day trips from London
 

I'm making my first trip to Great Britain. Can I make Stratford and Warwick Castle a day trip from London? Any suggestions would be appreciated. <BR>

You can take the Green Line Bus from Victoria Station to Hampton Court and Windsor....get off at the first stop, stay as long as you wish and then go on to the other one and return to London. Warwick is definitely our favorite and is within range of a nice day trip, as is Stratford...don't know that you would want to do both on the same day.

There's a great book called something like "Day Trips from London" that I used when I went some years ago. It had wonderful advice about itineraries, and was very specific about what to see, and what trains to take. I can't remember the author or publisher, but you might check amazon.com for it. We used their advice to make a daytrip to Salisbury and Stonehenge, and another to Canterbury and Dover.

We did not go to Warwick. We went to Strattford-Upon-Avon, however. From Paddington Station to Strattford was about 2 hrs via Thames Turbo Train. The gotcha was that there weren't that many trains going there, it seemed to be less than one every 2 hrs. The 9 something train was most sensitive, but got us at Strattford before noon. I presume you know that Strattford is very touristy, what I mean is getting too much (even stretching) to get most out of the Bard. The main street looked unreal after seeing other UK cities - too wide to look more like disneyland. All Shakespeare properties were served by hop-on-hop-off bus. Although we did not vist all, we estimated you probably can do kamikaze visit to all in 3 hrs. <BR> <BR>Our highlight of the trip was seeing a play at the RSC main theater. <BR> <BR>I do not know what other castles you plan to visit. We were castle to death by the time we visited Stirling Castle in Scotland.

Martha, <BR>The book Beth refers to is "Daytrips in Britain" by Earl Steinbicker, published by Hastings House, 141 Halstead Avenue, Mamaroneck, NY 10543 and distributed by Publishers Group West.

Hello Martha, <BR> <BR>A great day trip from London is to York. <BR>Its a 2 hour trip by train, and the trip is very beautiful countryside. The city of York is fantastic. The York Minster is a MUST SEE in England. If there is only one Cathedral to see, thats the one. Its the size of a football field and has the most Gothic stained glass in England. They also have the best railroad museum, possibly in the world. Should you decide to stay overnight, I recommend the Holmwood House B & B. The owners are Bill Pitts & Rosie Blanksby. Their telephone # is (01904) 626183. We stayed there for 2 nights and loved it. Its also walking distance to the city center. Have a great time. <BR> <BR>Jerry

I have Steinbicker's book, too. It should be easily located. <BR> <BR>It is possible to do Salisbury, including the Cathedral, and Stonehenge in one day from London. <BR>It means an early start with the train from Waterloo. Of course, the "Stones" have lost a little something now that overuse has caused the National Trust to wall off the tourists. <BR> <BR>Hampton Court is also fun to take the Wimbleton Train to the end and then pick up the bus. We had a nice trip that way. Got to talk to a lot of locals. <BR>

Having just came back from the UK I must tell you I had been previously to Warwick and enjoyed it tremendously.. This trip we went to Derby, home of Royal Crown Derby and to a charming and gorgeous old town called Bakewell which is a must... There is the home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire and it's called Chatsworth--a must see--we were only able to drive through, but it will be high on our list next time.. Bakewell is an old charming town, pretty than I think Stratford..home of the Bakewell Tarts and a great l ittle shop called Sinclairs....china shop...

<BR>I would second visits to Canterbury, Warwick, Windsor and Hampton Court, but would say that York is too far to go in one day. It would likely be expensive too, as it would mean getting an early train which are usually more expensive. The way around this if you really want to go is to get an Apex ticket, or even a Daypex, meaning you can go there and back on the same day on specified trains. Once here, ring 0345 225225 for the train company {G N E R}. But I would go there for at least a night if at all. <BR>Likewise, Derby in a day and Chatsworth would be, to me, unthinkable. It's a fair way. <BR>Cambridge and Oxford are do-able too, and as always, check with the train operators as to the best deal on tickets. Trains are now privatised and they want your money! Only give them what they deserve, and make sure you're not losing out just for the sake of taking a train 30 minutes before the cheaper tickets are valid. 0345 484950 is the low-call number for the national train inquiry line. For most information, 10 or 20 p in a phone box will suffice.

<BR>We just visited both Warwick and Stratford in November, but we had a rental car so I can't recommend the best way to get there. We absolutely loved Warwick Castle! We spent about three hours there, which reduced the time we had for Stratford, but that worked out fine, as Stratford was very touristy. In Stratford, I would recommend the Guide Friday hop on, hop off bus tours. Since sites like Mary Arden's house is not within walking distance, andf Anne Hathaway's cottage is a long walk, the bus is an ideal way to see the city. Our guide gave us a wonderful lesson on the origin of many words in the English language - I think he was a professor, not a tour guide! If I had to skip either city, however, I'd definitely skip Stratford rather than Warwick. <BR>I think one of the best day trips from London is Bath. What a fabulous city! And if you have time, see Avebury, north of Stonehenge about 20 miles.

BATH! You must go to Bath - it's a lovely city and if you're limited as to your day trips, it should be on your list. <BR>I didn't have the opportunity to check out Hampton Court, but several folks staying @ my B&B said this castle is better than Warwick. <BR>Enjoy your visit!

For Rebecca