Hi all!
So, I'm going to London Feb 26-Mar 7 next year and will be staying with a friend. This is my second time going to London and I thought I might go for a couple of day trips to see other parts of England.
I was thinking of going to see Stonehenge, Windsor Castle, and the Roman Baths. I know these are all around the same part of England. Now my question is whether I should take the journey with a tour group (I've seen many that do these 3 stops for a day trip) or just take the journey by myself with my friend.

Has anyone done one of these tour groups? If so, how did you like it? Too much all at once or just right?

My main issue (among many) with day tours is that most, hurry you along, particularly if you are meant to "see" Windsor, Stonehenge and the Roman Baths in Bath in one day, in your example.

If you don't mind not having a chance to linger or having to chose between, for example, the Roman Baths or seeing more of Regency Bath or the Abbey, then maybe you should consider a tour.

Another option is going on your own via public transport, so much is accessible from London by train or bus for day trips--Windsor, Bath, Hampton Court, Oxford, Stratford, Salisbury and on to Stonehenge and many, many more.

My suggestion is to do Windsor on your own by train (cheap day return tickets after 9:30 am)--you'll have all the time you want to see the castle and the town, have lunch or tea in one of the many cafes or restaurants on the High Street, poke around in the shops, etc.

I think you will like going on your own but if not, then you can sign on for tours to other sites.

thanks for your input. I was actually thinking of going to Windsor on my own. I think it's something close enough to London where I can go for a morning and early afternoon and still have time to do things in the evening in London.

choose not chose

Sorry!

Hi genabee-

I went to Windsor Castle (day trip), and then to Salisbury, Stonehenge & Bath on my own (2.5 days). This was in May 2008.

You can read my trip report, where I provided details on how to get there and other logistic issues.

Day 2 of the trip report is Windsor.
Day 4-6 of the trip report is Bath, Stonehenge & Salisbury.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35134087

It depends on whether you like to be on your own exploring or would rather be with other people. One suggestion would be the Explorer Days that London Walks have.

www.walks.com

The walks are reasonably priced, you pay extra for the train fare. You travel as a group then have a guided walk on arrival, some free time, then another walk in the afternoon. We have done lots of walks in London with this company and would highly recommend them.

Perhaps you could mix it up a bit, do one day trip on your own, one with London Walks and the other with a different company.

Kay

When we were in London in July, we took 5 day trips via train or bus, touring on our own. This was cheaper and we got to go at our own pace and take as many pictures as we wanted, linger or hustle, come and go as we pleased. (We had a flexrail pass so we had complete flexibility in days and times for catching trains, too.) We didn't get the tour guide input, but we read much before and while there anyway so don't feel like we missed out. But you have to weigh all the pros and cons.

Going to Salisbury by train and then Stonehenge by a bus (that picks up at the train station) was a GREAT choice for us. It's doable and wonderful. I saw Bath on a tour group (with high school students) on a different trip; Bath is wonderful, so either on a tour or on your own it's a destination to explore. I just wouldn't try to do more than Bath or more than Salisbury/Stonehenge in one day. The light will still be a bit short in late February, too. I didn't go to Windsor (YET!) but it is certainly a doable day trip.

The advantage to doing your own day trips is the flexibility it leaves you for time and travel, etc.

You might think about going to Oxford for a day, too; easily accessible by a bus.

Here's my trip report if you want to look at what we did for our 5 day trips using public transport from London

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35147171

We took the train to Bath one day and really enjoyed that.

Another day we went to Hampton Court - just a stone's throw on the train but it was a half-day excursion.

We also did an organized tour to Stratford-on-Avon, Oxford, and one of the castles (can't remember) and while it was a bit toury it was a good way to see a few sites and the country-side and not have to deal with driving or trains.

thanks so much for all of the suggestions! I will be reading all of your trip reports and weigh all of my options. Thanks for mentioning the sun/light factor in late Feb texasbookworm...that was something that I actually was wondering about.

We've done day trips to Stonehenge, Bath, Oxford and Cambridge (the latter by train, which I think is only 45 minutes?), and you could do a day trip to York (I think it's 2 hours each way by train?, or is it 4, in which case it wouldn't really be doable). We really enjoyed Cambridge, but that might be colored by the fact that the weather was glorious, and it was graduation day. All those kids in caps and gowns wandering around with their families - it was a lovely sight. York is wonderful, what with the ramparts, and the cute downtown.

Well G, you have had a number of replies from folks who have taken themselves to Bath etc but I would just like to say that I did a day trip to Oxford, The Cotswalds etc with Evan Evans Tours and I was completely happy. I did not feel rushed at all and felt that there was enough time to see all that we wanted to see.

I quite often do the odd guided tour on my holidays - largely I take myself around but sometimes it's nice to have a day or two to just be taken along, if you know what I mean.

A guided day tour isn't everyone's cup of tea but for some people they are just the answer.
I just wanted you to have an opinion from 'the other side'.

Some good advice above. I would certainly do Windsor and Cambridge, both easy day trips on the train. I would also look a bit closer to home. Greenwich is worth a day trip, particularly at weekends when the market is open.
http://www.greenwichwhs.org.uk/places/index.asp

Brighton is also a great day out, very easy to reach by train. Okay, the weather may not be great in February, but it's less crowded than in the summer.
http://tourism.brighton.co.uk/

Stonehenge is certainly a must-see, but many people come away with a sense of disappointment. There is still no decision on whether to reroute the main road that runs right alongside it.

(I've lived in London for most of my life)

Besides this forum I used a book "Daytrips London" by Earl Steinbicker, "55 one day adventures by rail or car in and around London and southern England" which we found extremely helpful. If your going to do a day trip on your own, then I'd get a copy. On 3 trips to London we used this book for trips to Dover, Canterbury, Bath, Salisbury/Stonehendge, Greenwich, Hampton Court and Windsor.

Hello!
On our first visit to England last May, my sister and I took day trips to: Bath, Windsor, Oxford, & Salisbury/ Stonehenge. We spent one day in each place, though we could have spent more, there is plenty to do.

We went on our own, and I really enjoyed being able to go through the locations at our own pace- for example, while visiting Windsor Castle, we took our time looking at the cabinets that contain all manner of odds and ends presented to the British Empire and saw the bullet that killed Admiral Lord Nelson- if we had been rushing through, we never would have noticed it. I can certainly see, though, how the weather might be different in February, and it might not be as much fun to leisurely stroll around in some locations.

However you choose to see them, I would try not to pack too much into one day, if you can help it, and be wary of tours that visit multiple locations (with the exception of Stonehenge, you will definately not spend an entire day there).

If you would like more details or have any questions on any of the places we visited just let me know. Have a great trip!

For two or more day trips by train consider the LondonPlus railpass that gives unlimited days of rail travel through southeast England (including Bath, Stratford, Oxford, etc.) and also a round trip transfer from either Heathrow, Stansted or Gatwick airports outside (or inside) the validity period of the pass. Good thing is you can hop any train anytime - no day return restrictions or blackouts, etc. Not sold in UK however.

cbo86-- thanks for the book reccomendation...I went to Barnes and Noble on Sunday and actually picked up a London Daytrips book, not sure if it's by the same author, but it's great nonetheless. After reading about some of the sights, I want to go to all of them! haha, guess I have to narrow it down!

You might also want to check on the Southern Railway DaySave pass - it give unlimited access to the entire network throughout the southeast - for £10 pp (4 for £20).

southernrailway.com/main.php?page_id=189