In episode 97 of the UK Travel Planning Podcast, Tracy and Doug discuss easy day trips from London by train, focusing on destinations like Portsmouth, Winchester, Salisbury (for Stonehenge), Bath, and Oxford.
They cover the best train stations to depart from, estimated travel times, and what to look forward to at each destination. They emphasize the ease of these train journeys and how they are within a 2-hour (ish) range from London, making them perfect for a day trip.
Whether you're a history buff, a fan of architecture, or just want to experience beautiful cities, this episode provides valuable insight into planning your day trips from London. They also touch on the possibility of a day trip to Paris and provide resources for further information.
So sit back, relax, and join Tracy and Doug as they guide you through these wonderful day trip options for your UK travels!
📝 Show Notes - Episode 97 Listen to these episodes next:
Episode #96 - Easy day trips from London by train (Part 1)
Work With Us - Contact info@uktravelplanning.com for brand partnerships and business inquiries.
Thank you ❤️
Disclaimer: Some outbound links financially benefit the podcast through affiliate programs. Using our links is a small way to support the show at no additional cost. I only endorse products, programs, and services I use and would recommend to close friends and family. Thank you for the support!
In episode 97 of the UK Travel Planning Podcast, Tracy and Doug discuss easy day trips from London by train, focusing on destinations like Portsmouth, Winchester, Salisbury (for Stonehenge), Bath, and Oxford.
They cover the best train stations to depart from, estimated travel times, and what to look forward to at each destination. They emphasize the ease of these train journeys and how they are within a 2-hour (ish) range from London, making them perfect for a day trip.
Whether you're a history buff, a fan of architecture, or just want to experience beautiful cities, this episode provides valuable insight into planning your day trips from London. They also touch on the possibility of a day trip to Paris and provide resources for further information.
So sit back, relax, and join Tracy and Doug as they guide you through these wonderful day trip options for your UK travels!
📝 Show Notes - Episode 97 Listen to these episodes next:
Episode #96 - Easy day trips from London by train (Part 1)
Work With Us - Contact info@uktravelplanning.com for brand partnerships and business inquiries.
Thank you ❤️
Disclaimer: Some outbound links financially benefit the podcast through affiliate programs. Using our links is a small way to support the show at no additional cost. I only endorse products, programs, and services I use and would recommend to close friends and family. Thank you for the support!
Speaker 1:
Welcome to the UK Travel Planning Podcast. Your host is the founder of the UK Travel Planning website, Tracey Collins. In this podcast, Tracey shares destination guides, travel tips and itinerary ideas, as well as interviews with a variety of guests who share their knowledge and experience of UK travel to help you plan your perfect UK vacation. Join us as we explore the UK from cosmopolitan cities to quaint villages, from historic castles to beautiful islands, and from the picturesque countryside to seaside towns.
Speaker 2:
Hi and welcome to episode 97 of the UK Travel Planning Podcast. So this week's episode is part two of two episodes which we started last week in episode 96, where we are focusing on easy day trips by train from London. So last week we covered the first five destinations. If you haven't heard that episode, I suggest you go back and quickly take a listen to that. And then this week we are continuing our journey from South London round to the West and Northwest. We're having a bit of a discussion about Oxford just recently, but it's like Northwest of London, you know what you say.
Speaker 3:
Just North, but mostly West.
Speaker 2:
So Doug is with me again for this episode, so he's going to share his knowledge of the train travel in the UK, which those of you who have his ebook Guide to UK Train Travel will know is extremely extensive. So in this episode we are going to start with Portsmouth. So if you listened recently to episode 92, where you heard Kevin and Pauline chatting all about what to do and see in Portsmouth and I know I have heard from so many of you via email and in our Facebook group that you are really inspired to go and visit Portsmouth, which we are really excited about and many of you said you didn't realise just how easy it would be to get there and what there was to do and see in Portsmouth, which we are really excited about. And many of you said you didn't realise just how easy it would be to to get there and what there was to do and see in Portsmouth. So, doug, if you're going to go down Portsmouth, what is the best way, which train station and how long would it take you to get there?
Speaker 3:
Okay, so I'd go from Waterloo, london, waterloo or Victoria, and the journey time between an hour and a half and two hours depending which train or what time of day that you travel. I've done this journey myself. Last year I had a day down in Portsmouth and then the Isle of Wight as well, all in one day.
Speaker 2:
You did, and we actually have a podcast all about that, which I cannot remember for the life of me, but the second, the number of that, but I will put that in the show notes. I'm also just going to reiterate which we we said last week is that these train journeys were all chosen because they're easy train journeys for you to do. They're literally what. There's no change, it's just a one just one train.
Speaker 3:
So you catch your train from london and you get off that train same train at your destination and the destinations that we're talking about.
Speaker 2:
So they're easy and they're within two hours ish of london as well. So our next destination is winchester and we again, we were in winchester earlier on this year actually, and second time that we visited the gorgeous city of winchester. It is a beautiful city to visit. Um, I really enjoy it and I know, again, it's a very easy day trip from london. So if you have an interest in history, jane austen, uh, it's the place to go, honestly and uh, so if I was going to go to winchester from london, I'm staying in london. I've decided that's the place I want to go visit on a day trip. Which is the best train station and how long would it take me to get to winchester?
Speaker 3:
it. Yeah, it takes about one hour and that's from London, waterloo or Paddington and the train station's about a 10 minutes walk, ish, 10-15 minutes walk to the cathedral.
Speaker 2:
Yes, and we just used Google Maps when we came out of the train station just to orientate ourselves, because the last time we actually went we used the park and ride, so we parked and got the bus into Winchester. So this is the last time we actually took the train. It was a short walk into Winchester. It's again a lovely city to enjoy and walk around. The cathedral is obviously the main focus, and that was certainly for me, and it's just a stunning, stunning cathedral to visit and it's also the final resting place of Jane Austen. So if you are a Jane Austen fan, do go and visit. And also, I mean, it's just a fantastic cathedral, isn't it?
Speaker 3:
It is, and the tour around the cathedral is exemplary.
Speaker 2:
Yes, exactly, we definitely recommend that you do the tour. And also, just to mention, if you like sculpture, there is Anthony Gormley's Sound 2, which you can find in the crypt of Winchester Cathedral Again, lovely city to visit. Highly recommend that you consider it if you have an interest in history. It is the cathedral that was built after William the Conqueror took over after 1066, after he defeated Harold at.
Speaker 3:
Battle of Hastings Perfect.
Speaker 2:
So that's our second destination.
Speaker 3:
I should also add around Winchester Cathedral there's some lovely cafes and restaurants.
Speaker 2:
Yes, there are, and again, we have a Winchester travel guide that gives you some of that information, so you can check that out on the website. So our third destination is another very popular destination that we are asked about, and also it's a destination which will give you access to probably one of the most famous monuments in the entire world, and that is Stonehenge. So Salisbury is how far from London, doug, and how long would it take you to get there? I mean, what sort of timescales are we talking and which train station would you take?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, you go from London Waterloo for Salisbury. It takes about an hour and 25 minutes.
Speaker 2:
It's, again, really easy to get to. Now, if you go to Salisbury and in your head thinking, actually I want to go to Stonehenge which we have done this If you come outside the train station there is a bus and it's a tour company that will take you. Basically, you can buy either just the bus ticket to get you to Stonehenge and back or, if you want, you can also buy your entry ticket to get into Stonehenge as well. So the last time we did it, we just picked up the bus. It's basically like a kind of hop on, hop off bus, because it goes to a few locations in Salisbury, goes to Old Sarum as well, goes to Stonehenge.
Speaker 2:
You can have earphones in and you can listen to the sights as you go along on the bus. So it's actually if you want to go to Stonehenge and you want to do it independently, it's a really good way to do it. And it's also I will just throw this in is if you're going to be a bath and you're thinking, oh, actually, maybe I'll head down to salisbury front bath. That is actually also a very easy train journey to get you down there that's right.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, but we had a baggage with us as well yes salisbury, so we found a location to store our luggage outside salisbury train station, which was very convenient yes, it was.
Speaker 2:
So, yeah, if you are traveling, you've got luggage, um, you know that, that there is a lot of these, um, not necessarily the train stations anymore, but there are left luggage places, uh, that you can find in the vicinity of the train station.
Speaker 2:
And this is exactly what we did for Salisbury and stored our luggage because we were heading off down to Cornwall after that, um. So I'm gonna throw in Windsor into this um episode. We're actually not going to focus on Windsor, but we know that many of you want to visit Windsor and it is an easy day trip from London. However, I am doing a completely dedicated episode which will be all about Windsor, including how to get there from London by train, how to get around Windsor, what to see in Windsor. So I'm not going to go into any details in this episode, but do listen out because that will be out in the next month or two, a kind of dedicated total episode to Windsor, with all the knowledge that I have learned from visiting Windsor over the years and tips and things to know if you're going to visit. So I'm going to skip Windsor and the next destination that we're going to choose is, again, another popular destination, probably one of the most popular from london that we get asked about is bath yes, that's right.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, and it's an easy train journey from london. Paddington takes about an hour and 20 minutes with great western railway, and it's beautiful. It's one of my favorites it is and it's also.
Speaker 2:
You're in the center of bath as well, when you arrive, so it's very easy to get out, walk out the train station and just walk around, basically, basically beside the shop shopping centre shops there.
Speaker 2:
And there's lots of things to see in Bath. Honestly, I've got a complete guide to visiting Bath. I've got a guide to things to do in Bath. I've actually got a one-day itinerary as well. So if you're thinking, okay, let's go to Bath, we're just going to go there for the day and you're wondering about what to do, I would definitely have a look at our one-day itinerary for Bath, because that will give you basically what you can fit in and what you can see in one day when you visit there. What's your favourite things to do when you go to Bath, doug?
Speaker 3:
I can't get past the Roman Baths. To be honest with you, I'm down the times. I've been going there from being very young. My parents took me there and it's just magnificent.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, absolutely 100%. If you're going to go to visit Bath, you have to go into the Roma Baths, and now I will say they get extremely busy in the summer months and the school holiday times, so you will need to book ahead for the Roma Baths if you want to go.
Speaker 3:
And allow plenty of time, because there's such a lot to read.
Speaker 2:
Oh, there's such a lot to read, such a lot to see. They're absolutely fascinating. So now, if you're going to do that, our favourite place to go and have a bit of lunch is Sally Lunn's.
Speaker 3:
We absolutely love to have Sally Lunn's buns. I would highly recommend. Yes, we just had every meal there for.
Speaker 2:
We have, I think.
Speaker 2:
I've tried everything on the menu, but my personal favourite when it comes to the sweet with a cup of tea, is to have Sally Lund's bun with lemon curd. Believe me, you cannot beat it. So I highly recommend it. There are some fantastic places to visit in Bath, some brilliant bookshops. So if you like books, fantastic place to visit. Obviously, the Georgian architecture of Bath is stunning. It is a UNESCO World Heritage City. So if you love Jane Austen, you enjoy history, you're interested in Georgian architecture, you're a fan of Bridgerton, then Bath really should be on your itinerary. And, as I say, it's a really easy day trip by train from London. So next on our list for this episode, so number five, is the University City of Oxford.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, very easy to get to.
Speaker 2:
It's just an hour's train journey and you can go from london, marylebone or from paddington yeah, and then does that get into the center of oxford or is it a short walk?
Speaker 2:
it's a short walk short walk into the city. Now, again, I'd recommend that you do a tour of oxford. If you want to go and see the bodleian library I'd just check that it's open again book Booker Tour. If you've got interest in Harry Potter Booker Tour, take a tour with an Oxford graduate. Learn about the city, learn about the university. It's the best way really to get around Oxford.
Speaker 3:
And we did that with a graduate last year, didn't we? With some friends. We did, we really enjoyed it. We were recognised as well, weren't we?
Speaker 2:
That's right, which is really funny by a lovely group member and podcast listener. So hi, yeah, so that was really nice. So Oxford again if you're deciding between Oxford and Cambridge, oh, that's so controversial because there's big competition between the two cities. Personally should I say this on here? I don't know. Personally, I'm a kind of team Cambridge. I just adore Cambridge, but Oxford is equally as lovely. I just don't know what it is about Cambridge that has completely seduced me.
Speaker 2:
But yeah, consider, both are very easy. Oxford again is just, you know, it's a short train, easy train ride from London to take. So that's five. In the previous episode that's another five. So we've given you 10 easy day trips from London by train. Other five so we've given you 10 easy day trips from London by train. We could easily add more to this in terms of train trips and places to visit, and we're already talking about doing an episode where we talk about Liverpool, we talk about Birmingham, we talk about Chester, we talk about Manchester, if there's other places that we can talk about, and so we will probably will do an episode later on in the year where we cover those destinations. But we felt these were probably the top 10 and the ones that we are asked most about and really the ones that are kind of worth you considering if it's your first trip to London and you want to take a day trip out. These are the places that we get asked about the most.
Speaker 3:
We do get many, many inquiries for all these places and just saying saying is you get more confident with the trains? You know one or the train change opens up even more options absolutely so.
Speaker 2:
if you are planning your itinerary for london and you're thinking about including one or two of these day trips and you're still a little bit unsure about how to fit it in and what to do, don't forget that you can actually book us for an itinerary consult, and Doug has so much knowledge of the train routes and trains that he can help you with that sort of information, can't you?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, happy to do so.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, so we include that in the consult. But if you don't want a consult but you're still unsure about train travel in the UK, the best thing to do is to buy Doug's Guide to UK Train Travel e-book, which contains a huge amount of information all about travel in the UK. One of the tips you were going to share from that today was about what should you take on the train with you.
Speaker 3:
Well, some drinks and some snacks. Even if the train service should have on-board services, you can never be 100 certain, particularly at weekends, whether those services are going to be provided so, and anything can happen on trains in any country, so make sure you've got a drink with it, just in case the worst should happen the train stops okay it's a good idea to have some refreshments yeah, it certainly is.
Speaker 2:
So I'm going to throw in kind of a bonus number 11 and I did mention at the start that I was going to say this. And so there is one destination that I just I'm guessing, when you're listening to this episode, you're thinking well, I haven't been at paris. Is paris possible on a day trip from london? Right, it is okay, and that's the first thing I'm going to say. It is, and d Doug will tell you how.
Speaker 3:
It takes two hours, 17 minutes from London's St Pancras International Train Station.
Speaker 2:
To Paris-Gare du Nord. Ok, so we have done this many times, including last year. In fact, doug's left me because he actually joined me in Paris once for a coffee, came from London, had a coffee with me and then went back to London once for a coffee, came from London, had a coffee with me and then went back to London. So it is possible. However, okay, there are going to be lots of provisos. I'm just going to say and I suggest, if you are thinking about taking a day trip from London to Paris on the Eurostar and back, so day trip there back that you listen to my episode number 72, because I did this last year. I did the trip. It's a long day trip, I will say that, and actually a few people that came on the trip did bail earlier and took an earlier train back to London, but they did have children with them. So there are lots of considerations. I would say so, yes, it is doable, but seriously, if you are considering it, do listen to that episode, because I will give you the pros and cons in more detail. But yes, you can do it, but listen to the episode first. So I guess that's it for this episode.
Speaker 2:
We've shared 10 of our favourite destinations. A bonus 11th We've given you information about which train station to leave from in London. Again, check out our guide to London train stations, which is on the UK Travel Planet website. Just a reminder as well that we have a LondonTravelPlanetcom website and on that website we have an article which details the best and easiest day trips by train from London. Now I will link to that in the show notes which you can find at uktravelplanetcom forward slash episode 97. But I guess that just leaves us to say until next week, doug.