Best Day Trip From London

I like Hampton Court; cause you can train one way and boat the other...depending on schedules and the tide. Hampton Court was Henry the VIII home and has a Tudor Tour featuring his Family. There was a Stewart Tour when I was there. You can also train it to Brighton to see The Pavilion, the beach and antique shops. Look at the National Trust Site for "Days Out" itinararies. They have Tourist passes for their properties that may be worthwhile for you.

Hampton court. Take the River Launch. Stonehenge and Salisbury. Windsor. All 3 are great!

I love doing day trips from London. Windsor is a great day or half-day trip. Lots of other choices, too. I wrote an article for AAA Carolina's "GO!" magazine a few years ago about this topic. I 'rewrote' it and posted it on TripAdvisor. You might find it interesting or helpful. Here is a link. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g186338-c176673/London:United-Kingdom:London.And.Day.Trips.html

There really are many options. Three of my favorites: Cambridge, Canterbury, and Windsor. I didn't consider Hampton Court a "day trip" since I visited Hampton Court Palace and Kensington Palace both in one day, finishing up with tea at The Orangery.

Hampton Court and Windsor are easy day trips from London (comfortably withiin an hour by train) so you can get back to London late afternoon. Full day trips ar Stonehenge (still an awesome sight), Canterbury, Winchester or salisbury (all cathedral towns) and easy to get to by train. Cambridge (easier to get around than Oxford).

Thanks for the responses! I hadn't even thought of going to Brighton, but that may be something we try. The ocean would be a nice change. The article is great. I love the planning phase of a trip. My London 2013 came today and I can't wait to read it.

Well Brigton would be nice, IF weather is decent, so in early spring you may decide against.. My choice would be Bath , loved it. Thought Stratford-Upon-Avon was much ado about nothing, lol
Liked Salisbury . And of course Hampton Court, but its not that far so not really a daytrip. I have not done Windsor, but it would be my choice now. If you have 10 whole days,, I would be really tempted to take two or three and visit Edinburgh.

I may be prejudiced, given I live here, but I'd second Brighton! You can walk on the pier and by the sea, and see the oddest royal palace in the country. http://www.brighton-hove-rpml.org.uk/royalpavilion/Pages/home.aspx If you fancy a more off the beaten track castle then Arundel is interesting. http://www.arundelcastle.org/_pages/03_visitor_info.htm It would be possible to do a circle of Victoria to Arundel (90 minutes by train), Arundel to Brighton (60 minutes) and then Brighton to Victoria (50 minutes). Alan

I loved Bath - beautiful architecture, but stayed there so not sure how long the daytrip would be. Windsor was beautiful, too, mainly b/c of the castle. Now I guess you could see the Olympic rowing venue. I really like Stratford-upon-Avon, too. All depends what you're most interested in. Architecture, Castle, literature?

Also saw Arundel Castle, but we did it as a trip from Portsmouth (where my sis lives). But will 2nd the suggestion...we really enjoyed the castle and wandering the town...we were there early Oct, so not much happening then, but lovely.

Paris

Thanks for the suggestions. I like checking out the places I hadn't considered. Paris, however, is more than a day trip for us. We are spending 3 days there and I know it still won't be enough!

We have been to England many times and have seen the places recommended here for day trips - all good suggestions (I will have to say, only place we haven't been to that's been mentioned is Brighton - do want to go there). We spent a day several years ago in Colchester - enjoyed that a lot.

spent a day several years ago in Colchester - enjoyed that a lot Constable Country is wonderful. The countryside is just as it was all those years ago when John Constable painted it. I was there a few days ago and it is lovely.

It's a lot of ground to cover, but I would consider taking the train to Bath at the crack of dawn, seeing the Roman baths there, then boarding a small mini bus for a tour of the Cotswolds with Mad Max tours. Your mini bus returns you to Bath, where you can do a little more sightseeing, then train back to London. It's a full day, but it would be worth it to see the Cotswolds. They deserve more than a day, but if that's all you can do, at least you get to see some of the villages. http://www.madmaxtours.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48&Itemid=61 If you want to leave directly from London, Evan Evans tours has a bus going to the Cotswolds, stopping at Warwick Castle, Oxford and Stratford Upon Avon. We did this trip, and it started around 8am and got back around 6:30pm. The other company that runs tours out of London is Golden Tours, but I have not used them. The disadvantage is that you are on a large bus, and when you get to the Cotswolds, the big bus seems monstrously large going down the country roads and through the villages. I much prefer the mini bus that Mad Max Tours uses; small groups of a dozen or so people.

Kris - honestly, that's a loaded question! As you can tell from the responses, there are a great many day trips you can make from London, thanks in large part to the UK rail and bus network. You can quite easily day trip an awful lot of southern England from London. There are multiple publications (not RS) that can give you suggestions other than what you find here. But you were looking for specific suggestions. I think Warwick Castle is a great day trip - a 15-20 minute walk from Warwick station. Journey time is about 1 hr, 45 minutes, out of Marylebone in London. http://www.warwick-castle.com/ Enjoy!

Went to London for a week last November for my 50th. Husband had been there before but it was my first trip. Best day trip: Hampton Court! But I love the Henry VIII history. Use the Days Out London passes if they are still available. Easy train ride. Walk from station to castle. Windsor very cool too. St. George's chapel is there. Cute little town at base of castle. The rooms that were destroyed by fire twenty years ago have been restored and are glorious! Not your average dusty, gloomy old house. We did Stonehenge. Weird. Windy. Cold. Could have skipped it but it is kind of neat that every time we see a picture of it now we can say, "Hey - we were there." Also saw Oxford. Kind of a bustling college town. If you are a Harry Potter fan you may like it, but I wouldn't go back. Best moment of whole trip: In London, go to mass at Westminster at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday. It's free. I believe the Abbey is closed to tourist who are just looking around, but if you want to sit at service you can. We sat in the wooden stalls right up front. Unreal! It's a regular service and it's like you were a guest at a royal wedding - choir, organ, service. Have a great time!

Salisbury, Bournemouth, Bath, Moreton-in-Marsh (Cotswolds), Windsor, Paris, Brighton, Portsmouth (can visit Isle of Wight from there), and Cambridge. I've visited most of these on daytrips from London. The LondonPlus pass will take you to all of them AFIK (except Paris). Check the railpasses section on this webpage to see the passes. Go to the end of the Britain section to find them. I would recommend taking a daytrip to Paris only after being there at least once before.

The reply now a bit dated given the date of your original post, but I'll put a vote in for Bath. Very easy to get to from London by train and there are lots of easy and fascinating sites neatly tucked around an attractive, lively city center. It would be easy to get there early, see all the main attractions and still catch the train back in time to have dinner back in London if you wish.

As an ex-Londoner I used to try and escape most weekends and found the Walkers club very helpful. It would be a chance to meet some locals and get to see more countryside than any visit to Windsor, Hampton court etc (nice though they are). http://www.walkingclub.org.uk/ I used to have their Time Out walks book which I believe is still being published.

Bath is charming, and most doable in a long day. We picniced in Bath Park, it is lovely! Double decker bus is a great way to see it. Bath Abby is a must, great shops, and loved our dinner at Jamie's Italian! A day trip to Oxford is another good one, we saw so much, and loved the library tour at one of the oldest libraries in the world! Interesting city, but we were there in December and it was cold! Spend an afternoon in Greenwich and Blackheath, lots to see and do! They are next to one another, you can walk both of them!

My top two would be Oxford, or Bath, Salisbury Cathedral and Stonehenge. Either is reached easily by bus, so you don't need to worry about transportation. The one to Oxford is called the Oxford Tube, but it's really a bus. The day trip tour bus to Bath is offered by several companies. I'm sure you can find bus tours to other choices as well (e.g. Windsor Castle) depending on which sites appeal most to you.