insidethefall

We have several days in London and want to take in most of the sites. We are going on a seven day england/wales/scotland tour and will see such sites as Bath, Stratford-upon-avon, snowdonia, Avebury, York and Edinburgh. But we would also like to take a day to just chill outside of london on our own time, just for a day or possibly overnight but probably to a site we haven't visited yet on the tour.

I'm thinking Canterbury, Salisbury or maybe even cambridge but have never been to those places. I'm looking for towns with alot of Medieval/old world sites (castles, abbeys, medieval churches, ruins - or maybe just somewhere with good friendly english pubs) with easy access to/from London. btw I wont have a car.

Also I have a question about the Globe Theater performances in London - Do these performances sell out? I really would like the cheap standing section but I'm wondering if I need to book in advance (if so, how far?) Thanks to all who reply

-bill

ron

Canterbury and Salisbury are good choices. I like St. Alban's. An abbey converted to a cathedral, some Roman ruins, a neat Roman museum, some great old pubs. Also Norwich, a bit farther away. A beautiful cathedral, a number of medieval churches, many converted to other uses, a couple of interesting local museums.

kenderina

No, the standing tickets for the Globe don't sell out so easily I don't think you will have any problem.
If you want to be sitting down, then it's better to book in advance.

Birdie

I have to disagree about the Globe. We were at St. Paul's the morning of our planned visit to the Globe. Luckily I decided to cross the bridge and buy our tickets that morning because the performance did sell out and we would have been out of luck if we had waited until right before the show.
Some standing hints: dress very comfortably. The stone floor is hard and it is helpful to have good shoes. If you don't get there early enough to be right at the stage in the front, you may be able to get a spot at the stage on the side. You get a different viewpoint of the performance but it can be more comfortable to lean on the stage than standing out in the middle of the theatre.

chimani

Hi there - you say you have several days in London and want to take day trips to x and y.

How much time, if any, do you plan on spending in London itself?

kenderina

Birdie, I didn't mean to say "to wait until before the show", I didn't explain myself well. I just wanted to say that you don't need to buy them in advance online, the OP can buy them when he/she gets to London because they keep an amount of standing tickets to sell at the theatre.

insidethefall

<<Hi there - you say you have several days in London and want to take day trips to x and y.

How much time, if any, do you plan on spending in London itself?>>

We will have enough time in London, probably seven full days

dropeverything

Hi Bill, you may want to try English Country Walks.
http://www.englishcountrywalks.com

These are relaxed walks in the countryside around London, with castle visits and country pubs en route.

janisj

&quot;<i>We will have enough time in London, probably seven full days</i>&quot;

7 days is not very long for London. You can get a brief intro in a week but don't think you can &quot;do&quot; London in 7 days. If you want a day trip out of the city, that's fine. But the rest of your trip is going to be <u>VERY</u> hectic - why not slow down and smell the roses for a bit?

But since your tour covers <b>3 countries in 7 days</b> maybe rushing about from here to there to there is how you like to travel and aren't much into &quot;rose smelling&quot;...

janisj

oh - meant to add about the Globe. Definitely get tickets - if you want to sit, book ahead. For standing you can wait until you are in London. But do realize that groundlings have to stand during the entire preformance. You can mill about and sit down during the intervals, but during the play you must stand - and except for the back of the area there is nothing to lean against.

chimani

Hello again i-t-f,

Seven days for London sounds good. I guess I was concerned that you might only have 3 (or 4) and then to spend one of those elsewhere would be a shame.

Salisbury Cathedral is fantastic. I haven't been to Canterbury or Cambridge for years - but I guess the historic buildings are still there.

For a really easy day trip you might consider St Albans (haven't been there for years either!!) but there is an abbey and a market place - and maybe even a market. I guess if you google St Albans you might get info on when the market days are.

I am seriously tempted to suggest a bit of an adventure that would allow you to see all sorts of stuff. Why not?

You won't have a car - OK. I read that as meaning you won't have a car to leave London in (very sane!!).

But you could always take the train to Salisbury and hire a car there. Dorset is a beautiful county and just driving through some of the lanes and checking out the small villages is wonderful way to spend a day.

Some great old pubs; old bridges; and one my most favourite small old churches in the whole country. In a place called Tarrant Crawford.

There are also grand houses with lovely gardens (depends on the time of year of course).

So much to see in quite a small area.

Just a thought.

insidethefall

&lt;7 days is not very long for London. You can get a brief intro in a week but don't think you can &quot;do&quot; London in 7 days.&gt;

I didnt mention it, but I did a semester (4 months) in London in 2004, but missed out on alot of touristy stuff. Seven days is certainly not enough time in London. But if I can remember correctly, I really wanted to escape the city - there's nothing like taking a trainride through the english countryside, exploring a small town and frolicing through castle ruins - especially at your own pace. It really opens up the imagination the way London cannot.

I'm also bringing my best friend who has never been to London or England. I want him to share some of the same experiences that I've had.

thanks again for all of the recommendations

-bill

MP07950

I'd recommend Salisbury over Canterbury, but you might want to also consider Brighton, for a change of pace/scenery (although it doesn't fit your criteria of old world sites).

janisj

one day trip is fine - any of the places mentioned so far would do, especially Salisbury or Brighton. But you are already scheduled for the same sort of cities on your tour (Bath, Stratford, etc). So why not a day in the country instead?

You could take the train to Moreton in Marsh in the Cotswolds and then enjoy the village and walking/local buses to nearby villages. Or take the train to Royal Tunbridge Wells and then a local bus to Scotney Castle. Or a train to Hever and a mile walk to Hever Castle . Or a train to Tunbridge Wells and bus to Chartwell. All sorts of great possibilities.

cobbie

Great suggestions - thanks - saving for my next visit.