What 2 day trips we can do from London?
 

Hi,
We are visiting London in end of March. Our days in London are figured and we know, where to go and what to see. We have additional two days, which we want to spend and see outside London. I am checking and overwhelmed with lot of options. Edinburgh and Scotland part is already seen, so not in options.
I am here to get help on knowing some nice options and see how can I fit them in my plan. I am fine with trains/public transport or renting car where needed. I am looking for scenic places (not just architecture, but natural, landscapes, hills, river too) to use my camera.
I read lot of posts in past few days and can come up with few options like -
- Day trip to Cotswolds (guided or self drive)
- Windsor Castle and Oxford.
- New Forest and Dorset, Sherborne.
- East Sussex.
- Or you would suggest something else to fill my two days?
We would like to stay in London and keep same base while do both day trips. Please advice.
Thanks

Third try -- stupid site keeps cutting me off :(

"Edinburgh and Scotland part is already seen, so not in options."

Phew! That's settled ( . . . but no one would ever suggest Edinburgh or anywhere else in Scotland as a day trip fro London anyway)

While a self driving trip to the cotswolds is possible, it isn't that great an idea. Driving will mean faffing about with a rental car - and IF collected in central London the nasty traffic and congestion charge. But if you go out to LHR to get the car to avoid the worst of the traffic and congestion charges, it will take at least an hour from your hotel to the rental depot. So IF you want to do the Cotswolds -- It probably should be by a commercial coach tour.

"Windsor Castle and Oxford" . . . I'd make that Windsor Castle and or Oxford. Either one would take most of a day.

"East Sussex" would be doable. You can take the train to Hever or Tunbridge Wells or several other places.

"New Forest and Dorset, Sherborne." That is too much and too for a single day.

Places I'd consider - each by train: Oxford; Windsor; Hampton Court Palace; Cambridge; Brighton; or Greenwich (DLR to and boat back);

Thanks janisj.

Checked Cotswolds guided tour. Will compare, what they cover in the tour and what I can do, IF I self-drive.

"New Forest and Dorset, Sherborne." should be excluded because it will be tight for day trip, or there are better places in near distance ? If we make stay there (we have 2 free days), will it be preferrable over others?
I checked suggested options and most of them and rich in architecture. That is great and I love that, but I am also looking for nature and landscapes too.

I've done three day trips from London - Ranked in order of my preference:

1 - Windsor Castle (and a little eatin' in Eton for lunch)
2 - Hampton Court Palace
3 - Greenwich (on a nice day, the boat ride is half the fun)

This was boarded from which pier, to Greenwich ? Or it was in Greenwich only?
We will be staying near Tower Hill, so will see if we should take boat from here itself

There is a pier right AT the Tower. Couldn't be easier for Greenwich. Also, there is a DLR station right there too (at Tower Gateway) so as I mentioned take the DLR to and boat back - or vice versa.

"Checked Cotswolds guided tour. Will compare, what they cover in the tour and what I can do, IF I self-drive."

It is unlikely you could do anywhere near as much in the Cotswolds self driving as a coach tour. But in any case there are much easier, more practical day trips from London than trying to squeeze in the Cotswolds. (This is from someone who lived near the Cotswolds for five years and have driven most of the roads in the region and to/from London countless times)

And that would which places, you would suggest instead of Cotswolds? The one you suggested in initial post (Oxford; Windsor; Hampton Court Palace; Cambridge; Brighton; or Greenwich) ?

Secondly - "New Forest and Dorset, Sherborne." should be excluded because it will be tight for day trip, or there are better places in near distance ? If we make stay there (we have 2 free days), will it be preferable over others?
I checked suggested options and most of them and rich in architecture. That is great and I love that, but I am also looking for nature and landscapes too.

"Pier right at the Tower." I hope it isn't Traitors' Gate!

Sherborne, I know it well, why would one want to go there?
New Forest, well you could catch a train to Brockenhurst and just go walking, on a wet day, not so much fun.

Dorset, you could catch a train to Bournemouth or Poole or Swanage. But March is bad time to go to Swanage

I'd go to Oxford as one day trip, it has two world class museums, something like 40 colleges many of which you can visit in the afternoon (see college websites) a covered market, two large parks, famous pubs etc etc. That would be a day trip for me. Take an umbrella.

You could catch a train to York, ancient second city of England, medievel centre with most of the walls still in place, National railway museum, etc etc

Sorry - I can't pick for your as all are well worth a day trip . . . which is why I suggested them.

All also include nature and/or parkland lf some sort. Oxford and Cambridge both have rivers through them with punting, and vast park areas and botanic gardens. Brighton is on the Channel with beaches etc. -- I would not pick Brighton on a rainy day. But you don't need to decide ahead of time - each day trip can be a night before decision. Hampton Court Palace is on the Thames and near Richmond park with is enorous -- masses of deer and birds etc. Greenwich is less 'countryfied' but is a big park on the river. Windsor has the Castle river, and Windsor Great Park.

We are looking for scenic places, includes nature too. Most of our days on this trip are spending in big cities, so thought it would be nice to have some countryside, villages or nature (Cotswolds option came up with same thought). We are not heavy on history and museums.
New Forest and Dorset came up after I read few blogs, otherwise I am not very sure about these places based on blogs. That's why I posted here, asking suggestions from you guys

we were posting at the same time so I don't think you saw my previous post.

Another option if you really want countryside/walking etc - is the South Downs National Park. (Do not expect a 'National Park' like Yosemite or Yellowstone - no entrance gates, etc. More a pretty area with towns and villages - what is called an ANOB - Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty)

Here is the transport page from the website https://www.southdowns.gov.uk/gettin...lic-transport/

and more: https://www.southdowns.gov.uk/great-days-out/

yes, I read your post after I submitted mine.
Great suggestions, let me dig more on these. Thanks so much

https://www.thenewforest.co.uk/
https://www.visit-dorset.com/explore...visit/swanage/
https://www.visityork.org/

Do you absolutely have to stay in London? If it were my trip, I would go to Bath, which has a beautiful river. You could ever do a boat trip there. Tour Bath, spend the night. Schedule a Mad Max tour of the Cotswolds for the second day. They use a van, not a big bus, they pick you up right in Bath. At every stop, they give you lots of time for walking and taking photos and a long lunch stop. You could stay another night in Bath or go ahead and take the train back to London. We very much liked the Mad Tour, but it was a long day of riding and lots of free time for walking. We were happy to have dinner and a hotel waiting. On the way back to London, we stopped in Oxford for a walking tour.

You might look at Moreton-in-Marsh (MIM) and the Secret Cottage Tour if you're there after April 1. https://secretcottagecotswoldtours.co.uk/

I was thrilled to see they're starting up again, as I had the loveliest day with them several years back. The pandemic shut them down, but I just saw they are resuming operations. If your timing works. I'd do that in a heartbeat.

Even without the tour, from MiM, you can either taxi or hike to Batsford Arboretum and Sezincote House, though at Sezincote, only the gardens are open in March on certain days. It'll likely be a muddy walk, but I still enjoyed it, I expect there'll be a taxi you can take. Then you can have a pint at the Bell Inn, with a connection to Tolkien/Lord of the Rings. Also, I expect there are other guided van tours from MiM's train station.

Or, maybe Hever Castle. You can take the train to Hever, and do an easy walk to the castle. The gardens were stunning in Sept when I was there. I would think March MAY be all right...? But I'm in Chicago, so it's hard for me to gauge, as March is nasty here. I'm rarely in England in the spring, as I usually go in the fall. At Hever, of course there's that wonderful home to visit with the Tudor connection, but the garden and lake are pretty impressive. There's a circular walk you can do around the lake if time/energy permits.

Good luck choosing! Always so hard for me, too.

ChgoGal makes a really good point re the weather. It seems you are envisioning a lovely walk in the countryside . . . in March that could happen but it is very likely to be a wet/muddy/possibly stormy/miserable day. There is NO way to tell until the day or maybe the day before.

That is one reason to consider the 'non-tour' and 'non-self-drive' day trips where you really don't have to decide ahead of time. Any of the train/public transport options (South Downs, Oxford, Hever, Cambridge, Windsor, HCP, Greenwich, etc) you can wait -- see what the weather is like, and head out . . . or just hunker down in London if a wintry storm is blowing through.

Thank you for all great advices. I will look deeper and see, what will fit in my days.

Also, re: bad weather days, you may be able to book the night before. I'd booked the secret cottage tour the night before as the rain was going to wash out a hike I'd hoped to take, or maybe I was exhausted, I don't quite remember. That was a slightly overcast day, but I saw several villages. The van let us out to walk around and take pictures. The tour guide/driver is a local, and the group is small, so nice conversation with him and interesting travellers, as well. Also, the tea and cakes were nice and so cool to see the inside of a thatched cottage. Just to let you know my experience booking somewhat last minute.

Re the weather "There is NO way to tell until the day or maybe the day before."

We have these neat things called weather forecasts. You can find them online, on TV and on various apps. They are usually pretty accurate and will provide a good idea of the weather by location 5-10 days out. Some, will show the weather for a location on and hour by hour basis. If the weather is a concern, have a couple of options in mind have a look at the forecast and decide closer to the time.

I really meant there is no way to tell now or even probably by the time they fly out -- so I would not pre-plan a major out of town trip now. I was in London at the end of Dec / early Nov and all the forecasts did indicate rain and cold whereas it was dry as a bone and I barely needed a coat some days. So while forecasts truly have improved a LOT, one really doesn't know until close to the date.

Canterbury on the train maybe? St. Albans? A day at the beach in Brighton? British seaside towns are totally different to anywhere you've been probably :) Although don't expect much from the weather in March...

One of my favorite day trips out of London was taking a train to Salisbury, touring the Cathedral, then meeting a private driver/guide to explore Whiltshire with visits to Stonehenge, Avebury and seeing the general countryside.

Windsor and York.