London March 2011

We were there in March several years ago and had 6 inches of snow which was very very unusual but is like weather everywhere, it changes. Just check weather forecast week before you go and prepare to layer, I always use an all weather coat so prepared for anything. Day trips, try Bath, Windsor. Try London Walks, there is a great variety to choose from depending on your interests and they are free. You could probably take a several days in Bath area, maybe Wales for day and a half if you are driving. If not, can get to Bath by train. Same thing with Windsor, easy by train. Enjoy. Oh, not sure if they still have it but at train stations we found a buy one get one free brochure, not sure what we used it for but know we did for St. Pauls.

London is a great place to start exploring the UK, and 9 days (are you counting 9 days 'on the ground- really 11 days total- or 9 days total- 7 days 'on the ground'). March could be good time to go- you might get lovely early spring weather- or not... weather int he UK is most changeable (lol). If you have 7 days IN the UK- I'd use London as a base and just plan some day trips- maybe 2 or 3. Windsor (full or half day), Canterburry, Dover, Winchester, York, Cardiff, Bath, Stratford-upon-Avon, Brighton, Cambridge, Oxford, and more are all easy to do on your own by train. York has a very good micro-brewery that gives tours, by the way. If you like gardens, there is Kew Gardens at the edge of London. Greenwich is also nice for all or part of a day. However, I think you might find this article informative. I wrote it three years ago (after we had done more than 40 trips to the UK). http://www.aaacarolinas.com/Magazine/2008/Jan-Feb/britain.htm?zip=28105&stateprov=nc&city=matthews If you have 11 days and are interested in more than day trips, I'd suggest you look at York, Bath or Cardiff- each easily reachable by train and good for a 2-3 day stay. You could even do Edinburgh or Inverness if you flew up and back. Based on your interests, you might want to consider going to Scotland for your trip- if you could move it to May or later. Feel free to private message me if I can offer any assitance.

March weather in London will be much like March weather in Cambridge: Maybe pretty nice, maybe pretty awful. Odds are it will be cloudy, chilly, and sometimes wet. I would plan for the worst and prepare for the best. That is, plan a lot of indoor activities that get you our of bad weather, but be prepared to switch to Plan B if you get a break. Regardless of weather, York is two hours away by rain, Bath and Cambridge are about 90 minutes, and Oxford in one hour away. Fact is, just about any place in southeast England is an easy daytrip by train from London. Cornwall and Devon in the southwest are bit too far for daytrips out of London, but they may well have the best weather in March. You might think about basing yourself for a few days in a town like Penzance or somewhere in the Dartmoor. The only time you an be assured of really good weather in the UK is May-September, which is the high season and when the place is crawling with tourists. Nothing against tourists. I am one. But, sometimes it easier to savor your visit when you aren't accompanied by dozens of other tourists.

March is iffy weather. But if you plan to be in london, plus day trips to Cities and large towns (eg Salisbury, Winchester, Oxford, Cambridge, even York) plus Windsor and Hampton court, you will find more than enough to keep you busy and enthralled. Aim at locations with indoor activities (cathedrals, Museums etc) rather than countryside (Cotswolds etc). i was in London on business for a number of years in December and that is what we did. I did try the Cotswolds in December one year, but we spent most of the time indoors in ubs, near the fire- so not as productive for sightseeing.

I am going to London in March for 10 days. I have gone in April before but it was bad timing because the week before and after easter are when they have spring break there so it was flooded with "local" tourists and teens running rampant and whining field trips of 10 year olds in all museums. March seems to he a good time to go. Cheaper flights and friends there say the average temperature is about 48 - 55 during the day so chilly but not terribly cold.

i used to go last 2 weeks in March( plane fares cheaper) -rules changed and then I would go middle of April MUCH nicer times and I am a matinee theatre fan so weather not vital