Day Trip - Where to go in English Countryside?

For one of the days of our London leg, the plan is to visit Stonehenge and Bath. Now, they are some...hmmms...huhs...among the people in our group about the amount of time we will be in a car.

Looking for suggestions for somewhere to visit instead of Stonehenge / Bath. We will be staying next to Windsor Castle.

We personally like more of the local feel/scenaries.

TIA!

I would like to rewrite my initial post.

When I began planning for our European trip for summer 2018, one leg of the trip is London. We will be there 4 days/3 nights, with 2 of those 4 days being full days.

The current plan has us visiting Stonehenge and Bath on 1 of the 2 full days. Now, they are some...hmmms...huhs...among our group about the amount of time we will be in a car. So now I am back to researching alternatives.

Our accommodations are next to Windsor Castle. This was originally picked because of them wanting to visit Windsor, Stonehenge and Bath. Sigh.

I would love to get ideas/suggestions. We personally like more of the local feel...

TIA!

How well do you know London? You need about three months to see it properly, not three nights. In your shoes, I certainly wouldn't be bothering to sit in a car on any of the days; it's a waste of good sightseeing time.

As has been said, you do not have enough time to properly see London, let alone anywhere else.

Stonehenge, imho, is vastly over-rated, and Bath, whilst very nice, is swamped with tourists. Stay in London - you will only scratch the surface in the time you have available.

If you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of London streets, there are several laid back places within easy reach. Hampton Court Palace is one - Beautiful gardens and a palace built for Henry VIII. https://www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/#gs.Qj2ZS0w

Kew Gardens is another - acres of gardens and the iconic greenhouses are worth a whole day. https://www.kew.org/Kew-gardens/plan-your-visit-to-kew-gardens

Both are easily accessible by public transport.

Take a boat trip down the Thames to Greenwich, and visit the Cutty Sark http://www.rmg.co.uk/cutty-sark and the museums at The Greenwich Royal Observatory. http://www.rmg.co.uk/royal-observatory

Of course, you could always go and visit your new embassy on the South Bank at Nine Elms. https://uk.usembassy.gov/our-relationship/new-embassy/

Bob offers great suggestions. When we did our day trips near London, we used Uber to get to Kew [palace, gardens and tram were wonderful]. Then we walked along a path to get onto a riverboat, The Dunkirk, that brought us to Westminster Pier.

Another suggestion, visit Blenheim Palace., we spent a good part of a day touring the rooms, walking the estate and riding the mini train.

We have made multiple trips to England and have hardly scratched the surface of things to do and see. That's why we are returning in April.

Darcy

How well do you know London? You need about three months to see it properly, not three nights. In your shoes, I certainly wouldn't be bothering to sit in a car on any of the days; it's a waste of good sightseeing time.

It is not how well we know London. Sorry it is just not for me. I prefer to explore the countryside.

BTW - I did an exchange program between my university and a university in London for an entire academic year, many years ago. I have my fill of London. Although when I was there then we spent a lot of time exploring outside of London.

If you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of London streets, there are several laid back places within easy reach. Hampton Court Palace is one - Beautiful gardens and a palace built for Henry VIII. https://www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/#gs.Qj2ZS0w

 

Kew Gardens is another - acres of gardens and the iconic greenhouses are worth a whole day. https://www.kew.org/Kew-gardens/plan-your-visit-to-kew-gardens

 

Both are easily accessible by public transport.

 

Take a boat trip down the Thames to Greenwich, and visit the Cutty Sark http://www.rmg.co.uk/cutty-sark and the museums at The Greenwich Royal Observatory. http://www.rmg.co.uk/royal-observatory

 

Of course, you could always go and visit your new embassy on the South Bank at Nine Elms. https://uk.usembassy.gov/our-relationship/new-embassy/

Thank you!

Bob offers great suggestions. When we did our day trips near London, we used Uber to get to Kew [palace, gardens and tram were wonderful]. Then we walked along a path to get onto a riverboat, The Dunkirk, that brought us to Westminster Pier.

Another suggestion, visit Blenheim Palace., we spent a good part of a day touring the rooms, walking the estate and riding the mini train.

We have made multiple trips to England and have hardly scratched the surface of things to do and see. That's why we are returning in April.

 

Darcy

Thank you!

As has been said, you do not have enough time to properly see London, let alone anywhere else.

Stonehenge, imho, is vastly over-rated, and Bath, whilst very nice, is swamped with tourists. Stay in London - you will only scratch the surface in the time you have available.

Hmmmm. I disagree about Stonehenge. But you need to want to think beyond what you observe to Why and How.

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Hmmmm. I disagree about Stonehenge. But you need to want to think beyond what you observe to Why and How.

 

 

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More than Countryside

Greenwich.

Stonehenge, Winchester Cathedral and King Arthur.

Windsor

Cruise the Thames River and London Tower

It is not how well we know London. Sorry it is just not for me. I prefer to explore the countryside.

... one leg of the trip is London. We will be there 4 days/3 nights, with 2 of those 4 days being full days.

lifeasme123 ~

IMO it is a shame to skip Bath because some members of your party are concerned about the time you would be spending in the car. However, I can understand their concerns. (Personally, I've never driven in the UK, nor had any desire/need to do so; I always travel by public transport. But that's neither here nor there.)

By definition, any place that you will drive to from Windsor will entail time in the car. Bear in mind that many of the towns within a half hour drive or so of Windsor are essentially residential commuter towns; they may be pleasant enough, but really don't have the major historic attractions of places like Bath or Canterbury or Cambridge, nor the breathtaking scenery of the Lake District or the Yorkshire Dales, of for example. Keep in mind too that you will be driving in the most densely populated part of the UK.

Nonetheless, adding to the worthy destinations already suggested by other posters, here are a few places that are closer to Windsor than is Bath. These are all off the typical tourist trails, but they more or less fit your criteria of being scenic or near scenic countryside and having “more of a local feel” (by which I assume you mean, places that aren't “touristy”?)

In no particular order:

Henley-on-Thames

http://visit-henley.com/

https://www.visitchilterns.co.uk/market-towns/henley-on-thames.html

Chalfont St. Giles (visit John Milton's cottage, & Chiltern Open Air Museum nearby.)

http://www.chalfontstgiles.org.uk/

http://www.miltonscottage.org/

https://www.coam.org.uk/

Little Missenden, Great Missenden, and Amersham

https://www.visitchilterns.co.uk/market-towns/great-missenden.html

Guildford

http://www.guildford.org.uk/

Again, just to stress: None of these are “must-see” (whatever that means) places, and I wouldn't necessarily suggest that anyone staying in London should make a day trip to visit them. But they are relatively close to Windsor by car, and you might find them and their surroundings of interest.

The places mentioned by Bob are all worth visiting.

But they're very much part of Greater London, not "English countryside".

I think the Captain is perhaps more in-tune with what you're looking for.

The places he mentions are rural / semi-rural and all are within about a half-hour drive from Windsor.

Most are north-west of London, an area I rarely visit so I can't really help. Guildford is closer to my territory and I take the same view as the Captain - not memorable like Hampton Court or Kew Gardens but more typically "England" than "London".

But they're still very much London's commuter-belt, and I'd go further than the Captain.

If you want to see typical towns, villages & countryside I think you're going to spend more time in a car.

A highway blast for an hour or less and then meander.

Places like

- the Cotswolds (Burford, Stow-on-the-Wold, Bourton-on-the-Water). Blenheim Palace, mentioned by Darcy, is en-route.

- or the South Downs (Cranleigh, Petworth, Arundel, Chichester)

- or Hampshire & Wiltshire (Winchester, the New Forest, Salisbury). You could even split your party with a drive-by of Stonehenge, drop those who want to visit in detail then drive to 8 miles to visit Salisbury & return 90 minutes later to collect them

- or head west & visit places like Marlborough, Avebury, Lacock, mebbe even as far as Bath. (do I recall from another thread the prospects of you including an overnite in Bath?)

Any of these will give you a good taste of the south's towns, villages & countryside, and all have visitor attractions of varying size & interests but mainly historic.

Google those places & narrow-down your choice, and we can suggest an appropriate mix of highways & byways

JB :)

I'd go further than the Captain.

JB, I'd go farther than me too -- onward, quite happily, to any or all of the places you mentioned! (I've been to all but two. Will have to add Cranleigh and Petsworth to my own "must-see" list for future reference.:))

But was trying to keep it practical for the OP & party, cognizant of two strict constraints: (1) the necessity of starting from, & returning to Windsor, and (2) confining the OP's passengers to the car for as short a time as possible. Assuming those are hard-and-fast conditions, the options are somewhat limited.

In the meantime, another away-day itinerary that could be done quite easily from Windsor just occurred to me. These places are all fairly close together, and even closer to Windsor than those I listed in my previous post, so this itinerary would minimize driving time whilst giving the visitors a taste of very pleasant towns & country:

Cookham>Clivedon>Marlow

https://www.visitthames.co.uk/towns/cookham-p1414071

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/cliveden

https://www.visitthames.co.uk/towns/marlow-p92421

Yes, still commuter-belt territory to some extent, I know; posh rather than "quaint". But what the heck -- if you had to commute into London & back every day, and had the lolly, here might well be where you'd want to live.

Thank you Captain and JB!

Captain - you are correct that my labeling "leg of the trip in London" is misleading. My apology.

I told our family they just need to decide what each wants to do and i'll book their tours separately. In doing some more research I came upon Secret Cottage Tour or Cotswold Mystery Tour from Tripadvisor. DH is very interested in this. I personally would like to do something King Arthur, but am ok with the Cotswold tour DH is interested in. I now need to research if it is remotely possible to go from Windsor to Moreton-in-Marsh Railway Station, where the tour begins. So much information to digest!!!

My in-laws will probably that the private tour to Stonehenge and Bath . Well at least I am trying to convince them. This is their first time every out of US! We are trying to open them up to the world. :-)

The aunt & uncle will take the train into London and spend the day there, most likely on HOHO.

Thank you Captain and JB!

 

Captain - you are correct that my labeling "leg of the trip in London" is misleading. My apology.

I think it was Globaliser who made that observation; but no matter. No need to apologize to me! :D

I told our family they just need to decide what each wants to do and i'll book their tours separately.

 

That's probably the best solution.;) Twenty years ago I organized and "led" a two-week vacation in England for three couples traveling together, and it was like herding cats.:eek: (In the nicest possible way, of course.)

 

In doing some more research I came upon Secret Cottage Tour or Cotswold Mystery Tour from Tripadvisor. DH is very interested in this. I personally would like to do something King Arthur, but am ok with the Cotswold tour DH is interested in. I now need to research if it is remotely possible to go from Windsor to Moreton-in-Marsh Railway Station, where the tour begins. So much information to digest!!!

 

Well, King Arthur is mostly legendary... The only sites remotely associated with King Arthur that I know of are in Winchester (a medieval reproduction of the table of the Knights of the Round Table, hanging on the wall of the Great Hall) and in Cornwall (Dozemary Pool, on Bodmin Moor, supposedly where Sir Bedevere tossed Arthur's sword Excalibur after Arthur's defeat; and Tintagel, reputed site of Camelot). So nothing "Arthurian" especially close to Windsor--but, on the other hand, there are lots of places in England where you can use your imagination to visualize the Arthur of your dreams.

See my comments below for information about getting to Moreton-in-Marsh from Windsor.

My in-laws will probably that the private tour to Stonehenge and Bath . Well at least I am trying to convince them. This is their first time every out of US! We are trying to open them up to the world. :-)

The aunt & uncle will take the train into London and spend the day there, most likely on HOHO.

 

Sounds like a plan!

It's reasonably easy to get from Windsor to Moreton-in-Marsh by train. You take a train from Windsor & Eton Central Station (not Windsor & Eton Riverside Station) to Slough (only 6 minutes), and change at Slough for the train to Moreton-in-Marsh. The whole trip takes roughly an hour & forty minutes each way. Of course, you'll have to time your departure from Windsor to be sure you will arrive in Moreton-in-Marsh with plenty of time to catch your Cotswolds tour.

To find out train times in advance, use the National Rail journey planner (see link below). Put in Windsor & Eton Central as your "From" point and Moreton-in-Marsh as your "To" destination. Click the "return" box to see the round-trip times and prices.

For this trip, there's no need to buy tickets in advance; just remember that buying a "return" (= round trip) ticket is much cheaper than two "singles" (= one-way tickets).

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/planjourney/search

(Note: The journey planner calendar only shows available travel dates for three (?) months in advance; but if your actual travel date is still some time away, you can put in any "dummy" dates to get an idea of departure times & prices. Just make sure you select a weekday date if you'll be traveling on a weekday, and a Saturday date if you'll be traveling on a Saturday. Do not schedule your tour for a Sunday, as Sunday schedules are much curtailed; also, rail maintenance work generally is carried out on Sundays and can result in service disruptions at short notice.)

It's reasonably easy to get from Windsor to Moreton-in-Marsh by train. You take a train from Windsor & Eton Central Station (not Windsor & Eton Riverside Station) to Slough (only 6 minutes), and change at Slough for the train to Moreton-in-Marsh. The whole trip takes roughly an hour & forty minutes each way. Of course, you'll have to time your departure from Windsor to be sure you will arrive in Moreton-in-Marsh with plenty of time to catch your Cotswolds tour.

 

To find out train times in advance, use the National Rail journey planner (see link below). Put in Windsor & Eton Central as your "From" point and Moreton-in-Marsh as your "To" destination. Click the "return" box to see the round-trip times and prices.

 

For this trip, there's no need to buy tickets in advance; just remember that buying a "return" (= round trip) ticket is much cheaper than two "singles" (= one-way tickets).

 

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/planjourney/search

 

(Note: The journey planner calendar only shows available travel dates for three (?) months in advance; but if your actual travel date is still some time away, you can put in any "dummy" dates to get an idea of departure times & prices. Just make sure you select a weekday date if you'll be traveling on a weekday, and a Saturday date if you'll be traveling on a Saturday. Do not schedule your tour for a Sunday, as Sunday schedules are much curtailed; also, rail maintenance work generally is carried out on Sundays and can result in service disruptions at short notice.)

Thank you again!

Not sure if I did this correctly. But I got a total of 162.50 pounds (about $224 for 2 adults and 1 child). Does that sound correct? I do not know what to expect. We were in Italy this past June and took a train from to Naples for only $19 pp for "first" class seating.

Thank you again!

 

 

 

Not sure if I did this correctly. But I got a total of 162.50 pounds (about $224 for 2 adults and 1 child). Does that sound correct? I do not know what to expect. We were in Italy this past June and took a train from to Naples for only $19 pp for "first" class seating.

Funnily enough, I was going to suggest you do something exactly like this day trip to the glorious Cotswolds. Becky's tours are very popular and I see them in my own village from time to time.

You'll need the 0817 train from Windsor, which means you need an 'anytime' ticket if travelling on a weekday. The adult return for this journey is £34-90 and a total of £87-25 for 2 adults and a child. It will be cheaper at the weekend as you can use an off-peak ticket (total £63-30). I can't work out how you got the total you stated, I'm afraid.

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Do not schedule your tour for a Sunday, as Sunday schedules are much curtailed; also, rail maintenance work generally is carried out on Sundays and can result in service disruptions at short notice.)

It's very unusual to get major disruption at short notice. The engineering plans for this part of the network are available up to June and nothing to affect this journey - there's been a tremendous amount of work over the last 5 years or so, so perhaps they are giving us a rest! Concentration is on the mainline electrification down to the South West.

But your point about timetable is right - there may not be a connecting train from Windsor early enough on a Sunday, so there might be a need to get a cab to Slough or Reading to pick up the mainline to the Cotswolds.

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Funnily enough, I was going to suggest you do something exactly like this day trip to the glorious Cotswolds. Becky's tours are very popular and I see them in my own village from time to time.

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Good to know!

You'll need the 0817 train from Windsor, which means you need an 'anytime' ticket if travelling on a weekday. The adult return for this journey is £34-90 and a total of £87-25 for 2 adults and a child. It will be cheaper at the weekend as you can use an off-peak ticket (total £63-30). I can't work out how you got the total you stated, I'm afraid.

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I have no idea how I got those prices as well!! Thanks for setting me straight! Much, much better prices!

If I purchase an "anytime" tickets (tour day is Thursday), does that mean I can take can train time back to Windsor with no penalty?

Yes, you can travel back on any train you like for the next month [emoji6]

The tours end at the station to connect with a train heading back to London (which is the one you want, change at Slough which is the stop before London).

But you could stay longer or even break your journey at Oxford, if you wanted to look round there and have dinner or something. Just make sure you get back on a train to London that stops at Slough - your ticket will not be valid for travel via London itself.

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But you could stay longer or even break your journey at Oxford, if you wanted to look round there and have dinner or something. Just make sure you get back on a train to London that stops at Slough - your ticket will not be valid for travel via London itself.

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Just want to make sure I understood correctly. Are you saying to take the train from Moreton-in-Marsh and stop in Oxford for dinner and look around? From there take the train to Windsor via Slough?

If I have a return ticket to Windsor, I can make a stop in between and get back on the train? It's confusing to me.

We will be visiting in mid-June. Does it get dark late that time of the year?

Yes, you can break your journey anywhere along the route. In this case, all the London (and therefore Slough)-bound trains will call at Oxford, which is about 40 minutes from Moreton-in-Marsh.

Sunset in mid-June is after 9 pm, so you'd be there in plenty of daylight.

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