Weekend Trip from London (Please help!)
 

I know similar threads have been done, but please indulge me here. We are planning our anniversary trip to London. We are already committed to 7 days in London (family obligations, etc.) and we definitely need 2 nights (3 days) to ourselves outside of London. Any ideas?

What we desire is only one town to explore, accessible by train (not a fan of driving), in a nice romantic quaint 4 star hotel/pensione/cottage, with enough shopping, sights, and restaurants to keep us busy, but relaxed enough that we can enjoy a respite from hectic London. A town with great vistas would be nice too, but we still prefer a town with enough to do (we're not the lay about the pool types-we like to explore cities that we stay in).

Any help out there?
Thanks

Well, why not take the Eurostar to Paris? It's only a few hours away and you could have a couple of days to explore one of the prettiest cities in Europe. No shortage of things to see and do in Paris!

If that's not possible, then I guess I would suggest Bath or York. Both offer easy access by train with opportunities for shopping, sightseeing, etc.

Wow, thanks for the quick response. We definitely want to stay in the English countryside. Why would you pick the cities that you pick? Also any ideas on hotels to stay? We like to be walking distance to the restaurants, shopping, etc.

York and Bath are good. I would prefer York, as I think you will get more history there. Do a search of visitbritain.com or this site for more on York. Getting there is cheap and quick. Try to go midweek to get the best deals from www.thetrainline.com
2nd class is fine, but you might get a decent price on first class. Takes about 2 hours from London Kings Cross. Get a PIN and pick up the tix from the station. Alternatively, try Harrogate, a small distance from York. It is small, compact, pretty and has a brilliant Victorian Baths for pampering (mixed days only on certain days.) Cd hire a car ex York one day to explore the North York moors/Swaledale etc. York has a river, history, beautiful cathedral, good museums and a great 'feel'.

see duplicate...

Hi Pal,
Have you considered Cardiff in Wales.
Its certainly worth a look

Have fun

Muck

Think about going to Stratford-on-Avon. It is a lovely town. You can get on-line and order tickets for a play. There are very nice resturants and shops. It is on the canal and short walks can be fun.

There's a previous string that starts with the title "Help me spend my bonus." Type that into the text search & read the answers. Maybe something will appeal to you.

The train part of your equation limits options to some degree. Bath is an easy train ride & plenty to see from Roman baths to Jane Austen museum. The best hotel there (in town)is the Royal Crescent but they are other places like the Queenbury Hotel that are nice & some qauint b & bs. There are also some nice country hotels on big grounds just outside of town.

Another option is the town of Rye with history (near the town of Battle where the Battle of Hastings took place), shopping (particularly antiques) & restaurants.

Many of the town in the Cotswolds would fit your request but train service is limited to Stratford (a bit touristy) or Moreton-on-Marsh which I'm not terribly familiar with.

The town of Burford is lovely with several nice hotels but no train there. Also Woodstock is charming & Blenheim Palace is there but again no train. You can train to Oxford & take a taxi or bus from there.

If you type any of these towns in the text search you'll finds lots of info.

My wife and I spent a delightful day in Brighton several weeks ago. Lots of interesting things to do and see. It's about one hour by train from Victoria.

pal:

Lest you've missed it, please see what I had to say on the other thread with the same headline you've started.

I suggested Chester.