England Side Trips

[WeLoveABD]

We have a three day stay in the London area next summer (at the end of a Disney trip) and want to see things outside of London (we did the Knights and Lights last December, loved it--but now want to see things outside of London). Anyone out there know of a good touring company that does short tours (that is, two or three day) to places like Bath and Stonehedge, or maybe a Thames River cruise, etc? Thanks all!

 

[JohnneyB]

You can do day trips out of London very easily. I have been in the London area for the last two years, and our list includes Hampton Court Palace, Portsmouth, Greenwich, and checking out the "small town" feel of Horsham. With a little planning, these things are really easy to do in part due to the easy to navigate train system. There are several companies that do these sorts of tours, but I really like to save and do the research myself.

 

[redzinner]

There probably is a way to do Windsor Castle too. We had a car so it wasn't a problem. Besides the palace and the beautiful grounds, the little town is walkable.

 

[WeLoveABD]

Thanks! When we flew to London for the Knights ABD, we came in a day early (to adjust to the time difference) and hired a car to take the four of us to the town of Windsor--took in the castle, loved walking around the town and enjoyed dinner at the Crooked Inn (I think that was the name!). On a free afternoon during the tour we took the train out to Hampton Court--I agree, the trains are great! (And Hampton was pretty cool--especially the kitchen area, and the garden maze). What I am looking for is a way to be met up at the airport, with all of our luggage, take in a nice short (3 day?) tour outside of London that I hope would include Stonehedge--and then be brought back to the airport for departure. With a teen and preteen and bags, I'd just as soon skip dragging the bags around on public transport etc. But day trips from a hotel in London are another way to go, and I've got a couple of books that talk about those. I'm looking for a more unique experience, I guess--any suggestions/thoughts appreciated!

 

[sabrecmc]

Gray Line tours does a number of tours and if you google "London day trip tours" or something, you'll see a lot of companies that will be happy to take you wherever you want to go. As others said, I would highly recommend the train system. Its easy. The ticket agents are helpful. Basically, buy a guidebook that includes the places you want to go and tells you the train station that train departs from. That's really the only tricky part. The train depots are conveniently located near what you'd want to see and well within walking distance.

I'd definitely do Stonehenge if you haven't already, but also Hampton Court (great maze and grounds), Leeds Castle or Warwick Castle if you have kids...they're pretty touristy, but fun for young children...York if you have time...Stratford-upon-Avon and Dover are both fun and educational sites...ah, England...so much to do! Windsor castle is easy and quick to get to. There is also an amusement park called Legoland Windsor out that way, so if you have kids that are tired of musty old buildings, that could be something fun. Blenheim Palace is fun (and you'll recognize it from movies and TV). Salisbury Cathedral. Canterbury. There are literally loads of options.

 

[PiperPilot]

One possibility would be to contact one of the Blue Badge Guides and arrange a personal itinerary. It sounds like you want something tailored to your desires and a Blue Badge Guide can accomodate you. You can search through hundreds of guides at this website.

http://www.touristguides.org.uk/index


On the other end of the scale is the Evan Evans Tour Company. They do 1-day tours leaving from Victoria Bus Station.

http://www.evanevanstours.co.uk/

We found Blenheim Palace (Duke of Marlborough, Churchill's Family) and the Cotswolds to be very entertaining.

 

[WeLoveABD]

One possibility would be to contact one of the Blue Badge Guides and arrange a personal itinerary. It sounds like you want something tailored to your desires and a Blue Badge Guide can accomodate you. You can search through hundreds of guides at this website.

http://www.touristguides.org.uk/index


On the other end of the scale is the Evan Evans Tour Company. They do 1-day tours leaving from Victoria Bus Station.

http://www.evanevanstours.co.uk/

We found Blenheim Palace (Duke of Marlborough, Churchill's Family) and the Cotswolds to be very entertaining.

Thanks PiperPilot for the websites--we've started exploring them. (And to all--just caught my typo: Stonehenge, of course!). The Blue Badge Guide sounds great--on our day before the ABD Knights trip, we hired a van to take us to and from Windsor, which was very easy and convenient. And you are right, we want to craft (within a 2 day period or so) a tour of sites outside of London, including Bath, Stonehenge and perhaps Stratford Upon Avon, the Cotswolds...Kew Gardens would be great, if we can fit it in--and Leeds. I think it will be true: we will always come back to England.