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Where to base on a trip

We just came back from 2 weeks in London and Paris. We have been to London so many times - always like it. We used to drive through the countryside but we are not driving any longer. I would like to look for a place where we could base and take train daytrips. I was thinking perhaps York, but wonder if there are any other thoughts. We won't have a car. Thank you.

Posted by
1835 posts

York would work well. There are also places like Durham or Chester.

Posted by
8674 posts

Next London visit stay in Richmond.

You can train or tube from the Quadrant or walk 5 minutes to the Bus Station and ride from there.

Hour and half to Bletchley Park

40 minutes to Hampton Court

2 hours to Whitsable

If that isn’t of interest then train two hours to Manchester and do train trips from there.

1 1/2 train to York

2 hours to Durham

Posted by
21 posts

My suggestion would be to just pick a city you're interested in as a base -- preferably one with several different train lines.

It's amazing to me how easy it is to get from city to city in England. Over 20 years ago I visited a friend who was spending a semester abroad in a college near the tiny town of Grantham. Even in that small town, I was able to just walk into the train station in the morning, ask where I could maybe catch a train to that was leaving in the next hour or so, then go off exploring. I saw Nottingham, Lincoln, and York that week.

Looking at a map of the rain system in England, I'd suggest York because it looks like you could easily get to a lot of different places -- Nottingham, Liverpool, Manchester, even Edinburgh.

Posted by
7668 posts

For England west of London, consider Oxford.
For the North of England consider York.
For South Wales, consider Cardiff and Tenby.
For North Wales consider Conwy.