for your buck by staying out of London. (If you wish to see London, then by all means, it makes sense to stay in London).

Click this link to see Britain's rail network. (You will probably find the green map the easiest to understand plus the one under it (3rd down).http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations_destinations/maps.aspx

www.nationalrail.co.uk will give you times & schedules. Longer distance fare are usually cheaper by booking in advance.

More advice on Britain's trains:>http://www.seat61.com/UK-train-travel.htm#.Vh0Tv-lVuiY

This site will tell you bus routes (as well as rail) :> http://www.traveline.info
www.visitengland.com
www.visitwales.co.uk
www.visitscotland.com