I adore Glasgow, I tagged along twice when my husband had conferences there. As an architect I loved going to see all the Mackintosh buildings. I like it better than Edinburgh, but I know I’m in the minority.
I’ve rarely been disappointed by anything I’ve gone to see anywhere in England- all the suggestions are fine, it really depends on what you like. I had a wonderful daytrip once to see Oxford and Blenheim (the palace is fine, but the gardens designed by Capability Brown are amazing). Hampton Court is an easy day trip from London. This fall we spent a lovely day in Cambridge. If you are a fan of Austen or Georgette Heyer go to Bath. If you love Wordsworth’s Tintern Abbey go see it. If you liked Beatrice Potter and read the Swallows and Amazons go to Lake Windemere. If you read Rosemary Sutcliffe go see a piece of Hadrian’s Wall.
I’d say Scotland is worth a trip of its own. (Have been twice each time for two weeks and I’m still not done!)
Still on my bucket list is the south coast - I’d like to go to Cornwall and see Poldark country.
York and Bath are both lovely–York would be my pick if I had to choose between the two. We always regret not staying an extra day each time we go there and it was my kids’ favorite place we went to last summer.
My favorite place is the Lake District–we usually spend a week there each summer and it never gets old. It’s a bit trickier without a car but once you get there by train there are buses that are easy to navigate if you want to go between the villages. Windermere and Bowness are the easiest to reach without a car but the further north you go the better the views and hikes get. Keswick and Grasmere are where we tend to gravitate when we go.
Cambridge is a great day trip from London but also has some cute towns nearby that make quick day trips from Cambridge if you decided to stop over for a night or two (Ely and Bury St Edmunds are my two favorites–Ely is a really quick train ride from Cambridge and has a gorgeous cathedral where a lot of movies and tv shows have been filmed, plus a gorgeous waterfront area by the river with cute tea rooms and pubs).
I prefer Cambridge but Oxford would be convenient if you also wanted to hit up Stratford-upon-Avon and Warwick.
I will warn you that the rail system has been a bit of a mess for the past few years…lots of cancellations due to repairs, strikes, and unions not allowing overtime. We go frequently to visit family and have experienced major disruption the last three times we have gone. You can check in advance on the national rail site on the status and disruptions page to see what is announced in advance, but pay close attention if there is any mention of trains running but no overtime allowed in those announcements…if it’s at the end of a week, that means cancellations are highly likely. Try to plan your train journeys on a weekday rather than a weekend if you can as it was really the weekend journeys that we found to be the most disruptive. Direct routes will be a safer bet for longer distances, and don’t wait for the last train if you are doing day trips.
Our D lives in London so we visit pretty frequently. We mainly use public transportation or taxis to get around; definitely can get by without a car.
Hampton Court, Wimbledon, Churchill’s War Room, Kensington Palace, Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral, the British Museum, the Harry Potter Tour of Warner Bros Studio, Royal Observatory in Greenwich, etc. are all places we enjoyed. My D volunteers as a guide at Kenwood House some weekends; it’s an historic house with great paintings.
We’ve done day trips using the train to go to Cambridge and Bath. We took a bus tour of the Cotswolds and Blenheim Palace using a tour company.
Edinburgh is another one of my favorites places to visit so I would recommend if not this trip then on another.
We started a bus tour in Glasgow, and liked the city much more than we thought we would. Kelvingrove Park and museum, George Square, cathedral area, the giant murals on buildings.
On another visit we went to the British Museum, our head exploded. All these artifacts (stolen from other cultures I might add) that I had been seeing in textbooks my whole life right there in front of me. Rosetta Stone was like the Mona Lisa–couldn’t get close to it. As big "Detectorists’ fans, our favorite gallery was Saxon England—all these treasures discovered by just regular folk and SOLD to the museum (not stolen!)–Sutton Hoo objects were really cool.
A real treat was afternoon tea at Westminster Abbey—not super expensive, and we were in the celerium(sp?), a room where the monks stored foodstuffs when it was a monastery–vaulted ceilings, etc.
Representation of St Mungo, patron saint of Glasgow—one of his miracles was reviving a dead bird that had been killed by a gang of kids–so images of him often show a bird–note the halo. Near Glasgow Cathedral, where his remains are interred. (Harry Potter fans may recall that the hospital was called St. Mungo’s)
We have been to London several times. We have done a bunch of day trips by train including - Oxford, Cambridge, Stratford, Rochester, Greenwich, Leeds, Windsor, etc. They were all wonderful and different.
Even though you are not interested in nightlife - you must see a West End show with the family. They are wonderful and inexpensive (compared to Broadway).
I also suggest the Imperial War Museum. It is a wonderful museum that is often overlooked by tourists (not centrally located)
Yes, I also recommend a West End show. And perhaps check to see what’s scheduled at The Royal Albert Hall…if you do, watch The Man Who Knew Too Much beforehand. It added to our enjoyment but YMMV.
Depending on your interests you can also book Parliament tours.
It’s actually pretty easy. Trains are great! And there are buses for more out of the way places.
We did a trip to London and Scotland about 7 years ago for three weeks. We did end up renting a car once we left Edinburgh but didn’t need one before that. We went to Orkney and Skye so pretty out of the way places and I would recommend a car for that. But it’s pretty easy to take a train to Northumberland (we went to Alnwick (loved Barter Books and Alnwick Castle).
Our friends took the train to Pitlochry and loved it.
And you can take a train to Bath and get a bus to Stonehenge. There are some nice looking tours there. We didn’t end up doing that though. I love the train system in the UK.
Re the hotels you will need two rooms if you are more than two people. Most hotels just have one double or queen bed. When we traveled we could get family rooms because our kids were 12 & 15 but 16 yrs and older need their own room. We did a mix of flats/AirBnB type places and hotels. We did a lot of Premier Inns (sort of Hampton inn level chain). Had a great flat in Edinburgh rather than a hotel.
English person here. Read and take note of this page regarding train travel in Britain, especially about the different types of tickets, first class upgrades, not booking too far ahead, and seat reservations… this page is accurate re the current train booking situation.
The poster above who mentioned strikes and engineering works is correct. Make sure you check in advance (site above tells you where to look)
And think about getting a railcard - non UK nationals can buy them and download onto a phone!
Thanks everyone for their feedback. We got some good ideas, a lot more than anticipated so we’ll stay in England for the entire 10 days and do some day trips.
We’re taking JetBlue and flying into Gatwick. Any feedback on the airport/busyness etc?
More precisely there are two trains, the expensive Gatwick Express that tourists take to Victoria and the regular cheaper train that knowledgeable people take to London Bridge, City Thameslink or Kings Cross. Take the latter unless your hotel is within walking distance of Victoria.
In terms of sights, go to Greenwich and the Observatory to see the Harrison Watch featured in Dava Sobel’s Longitude.
Read the book and if you really want to get into British culture, try to watch the famous Only Fools and Horses episode, Time on Our Hands (just a few excerpts):
And if you are going to visit Cambridge, the equivalent classic British TV series is Porterhouse Blue, also featuring David Jason:
