Best day trips out of London is certainly going to divide opinions, and that’s fine. Perhaps I should have said “My favourite day trips out of London”. That probably would have been more accurate.
Still, hopefully this will give you a start and a bit of an idea of where you’d like to head to next time you’re in London. I’ll also include a couple of tips around how to make the most out of the journey.
How should I travel?
There are two main options to consider when taking day trips from London. You can take a car, either your own or a hire vehicle. Or secondly you can opt for a tour. Both are perfectly feasible and it depends upon your own situation, as to which one you take.
A car can be difficult to park if you are staying in central London. But if you are on the outskirts of the city where parking isn’t such an issue, then the car can give you tremendous flexibility. Tours, by their very nature must stick to a fairly rigid timetable, which is unfortunate if you happen to find yourself in a place that you want to spend more time exploring.
By Car
For example the town of Bath is a beautiful place which is certainly worthy of further exploration. With all the best will in the world, tour companies have a limited time to spend there, which is never enough. With a car you can head off early to beat the crowds and stay later to get the most out of the day.
Cars are also useful if you have kids. They allow you to stop off on the way for toilet breaks and snack stops. Depending on the age of the children, most of them don’t fully appreciate the commentary that comes with a tour.
On A Tour
A tour on the other hand will ensure that you get to the promised destinations and give you a real insight into what you will find there. The knowledge that the guides possess is truly astounding, and they can genuinely make your visit much more special.
Even if you are planning to do most of your sightseeing by car, I would still suggest taking at least one tour for the experience.
There are a number of companies that run tours out of London, and most of them seem to be based around Victoria Station. Research which tour company interests you most and make sure when you book your accommodation, that you can easily get to the start point.
Anyway, here’s a look at some of my favourite spots. Click on the name of the attraction to visit the official website.
Hampton Court Palace
Built in the early 1500’s, this palace is synonymous with Henry VIII. It was created by Cardinal Wolsey, who wanted to impress the king. Sadly for him the king liked it, and took it from him.
Set on the banks of the Thames to allow easy access to London, Hampton Court Palace was a pleasure palace, and the current displays set up help to demonstrate this.
Aside from the building itself, the gardens are an added treat. If the kids are starting to play up a bit, lead them to the maze. That should sort them out for a while. A tour to Hampton Court Palace can quite often incorporate another destination as well, lie perhaps Windsor Castle.
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is the Queens main London residence. It was started shortly after the Norman invasion almost 1000 years ago. It commenced as a wooden defensive structure on some elevated land and slowly developed into the fortress that is today.
We took the tour through the state apartments and they are absolutely amazing. The state apartments were designed so that foreign dignitaries would have to pass through them on the way to an audience with the Monarch. Each room is set out to display maximum wealth and power. This was to make other countries think twice about going to war with Britain.
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is so iconic that it has to make this list. It is one of those sites that really does make you wonder about it’s origins. However, don’t plan to spend a lot of time here. We took a tour here that also included Bath.
When the bus stopped we were told that we had 40 minutes to see Stonehenge, use the toilet and get back on the bus. We thought that was incredibly short at the time. But once you walk around it, use the toilet, and buy a guidebook in the gift shop. It was was almost 40 minutes. Luckily we were on our way to Bath which was worth the extra time.
Bath
Bath is exquisite, there is no other word to describe it. For a start the history heads back 2000 years at the Roman baths. To see the building architecture here and wonder, what happened for the next few hundred years? It was as if during the dark ages, humans forgot how to make buildings, and they just went back to wattle and daub.
There are however, several examples of beautiful buildings throughout Bath, and I could spend ages just wondering through the streets. There is also a Sally Lunns shop here which sells Sally Lunns Bunns. Try one. You’ll thank me later.
Leeds castle
Now I have been to quite a lot of castles, palaces and chateau’s. But in my opinion Leeds Castle has to be the prettiest. The setting on the lake is just magical, and a simple walk through the grounds is delightful.
As an added bonus the castle is of a more reasonable size. By that I mean it is not so big that it is hard to grasp. You can visit here and get a really good understanding of the layout and the overall feel of the place. There is also a maze here to tire the kids out.
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral is about 1400 years old and throughout the years has been an important pilgrimage site. It is still worth a visit today.
Harry Potter Tours
You notice that I haven’t got a link to this one, as there’s no one location. Most people would be aware that Kings Cross Station was the starting point for Harry’s journey to Hogwarts, and lots of people go down onto the platform between 9 and 10 to get a photo.
The station even has a trolley mounted into a wall that you can pose with. But from here the sights of the movies will take you all over the countryside.
Importantly, without even thinking about the movies for a second, the tours will take you to wonderful places that you might otherwise have never visited. There are several different companies offering tours.
We opted to take our family in a black cab. It was a little pricey but we got one on one service from the guide, and an excellent day out. There are similar tours for the James Bond franchise
Stratford-Upon-Avon
Stratford-Upon-Avon is Shakespeare country. It is where he was born and where he retired, as well as spending a good deal of the rest of his life there, when he wasn’t commuting to London. There are a lot of sites dedicated to him and his family that are well preserved and open to visitors.
The town itself has many a wonderful main street to wonder down which includes many Tudor era buildings.
For me though I prefer the area where the town meets the River Avon. A stunningly beautiful area, which normally houses a fair few colorful narrow boats. A really lovely place to stroll on a sunny afternoon.
The Royal Shakespeare Theatre is situated here as well on the bank of the river, and if your lucky you may catch a show.
Well that’s about all I’ve got at the moment. Hopefully you got something out of it and it helped you to plan your next adventure.
I have attached a few links at below to help your planning process. One is for attractions in London, and the other two are for options on where to stay in London, as well as a few tips for stretching your budget a little further.
Cheers and happy travels.