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Recommendation for Day-trip out of London via Tour Bus
There are several options for a day trip out of London.
Does anyone recommend or not recommend one over the others? or would they all be overall the same? Golden Tours Premium Tours Evan Evan Tours others? |
Where are you thinking of going? That makes much more difference than the specific tour company . Those three have all been around for years and are all pretty much same-o/same-o.
Instead though -- I'd look into one of the London Walks day trips Other Tours - London Walks |
This would be for Warwick Castle, Stratford upon Avon and oxford university tour. |
that would be three great places to hit. You could easily go yourselves by train by splitting them up - easy to do Warwick and Stratford by train and Oxford easily another day - a drive thru Oxford does not give you must of a visit to Oxford whee you want to walk thru the colleges and stop in ancient pubs - the great university museum, etc. For more on trains check National Rail Enquiries - Official source for UK train times and timetables - www.seat61.com and BETS-European Rail Experts.
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Originally Posted by PalenQ
(Post 16890195)
that would be three great places to hit. You could easily go yourselves by train by splitting them up - easy to do Warwick and Stratford by train and Oxford easily another day - a drive thru Oxford does not give you must of a visit to Oxford whee you want to walk thru the colleges and stop in ancient pubs - the great university museum, etc. For more on trains check National Rail Enquiries - Official source for UK train times and timetables - www.seat61.com and BETS-European Rail Experts.
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>>The tours say they give a guided tour inside Oxford University<<
If that is actually what they say, it is a silly statement. There is no 'University' as such unless they mean the Examination halls. There are 38 distinct colleges. They will likely get you entry to one, my guess is Christ Church but who knows? While those tours (Stratford/Warwick/Oxford or Windsor/Stonehenge/Bath, etc.) may sound fun/neat -- they are very expensive rush jobs. One can/should spend a whole day in Oxford, or most of a day exploring Stratford and all the Shakespeare properties, or most of a day at Warwick Castle and seeing the rest of the town. But instead you get maybe 90 minutes in each town and spend probably 5.5 hours on the bus. If it was me -- I'd ask your daughter which ONE of the three she most wants to visit -- and go there on your own by train. Save a fortune and actually see more than motorways. |
Oxford or Cambridge for me are the best day trips from London - of course this is very subjective, but these two university towns - often referred to as Oxbridge - have just about anything anyone would be interested in - nice museums, great architecture, nice churches, lovely campuses and colleges to tour - great selection of restaurants and ancient pubs, beautiful settings, lovely walks and even great shopping on its crowded High Street and environs - whether Cambridge or Oxford is hard to chose but Oxford if I had to chose. Anyway trains go right to each.
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It's been 12 years, but we didn't do a package tour, we just took the bus (Oxford Tube, it was called, departing from Marble Arch) to Oxford bus station, which allowed us to leave earlier than the train (would have had to wait until after 9:30 to avoid the rush hour charges), then caught a local bus to Blenheim, saw the palace in the morning, and went back to Oxford to see Christ Church College in the afternoon. One of our party was recovering from an injury or we might have done more.
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Oxford could make a nice base - especially for young folks with all the various student pubs - but as mentioned above Blenheim Palace is just a few miles away - I highly recommend Blenheim for its interior and vast parks.
The Cotswolds are a short train or bus ride away - getting a day tour bus around it from Oxford is easy. Stratford and Warwick are also easy day trips. |
>> getting a day tour bus around it from Oxford is easy.<<
Have you done that?? It makes very little. Yes, one can find (expensive) Cotswold day tours from Oxford -- but then one would have no time IN Oxford. |
>>Oxford Tube, it was called, departing from Marble Arch<<
Yes -- an express coach London/Oxford is just as good as the train and drops you in the very middle of the city - a little closer than the train station. There are two equally good coach companies the Oxford Tube and the X90 (Oxford Bus Company). There are several pick up points in London. |
Trying to visit Warwick Castle, Stratford on Avon along with Oxford is too much. Warwick Castle needs at the very lleast a couple of hours much the same for Stratford and Oxford. Personally I’d choose just one, probably Oxford followed by Stratford. Oxford is very easy to get to from London via the Oxford Tube. It is inane for a tour company to say they give a guided tour inside Oxford University. As janisj said there are 38 colleges making up the whole of what is considered Oxford University. The fact that the tour company either chooses not to mention that or doesn’t know would put up a red flag for me. The colleges are only open at specific times so one needs to be aware that visiting a particular college is not always an option. |
>> getting a day tour bus around it from Oxford is easy.<<
Have you done that?? It makes very little. Yes, one can find (expensive) Cotswold day tours from Oxford -- but then one would have no time IN Oxford.> Yes but note I said if using Oggsford as a base. |
Originally Posted by PalenQ
(Post 16890195)
stop in ancient pubs
And why the continued use of Oggsford? It's not even amusing. |
Walking Tour of Oxford
Oxford is famous for being home to the oldest university in the English speaking world – countless bright young things have wandered the town’s cobbled streets over the years! During this guided walking tour you will see the stunning Bodleian Library and furtively discover unspoilt narrow alleyways, ancient squares and towering spires. Brasenose College Brasenose College was founded in 1509 by Sir Richard Sutton, a lawyer, and William Smyth, Bishop of Lincoln. Named after its bronze door knocker, Brasenose boasts fairytale architecture and a rolling green lawn. Past students include the writer William Golding and David Cameron, ex Prime Minister of the UK. From the Golden tours website. Brasenose is one of the smaller colleges, you get no refund if it is closed..... Seeing the Bod library.... you will see either the entrance or the outside of a round building near it. cobble streets and alleys... well that is what the centre of the town is made up of. Can I suggest you just catch the bus or train there late morning, walk through the meadows, catch a pub lunch, visit 4 or 5 colleges in the afternoon (not Brasenose or even Christchurch), drop by the covered market and drop into say Magdalen college chapel for evensong, before supper and a late train back to London. I just noticed that from April1 you get to see the Church of St Mary's rather than Brasenose. Yikes...... a con. |
bilboburgler: That is one of the descriptions I read. I think the tour bus taking us to the other places (Warwick Castle and Stratford-Upon-Avon) and Oxford will be a good way for us to get some time at all the places. I really do not feel like figuring out trains and then walking from train station to the place in case weather is an issue too. If the teen gets inspired to go to Oxford, then we will go spend more time there to explore the area in the future.
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You do realize that most of your day will be spent on the bus, probably on a highway; Google gives 5 hours as estimate for driving time, and those estimates are always way too short. You will barely "see" anything.
It's your time and your money and your trip and your style, but I have to agree with the advice of the experienced folks above--this sounds like a horrible day trip. I'd urge you to decide which of the 3 things on that tour you most want to see and get a tour to just that one (or 2)--not all 3. I think (but haven't been on this tour so don't know first hand) you will spend a few minutes, maybe an hour, outside of the bus at each stop and the rest of the time riding. |
I've just read this tour on the Premium Tours website and have to say that it's a pretty disingenuous package, intended solely for the tourist who is none the wiser. There is abolutely no way that you can fit all three places in one day in any manner that would be considered remotely meaningful, it's impossible. I can't even imagine the disappointment and frustration that comes with trying to undertake this itinerary in one day:
You might as well save your money and look at pictures on Google as that is about as worthwhile as it would be. |
Free wifi on the air-conditioned luxury coach; the teenager may not want to get off at all ;-)
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If the teens get inspired....I can honestly bet, if you need to decide as late as a teen to go to Oxford then forget it. We are discussing one of the top universities in the world.
Seriously though, the buildings are the least of educational experience of this place. My concern is that a 30 minute walking tour and a drop by to a church (and not a great church ) are not letting you see the beauty of the place. Catching the train or bus is dead easy, the bus stop is central and the train is, worse case 10 mins walk. Variable weather, well welcome to the UK You probably are aware Oxford has 2 large free museums in the centre, one is good the other is world class. No time is assigned to visit these with the tour . |
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