Day trips from London - Archive Articles

Day trips from London – Peterborough

It's not a city that springs to mind when planning a day trip, and in most cases, rightly so, but it does have some delights to be discovered, some ancient, some modern.

Tickets Alert: Chance to walk along a railway track

Normally, walking along a railway track that carries trains is a very bad idea -- but one day next month, a full 11 miles of railway will be opened up for the public to walk along.

Climbing to the top of Windsor Castle’s Round Tower

For just a few weeks of each year, it's possible to climb to the top of the ancient Round Tower inside Windsor Castle, with views that reach right across London.

Two Windsor churches to visit

Windsor contains a church that despite walking past hundreds of times in my youth, I was never able to go inside -- until today.

Take a tour of Coventry’s medieval architecture

It may seem oxymoronic to associate the words Coventry and Heritage in the same headline, but behind the headlines of post-war concrete, there's quite a lot of the old stuff left.

Coventry’s Transport Museums – The Museum of British Road Transport

The third of Coventry's museums was known as the Museum of Road Transport, which is undeniably is, but was rebranded in 2001 as the Coventry Transport Museum, which it sort of is.

Coventry’s Transport Museums – Midland Air Museum

Should you be next to Coventry Airport, or visiting the Electric Railway Museum, why not take a closer look at the aircraft tails that can be seen peeking over the hedges?

A day trip to – Windsor Castle

When you live near something touristy, it's often something we don't visit, because it's always there. Such was the case when I lived in Windsor, which has a bloody massive tourist trap in the centre of town.

A look around the private Frogmore House Garden

A sealed off mansion house surrounded by opulant gardens and only open a few days a year to the public, this is the Frogmore House and Garden.

Just two weeks left to ride the Bubble railway line

A ride in a cute little bubble car railway train through the rolling fields of English countryside just outside London. What could be better? Well you have just two weeks to do it.

Inside the hidden vaults under the Clifton Suspension Bridge

Experts had long thought the mighty stone foundations of the Clifton Suspension Bridge were as solid as the bedrock they stood upon. The experts were wrong.

The last days of Banbury’s railway signal boxes

In a few weeks time, one of the best of its grade of railway signal boxes will be torn down, but before that, there is a chance to go inside and have a look.

Ian Visits Broughton Castle

Roughly a 2.5 mile walk from Banbury town centre can be found an Elizabethan manor house which has been owned by the same family for around 650 years.

Tickets Alert: Visit a Victorian Gaol

It's outside London, but close enough, and there is a chance to go inside a Victorian era jail, and come out again.

A day in the countryside and a private steam train

Most boys want a model railway, but if you are a very rich boy with a large garden, then why not build a real steam railway of your own. The invite a few thousand people and assorted steam vehicles to churn up your back lawn?

Photos from the tunnels under Reigate

Nearly 1000 years ago, a Norman baron dug a tunnel under his castle to improve his security, and for the next 800 years, the local residents did much the same thing under their back gardens, for their prosperity.

Suggestions for things to do outside London in May

My regular look ahead to events happening next month that would probably be in my events guide, if only they weren’t happening outside the psychological barrier of the M25 motorway.

A long walk to Kent’s private Tudor mansion

Sitting in the middle of the Kent countryside sits a huge Tudor mansion, and for just a few hours, and on a few days, it's open to the public to go inside.

Day trips from London – Rochester Castle & Cathedral

A mere 35 minutes from central London can be found a large, if ruined castle, and next to it a vibrant, if modest sized Cathedral. This is Rochester, and a very historic town.

Suggestions for things to do outside London in April

My regular look ahead to events happening next month that would probably be in my events guide, if only they weren't happening outside the psychological barrier of the M25 motorway.

Annual opening of Frogmore House and Garden

Just outside London sits Windsor Castle, and within its grounds is Frogmore House, which is only open to the public on a few days of each year.

Things to do outside London during January

My regular look ahead to events happening next month that would probably be in my events guide, if only they weren’t happening outside the psychological barrier of the M25 motorway.

Pay a visit to the Museum of Teapots

A small village in the middle of the Kent countryside sports a few pubs, a windswept train station, a canal -- and a most unusual museum.

An unexpected tractor tour around Foulness Island

When visiting an island controlled by the military with very strict instructions to stick to one named road, a tour of the island by tractor is not the sort of thing you should expect.