SoulofaDachshund

Hi,

We're planning a trip to Europe late August/September, and will be in London August 28-September 2nd. We arrive at around 9:30am Friday, August 28 and leave very early Wednesday, September 2nd.

This will be my first time to London at all (though I've oddly made the trip to Wells through the countryside for work before), and my husband's first time as an adult (probably 15+ years since he's been in England).

I'm wondering if it's worthwhile to plan some kind of day trip, and if so where you would recommend. We've been tossing around the idea of Oxford or Bath or even Paris via train (I've never been).

The rest of our travels (10 more nights; 5 in Santorini and 5 in Barcelona) will be fairly relaxed so I'm not tremendously worried about becoming overwhelmed, but I'm wondering if it's really worthwhile. I really loved driving through the English countryside when I visited for work...but there are so many factors at play there, it's hard to really know if it would've been something I would've chosen to leave London for had that been an option.

If you do reco a day trip, do you recommend one of those tours (Viator, for example)? Should we just take trains solo?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

janisj

If you had longer in London I'd say sure. But w/ only 4.5 days and at least your arrival day likely a jet lagged fog -- I wouldn't even consider leaving the city for a day trip anywhere.

rncheryl

Hampton Court is an easy train trip that doesn't take all day, if you are a history buff

gailscout

I would take a boat ride on the Thames and perhaps stop at Greenwich. Or take a London Walks tour to Stonehenge/Salisbury. Also, Buckingham Palace is open then, I know because I will be in London at the same time as you, and that could be an opportunity you might want not to miss! But really, so much goes on during the summer, like seeing a play at The Globe, that going out of town may not be worth the effort.

janisj

Hampton Court and Greenwich (and Buckingham Palace of course) are all in London really so I wouldn't consider them 'day trips'.

ESW

Windsor?

Elainee

London Walks tour to Stonehenge/Salisbury is outstanding. Countryside, village, cathedral, and Stonehenge all in one day.

PalenQ

Yes by all means do a short day trip and see a different side of England - like some of the gorgeous countryside seen from trains - Oxford is my favorite and is only an hour or so by train - the day you spend there will linger in your memory I bet much more than another day in London (you could spend weeks in London and not scratch the surface of the plethora of things to see and do but.... there is more than London.

Windsor and Windsor Castle are an easy day trip too and Windsor itself is a lovely regional commercial town with a life of its own apart from the Castle. Eton just across the Thames is a great component of a day trip to Windsor - see the fancy colleges of the finest prep school in England - see the boys all dressed up in formal attire or playing footsie on the sprawling football grounds. Again easily done by train -

Once in Oxford if you want a tour of sorts you can take the hop on hop off double-dekcer buses that leave right from the train station and do a loop around Oxford with commentary en route.

Trains for those places are cheap - just buy a return ticket before the train - trains go off all the time.

www.nationalrail.co.uk has all the schedules and fares.

You may never be back to London so see some of the England around it as well - again I bet it will be your favorite London moment - even taking the trains can be exciting - chit chatting with locals, etc.

bvlenci

Playing footsie on the football fields? Don't they have a refectory or some other more suitable place for that?

historytraveler

FYI, the train from London to Oxford does not pass through "gorgeous countryside". Actually, it's fairly boring. The bus from London to Oxford is slightly better. Oxford, at least the centre of Oxford which is all that's really interesting, is easily done by foot. I would advise a short tour to familiarize yourself with the town and get a sense of its history.The only real advantage to the double-decker bus is that it allows a much better view of the roof tops and spires than at ground level. However, a trip up the tower at St. Michael's or St. Mary the Virgin will do much the same without being exposed to canned commentary. You'll get as much information about Oxford as you'll need from a guided tour.

The London Walks are excellent. I think you may find you have less time than you think. None of these day trip possibilities really need pre-planning. Wait and see how things go in London before making plans.

PalenQ

To me and other Americans the average English countryside is neat - given however this is a fairly urban area we are talking about.

historytraveler

Pal, much of the English countryside is beautiful, just not on the train route from London to Oxford. As I said in my post, it's nicer by bus. Don't let your love of trains prejudice your point of view.

A_S_M

As an alumnus of Oxford University and a present member of Cambridge University, I would vote for Cambridge over Oxford. Same distance from London, a smaller and more navigable city. Even if all you were to do was to visit the Chapel of Kings' College, your trip would be worth while. One of the great gothic buildings of Europe.

PalenQ

Well yes historyt - I guess I find industrial detritus kind of cute - but correcto noted - U K train lines are lined by rubbish stuff - especially the Paddington main line part.

janisj

Gorgeous scenery on the Paddington to Oxford line (?) - not really.

Eton (?) The public is <u>not allowed entry</u> to Eton College (until next year at the earliest)

Hop-on-hop-off in Oxford (?) - bad, just BAD. A walking tour definitely makes sense there but a bus tour simply doesn't.

PalenQ

Eton - you can peer into the quads not walk around them and take a pub lunch at some ancient pubs on the nice High Street - if going to Windsor check out Eton too - I actually walked around one college close so that is possible at times IME.

Wonder why so so many folks take those BAD hop on hop off buses - a great way to circle the sights - with commentary - get off and back on - kind of plans the day for you.

Walking tours are limited in their scope due to the walking involved. You see a few key places but miss Oxford overall.

PalenQ

Janis - Wormwood Scrubbs on the south side of the line from Paddington is some lovely countryside right in London!

Josser

Eton is not a prep school. It caters for boys aged between 13 and 18 and is a public school As for playing footsie, I imagine they do it surreptitiously under the table in the dining room, rather than in the open air.
On the paint again?

tahl

Josser, you may be misunderstanding American usage of the term. We would describe Eton as a private prep school.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preparatory_school

PalenQ

Yes public school - the term in British is misleading - the most opposite of a public school is what tony private Eton is...

and I meant footie not footsie, often said to be a favorite activity at such all boys' schools or boarding schools in general I guess.