Travel to London: Don’t Miss and Dismiss Day Trips
ByDon’t Miss & Dismiss is an occasional series of travel guide posts about the best (Don’t Miss) and worst (Dismiss) tourist sites in cities all over the world.
London day trips is the topic for this installment of Don’t Miss and Dismiss. There are numerous sites huddled around the British capital and below is simply a sampling of a few I’ve visited.
Don’t Miss: Hampton Court Palace
So close to central London it’s a bit of a stretch to call it a day trip, but you could easily spend an entire day at King Henry VIII’s enormous palace. Right on the Thames, the palace is one of my favorites. I especially like the Tudor kitchens and Henry’s apartments.
Dismiss: Leeds Castle
About one hour southeast of London, Leeds Castle has an incredibly beautiful exterior and mostly disappointing interior. Built on two islands in the Len River, the castle’s setting makes for great photos, but the renovated interior is dull and uninspiring. Leeds is 11th century on the outside, 1930’s on the inside.
Don’t Miss: Warwick Castle
If you travel to only one medieval castle outside London, make it Warwick. It’s a little hokey, with Madame Tussauds figures manning the dungeon, but the ancient fortifications and elaborate halls and staterooms help fight off the commercialism. About 2.5 hours from London, day tripping to Warwick makes for a long day, but it’s worth every minute.
Dismiss: Stonehenge
It’s hard for me to call it a dismiss, because I always wanted to see Stonehenge, but it’s really just a grouping of big rocks in the middle of a field. An England icon, I was relieved to see the stones had been restored upright after Clark W. Griswald knocked them over during his family’s European vacation. As I look at my photos, I might have to rethink this dismiss.
Don’t Miss: Blenheim Palace
Just north of the university town of Oxford, a worthy travel trip in its own right, Blenheim Palace is the home of the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough and on UNESCO’s World Heritage list. Built between 1705 and 1722, the stunning palace is the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill.
Now I must confess that I missed to see them all! *ashamed* Though I’ve only been to London once and this gives me even more reasons to go there again, right? *giggles*
Great post, they look like very interesting sightseeing object, so thx for the tip!
LifeCruiser:
Glad you found the list helpful.
Charlie