Ill be going to London for 5 days at the end of May and I'm interested in part-day and/or day-long train trips. Can anyone tell me what trips are considered the most scenic.

OK - train travel around London is mainly to get someplace - not for scenic wonders.

There are some glorious rail routes in the UK but not many to speak of in the south.

Oh - there are some pretty journeys in the far southwest - but Devon/Cornwall are a long way from London.

Most other really scenic routes will be in Wales/Northern England/Scotland.

Here's something you might like -- steam locomotive train trips from London, with breakfast and/or dinner "hampers" or white-cloth dining. Slightly eccentric, a pretty penny for sure, a special train ride.

www.steamdreams.co.uk

I stayed in Tonbridge for a week once and found the Kent countryside on the way to London to be scenic in an understated sort of way. I thought the green fields with sheep grazing and the characteristic farm architecture to be very pretty. There is a Norman castle in Tonbridge that you could walk around. Just follow the High Street north (turn left) from the train station. There are walking paths that take you out of town. Tonbridge Trains leave from Charing Cross Station.

Thanks for your input so far. Janisj, unfortuneately your comments are what I was afraid of. As I'm willing to take a 3 hour train trip, I was hoping there would be more scenery with memorable vistas. Fidel, thanks too for your comment. I looked at the web site and the 2 trips at the end of may and beginning of June are just the dates I wont be there.

Gavin, thanks too. Your post seemed to be what I was looking for. Bucholic scenes of sheep and meadows,etc. Ive visited London before, will be alone and thought some train day trips would be relaxing and scenic. Thanks all for your posts so far

fromMA,

As a number of people have pointed out there isn't much scenery in the London area. Another constraint is the time, three hours is not very long.

Within that time frame one thought would be to do a circular trip between Marylebone and Aylesbury, one way via Princes Risborough, the other via Harrow. That would get you into the Chilterns a bit.

If you were prepared to take longer you could consider going to Reading (longer trip) or Guildford then taking the cross-country line to Redhill then either straight back to London or going on to Tonbridge and up from there.

Getting further afield you could see some of the Cotswolds by going to Gloucester or to Worcester (past Oxford), or make a circular of the two routes.

Of course you could do London - Leeds - Settle - Carlisle - Newcastle - London in a day. That would get you on the best English route (Settle and Carlisle), through the Tyne Valley and past Durham and York. But you'd need about 14 hours as it's virtually the full length of England!

I second Wasleys London - Oxford - Worcester idea and possibly continuing to Great Malvern. You'll follow the Thames Valley out of Paddington, through the Goring Gap, skirting the river up to Oxford then through the northern edge of the Cotswolds. Although this section of railway is promoted as the Cotswold Line, the routes that actually went through the heart of the region have long since been closed, lines more worthy of the Cotswold Line tag, so you don't get the best views of the area, I'm afraid. At Worcester the line curves around the town on a viaduct to gain height to cross the River Severn so you'll get a great view of the Cathedral. Possibly worth a brief stop, King John and Prince Arthur (Henry VIII's elder brother) are buried there. A short distance from Worcester are the Malvern Hills, worth a hike up to the top if the weathers good.
All in all a two and a half hour journey from London and the equivelent journey time back again.

With the very greatest of respect, Henneth (whose advice usually ranges between very good and excellent) is rather scraping the bottom of the barrel.

An eight-hour round trip to Worcester(the least it'll turn out to be by the time you've hung around Wolvercote Junction waiting for the single line to clear for a year or two) is a terrific way of catching up on your reading. And there are a few very pleasant bits of scenery.

But only just a few. The rest is at best - well, OK. There are few more fortunate positions to be in in life than to have to commute on this train: the ambience is pleasnt, your fellow passengers the world's finest, and the freshly made bacon and Emmenthal ciabatta melt the highpoint of the world's in-train gastronomy. Choose the right train and you even get in-seat TV - though Cotswold Line travellers are generally above this kind of thing, preferring to use the time writing the presentations they're giving that afternoon in Frankfurt, finishing off their doctoral theses. or posting long-winded (but exquisitely observant)contributions to travel chatrooms.

But if you've only got five days here, is this really the best use of your time? Writing off a whole day for a trip to the countryside might well be. So might getting off this line at Charlbury, walking (3 hrs, ask me for details) past Roman villas, medieval wall paintings and self-indulgent 18th century trophy palaces, through Blenheim Park, to Woodstock, getting the bus to Oxford and the train back to London.

But the scenic high points of any such days out will be what you see once you're off the train.

This board is full of suggestions for enjoyable days out of London, and regulars love making new suggestions. Life's too short to spend it stuck even on FGWL's very finest train.

I agree you're more likely to see things once you start walking away from a station. Railways on the outskirts of cities (like airports and docks) tended to attract industry and cheaper housing to cluster around them.

But there are plenty of trips you can do by train - or even tube - to a country walk. If the weather's good, the end of May is a great time to take a train to Manningtree from Liverpool St, and walk through "Constable Country" to Flatford Mill and Dedham, and then back again to Manningtree, or take the tube to Chesham for the Chess Valley (and back by tube from Rickmansworth) - do a Google on Manningtree+Constable+walk, or "Chess Valley" + walk.

A more restful option might be a trip on a local restored steam train - there are a couple in easy reach of London:
http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk
http://www.watercressline.co.uk/

Also in easy reach by train is Box Hill
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-boxhill.htm

There are some good views at Leith Hill, and at the Devil's Punchbowl, but you'd need a train and a bus:

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main...s/w-findaplace /w-leithhill/

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main...s/w-findaplace /w-hindheadcommonsthedevilspunchbowlcafe.htm

Many thanks to all!!! It appears I have some homework to do One other thing. Just so you dont think im some crazy American, I always looked forward to train trips when I've been to Europe as we have nothing like that in the states (at least with a 1st class Eurail pass). It is usually a very relaxing interlude between cities. Thanks again!