beth4889

My boyfriend and I are spending 5 days in London in September, but we would really like to spend 1 night in a bed & breakfast in another smaller town to see other parts of the country and some countryside. We would like it to be within 2 hours of London. We're currently considering York or Bath. We are in our mid-20s. Any recommendations? What areas outside of London have loved and why?

Gulliver_UK

Bath is a good safe bet, and it is very easy to get to by train from London Paddington. Bath is a small city rather than a town, but there are plenty of sights, plenty of shops, and plenty of accommodation. It is a bit of a tourist hotspot however.

Other options may be places in the Thames Valley closer to London, such as: Old Windsor (again a tourist hotspot), Bray (known for gastronomy), or Henley-on-Thames (known for the Regatta). All of the above are also possible as day-trips.

If the countryside aspect is important to you (i.e. you wish to go walking / hiking) then visiting somewhere such as Lewes, East Sussex (nestled in the South Downs and on the South Downs Way) might also work for you. Lewes has a very compact historic center and is surrounded by some lovely countryside. There are also plenty of B&Bs.

In my opinion it would not really be worth traveling up to York for just one night.

Windsor: http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Tourism...Vacations.html

Bray: http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Tourism...Vacations.html

Henley: http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Tourism...Vacations.html

Lewes: http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Tourism...Vacations.html

South Downs Way: http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/south-downs-way

If you are able to provide more parameters then I am sure we can come up with some further suggestions.

To research train times you would be advised to use: http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/servic...journey/search.

origin

http://www.newforest-online.co.uk/lymington.asp

http://www.newforest-online.co.uk/bucklers-hard.asp

Whilst Lymington is just over 2 hours the town is lovely is always a favourite of many.

Clint Bint

You might consider Salisbury in Wiltshire.
Outstandingly beautiful cathedral,easy rail link from London Waterloo and you would have time for a visit to Stonehenge.
I would recommend this B&B
www.theoldrectorybedandbreakfast-salisbury.co.uk
This for your tour of Stonehenge
www.stonehenge-tours.com
This for a drink in an atmospheric pub
http://www.restaurant-salisbury.com/...ch%20index.htm

manymany

Trains do go north out of London too, you know guys! And in two hours you can get quite far.

York would be a very good choice, and so would Lincoln http://www.visitlincoln.com, a very seldom visited part of the UK and very rural.

Alternatively, and a 2.5hr train journey with a change in Derby, is Matlock on the edge of the Peak District http://www.visitpeakdistrict.com. I love this area and its full of B&Bs and small villages, towns and stunning scenery.

Scots_Al

York's only 2 hours by train from London King's Cross. If you're happy with that, it's a lovely place to go.

flatlander

Winchester or Cambridge are also options.
Bath is a very safe bet, however. Nice train journey there, good B&Bs, easy to walk around, old baths to view and new baths to use, very pretty.

Scots_Al

Of course, you could fly to EDI or GLA...

Swanhunter

The Cotwolds are very pretty but need a car. City wise York, Bath, Cambridge, Brighton and Canterbury are all interesting for different reasons.

bibbju

I'd second Canterbury. Easy to get to via train and all walkable. And has some decent pubs etc if you want nightlife. You could also consider staying in Whitstable (seaside town that is very popular with Londoners at weekends) which is only 15-20 mins on the bus from Canterbury (and also on a direct train line to London) so you could easily combine the two.

I went to university in this area so know it well.

A great place to stay in Whitstable is:
http://www.whitstablefishermanshuts.com/

Or in Canterbury:
https://www.canterburycathedrallodge...in-canterbury/

Julian

Oxford. Really easy to get to from London, not as far as Cambridge.

flatlander

Oxford is somewhat longer travel time by road or rail, as it happens. Ease of travel is comparable.

You may be neglecting that Cambridge is 50 minutes by fast train from Kings Cross rather than the scenic route via Liverpool Street.

Julian

By road, they're actually about the same, if you start in central London.

gnarly

Or not on a day like today when a herd of cows decided to commit burgercide on the railway line.

zebrametalevel

+1 for Oxford; there are some nice B&Bs on the Abingdon Road, but you could as easily treat yourself to the Old Parsonage or similar.