Best day trips from London by train

London alone fills a week, but England's best-known towns lie only an hour or so away by train: the oldest inhabited castle in the world, two university cities, a Georgian spa town built over Roman baths and a seaside resort with a pier. The short answer: Windsor is the closest and easiest, Oxford and Cambridge are the classic city trips, Bath is the most beautiful town and worth the longer journey, and Brighton is the day by the sea. Stonehenge is best combined with Bath or seen on a tour.

Day trips from London at a glance

Times are typical fast connections from the London terminal named in the table; slower trains take longer. In Britain, off-peak tickets are usually much cheaper than travelling in the morning rush hour, so a start after the peak often saves a lot.

Windsor: the King's castle

How to get there: trains run from Paddington to Slough, where a short shuttle train continues to Windsor & Eton Central; the whole trip takes about 35 minutes. Direct trains from Waterloo to Windsor & Eton Riverside take a little under an hour. Both stations are a few minutes' walk from the castle.

What to see: Windsor Castle, the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world and one of the official residences of the monarch, with the State Apartments, St George's Chapel, where many kings and queens are buried, and Queen Mary's Dolls' House. Outside, the Long Walk runs for miles into Windsor Great Park. Across the bridge over the Thames lies Eton, with the famous school.

How long: half a day for the castle, a full day with the park and Eton.

Best for: first-time visitors, royal history, families. Windsor is a working royal palace and can close at short notice for official events, so check the official website of the Royal Collection Trust before you go. Tickets for Windsor Castle^* are also on Tiqets.

Oxford: colleges and libraries

How to get there: trains run from Paddington to Oxford in about an hour; trains from Marylebone take a similar time. The station is about 15 minutes on foot from the centre.

What to see: Oxford is a city of some forty colleges, each with its own quadrangles, chapel and garden. Christ Church, with its Great Hall and cathedral, is the best known. In the centre stand the round Radcliffe Camera and the Bodleian Library, one of the oldest libraries in Europe, which you can see on a guided tour. The Ashmolean Museum, Britain's oldest public museum, has collections from ancient Egypt to the Pre-Raphaelites. The Covered Market is good for lunch.

How long: a full day.

Best for: architecture, literature and film fans, museums. Several colleges open to visitors only at set times or close during exams; the University of Oxford's visitor pages list what is open.

Cambridge: King's College and the Backs

How to get there: fast trains run from King's Cross to Cambridge in about 50 minutes; slower trains from Liverpool Street take around 1 hour 20 minutes. From the station to the centre it is a walk of about 25 minutes or a short bus ride.

What to see: King's College Chapel, with its fan-vaulted ceiling and stained-glass windows, is the city's highlight. Behind the colleges, the lawns of the Backs run down to the River Cam; the classic way to see them is punting, either with a chauffeur or by poling the flat boat yourself. The Fitzwilliam Museum has a large collection of art and antiquities, and the market square and narrow lanes around it are good for a walk.

How long: a full day.

Best for: anyone who wants a smaller, quieter university town than Oxford, a summer afternoon on the river.

Bath: Roman Baths and Georgian terraces

How to get there: trains run from Paddington to Bath Spa in about 1 hour 30 minutes. The station is right at the edge of the centre; the Roman Baths are a five-minute walk away.

What to see: the Roman Baths, a temple and bathing complex built around natural hot springs, with the steaming Great Bath; Bath Abbey next door; the Royal Crescent and the Circus, the great curves of honey-coloured Georgian houses; and the Pulteney Bridge with shops on both sides. The whole city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Today you can bathe in the thermal water at a modern spa in the centre.

How long: a full day. Bath is also lovely for a night.

Best for: architecture, Jane Austen readers, a slow day with a spa.

Brighton: a day by the sea

How to get there: trains run from Victoria to Brighton in about an hour; Thameslink trains via London Bridge take a similar time. The station is at the top of the town; the sea is about 15 minutes downhill on foot.

What to see: the Royal Pavilion, an exotic palace with domes and minarets built for King George IV; the Brighton Palace Pier with its arcades and rides; The Lanes, a maze of narrow streets with small shops, and the North Laine; and the long pebble beach. For a walk on the cliffs, buses run east along the coast towards the Seven Sisters.

How long: a full day.

Best for: a break from the city, families, summer days.

Stonehenge: best with a tour or Bath

Stonehenge stands on Salisbury Plain, away from any station. By public transport, take a train from Waterloo to Salisbury, about 1 hour 30 minutes, then the tour bus from Salisbury station to the visitor centre. Entry is with a timed ticket from English Heritage, who manage the site; booking ahead is recommended. Because the journey is awkward, many visitors take a coach tour that combines Stonehenge with Bath or Salisbury Cathedral in one day. Stonehenge tours from London^* can be compared on Viator. If you are staying in Bath anyway, tours from there are shorter.

Train or guided tour?

For Windsor, Oxford, Cambridge, Brighton and Bath, the train is the best choice: fast, frequent and with stations close to the centre. Train tickets in Britain are cheapest booked in advance or off-peak; you can compare train connections^* on Omio. A guided tour mainly makes sense for Stonehenge, and for anyone who wants to see Stonehenge, Bath and the Cotswolds villages in one day without changing trains and buses.

How many day trips fit into a London trip?

With three days, stay in London: Westminster, the museums, the Tower and the South Bank fill them. From four days, one trip fits, usually Windsor or Oxford. With five days or more, two trips. Our article how many days in London explains the split, and our 5-day London plan already has a day out to Windsor.

How YesTrip helps you plan

YesTrip has a ready-made plan for London, including a five-day version with a trip to Windsor. With one tap you copy it into the app, swap Windsor for Oxford, Cambridge or Bath and add your hotel. The app shows the weather for your travel days, which helps to pick a dry day for Brighton or a river trip in Cambridge, and with the offline package you have the map without a connection. YesTrip is free.

London trip planDay by day, with map and tips

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