tttman

Dover Castle, Canterbury & Greenwich - plus Thames Cruise. There are a couple of companies that do this tour. I have seen reports that Leeds has great grounds but the tour of the castle is not a worthy tour. AND you don't get very good views of the cliffs. Any opinions here?

We are already touring Edinburgh, Cotswolds, Bathe, Stonehenge. What would be the best day trip from London other than what I have mentioned? Or is Diver, Canterbury etc.,, the one?

historytraveler

Surely the tour doesn't include Leeds, Canterbury and Dover in one day? But I guess I should never underestimate what tour companies can come up with. Honestly, you could spend a full day at Dover Castle and Canterbury needs at least a half day IMO. You're correct about Leeds.

bigbearmom

We took both those same tours with our 4 daughters and they loved them. I think they weren't as thrilled with Dover. Don't let anyone tell you Leeds isn't worth the tour. It is very interesting. The only downside is that the grounds at Leeds are almost more interesting than the castle and if you go with an organized tour you won't have time to see the grounds. On a return trip to the UK my daughter and I went to Leeds on our own and it was so much more enjoyable. As for Dover, it is an interesting castle. We did go down onto the shingle beach. I don't remember the cliffs that much, but we did see them. Canterbury is a fantastic city and the cathedral is so full of history. We also went to Salisbury on that tour and it included Stonehenge, but sadly, Stonehenge was closed the day we were there. Greenwich is interesting especially if you get there by boat. If you go, do take the tunnel that goes under the Thames. Our kids loved this. If you have to pick between Dover, Leeds and Canterbury, I would recommend Canterbury. But I still recommend that you go on your own. If you go with a tour you miss so much.

historytraveler

Personally, I'd do Dover Castle ( BTW,one of England's great castles) and perhaps a stop at Canterbury on my own. Take the train to Dover and if you want to stop at Canterbury on the way back to London, it's doable. It'll be considerably cheaper, and you'll be able to decide how you want to spend your time.

I've been to Leeds twice, and I'd give it a miss. Historically an interesting castle, unfortunately little of its history remains. The grounds are pleasant but the ticket is expensive and IMO not worth it.You really won't have time to do all three in a day, in fact it may be pushing it a bit to do both Dover and Canterbury.

janisj

historytraveler: "<i>Surely the tour doesn't include Leeds, Canterbury and Dover in one day?</i>"

Not only that -- but Greenwich too. Yep - unfortunately they do . . .

IMO -- this is a horrible tour (sorry bigbearmom) unless you simply want to say "been there, seen that" and check off a list. And expensive at that.

Dover Castle is easily worth a minimum of 4 hours. The town is pretty dreadful but the castle is one of the premier sites in the whole country.

Canterbury Cathedral is amazing - but not as a 'rush through'.

Leeds Castle is mainly a wedding and conference center. It has beautiful grounds -- but not even in the top ten gardens in the SE.

And Greenwich is an easy boat or tube ride from central London so why use time on an out-of-town day tripto visit Greenwich?

Save your money and just take the train to Dover to see the Castle.

(and yes, I've been to every one of these sites -- multiple times)

hetismij

I think it would have been better to refer to Leeds Castle, which is nowhere near Leeds, than to Leeds in this topic .

mjdh1957

Indeed.

If you ask almost anyone in the UK for directions on how to get to Leeds, you would be sent on a 200 mile wild goose chase.

Leeds is a big post-industrial city in Yorkshire, Leeds Castle is a tourist sight in Kent.

fodorsmemberfrombg

leed`s castle is great , i live at 10 min drive from that place and always happy to go there back , its full of history , large park , aviarium , demo with falcons ,maze and so on , dover castle will take you a day , and you will need atleast half a day for canterbury .hopefully you wont do the tour in the same day

historytraveler

Yes, I should've said Leeds Castle. Just thought it was assumed we were talking of the castle and not the city.

fredandgingermad

i have to say i was a little alarmed at the thought of Dover and Leeds not to mention Canterbury and Grenwich in a day, as i hadn't heard of Leeds Castle!

historytraveler

Well, I assumed that when Dover and Canterbury were mentioned they had to be talking of Leeds Castle since Leeds is in the other opposite direction.

If you haven't heard of Leeds Castle you haven't missed much, IMO

tttman

The British are immune to castle fever. We Americans have castle envy. Especially the tall pointy castles.