i'm interested in taking a day trip from london to leeds castle. i've seen direct buses where a ticket can be purchased for both bus & entrance fee, but would like to swing through oxford and spend a couple hours there if possible. any recommendations for specific travel options, either via train or bus? how many hours are needed for the castle? going in february, so walking the grounds is not a priority. thanks.

Oxford is north of London Leeds Castle southeast - cannot combine on same day trip. Leeds castle is near Maidstone.

You'll be missing a lot if you don't see at least the hedge-maze and grotto on the grounds at Leeds. They also have an aviary. We went in Mid-march and the weather was beautiful.

First you need to look at a map - Leeds and Oxford are in absolutely opposite directions from London. Even driving yourself this would be nearly inpossible.

(By ANY chance did you mean Warwick Castle instead -- at least they are in the same general direction from London)

Also, the main reason for going to Leeds Castle is for the grounds (the insides is nothing much to talk about) so your "so walking the grounds is not a priority" really doesn't make too much sense.

Now IF you really did mean Warwick - the castle itself and the interior are the main attraction. While the grounds are lovely, they are not the main reason for going there.

yep, sorry i had my castles confused. janis - would you recommend seeing windsor castle instead? i have not found much info on them in the guide books. any input would be appreciated.

Windsor Castle is a great day trip, or even a half day as a solution for someone who isn't going to be in London for very long. The castle is interesting and the town of Windsor is lovely (be sure to walk over the bridge across the river and check out Eton as well).

You could take a separate trip to Oxford. It's easy to do on your own via train. Or if more of a guided tour is your thing, check out the London Walks Explorer Days (walks.com) which I have gone on before and been very pleased with.

OK - I never even considered you meant Windsor.

(BTW there really aren't any "grounds" to explore at Windsor. There is the Great Park which is not part of the castle, and you can get a peek at the rose garden - but mainly it is CASTLE)

Windsor is an easy day trip from London. And Oxford is an easy day trip - but they are not an easy day trip together. (unless you are driving, hit Windsor right at opening, limit your time there, and then scoot up to Oxford.)

You don't have to take an organized tour to Oxford. It is easy to reach by train or bus and the Tourist Information Center offers inexpensive daily walking tours. This is a way to overcome that most of the colleges are closed to visitors. The TIC guides are usually able to gain access to at least one or two colleges. And then you can do Christ Church on your own - this college charges admission and is open most days.

If you get an early train from Paddington to Slough you could switch trains for the short hop up to Windsor and spend the morning there. Head back to Slough, then change for the Oxford train, have lunch then you'll find most colleges open to the public from 2pm to 5pm. If you need to do a bus or walking tour then you can find them in Broad Street. I find this to be the easiest way to combine Windsor Castle with Oxford independent of an organised tour.

I honestly don't see how henneth's schedule can work. Not that you couldn't squeeze both Windsor and Oxford in to one day -- but you simply could not tour Windsor castle, catch two trains and be in Oxford by lunch time. Even if there were no queues to get into the State Apartments and Queen Mary's Doll House (which there usually are) you really need to plan about 1/2 a day for Windsor. Then you could go on to Oxford in the afternoon for a quick look around.

Obviously with a schedule like this lunch has to be taken when and where convenient, and it will probably be sandwiches on the train.
Its 30 minutes by train from London to Slough and 5 minutes from there to Windsor. If you leave midweek then it's cheaper after 9.30am (off peak). There will be the added advantage of the Castle being much quieter with few lines, if any. Tip: if the changing of the guard is going on in the morning then head up to the Dolls house and State Apartments then (around 10.30am) as you'll be the only one there. Save the guard changing displays for London. Two and a half hours is ample time at Windsor (some opinions may differ) then at 1pm your on a train to Oxford for the afternoon.