Where would you recommend for a one night trip from London?

Posted by kiwiwl@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 64 comments

Hi everyone! I'm travelling overseas from Canada next month and really looking forward to it. I have family in Ireland (Northern and Republic) and Scotland so I've visited there, but I've never had the opportunity to visit England. The group I'm with is spending 2 days in London, 3 days in Cambridge, and then I'm staying in the country for another 10 days. I have a bit of family on the outskirts of London so I'll mainly be doing more exploring there, but I'd like to take the train/bus around and maybe stay a night somewhere else. I was looking a bit at York because I learned about its medieval theatre history in university, but I'd love suggestions for anywhere else I might enjoy!

Things I enjoy: exploring unique stores, wandering around and appreciating architecture (we don't have centuries old towns in Canada the way you do!), taking my time to read signs about the history of an area.

Let me know if you have any suggestions - I appreciate your time!

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leighb3ta@reddit

York is closer to Scotland than it is to London. If you only have 2 days in London you will spent the entire time travelling to York & back again.

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TheGeordieGal@reddit

I and many others travel to London for day trips - and I’m an hour north of York. It’s really not a bad journey. Get an early train there and a late train back and you have the whole day to explore.

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MixGroundbreaking622@reddit

It's only 1hr 50 to get to York from London. Travel in the morning, spend all afternoon in York then get to the hotel. Spend all day in York then travel back in the evening. Easy.

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Breakwaterbot@reddit

Sounds awful and rushed. Let's face it, it's also not 1hr 50 and you need at least 2 full days in York.

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MixGroundbreaking622@reddit

I've done York in a day before now. Arrived around 11am, left at around 6pm. Saw everything I wanted to see.

Minster, castle museum, shambles, Jorvik.

This guy would essentially have a day and a half to play with. More than enough time for York, it's not that big.

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Breakwaterbot@reddit

I guess there's a difference between seeing something and experiencing something. It's great you got to see the things you wanted to but there's also the National Railway Museum there which is a day out of itself.

York also has some of the best pubs in the country (Pivni, Trembling Madness, Valhalla and Market Cat to name a few), so you'd want to spend a few hours visiting to truly experience the culture.

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Realistic-River-1941@reddit

By train York is slightly closer to London than it is to Edinburgh; the half way point is marked. It's 2 h by train.

Salty-Selection-4351@reddit

What you should be able to detect from the comments, is that most people from the south of England, have never been to York. This is because they think it;s a different country. It practically is. You should go, partly for this reason. All the other suggeststions in the south are just older looking cities than London, that are not as impressive as York. This is with the exception of Brighton which is the only place that some Londoners have ventured to, but is just a seaside town that does not fit any of your citeria.

If you only go to York for one day, you might wonder why you sent 10 days on the outskirts of London. There are other places near York like Whitby and Knaresborough.

MoghediensWeb@reddit

Yeah I’m surprised at people suggesting Canterbury over York. York isn’t just old, it is PACKED with stuff to do. Railway museum, Jorvik (I have such nostalgia for Jorvik), Castle Museum, the walls, the shambles, Yorkshire pudding wraps, the Chocolate story, a great market (with, unironically, a brilliant flat cap stall), so many bars.

And it’s just a really different culture from the South… and yeah so many brilliant places that you can get to from York.

It’s the perfect distance for an overnight trip from London.

fireflypoet@reddit

Day trip to Stonehenge.

Oghamstoner@reddit

Canterbury might be worth a visit, close to London, very easily accessible and has loads of medieval architecture. It’s also the site of the infamous murder of ‘turbulent priest’ Thomas Beckett in 1170.

You’ll be going during the cricket season too.

droneupuk@reddit

I second this, the whole city is a World Heritage Site and direct high speed train from St Pancras in about 50 min

rhrjruk@reddit

Yup, I lived in Canterbury for 8 years and the DFLs (“down from London”) day trippers always loved it. In addition to the quaint city & majestic cathedral, you’re very near Dover, Sandwich, and castles galore (Leeds, Walter, Dover).

(As a dual US/UK citizen who has lived half my life in each, I will never understand the weird hold Bath has on American tourists … to me it’s a dull little provincial town, but to each his own.)

It's the Jane Austen thing!

Status-Mousse5700@reddit

Luton Only 25 minutes on the train A remarkable Town…

AudioLlama@reddit

If you've only got a day to play with, spend it in London. You could spend weeks in London and still have things to do.

kiwiwl@reddit (OP)

I have 12 days total in London - 2 as part of a group (with free time) and 10 on my own. I thought I'd spend a day somewhere else :)

petrastales@reddit

Bath!

Ah your post says 2 unless I'm missing something. Obviously there are lots of options! Obvious ones that come to mind would be Bath and York. They both have incredible history and are well worth visiting. If you're going to York you might as well take another night out and go to Edinburgh too though ;)

It's easy to get to Brighton but if you're looking for something a bit more historic go for somewhere fairly nearby like St Alban's.

Stevebwrw@reddit

I was going to suggest St Alan's too.

*St Alban's

Mikeytee1000@reddit

Brighton, shut up will you FFS? 😂😂😂

EUskeptik@reddit

York and Bath are historic cities with a wealth of things to see and do.

Brighton is an easy day trip, trains from London Victoria take just over an hour. The man attractions are the two shopping areas - The Lanes and North Laine - with some truly fascinating independent shops and great places to eat. There’s also Brighton Pier and the Promenade fronted by a shingle beach.

My personal recommendation would be Liverpool, a port city with strong links to North America and a thriving cultural scene. It was recently voted the Uzk’s friendliest city, a title that is more than justified by the sheer warmth of the people.

You need to research all of these places to work out what suits you nest. Good luck!!

London to Liverpool for a one day trip from London? Someone is taking the mick

TSC-99@reddit

Liverpool is great. It’s also not long on the train really.

Your suggestions are so much better than mine.

Well, they might be if you had any.

Mine come with a no-quibble 100% refund. If people are dissatisfied with them, I promise to refund them in full. Can’t say fairer than that! 😂

pic_strum@reddit

The person not offering any ideas does not make your suggestion of a day-trip to Liverpool any less ridiculous.

York and Liverpool

Brighton. Everywhere else is too far.

FuzzyWillson@reddit

Cambridge. Take the train from kings cross and you are there in an hour.

QuintusCicerorocked@reddit

You might like Hampton Court Palace. It’s out of London a bit, but it’s worth it, if only for the architecture. Cardinal Wolsey built it, only for Henry VIII to like it so much that he took it over. Later on, William and Mary (I think?) wanted a more modern look, so they tore down some of the Tudor building and put up a baroque style building, but they didn’t finish, the result being that you walk from the corridor Katherine Howard ran down to beg Henry for her life straight into the 1700s.

thewearisomeMachine@reddit

You might like Hampton Court Palace. It’s out of London a bit

It’s literally in London

I’d spend the extra night in London it’s an incredible place and you won’t have time to scratch the surface so why waste time travelling around to go somewhere not as good?

“Not as good” is subjective. It’s not a good example of the rest of the UK for sure and visiting somewhere else is a great idea.

I reckon York is the right place for you. It's got an abundance of small shops that are fun to wander around.

Other options as people have pointed out would be bath. But you've also got Norwich which may fit your criteria as well. Norwich is less of a tourist hotspot than the other two (not that bath and York are tourist traps), but still really nice with a ton of smaller shops.

Norwich is great. I love the understated city motto which greets you on road signs as you approach:

Norwich - A Fine City

DucksBac@reddit

Yeah the train to York is pretty quick. Nice, too if you snag an upgrade!

Admirable_Holiday653@reddit

So York is lovely and well worth a visit. You could also go to Brighton from London, which is great for an overnight stay too.

PengJiLiuAn@reddit

Bath is historic and beautiful and not too far from London. Have a wonderful trip!

ohwhatisfreeasaname@reddit

The Jack The Ripper walking tour in London is pretty interesting if you like the macabre, the guides are pretty knowledgeable and it's Victorian history too.

vicarofsorrows@reddit

Stoke’s fun… has to be on a Tuesday evening, though!

YourLittleRuth@reddit

It would be worth making your day trip into a two-day trip. Bath, York, Canterbury and Norwich would all have plenty to offer. (You could go to Norwich from Cambridge, the trains are handy.). Find a B&B for overnight.

MerlinOfRed@reddit

Paris or Amsterdam.

OleaC@reddit

Bath, and/or Cardiff.

Constant_Oil_3775@reddit

What about Rye it’s easy to get to and get around on foot!

massie_le@reddit

Oxford or Salisbury. Both are stunning.

Comrade_pirx@reddit

I agree with Salisbury, historic town centre and I know the Russian spy jokes but the cathedral is superb and it has a copy of the magna carta which is pretty cool. There's also buses out yo stone henge from here.

If they are going to Cambridge anyway, Oxford might be a bit samey (though without a top university, obvs).

Some-Air1274@reddit

If you want to goto NI it’s easy. Just goto Gatwick and fly to Belfast.

coffeewalnut08@reddit

York is lovely and easy to reach. Their museums are great, architecture is great, food is great.

You can't got wrong with York.

The seaside is also worth a look; Brighton is the really obvious choice, either overnight or as a day trip from London.

bunnymama7@reddit

Paris

DelMonte20@reddit

If you want somewhere a little less obvious, less busy, but a lovely day out, consider Battle. Very easy train from London. Short walk to Battle Abbey (battle of 1066), some nice quaint shops, restaurants, bars, and a small museum.

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/1066-battle-of-hastings-abbey-and-battlefield/

Map:- https://maps.app.goo.gl/2arfDx85cGfvnQo97

idntpostistalk@reddit

Purbecks (Dorset, south coast of Uk) you can go to so many places close to each other like durdle door, lulworth cove, Corfe castle, swanage, Wareham. Etc.

Dennyisthepisslord@reddit

In these spare 10 days are you going to do London/Oxford/Windsor in them? If so York is a good shout

nonsequitur__@reddit

I say go to York if you’re already thinking about it.

Perhaps Oxford.

As an aside, I recommend Bletchley Park museum if it’s your kinda thing.

idontlikepeas_@reddit

Canterbury

1-Bloke@reddit

Sounds like York should be top. You'll need an overnight stay for that. There are lots of not quite central London amazing things to see and do. Kew Gardens, Windsor Castle, Hampton Court Palace, it's a long list. Then further a field are more soak up a town type things which are easy to get from / to, for instance Brighton, St Albans, Cambridge, Oxford. Then for the dedicated there are some excellent museums, stately homes that might get you interested, for instance Bletchley Park (code breaking) , Blenheim Palace (stately home) Duxford (air museum) even Bovington (tanks) for the dedicated. Hope that gives you some ideas!

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