• CONTACT US if you have any problems registering for the forums.

3-4 day weekend trip from London

Terry

100+ Posts
Hi all! (It feels so good to be back and planning a future trip). My son, DIL, and baby grandson are now living in London (Bayswater neighborhood), transferred from NYC. We are in the beginning stages of planning a future visit to UK in early June. Their time off from work is limited, so we’re thinking of a 3-4 day weekend getaway from London, preferably an hour’s trip away.

The Cotswolds came to mind first, but we’re open to suggestions. They do not own a car, so I guess we’re looking at train/bus.

We enjoy easy hiking (will have 1year old in tow), or just nice walks, would not be abject to being near water, a little culture/history, nice places to eat/shop/stroll.

Thanks in advance for any help.
 
The upside, is Bayswater is close to Paddington, so plenty of good places in reach of faster trains. Indeed I'll throw in Bath as somewhere beyond the hour, indeed it's double that on the train. Yet the train can be an adventure, with fine scenery, and Bath has plenty of culture / history, the modern thermal baths might appeal, and the shopping is very good indeed. Do wear good shoes though, as those cobbled streets can be surprisingly draining.

If seeking just a day trip as well for another time, then Windsor / Eton fits the remit in a much more manageable size. A single day can be plenty.
 
So as the dates get closer, we are starting to solidify some plans. Our air tickets are bought! We will be arriving in London in mid-June and mid-week. We'll stay in London with my son for a few days before we all get away together for the weekend. It turns out that we will have a car rental, as the kids (son/DIL/1 yr old grandson) will be bringing a few items that would be too cumbersome for a train.

I think we will go to Oxford. This will turn out to be a 2-day weekend getaway for them, so not a far drive after a hectic work week. Gifford Circus will be in town, and I think that is something we would all enjoy. Nice walking, shops, food, a little history. This should be the perfect getaway.

Son and family will return to London by train at the end of the weekend, and my husband and I will have the car rental for the following week (we can store some of the more cumbersome items the kids are bringing in our trunk til we return to London at the end of our jaunt).

So, where to go? We could explore the Cotswolds some more (we spent a week in Chipping C about 4-5 years ago and loved it). The Lake District or someplace north is also beckoning, and very much on my radar screen. We would like to stay in a nice town or village, preferably with some eating options/shopping. Prefer self-catering/vacation rental. Interested in easy hiking, but nothing overly athletic, and history/ruins/stones. We love to take beautiful nature walks.

Thanks in advance for any advice or experiences you can share.
 

How to Find Information

Search using the search button in the upper right. Search all forums or current forum by keyword or member. Advanced search gives you more options.

Filter forum threads using the filter pulldown above the threads. Filter by prefix, member, date. Or click on a thread title prefix to see all threads with that prefix.

Sponsors

Booking.com Hotels in Europe
AutoEurope.com Car Rentals

Recommended Guides, Apps and Books

52 Things to See and Do in Basilicata by Valerie Fortney
Italian Food & Life Rules by Ann Reavis
Italian Food Decoder App by Dana Facaros, Michael Pauls
French Food Decoder App by Dana Facaros, Michael Pauls
She Left No Note, Lake Iseo Italy Mystery 1 by J L Crellina

Share this page

Back
Top