ENGLAND · UNITED KINGDOM
Ancient stones, green hills, and grand old cities.
London landmarks, Roman Bath, Cotswold villages and the Lake District fells. The day trips, tours and walks worth taking, the length of the country.
Only in England
Three things you can only do here.
Plenty of countries have grand cities, old churches and good museums. They do not have these. A 5,000-year-old stone circle, the actual Crown Jewels, and the city that gave the world the Beatles. Build the rest of the trip around them.
On Salisbury Plain
Stonehenge
Five thousand years old, older than the pyramids, and nobody is quite sure how they raised it. Forty tonne stones hauled across the country and stood on end on an empty plain, then left for us to puzzle over. Circle it from the path, or book the early slot and walk in among the stones before the gates open.
- 1 Stonehenge Inner Circle Private Tour from London with Bath Visit
- 2 Stonehenge and Windsor from London
- 3 Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Oxford Day Guided Tour from London
At the Tower of London
The Crown Jewels
Not replicas. The working regalia of a thousand-year monarchy, still worn at coronations, kept behind armoured glass in a fortress on the Thames. The same walls have held queens and traitors for nine centuries, the Beefeaters still lock up by hand every night, and the ravens have the run of the green.
- 1 London Sightseeing Tour: Guard Change with Tower of London Option
- 2 Tower of London: Crown Jewels & Beefeater Opening Ceremony
- 3 Skip the Line Tower of London & Westminster Tour and River Cruise
On the Mersey
Where the Beatles began
Penny Lane, Strawberry Field, the Cavern Club where they played for the price of a lunch before the world knew the names. Four lads from Liverpool changed music for good, and the city they grew up in is still here, still proud of it, and glad to walk you round.
- 1 Beatles Magical Mystery Tour
- 2 Liverpool: “Blue Route” – City & Beatles Tour
- 3 Liverpool City Sights Hop On Hop Off City Tour – 24hr Ticket
The English countryside
An hour out, the country goes quiet.
Leave any city and England turns green fast. Dry-stone walls and sheep fields in the Cotswolds, high fells and ribbon lakes up north, thatched pubs at the end of single-track lanes. This is the England people picture before they arrive, and it is closer than they think.
Into the countryside →Start here
The one everyone books first.
Whatever else you plan in England, this is where most first-timers begin. The day out the whole trip tends to grow around.
The classics
England's Most Popular Tours
London landmarks, Roman Bath, Stonehenge, the Beatles' Liverpool. The days out travellers book before they have even landed.
By place
Pick a place to begin.
London for the landmarks. Bath for the Roman baths and Georgian crescents. The Cotswolds for the villages. Oxford and Cambridge for the colleges. Liverpool for the Beatles. Stonehenge for the stones.
By tour type
Or pick the kind of day out.
A walking tour to learn the streets. A cruise past the landmarks on the river. A ghost walk after dark, afternoon tea, a film set, or a slow afternoon in the museums. However you like to spend a day.
Day trips from London
Which day trip from London?
Most of England's greatest hits are a morning's train or coach from the capital. The hard part is choosing just one. Pick by how far you want to go, and how long you have got.
Harry Potter
Walk onto the actual film set.
The films were made here, just outside London, and the studio where they built Diagon Alley and the Great Hall is open to walk through. Add the locations scattered across the city, Platform 9¾ at King's Cross, the Millennium Bridge, Leadenhall Market, and you can spend days inside the world they filmed.
- 1 Original Harry Potter Locations Tour – Guided Tour of London
- 2 Harry Potter Warner Bros. Studio Tour with Transport from London
- 3 London The Best of Harry Potter Guided Tour (Free for Kids)
After dark
London after dark.
Gaslit alleys, plague pits and the Ripper's Whitechapel, walked after sunset with a guide who knows the stories. The three we would book for a properly creepy night out.
On the river
Seen from the Thames.
Half of London's landmarks line the river, and the easiest way past all of them is by boat. Sightseeing cruises, speedboats under Tower Bridge, dinner as the lights come on. Our three favourite ways onto the water.
Pubs, tea and the table
The English table.
Afternoon tea done properly, a Sunday roast in a centuries-old pub, a tasting walk through Borough Market. England eats better than it lets on, and these are the three we would send a first-timer to.
Plan it
Three days to start with.
Never been? A long weekend that gets you the capital, one classic day trip and a taste of the countryside, without a wasted morning.
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