London Day Trips: Where to Go Beyond the Capital

The shortlist

If you only have time for one day out of London, do Bath. It is the one with the most to see, the easiest walk around, and the best train journey. If you have two days, add Oxford for the dreaming spires or Stonehenge plus Salisbury for something more ancient. The list below covers every flavour: a Roman spa, a medieval university city, a prehistoric stone circle, a Canterbury tale, a Victorian seaside town, and a working royal castle.

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Most of these are well-served by guided day tours from London, especially the ones that involve Stonehenge (where you need pre-booked tickets). A well-reviewed Bath day trip from London with Roman Baths entry bundles the train alternative, the skip-the-line ticket, and the Royal Crescent walking tour into one booking. For Stonehenge, a small-group Stonehenge and Salisbury day trip from London with pre-booked stones entry is the cleaner option than driving yourself.

Bath

Bath is the day trip. The Roman Baths (genuinely Roman, not a recreation, with the Great Bath still fed by the hot spring under the green-tinted water), the Royal Crescent, the Circus, Bath Abbey, the Pulteney Bridge with shops on both sides, and the thermal rooftop pool at the Thermae Bath Spa are all walkable, all in one compact town, all worth their entrance fee. Train: 90 minutes from London Paddington, with trains every 30 minutes.

Plan for a full day; combine the Roman Baths in the morning, a long lunch in one of the bookshops-with-restaurants-on-top (the chain is excellent), and a slow afternoon through the Georgian terraces.

Oxford

Oxford is the closest medieval university city to London. The colleges (38 of them, with their own quads, chapels, and libraries), the Bodleian Library, the Radcliffe Camera, the Ashmolean Museum, the covered market, and a slow walk along the river past the boathouses are all in the city centre. Train: 60 minutes from Paddington to Oxford station, walking distance to the centre.

Avoid trying to combine Oxford with another destination in a single day; it deserves its own. The Ashmolean is free and one of the best small museums in Britain; Christ Church College (£18, advance booking mandatory in peak) is the most-photographed and the queue-punishment is real.

Cambridge

Cambridge is Oxford's quieter sibling and arguably the more beautiful for it. The colleges (King's College Chapel, the Backs, the Mathematical Bridge), the Fitzwilliam Museum, the punting on the Cam, and a slow lunch in the city centre. Train: 60 minutes from King's Cross to Cambridge, 50 minutes from Liverpool Street. A guided walking tour from the station costs £15-20 and is the right way to see the colleges that you cannot enter independently.

Stonehenge and Salisbury

Stonehenge is the hardest of these to do well as a public-transport day: it is 90 minutes by coach from London and the nearest train station is 15 km away, with no regular bus for the gap. The honest recommendation is to either do Stonehenge as a guided coach day trip with pre-booked stones entry (the only realistic version) or to give it an overnight in Salisbury. A combined Stonehenge and Bath guided day trip from London is the most efficient pair, and the Bath cherry-on-top makes the long coach day worth it.

Canterbury

Canterbury is the easiest cultural day out from London. The Cathedral (medieval, with the murder site of Thomas Becket, the fan-vaulted Bell Harry Tower, and the stained glass), the medieval streets, the riverside walk, and a stop at the Canterbury Tales attraction for context. Train: 60 minutes from St Pancras to Canterbury West direct. Half a day is plenty for the city; the rest of the day can be spent in Whitstable (15 minutes further), the seaside town where the oysters and the candy-striped beach huts are the draw.

Brighton

Brighton is the easy beach day from London. The Lanes (a tangle of antique shops and tea rooms), the Royal Pavilion (the dome-heavy seaside palace built for George IV), the Palace Pier, the pebble beach, and the South Downs on the edge of town. Train: 60 minutes from London Victoria or London Bridge to Brighton, every 15 minutes. Brighton rewards the laziest day of any on this list.

Windsor and Hampton Court

Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world and a working royal residence. Train: 30 minutes from Paddington to Windsor via Slough. Hampton Court Palace, the Tudor palace of Henry VIII on the Thames, is 35 minutes from Waterloo and the easier half-day. Both are free with the National Art Pass or cost £25-30 individually, and both are day-trip-quality even with kids.

Which one to book

Book Bath if it is your only day out. Book Oxford if you are interested in medieval architecture. Book Cambridge for a quieter version. Book Stonehenge by guided coach. Book Canterbury for the half-day option. Book Brighton for the beach. Book Windsor for the royal angle. The list is long and the trains are easy; the trick is to do one day trip well rather than two rushed ones.