Hi, My hubby and I are staying in London for 6 days. We would like to take a day trip to Edinburgh, but are wondering if the price of getting there is worth only enjoying it for one day. Other ideas were to hang out in Canterbury, but I havent seen much about Centerbury being great destination. I am open to all ideas!!! Thank you!
You'd spend most of your day just getting to Edinburgh. If you could spend the night that's different. Still, the airfare isn't all that cheap and the train fare can be worse. There is so much to see just in London. How about a river cruise to Hampton Court? That's an all day thing and very interesting. Ditto the Thames barrier cruise (4 hours). If what you are looking for is a view of the countryside how about in addition to, considering Cambridge, Stratford-upon-Avon as well as Canterbury. All are wonderful but I'm partial to Cambridge.
Edinburgh can be done as a day trip, but I recommend you wait until you can spend more time there. Canterbury is a nice day trip- as is Dover. In fact you can combine the two as they are on the same rail line. Other places also make good day trips. Here is a link to an article I wrote about day trips from London (if it asks for a zip code, use 28208)
http://www.aaacarolinas.com/Magazine/2008/Jan-Feb/britain.htm Let me know if it was helpful. Also, feel free to private message me- we love basing ourselves in London and doing day trips.
I love Edinburgh, but it's a long trip for a short amount of touring. That said, I had a work colleague who did the day trip. She's since then gone back to Scotland at least a couple of times. ; ) I would add Oxford as another potential city to visit. And did anyone mention Windsor? I've not done it, but I've seen it recommended many times as a day trip. Pam
How about York? Two hours each way by train. Book early to get reasonable fares.
Edinburgh sounds pretty ambitious for a day trip. On previous trips, we have have a very nice time (and easy) daytripping to Oxford, Bath, and Cambridge. On our last trip this June we stopped in Canterbury for the better part of an afternoon (we had a car), and while very interesting, it was the most crowded spot we hit in 2 weeks in England. I still preferred the other cities over Canterbury, but that's just my feeling. There is certainly much to see in Canterbury. Lots of choices!