Day trips from London

First time to London, count on spending most (if not all0 your time in London. There is so much to see. if you want to mix it up with a few day trips: Salisbury/Stonehenge/Avebury by combination of train and local bus; Canterbury or Winchester by train. Both very easy and enjoyable. Bath is doable by train (although I dont see the excitement); Close to London- Hampton Court and Windsor (but i consider them "London sights") Kew gardens for something different- and back to London by boat York is fantastic, but you need an overnight and a full day. Do not understand recommendations for Cardiff- long journey, a large city with none of the sights of london

Personally, Bath and Stonehenge would be rather far down on my list. York is a wonderful day trip by train. Cardiff Wales is good, especially if you like shopping (and the castle is right in the middle of the city, too). Canterburry is nice, Dover is ok- esp good if you are into WWII stuff and the castle is good. Windsor is always at the top of my list- my favorite castle, lovely gardens, good shopping, nice walks, good resturants/pubs- it can be anything from 1/2 day to full day into evening and the train ride is very short and rather inexpensive. After more than 40 trips to the UK and Europe, I wrote this article about basing in London and doing day trips by train- you might find it helpful/interesting. http://www.aaacarolinas.com/Magazine/2008/Jan-Feb/britain.htm?zip=28105&stateprov=nc&city=matthews

I'd suggest Canterbury, Windsor + Hampton Court, Oxford, or Cambridge -- all easily reached by train. I'd think Bath is too far and York much too far -- you'll spend most of the day getting there and back (though it's a great destination with more time). Stonehenge might be doable, could be combined with Salisbury, but I don't know the logistics. (I hitchhiked there in 1963, but don't recommend that now.) Dover Castle is scenic and interesting but IMHO not by itself worth the trip. It's probably a good idea to get outside London at least one day, but with only six days total you'll find more than enough to see and do in London for five!

Take a look at the London Walks website (www.walks.com). They have a number of day trips from London that you and your wife might enjoy. On our last trip to London my adult daughter insisted that she had to see Stonehenge - even she was underwhelmed. This fall when my husband and I are in London again, we plan on taking a day trip to Hampton Court - getting there by train and taking a Thames River Cruise back to London.

Don't overlook Greenwich, the famous national maritime museum, royal observatory, and the Greenwich Mean Time line (the prime meridian) where east meets west. You can easily do a full day there and it's just minutes from London proper by boat or light rail. Check out the Greenwich forum on tripadvisor.com for more details about markets and pubs along the Thames. I don't think the clipper ship, the Cutty Sark, is open for viewing but it may be repaired by now.

I would suggest a day trip out to Bath. It's very easy to get to. It only takes 90 minutes via train from Paddington station. While staying Bath my daughter and I took a Mad Max full day tour out to Avebury, the Cotswolds and Stonehenge. We had a great time. Not sure if you could fit in the tour and see Bath all in the same day. Bath is quite pretty and well worth a trip out to see. Enjoy. :-)

Bath is about a 1.25 hour train ride- not bad. Cardiff and York each about 2. Take an early train (8:00ish)there and a late one (6:00 ish or later) back to London. Done it many times and not found the day to be too long. I know some find Bath deserving of more than a day trip, but I have found 4-6 hours to be plenty, esp. if you don't tour the Roman Baths (only did that the first time- took about an hour). I did enjoy the river cruise in Bath and want to do the one in York, but haven't yet. What I love most about Bath is their large, excellent Christmas market(both local and imported vendors). Summer there is not as enjoyable to me. Stonehenge was a special experience for me- back when we went(20+ years ago) you could go right up to the stones. But now you can't and the area around it has grown up a lot- there is a main highway "right there". Those that want to "experience more than the amazing accomplishment it is seem to enjoy Aveburry more. You can get a Mad Maxx tour (2-3 hours) from Bath out to Stonehenge.
Cardiff is very walkable, has some interesting shops in old Victorian shopping arcades (lovely) and some good markets (one in an old church), a fairly decent castle right in the center of town, great pubs/resturants and a fun/ funky atmosphere. While I haven't seen it, a friend who lives there loves the way they have "tarted up" (his words) the harbor- lots of resturants, etc. There is a slate mine nearby that does tours, that we haven't done yet. Their small Christmas market is all local craftsmen. To be continued...

York is one of my all time favorites. I LOVE the Shambles- the shops and the old half-timber/wattle and daub buildings. One of my favorite resturants- Gert and Henery's- is just on the edge. There is a good market right next to the Shambles also. There are excellent small shops as well as high-street shopping. The Minster is lovely, Jorvic museum is fun (a kitchesky disney-esque take on York's history), there is a train museum, and, again it is VERY walkable. Winchester is nice. The cathedral is very interesting and there are some small military museums, etc. Did it once, don't know that I'd do it again. Canterburry is another fun/funky town. Lovely cathedral, good shopping area that makes me think of Camden Locks market. They also have an excellent Christmas market (like Cardiff's and York's it is mostly local craftsmen- not cheap imports). There is even an "animatronic" "show" doing the cleanest of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. You can combine Dover and Canterburry into one day if you wish. Dover castle is very good in summer as they almost always have things lilke falconry or archery, etc. exhibits. If you are into WWII there's several things to see. The cliffs are so-so.

Mark, really can't say if you should spend 2of 6 days out of London. But, while London is an amazing place, it is not representative of the rest of the UK, no more than New York City is representative of the U.S., or even New York. I'm a big York fan, too. The stuff you want to see is within the old Roman walls, all very walkable. Plenty of hotels and B&B's inside the walls or just outside. With some thought, you can have a great day there. (Don't miss the minster.) It's a two-hour trip by train from King's Cross. Go up early in the morning and come back after dinner. Frankly, I would be very tempted to spend overnight in York, spending the two day allocation. Bath is a pretty town, especially if Georgian buildings appeal to you. Not quite 2 hours by train. Touring the baths in interesting. Oxford or Cambridge (one hour and about 90 minutes out, respectively) are well worth a visit. My opinion on Stonehenge: Worth seeing once, for about 30 minutes.

Thanks for all the responses - very helpful. A bit surprised on the hot and cold re: Bath. Will definitely take a trip to Windsor and then need to decide on Oxford or Cambridge or a day trip to Bath. Mark

We took the tube out to Oxford and to Cambridge. We read that if you can only do one of those two towns, go with Cambridge. We definitely loved Cambridge, but didn't enjoy Oxford at all. We took the tube there and then took a Hop-on-Hop Off tour of Cambridge. They also have a beautiful mall there. Elaine

For those repeating Elaine's trips, you will need the train or coach to reach Oxford and Cambridge from London. The tube (Underground) doesn't go much further than the M25.

Mark, Before you make your final plans, you really should read the "Day Trips" section of Rick Steves' London book. He does a great job of giving you places to go that are not too far out of reach. My opinion: someone else here said there are plenty of things to do in London to keep you busy for 6 days. So very true. Look at SHORT trips out of London as opposed to long trips. Greenwich, for example, Windsor (the castle and the town), and Hampton Court Palace. If you do want a longer trip, you will not be disappointed with York. It is fantastic. York requires one overnight stay to be properly enjoyed. I would place it in the middle of my trip. Take the train up from London very early one day, take the whole day to enjoy York, walk the walls, see York Minster, stay overnight, then train back to London the next morning. http://www.visityork.org/ You should also have the Rick Steves Great Britain book. It gives an excellent profile of York. If you only want to buy ONE of the RS books, get the Great Britain. It has a London section, and covers day trips. Plus it covers Bath, Stonehenge, Avebury, the Cotswolds, and much more. Best travel book I own.

Despite Elaine's repeated postings to the contrary, the London Underground does not go to Oxford and Cambridge.

The other "long" trip I would recommend is the Evan Evans Tours trip to The Cotswolds, Oxford, Stratford upon Avon and Warwick Castle. You would cover a lot of sites, and the tours leave out of London. They have many different trips. Check out their site: http://www.evanevanstours.co.uk/cotswold-castle-tours.htm If you had more time, I'd suggest going to each of these places on your own. Also, as Mary said, London Walks tours are good.

Hello. I need to correct my recommendations for taking the TUBE out to Cambridge and Oxford. We must have taken the regular TRAIN out there. My apologies for not making myself clear. It has been pointed out to me that I was incorrect. The train was wonderful. I don't differentiate beween the TRAIN and the TUBE. Both are great. Elaine

Elaine, you may well not be losing your marbles there is a bus called The Oxford Tube which runs every 20 minutes between London and Oxford, it is exceedingly cheap. The service runs all through the night too although at less regular intervals, every hour I think.

I highly recommend the tour guide services of Alan Price of Celtic Horizon: http://www.celtichorizons.com/main/index.php?site=tour. He can tailor your time to match your interests and he does all the driving. His in-depth knowledge of Bath, Stonehenge, Avebury and more adds so much to the trip. And he stops at great places for lunch and tea that a larger tour group would not enable. His rate is by the hour, no matter how many people are in the car. He is in Rick Steves' book.

We recommend Gray Line Tours for day trips inside and outside of London. We have used them on three different trips to London. We have gone to Bath, Stonehenge, the Cotswolds, around London, etc. YOur meet the tours at Victoria Station or they pick you up near your hotel. We have also used them in Canada, Australia, New York, Boston, Rome, Bruge, Paris, etc. You can book the tours here in the U.S., on-line. They are a great company. Elaine

I like to book an advance train ticket, and upon arrival at Bath, or Oxford, or Salisbury, etc look for a green double decker tourist bus. After riding the bus to hear the guided tour, you can then hop on and off all day to visit what you are most interested in.

Through the years I have done many day trips from London all via trains. I have not been disappointed in any of them: Bath, Salisbury/Stonehenge, York, Leeds Castle, Greenwich, Oxford, Cambridge, ....... There is book avail. - I bought mine at Barnes & Nobel - "Day trips from London" and it is full of wonderful ideas and info on how to get there..........
Enjoy.....

I wonder what day trips Mark actually did take since he is probably home now...

My wife and I were in London from Aug 15-21 and had a fantastic time. We quickly realized how much there is do in London and that a taking a couple of day trips wouldn't make sense since this was our first visit. We did spend a day in Windsor which we loved. Next time, Bath and Stonehenge would be on our agenda. Thank you for all of your responses. Everyone was extremely helpful. Mark