cfc

I have about 6 days in London while my partner attends sessions at a conference. There's plenty to do in London on my own, of course, but I've spent little time outside of London and wonder if I could take a day-tour or two on my own. In general, independence is my preference, but for a short exploration, I'd rather not rent a car and orienteer by myself.

Many group-tours are cattle calls or thinly veiled nets to collect tourists into gewgaw country, but I'd appreciate anyone's recommendation of smaller tour companies to be trusted, experiences that went well, and specific destinations/areas to tour this way. I can't afford a private driver but had great luck with small-van tours (5-8 guests) in Provence.

Suggestions?

Thanks.

elberko

London Walks does some day tours outside London...I think they travel by train. Would that work?

cfc

elberko - that would be great!

(PS to post: We are not staying in a hotel (staying at Imperial College, base of the conference) so won't have a concierge to ask or a board full of brochures to pick through.)

kmowatt

Agree on London Walks. I've done 2 of their days out...one to Oxford and Cotswolds and one to Canterbury. Because you pay and take train with the group you have to option to stay longer if you want and take a later train home. The groups weren't very large then, but not sure now...the London walks are getting more and more popular and growing in numbers

stokebailey

I'd do a day trip to Oxford on my own, catching a bus to the center of town, touring colleges and museums at my own pace. You can catch the bus near Baker St and Marylebone Rd to avoid the ride through town.

cfc

Thank you all, some good thoughts here. Up for more.

Very up for Canterbury, been through but not _in_ Cotswolds. Thinking the distances (and changes) might rule out Cornwall but maybe not.

(As it happens, I've actually been to Oxford, Bath, and Stonehenge, as well as an area around Cardiff with a sort of "ancestral" castle, but not much else.)

maxima

if you want to go on your own you could take the train to Cambridge and take a walking tour with the licensed guides at the tourist information center. you can book in advance or just show up when the office opens in Cambridge. The tour includes admission to Kings College church. The train station is about a mile from the center but you can take a bus from the train to a stop that is very close to the center . After the tour, you can walk to the museum, tour another college or two, rent a bike, go punting or just relax before returning to London.

If you want to visit Windsor Castle and town. you can do this on your own from London. The train goes to Slough and then you walk across the platform for the train to Windsor. once in Windsor it is a short walk to the castle and town. The castle tour is with an audio guide, and there is a specified route.

Hampton Court can also be visited by train from London. no need for a guide and bus tour there

visitbritain.com is the british tourist authority site. once you narrow it down to places you may be interested in you can go to the tourist information site for more info on guided walking tours etc

annhig

Thinking the distances (and changes) might rule out Cornwall but maybe not.>>

sadly, cfc, though you can get direct train to Cornwall from Paddington, by the time you'd got here it would be time to turn round and go back. You could do Exeter or Bristol though in a day, or even Cardiff but the trouble is that train fares tend to be cheaper the earlier you book, and you might not want to commit yourself to any of those places in advance.

latedaytraveler

Hi CFC,

I have taken several day tours from London including an excellent one to Downton Abbey locations, plus lunch in the Cotswolds, and a tour of Blenheim (does not include Highclere).

http://www.viator.com/tours/London/D...-5528IFDOWNTON


The well reviewed RABBIES TOURS offers a one day excursion to WINDSOR, stopping at other towns along the Thames. This is a small group offering. I am considering taking it in June on another of my solo jaunts to London.

https://www.rabbies.com/tours_englan...and.asp?lng=en

Of course, going to Oxford or Cambridge and grabbing a tour there are also good options.

Enjoy London...

janisj

London Walks are great, but the days offered can be limited. So definitely check their website for compatibility.

But there are tons of places one can do on their own bt train - Canterbury, Dover, Brighton, Winchester, Salisbury, Oxford, Cambridge, Bletchley Park, etc etc.

welltraveledbrit

Further out Oxford or Cambridge would be my first choices, lovely architecture, good museums and easy to see on your own. Both are a relatively short distance from London and you could join a walking tour when you get there.

In terms of days out a little closer to London somewhere like Greenwich could also be interesting, tons of history and a number of good museums...

http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/2015/...l-day-out.html

or a day out in Hampstead.

http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/2015/...use-visit.html
http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/2015/...hampstead.html

Or a wonderful combination of the Freud Museum in Finchley with the Modernist 2 willow rd in Hampstead.

We spent three months in London this spring and I scouted out a lot of the smaller London museums, Dulwich Picture Gallery, The Estorick etc. I'm not sure what your interests are (?) but there are some wonderful places and as you suggest there's lots to see in London too..

http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/search/label/London

historytraveler

Perhaps Salisbury and/or Winchester? Both easily reached by train and easy to do on your own.

historytraveler

Oops ! I just saw janisj's post. A reminder not to skim over previous posts.

KayF

I don't think anyone has mentioned Brighton. You could visit The Royal Pavilion which I absolutely loved. I like all stately homes and palaces but this one was really different, I think I walked around with my mouth open half the time. Afterwards you could wander around the lanes looking in shops or walk out on the pier.

We have also done guided walking tours run by the local visitor centres (Canterbury, Cambridge and others), they are usually very good. I'd suggest going straight to the tourist office on arrival, get a ticket or put your name down then you can go off and explore and come back in time for the tour.

Kay

janisj

>>I don't think anyone has mentioned Brighton.<<

Yep . . . Up thread.

cfc

I need months there. Don't I.

irishface

St. Albans is not far--interesting cathedral and interesting Roman ruins and museum. Good walk about town. I did that trip in about half a day which probably didn't cover it thoroughly but gave me time for late afternoon and evening London events.

Also took a train to Hatfield House, where Elizabeth I spent some of her childhood. Interesting tour of the house and wonderful gardens.

York, which I did as a day trip for my first taste, is a doable train trip from London, though a longish day. Wandered the medieval streets, walked the city walls, spent time at the minster, visited the museum and the hill with castle ruins on it. Just remembered--Clifford's tower.

The other places mentioned upthread are all worthwhile.

Have a wonderful trip.

bilboburgler

Gewgaw: "A showy thing, especially one that is useless or worthless"

cfc

bilboburgler - thanks for the definition, hope you understood my reference to "gewgaw country." I particularly had in mind what happened on a tour out of Madrid to Toledo -- 20% of time being shown a small part of the town itself, 80% being herded into tour-restaurant lunch (canned soup, old bread) and then various gewgaw shops including one billed at "factory shop" supposedly showing artists doing metal work. The robot who worked the metal must have been off that day, but there were racks and racks of its worked-metal gewgaws.

cynthia_booker

The London Walks tour to Oxford and the Cotswolds with Richard (I don't know about the other guides) is fantastic. Offered only on Wednesdays. I took it last year and then two days later had dinner with someone who had attended one of the Oxford colleges and he could not believe the detail from our trip.

I also highly recommend any of the tours by International Friends. They use small vans, with, I think, a 16 person maximum, and each of their guides makes an effort to know the name and other details of each person. Very personal and friendly. And the small vans are so much nicer than the big tour buses.