London Day Trips
 

I will have a &quot;weekend at leisure&quot; in the London area in two weeks. I've been to London 10+ times on business, and have seen most of the main tourist attractions in London and its immediate suburbs. Are there any suggestions for a day trip that can be done by train? My interests include historical buildings (castles, manor houses, etc.), gardens, bookstores, beer brewing and drinking, contemporary art. I don't mean to imply a trip would have to include all of the above! Any suggestions would be appreciated.<BR>Thanks!

The choices are endless .. day trips from London is one of the most often asked questions on this forum. I'd suggest York, which is my personal favorite, (2 hours via train from Kings Cross), Canterbury (about 90 min via train from Victoria or Charing Cross), Warwick Castle (90 min via train from Marylebone Station), Bath (about 90 min. from Paddington Sta), Leeds Castle (via train from Victoria and connecting bus), are just a few more. I don't think any of these would include beer brewing, but someone here might know about where you could find that too.

My first recommendation is to take a wekend trip to York. You could do it a s a day trip but if you spend the night you'd have time to go out to Castle Howard or to Fountains Abbey/Studley Royal gardens.<BR><BR>or go down into Kent - more gardens and historical bldgs to the square inch than just about anywhere.<BR><BR>Or - if you are willing to spend overnight Edinburgh would be terrific.

York seems very popular for day trips. When I went there with my daughter for her wedding dress fitting last year it seemed like 90% of the people in the town were tourists, so it's a bit TOO touristy for my liking, but each to his own. Anyway, if you decide to go there, it has its own brewery that you can visit - http://www.yorkbrew.demon.co.uk/

Let's see<BR>York<BR>Edinburgh<BR>Bath<BR>Warwick Castle<BR>Oxford<BR>Cambridge<BR>are what come to mind

What about Brighton? It doesn't get mentioned a lot for days trips but it sounds to me like one of the more fascinating places to see. Am I wrong?

I think you would enjoy a trip to Hay on Wye.<BR><BR>More of a weekend/overnight trip though as it takes 3 hours from Paddington to get to the nearest station in Hereford and that is 22 mile bus journey away. A car would probably be easier (and you could explore the nearby Brecon Beacons and its waterfalls as well).<BR><BR>It is a lovely little town with lots of ancient architecture to admire (including a ruined castle). It's claim to fame however is as the Second-hand book capital of the world.<BR>

Thanks for the suggestions! I have lots to consider now. <BR>One question - JmVikmanis mentioned Brighton. As I'll be staying near Gatwick, it would be very easy to go down there. What is there to do/see in Brighton besides the seashore?<BR>Thanks again, guys.

Brighton has lots to offer apart from the seashore. http://tourism.brighton.co.uk/

In addition to what has already been mentioned, some of my favorites are Cardiff/Caerphilly in Wales &amp; Dover - for some great castles (Caerphilly is my favorite castle to visit - it is the second largest castle after Windsor). For maritime history &amp; going through some historical ships &amp; museums is Portsmouth.