London and Beyond Now that we have briefly talked about London and the day trips you should take from the capital, we should explore the possibilities of touring the English Counties which are just beyond the city limits before you set off on your London day trips adventure. The counties are territorial divisions of the UK 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 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.  Beyond the capital, the English counties have become bedrocks of the history in places like Bristol, Bath, Oxford, Cambridge, Canterbury, Salisbury and Stonehenge in Wiltshire, which embrace the culture and 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. Of course we must include the picturesque county of Gloucestershire, home of some of the English village scenes like the Cotswolds and Shakespeare country, to beautiful scenery in the New Forest with its natural splendour which includes the city of winchester in Hampshire. If you have an interest in medieval English Town Walks, each village and town has their own unique style with the wildlife and architecture which will help make your London Day Trips vacation even more memorable.  And speaking of vacations and day trips from the capital, here are just some of my favourite british counties that I recommend you explore in the next few pages. These include: Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Sussex, Kent, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Dorset, Avon, Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall. 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 If you desire to go beyond London, 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. To leave Beyond London and return to The City
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