Day trips from London

England, Europe

London is the easiest base in Britain for day trips. University cities, a royal castle, a Roman spa town, a prehistoric stone circle, and the south-coast seaside are all about an hour out by direct train, with the walled medieval city of York about two hours north.

Where	Getting there	Why go
Oxford	About 1 hr by train from Paddington or Marylebone	The oldest university in the English-speaking world, a dense core of honey-stone colleges, the Bodleian Library, and the covered market.
Cambridge	50 min to 1 hr 20 by train from King's Cross or Liverpool Street	The other ancient university city, best seen punting on the Cam past the college backs. King's College Chapel is the set piece.
Windsor	35 min to 1 hr by train, changing at Slough	Windsor Castle, the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world and a working royal residence, with Eton College across the river.
Bath	About 1 hr 20 by train from Paddington	The Roman bath complex and a complete Georgian city in honey-colored stone. A UNESCO city, and an easy pairing with Stonehenge.
Stonehenge and Salisbury	About 1 hr 30 by train to Salisbury, then the Stonehenge Tour bus	The prehistoric stone circle on Salisbury Plain, paired with Salisbury's medieval cathedral and its original copy of Magna Carta.
Brighton	About 1 hr by train from Victoria or London Bridge	The closest proper seaside city, with a pebble beach, the pier, the Royal Pavilion, and the independent shops of the Lanes.
York	About 2 hr by LNER train from King's Cross	The walled medieval cathedral city of the north, with York Minster, the Shambles, a near-complete circuit of city walls, and the Jorvik and railway museums. A long day trip, better as an overnight.