Day Trips Around London

A Spot Of Punting In Oxford

The majority of travellers to the UK fly straight into London and spend almost all of their time there. This makes a great deal of sense as there are many flights to London, and the city has some of the UK’s most famous and entertaining attractions. That said, it would be a shame to come all this way and not see a bit more of the countryside – tourists might want to consider embarking on some day trips in the local area to complete their holiday and give them a better idea of what the United Kingdom is really like.

Oxford is a very convenient place to go on a day trip from London – trains depart from Paddington station and will get you there in less than an hour. Once in the city you will enjoy the beautiful streets lined with gorgeous, ancient buildings. Oxford is of course a university town and you will love seeing the grand structures which house this most famous of schools: of particular note is Christ Church college which must be one of the most awe-inspiring educational buildings in the world. Oxford is also a quant English town and you will find many quiet streets and lovely pubs – check out the Eagle and Child, a pub patronised in bygone days by the likes of Tolkien and C.S Lewis.

To get a taste of the English countryside, it is worth heading to Surrey. It is a county to the south of London full of pleasant forests, idyllic homes and peaceful rivers. If coming by train you can head from London into Guildford, however, this a part of the world best explored by car so consider picking up a rental, that will let you drive between small towns stopping occasionally at local pubs. One particularly pleasant town to visit is Thames Ditton, a little place not far from Kingston upon Thames.

Greenwich is actually part of London, yet it is worth seeing on a full day trip as this area has a great deal of interesting history. Indeed, the global time system is based upon the Prime Meridian Line which runs through the Royal Observatory here – you can visit this sight alongside the National Maritime Museum, which features incredible artefacts from England’s days of naval glory. You can also spend some time in Greenwich Market and in great pubs like the Kings Arms. Many Londoners live in satellite communities like Greenwich and it is worth coming here if only to realise that most Brits don’t live anywhere close to the hustle and bustle of Piccadilly Circus.

So if you are flying into London for a brief visit to the UK, you should try and get out on one of these day trips. There is far more to the UK than central London and it would be a shame to come all this way and not see any of it.

This was a sponsored post written for The Blighty Traveller.

Photo Credit: Catherine Murray

2 Responses to Day Trips Around London

@wftristan Reply

March 18, 2011 at 1:58 pm

Nice, another good (and cheaper) way to get to Oxford is the 24hr Oxford Tube which is the bus service that goes from Victoria or Marble arch (hyde park side), i always found that better, and def more reliable than the trains,

@wftristan
siegfried Reply

March 24, 2011 at 12:49 pm

Is oxford more interesting than cambridge (i’ve beed there) ? I am looking sth for small 1 day trip