London short trips and ideas

By the way, as you plan your trip, please bear in mind that the term - "London Day Trips" is a metaphor and could mean one or two days or more.

I'll start by providing text links below to various towns and counties which will give you an overview of the area to help you explore the possibilities of touring these English Counties which are just beyond the city limits.

The counties are territorial divisions of the UK which are used for the purposes of administrative, political and geographical demarcation. These are also known as the geographic counties and are generally used to describe a place located in England, for example; where the Towns and Villages are adjacent to London.

The name county, I found out believe it or not, originates in the area formerly administered by a Count. In Britain the situation is a little bit complicated by the fact that the title Count has been replaced in normal usage by the older Saxon title of Earl. My research shows that an Earl's wife, however, bears the title of Countess.

The 39 English counties of Britain have mostly existed largely unchanged since before 1066. (The Battle of Hastings, remember?) The 13 Welsh counties including Monmouthshire and like the 34 in Scotland, have had the same name for over 400 years. I hope you find this very interesting as I do. While thinking about Scotland, I should mention that Edinburgh is a fantastic city to visit. OK, that’s it for the history lesson, well almost.

A large part of society in Britain focuses on each of the UK counties; i.e. they give their names to clubs and societies, to athletic teams people play for and to the regiments they serve; they are also familiar holiday destinations. Above all else, they are places where people live and originated. They often provide a family link with past generations too.

For example:
All these towns mentioned below are in easy reach from London, especially if you travel by train in the UK. Take a peek and then come back to this page to discover more London short trips: Bristol, Bath, Oxford, Cambridge, Canterbury, Nottingham, Salisbury and Stonehenge in Wiltshire, to name a few, help connect the culture and the geography of Britain.

The counties also provide an instant
easy reference to English town names in different parts of the country which help us locate the English seaside towns.

Dover and other wonderful beach towns like Bournemouth, Poole, Swanage, and Corfe Castle with its incredible history and the World Heritage Site on the Jurassic coast path in Dorset has the most scenic of walks.

Our London Short Trips must of course include the picturesque county of Gloucestershire, home of some of the best English village scenes. These include wonderful areas like the Cotswolds and Shakespeare country, to beautiful scenery in the New Forest with its natural splendour and history of the city of winchester in Hampshire.

Below are some counties to explore on an easy north of London day trip: Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire.

These counties have some of the most picturesque towns and villages as you know, but tucked away in the most unlikely places are the Designer Factory Outlets to peruse with quality products like this one in Bicester.

If you desire to go beyond our London short trips, click the links to the counties just above, and don't forget the western cities like Bristol and Bath in the west country of England. If you would rather stay closer to the capital, a great day out for the whole family would be a visit to Windsor Castle and the picturesque town of Eton.

The historic towns and cities of England offer cultural experiences as well as great shopping with charming boutiques, gastro-pubs with delicious food as you discover and enjoy the tasty English cuisine. You'll enjoy walking and hiking through the picturesque English countryside and parks too.

While on your walking tours, you will also find museums, galleries, theatres and of course you will stumble upon the river Thames that runs right through some of these towns and villages in southern England. You may also find a medieval cosy country inn where you can overnight or experience a 5-star hotel.

Web london-day-trips.com

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