are there any medieval/elizabethan towns near london (within an hour or so) that are nice just to walk around in?

You should think of Winchester, Chichester, Salisbury or Canterbury, all easily accessible by train. Winchester is the closest - one hour. The others are approximately one and a half hours away.

Anne <BR> <BR>You didn't say how you are travelling road or rail. Cambridge is nice just over an hour by train from Liverpool Street and if you get off the train at Audley End station you could visit the lovely old market town of Saffron Walden. Both are good places to wander.

If you have a rental car, Lavenham is a wonderful medieval village. It is the town "there was a crooked man who walked a crooked mile" is written about. The old buildings are all from the "wool" era and, through settling, lean, tilt, are warped, etc., so they are all crooked. Well worth a day trip and enjoyable to walk around. See the church and graveyard, and the Guild Hall (inexpensive; I believe £2 or £3.) The town is east of Cambridge, south of Bury St. Edmonds. I want to say it is off the A-11 from London, but don't quote me on that one.

Fodors <BR> <BR>An hour and fifteen minutes by train from Victoria are Faversham in Kent and Lewes in Sussex. An hour by train from Livrpool Street is Audley End, from which Saffron Walden is two miles distant by taxi. <BR> <BR>Please write if I can help further. Welcome to England. <BR> <BR>Ben Haines, London

I'm not sure how long it would take to get to Rye but it would make a great day. Within London it is worth a day walking around Hampstead Heath-- the neighborhood and park.

Actually, I will be coming from the airport (heathrow) I am on layover for 12 hours. Can I get to any of these towns directly from the airport or must I go through London?

Golly, now you tell us ! <BR> <BR>Of all the towns listed Oxford is the most accessible. You'd take a bus from any terminal building in half an hour to Reading, then a train in another half hour to Oxford. <BR> <BR>But I can't get you anywhere medieval or Elizabethan in that limited time. You might condsider a bus to Slough, a train to Maidenhead, and then the local train, or a boat, along the Thames from Maidenhead to Marlow, dropping off at each local station on the way to admire the villages and Cliveden. <BR> <BR>Please write if I can help further. <BR> <BR>Ben Haines <BR> <BR>

You can certainly "do" Lavenham in that time. Rental car? Approx 2 1/2-3 hr drive, 3-4 hrs in town, 3 hrs back, with plenty of time for a couple of meals somewhere.