London day trips...not the norm?
 

hi everyone,<BR><BR>I am looking for suggestions for day trips outside of london that are not the normal usual ones. We have been to london before and already have experienced bath, salisbury, stonehenge, hampton court, and windsor. <BR><BR>we will be there for 8 days in april and would like to spend at least one day outside of london on a day trip. We will be using trains not rental car.<BR><BR>any suggestions?

Ironbridge Gorge, near Telford, Shropshire? If you are at all interested in industrial archaeology. <BR><BR>But there are loads of places that you can get to. York is another possibility, or a trip round some famous gardens. What are your interests?

I would vote for either Dover or Canterbury in that order of preference.

To get a good variety from London think about 1) York. A reasonable day trip in April since the days are getting longer. York is a great place and 99% of the things you'll want to see are walking distance from the trainstation. wonderful Railroad museum, the fabulous Minster, Shambles, old city walls, one of the best museums in the country, good restaurants and pubs.<BR><BR>2) Cambridge An easy day trip to visit the colleges, rent a punt on the river Cam, a tour out to the American cemetery.

Very close and easy is St. Alban's. It's a delightful small &quot;commuter&quot; town, but has a fantastic cathedral, a charming high street, one of the several &quot;oldest pubs in England&quot;, and the ruins of the Roman city -- quite interesting.

Other places an hour or so by train are<BR><BR>Well known<BR>Canterbury, with Roman and medieval buildings, churches and cathedral<BR>Rochester, with pre-Norman cathedral, Norman castle, memories of Dickens, and England?s largest second hand bookshop<BR><BR>Less known<BR>Faversham, with medieval monastic storehouses, medieval and Georgian church, breweries, good meals at the Phoenix, fine market square, and gunpowder mills<BR>A combination of Downe House, home of Charles Darwin, now a moving museum, and Biggin Hill, airfield of the Few in 1940 to 41.<BR>Sevenoaks, and Knole, the old family house there (I dislike Leeds Castle, where all the furniture was bought in, last century. Knole is real).<BR>Thaxted with Bishops Stortford, a medieval and a seventeenth century town centre, each with a splendid medieval church.<BR><BR>Welcome back<BR><BR>Ben Haines, London<BR><BR><BR><BR>

I second York and add Lincoln, Hever Castle, Warwick Castle, and Oxford.

I spent a couple of days in Winchester and really enjoyed it. Only an hour or so by train from London.

For some place not the norm,how about Sufflok?<BR><BR>Trains leave London Liverpool Street Station every 15 minutes to Ipswick,takes about an hour. Fro the bus station right across train station,frequent buses go to many beautiful medieval towns(within half an hour),such as<BR><BR>Lavenham,one of the most picturesque towns in England,with many well-preserved half-timbered houses and delightful little squares.<BR><BR>Long Melford,with well-kept 16th century houses,and one of the most imprssive flint-stoned churches.<BR><BR>Framlingham,12th century curtain-walled castle and museum,St.michael's church.<BR><BR>Woodbridge,Sutton Hoo-one of the most important archaeological sites in U.K.,St.Mary's church.<BR><BR>Orford,lovely little fish village ,the best seafood I ever tried.<BR><BR>Bury St Edmunds:almost thousand years old Abbey ruin and garden,Cathedral of St.Jame's.

How about Brighton? It's about 55 minutes by train, and an easy walk from the station all the way down to the piers. In addition to the various attractions along the waterfront, see the Pavillion, and The Lanes/Grand Laine for quirky, offbeat little shops. There's also an 'historic Brighton' tour (by &quot;hop-on-hop-off&quot; double-decker bus) that takes off from Brighton Pier. It's gorgeous on a sunny day, and April can be just perfect - in time for great weather, but early for the crowds - to see the so-called &quot;English Riviera&quot;.

I would suggest visiting :<BR> <BR> 1. Leamington Spa. It's a nice small town. A lot of shopping and pubs ( but doesn't every town have a lot of those ). Leamington is a short bus ride to Coventry and also Warwick.<BR><BR>2. Oxford. You can walk around the campus. Oxford has quite a bit of shops. Bring comfortable shoes if you decide to go to Oxford, cobblestone roads and sidewalks.<BR><BR>3. Birmingham. A lot of history to learn about. I took a tour bus around Birmingham, it was quite informative. With some tours they allow you to get off at certain spots in the city so you can explore that area. You can then get on another bus (from that company) at the same point you got off. It's a very nice tour.<BR><BR>4. Statford-Upon-Avon. Shakespeare country. You can tour his birthplace. Lot's of shops.

Nice to see someone interested beyond the well-trodden Stonehenge/Bath/Cotswolds circuit. There are many possibilities. In addition to the good suggestions so far, here's a few of my own favourites (in no particular order):<BR><BR>1. New Forest (stunning countryside, ponies, sheep etc roaming free through unspoilt villages, Beaulieu House and Motor Museum, Bucklers Hard historic village)<BR><BR>2. Portsmouth (historic naval dockyward in Portsmouth including Nelson's HMS Victory and Henry VIII's Mary Rose)<BR><BR>3. Isle of Wight (Often called &quot;England in miniature&quot;, dramatic clifftop walks, quaint villages, Queen Victoria's Osbourne House, tourist attractions, take the ferry from Southampton for best views)<BR><BR>4. Chichester/Arundel (Roman town with magnificent Arundel castle a short car ride away). Also see the remains of the Roman Palace at nearby Fishbourne.<BR><BR>5. Stamford in Lincolnshire (perfectly preserved 18th century town with historic Burghley House close by)<BR><BR>

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