Day trip to the English countryside from London
 

Hi dear Fodorites
We've booked our travel to London in early April. It'ts for 5 nights, but we would like to take a day out into the beautiful english countryside. We are not interested in Stonehenge or Windsor. Would like to spend the day walking and enjoying the picturesque neighborhood. What would be the best place or places - for an easy day trip, we will be relying on public transport and have 2 kids ages 7 and 9.
Stratford-upon-Avon sounds good but not sure how feasible it is without a car. Also, if it happens to rain a lot would it still be feasible to continue with the plans?
Any suggestions on places and what to do would be fantastic

Thank you!!

While not in the "countryside", given the ages of your children, I'd suggest a trip to Kew Gardens. From London take a train one way, boat on the Thames the other. The gardens are large & beautiful, a good restaurant for lunch & places to go inside when it rains - the various glasshouses with exotic plants, Kew Palace, Marianne North Gallery, lots of places to sit, on & on. Have a look: https://www.kew.org/kew-gardens/whats-in-the-gardens

I'd walk along the Thames until the kids got tired, find the nearest station and go back into town. Maybe Henley is a place you start/finish or Oxford.

That was my first thought but it isn't that simple. In my experience public transport from the Thames Path comes & goes, the "nearest station", can be a long walk. Better I think would be to look for "circular walks". Circular walks are popular and they're everywhere so you end at the place (& train station) where you began. Know how far the weakest walker can go & choose a walk from the guide of that length.

Here are some examples, the Buscot circular walk being just 3 miles: https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/tham...ditional-walks

Great suggestions! Thank you, I'll review the links you all shared!! Is Stratford-upon-Avon a possibility at all?

Here is a TimeOut article with several countryside walks from London. https://www.timeout.com/london/thing...ks-near-london

You certainly do not have to go as far as Stratford-Upon-Avon.

Actually IN London might be a better option though since if the weather turns on you, it is easy to get back to the city centre. The weather can be very changeable and could be nice when you set out and wintry 4 hours later. Places like Hampton Court Palace and then along the Thames, or across Hampstead Heath, or Greenwich, or Kew Gardens are all in or just outside central London.

Agreed, logistically simpler, a good thing.

There is a section of the Thames Path at Hampton Court Palace, you can take a walk to Kingston upon Thames along the river and the train back to Waterloo. Or in the other direction towards Molesey Lock and then back again (after a stop at the Anglers Pub maybe) to Hampton Court station and back to Waterloo. The Magic Garden at HCP should be open by early April or kids might enjoy the maze. Bushy Park is right opposite the Lion Gate entrance to HCP, it is a really lovely park to walk in with a playground for kids, lots of water birds in the ponds and deer that roam around, a bit like Richmond Park.
If it rains, apart from the cafes/restaurants in the palace grounds, there are many other options within walking distance of HCP, including a great fish & chip place the kids might enjoy.
https://www.moleseylife.co.uk/restau...-east-molesey/

To get an idea of the Thames Path from Hampton Court walking toward London, my report:
https://www.travelgumbo.com/blog/tha...e-to-ham-house

More along the river & Kew Gardens: https://www.travelgumbo.com/blog/portmoresby-in-england

Hampstead. Especially with kids.
A walk along the Regent's Canal from Camden to the Zoo in Regent's Park (or the cricket fields in Regent's Park)
Greenwich by Thamesclipper

For anyone interested in the Thames Path while visiting London, a guide I'd ordered for my upcoming last section of the walk arrived today & it looks great. Though I've had the official guide & several maps for the entire path for years, this one is specific to the walk from Hampton Court to the end at the Thames Barrier, plus the extension to Crayford Ness. Called Thames Path in London, by Phoebe Clapham (2018), it uses the "large-scale OS maps showing pubs, museums and buildings of interest", so you can combine walking & sight-seeing as you progress, which is my intent.

This is where I bought mine, have bought maps & guides from them for decades, but it's available from other sellers too:
https://www.guidepost.uk.com/guidepo...Guidebook.html

You might get some good ideas from the London Walks website - click on Great Escapes which is the section on day trips outside London. Maybe not be a good idea to actually go with this company on a day trip with two young children, might be too long for them, but you could all enjoy one of their shorter walks in London. I'd really recommend them, great guides and so interesting.

https://www.walks.com/

Kay

Hampstead, as mentioned, and also nearby Highgate; the cemetery is fascinating but for 8 years and older for the more interesting west cemetery.
There's a lovely park too, and views of London.

That is over two hours by train but Southend-on-Sea is around an hour. If a sunny day I love the coast. The ships at Portsmouth are very fun to explore.

Well - you say want countryside and walking -- and that ain't Stratford. Oh -- sure, you could go outside the town somewhere like Anne Hathaway's cottage or Mary Arden's House . . . but it isn't a beautiful countryside-focused sort of place. It is a very tourist-centric town (has been for centuries really since there is a huge Shakespeare 'industry' )

It simply doesn't fit your brief . . . even if it was an hour closer to London.

Easiest way to get to Portsmouth is by Southern train from London Victoria. Takes just short of 2 hours. The sector between Horsham and Chichester is very pretty as it passes through the West Sussex countryside, keep your eyes open for Arundel Castle, seat of the Duke of Norfolk, on your right. You can buy advance discounted tickets on the Southern Rail website.

Get off the train at Portsmouth Harbour, which is the terminus. Only a couple of minutes walk from the Historic Dockyard, which is right in front of you, so you can't miss it. A 15 minute walk in the other direction past Gunwharf Quays you come to Old Portsmouth and the sea wall taking you to Southsea. Lots to see along the sea wall, the Isle of Wight, and a plethora of traffic on the water, big, small and all sizes in between. Sit down at the Old Portsmouth Camber, and enjoy a beer or two and a nice lunch.

Trains also run to Portsmouth from London Waterloo, but Victoria would be my preference simply due to the West Sussex countryside.

Your straightforward question is attracting some strange answers, and raises some interesting questions.

Janisj is absolutely right to question Stratford. At best a merely OK medium town, with almost third world connectivity to London (only 80 miles away, but even the fastest trains are over 2 hrs, and a dismal road journey that takes at least slightly longer) and only adequate countryside en route. But a seriously excellent theatre, which is well worth visiting if you live nearby - though hardly if you're in London already.

Buscot is practically inaccessible by train (and a serious faff by car if you need to hire one), and while they're nice in parts, both Southend and Portsmouth are coastal towns with a few interesting attractions but some truly AWFUL built up bits and few views of particularly pleasant countryside. The suggestions for the Thamespath make more sense - though, oddly, both Henley and Marlow are a bit tricky to get to from London by train (check at nationalrail.co.uk). I can't see anyone mentioning Epping Forest, which feels a lot more countryside-y than Hampstead, and is also on the London tube system, and was our standard easy escape to the country when we lived in London.

There are several dozen places with direct railway links from London in an hour or less that give you immediate access to proper countryside: a few of them (like Oxford, and Canterbury) are substantial towns which have easy and unsqualid walking access from their town-centre station to open countryside - which is not possible in most substantial towns, where you need a couple of miles' trudge through suburbia to get out The handiest web listing I'm aware of them all is at https://www.walkingclub.org.uk/book_..._station.shtml

The problems, though, are what happens if it's raining, is there anything to do if you don't want to walk THAT much and can your children cope with the walking that the site I've cited assumes you're going to do. In early April, btw, it'll be light from around 6.30 am to 7.30 pm BST, and likely on any day to be raining (lightly) at some point.

A Brit used to outdoor life would generally work on the assumption that it'd be acceptable and not particularly unpleasant to be outside all day, though - but of course they'd have adequate waterproof footwear and an anorak each already. Weather forecasts in Britain change significantly from day to day: all the train destinations listed offer off-peak day return tickets, valid for journeys after about 9.30 (and usually train fares before about 9.30 within an hour of London that feel downright extortionate if you pay full pre-9.30 prices) so the best way of dealing with weather is to stay flexible until the previous day, then buy off-peak returns at the station prior to boarding .

Only you, though, can judge what would work for your group. I'd suggest you work your way through the list at your leisure, look at the "walk-shortening" tips most of the walks suggest and bounce ideas back here.

Lancasterlad, thank you for that tip, we will take that train to Portsmouth. We are spending three nights there with a trip to Isle of Wight one day. Mary Rose is the top priority.

I think children would love exploring the HMS Victory. I did and comparing it to the Constitution it was huge.

Quite right, Buscot is not easily accessible by public transport though I found it not a "faff" by car beyond the usual faff that driving in the UK countryside tends to be. The road goes right to it, my photos as a sort of proof:
https://www.travelgumbo.com/blog/in-...ds-buscot-park

In any case, I wasn't paying attention to place, just the concept of a "circular" walk & distance, for the children's sake. No excuse, though, for giving an apparent bum steer. There are others mentioned on the list much more accessible & even shorter, Cookham for instance, which I've walked through, visited the Stanley Spencer Gallery, takes in a short section of the Thames Path & has a rail station, though 2 changes are required from London. I'm not deterred by taking 3 trains to get somewhere because I love train rides & all it entails & the children might very well find it fun. But if a trip with no changes appeals more then a destination like Oxford or somewhere on the fringes of London might be better.

Actually: there are bits of countryside that aren't a faff from Central London by car. You can, for example, hire a car around Kings Cross, take it to the Euston Rd (A40), then drive west along the A40 for a bit over 40 miles till, after it's turned into the M40, you get to Junction 5 (Stokenchurch). Leave the motorway then dump the car by the road while you meander on foot round Christmas Common (90% of the time, a mere 30 min drive from KX).

If you're nervous about dealing with an RHD car and central London traffic, take the tube or a train to Heathrow, pick up a hire car, drive it round the car hire car park till you're comfy with it, then exit straight onto the M25 for a 100% divided highway journey to the M40 J5.

Most of the time, a perfect Goldilocks route: divided highway virtually throughout, and rarely enough traffic to be stuck in queues. But most of the time, just enough traffic to keep the speed down to 25 mph in town and only a bit over 70 once you're out in the open.

The Fish Hotel in the Cotswolds is an incredible spot with lots of walking, unbelievable food and accommodation - also if you cycle it's a lovely way to see the countryside

One thought that occurred to me: a train ride to Epping, bus to Ongar, and walk past Sainsbury's and then about a mile through fields to the secluded-feeling church at Greensted. Very low-key, but rural enough, and several places in Ongar for a reasonable lunch.

Greensted Church

Thank you all for the myriad suggestions!! I'm leaning towards Epping it sounds perfect. Im going to do some research and get back to you guys with more questions.

Thank you for your valuable input!

Lots of fabulous ideas here. My family wanted to do the same thing - get out in the countryside a bit. I’m just going to throw one more idea out that we did last summer.

Take the train to Oxford. It’s a beautiful town, all very walkable. Additionally you can walk along the Thames, past a beautiful meadow to Godstow where there is an old abbey. You also could get bikes in town and follow the path — all the way to Blenheim Palace if you like. There also is punting along the Cherwell past the Botanic Gardens.
https://www.aladyinlondon.com/2018/1...-day-trip.html

That said, as others have mentioned, Hampstead is charming and much closer. The Heath is a great walk and the Kenwood House would make a terrific stop along the way.
https://www.aladyinlondon.com/2017/0...ad-london.html

Stratford
 

Just a comment here. I'm a bit late to the party, and it sounds like your decision has been made, but I did want to mention that Stratford is indeed a nice place with children. We used to live in the area and spent a lot of time there.
Once you get to Stratford, you can take a hop on / hop off bus to get to various sites. Mary Arden's House is just outside Stratford and a wonderful site for families. I remember the falconry displays and they had the snowy owl that was in the Harry Potter films.

If you had a car, you could also drive 10 more minutes to Warwick to see Warwick castle, and another five minutes and you are in Kenilworth with a picturesque castle, although not complete as the one in Warwick, but a delightful place to climb around for a bit, and a pretty park nearby.