Windsor Castle & other London day trips

will you have a car or are you on the train?

We are traveling by train, no car.

I've done day trips to Dover Castle/WW II underground installation, Windsor, and even Bath from London on the train. I simply caught a train and arrived at the destinations and bought tickets. I enjoyed all of the trips.

Windsor is probably my favorite castle! It is actually better as a tour now than before the fire- you get to see what they discovered!!! And the town/village of Windsor is good for shopping and walking. easy to do by train- catch at Paddington station, easy transfer at Slough. Takes about 20-25 min. Trains run 2 or 3 times an hour. We always use a day return (round trip - with the times open). You can spend anywhere from 1/2 a day to a full day, even eating supper in Windsor.

Dover Castle is also nice, especially if you are into Henry VIII and / or WWII.

We also did Windsor as an easy day trip and enjoyed the castle and little town around it.

Another option is Hatfield House, which can be easily reached from London by suburban train from Kings Cross.

What Toni said. We haven't done all the grand homes/palaces, but our day in Windsor was fabulous. Pick a sunny day and GO EARLY.

I will second what someone else said above. Hatfield House. 25 minutes from London, magnificent, and overlooked.

Without a car it will be difficult to get to many stately homes.

I agree completely with Windsor Castle - compact yet comprehensive, beautiful, in a beautiful town, and very easy to reach from London and Heathrow.

I love this website...

http://www.beenthere-donethat.org.uk/londondaytrips.html

Lots of great ideas.

We haven't been yet, but plan to go to Windsor soon on our trip. Somewhere I read (maybe in a Rick Steves book?) to buy tickets ahead online AND print them out. By showing up with tickets in hand you at least avoid standing in the ticket-buying line. I guess there's still a line to just get in. Maybe others have done this and can confirm?

Nicole, thanks! Love that website!

danowskisharon, Windsor would be my first choice, also.

If you visit Windsor, and then want another castle on a different day, another great castle that you can go to by train/day trip is Warwick Castle. Leave out of London Marylebone Station, and it takes 1 hour 45 minutes to get there. If you buy a round trip ticket ahead of time online, you will get substantial savings.
Warwick Station is approximately one mile from the Castle. You can easily walk that.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warwick_Castle

The other way you can get there is by bus. Golden Tours runs a bus out there and back. The package includes castle entry.
They pick up around London in the morning from many hotels:
http://warwick-castle.gttix.com/productdetails.aspx?productid=4567%20

Warwick Castle is very close to Stratford-Upon-Avon. So if you wanted another interesting destination, you can take a very short train ride or taxi there for the afternoon after doing Warwick in the morning. But that would be a very full day.

Another vote for Windsor.