Day trip from London: London to Whitstable

This time last week I was returning from Whitstable, a charming coastal town, east of London. Being a bank holiday, the lovely Emma and I were more than happy to whisk ourselves away to spend the fleeting summer days by the seaside. We were lucky as the weather held up and stayed warm and sunny.

Aside from Margate, I've yet to visit another sandy beach in the UK. But Whitstable was charming. Maybe it was the last of the summer sun, maybe it was just the bank holiday weekend or maybe, Whitstable really is just that warm and welcoming.

Sandy beaches, sexy lifeguards, sun loungers, beach bars with amazing cocktails, ice cream every 100 meters, girls in bikinis and makeup, fit boys in budgie smugglers – you won't find any of this at Whitstable. What you will find is a long pebbly beach (similar to that of Brighton but minus the pier), lots of fresh oysters for sale, rows and rows of colourful beach huts, a pub with the best beach view in the country (I'm guessing!), a charming village high street, lovely sunsets and a chilled local vibe. To be honest, aside from the sandy beach part, Whitstable is my kinda beach.

Aside from the cute beach huts (which I'm now obsessed with and totally want to rent one come next summer), I just loved the vibe of the place - is it weird if I say it was 'homely'? We saw so many friends and families hanging out together in front of their beach huts or having a meal on the beach. It was comfortable, friendly and familiar - that's not the usual vibe I get from a beach so it was a pleasant surprise and made it difficult to leave at the end of the day.

We were there at low tide and boy, was it out...meters and meters away from the shoreline and I'd barely reached the edge of the water. For those with swimming, they could wade even further out and still only be knee deep in water. The water was calm, clearer (and warmer) than I expected - next time I'm taking swimmers!

We spent the day walking along the shore line, snapping photos of the colourful beach huts, exploring a bit of the town itself and of course, grabbed a bite to eat.

If you fancy heading down the coming weekend, here are some handy tips.

Tips for visiting Whitstable

• Try and grab a direct train from London Victoria rail station, it'll take roughly 1.5hrs so bring a book! 
• Whitstable is only half an hour north of Canterbury so you could travel from there too.
• To get to the harbour front from Whitstable station, just follow the signs, or easier still, follow everyone else...
• Whitstable is known for fresh seafood – oysters specifically – we ate at Crab & Winkle but in hindsight, it would have been better to buy freshly shucked oysters and fish and chips and eat them on the beach.
• Be sure to check out the charming Harbour street

• Bring flip-flops! It is a pebbly beach so not the best for walking barefoot! 
• Have an ice cream! You're on a beach, you cant not have an ice cream!
• Stay till sunset, its beautiful

I know not everyone is a fan of beaches, and with us entering Autumn, you might prefer a different day trip...in which case, have a look here...I have 10 other day trip ideas to choose from!

As always, if you have your own tips or experiences you'd like to share, do leave me a comment :)

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Day Trips from London: London to Bodiam Castle

Bodiam Castle

Its been a while since I've added to my Day Trips from London series but over this Easter long weekend, a friend and I finally took a trip to Bodiam Castle. I love that living in the UK I can just go and see a castle, built by a Knight, that existed almost 400 years before Australia was 'discovered' by Captain Cook, complete with moat, just like that.

The original bridge actually was from this grassy patch to the island in the middle.

Bodiam is a 14th century castle that was built during the reign of Richard II. Originally belonging to the Dalyngrigge family, it passed through several hands before it was donated to the National Trust in 1925.

Main entrance - wooden portcullis and family shields above

The exterior of the castle is intact (or has been restored) and as I approached it, it was quite the sight. I can understand why the grounds were landscaped in such a way, it would have made quite the imposing and intimidating impression. It does give the impression that it is bigger than it actually is.

Over the bridge, through the main entrance with the original wooden portcullis (quite rare) and up a side staircase to the battlements and I could see the whole interior of the castle. Only ruins remain, surrounding the green lawn of the courtyard. But with the help of a map, fireplaces and the markings of where the upper floors were, it was easy to glean life when it was a fully functioning castle.

The arched door way leads to the Great Hall

Facing the main entrance from the courtyard

The arches from the Great Hall leading to the pantry, buttery and kitchens

All the little details...

Dont forget to look up - Parts of Bodiam had 3 floors.

Looking out from the Retainers Hall to the courtyard

Possibly my favourite thing about the whole castle was the back entrance. Supposedly used for 'informal' access to friends, services and the like. I like to think of it as an early equivalent to the kitchen door used by friends today instead of the main house door. Except I'm sure that most kitchen doors don't have murder holes as a precaution.

Murder holes

Oh, did I mention its a photogenic castle? It was so easy to take good photos of it from every angle, almost no effort required ;)

Tips for visiting Bodiam Castle

 

How to get to Bodiam Castle

I think that the best way to get to Bodiam Castle from London is to drive. But due to Easter car hire opening hours my friend and I ended up taking a train to Maidstone and hiring a zipcar to drive there which worked well too.

The National Trust site does give various public transport options.

Food & drink

Bodiam Castle has a cafe near the carpark which serves a couple of hot meals, sandwiches, tea, coffee and cake. It has both indoor and outdoor seating. Across the road there is a Shepherd Neame pub Castle Inn which can serve as another option. Otherwise, if youre driving, why not take a picnic and eat there?

Nearby

There is a steam train station nearby Bodiam Castle, if you are looking for a full day out check out the Kent and East Sussex Railway website.
Why not take advantage of the beautiful countryside and take a walk along the public footpaths? I saw a couple of stiles and marked paths so with a bit of googling found this map.

Not a bad way to spend a day away from the hustle and bustle of London don't you think?

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Day Trips from London: London to Cambridge

Cambridge, like Oxford is known as a university town. We're talking exclusive, ivy covered walls, old buildings and a history of churning out Prime Ministers, Nobel Prize winners and educating Royalty (Prince Charles graduated from Trinity college). Its also where the apple fell on Sir Issac Newton's head.

I've been to Cambridge twice and my favourite place, found on my second trip, is the sweeping lawn of St Johns Collage that is part of the The Backs. Incidentally, its also the desktop background on my laptop. Let me show you.

So, Cambridge. Lets face it, there are lots of other things to do in this town than exploring the universities and punting along the Cam, but people usually go to Cambridge for just that reason. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say to me "you should visit Cambridge because of the markets/pubs/tearooms/<insert other attraction here>". So I'm going to highlight some colleges I've explored, show you the views of The Backs while punting along the Cam and let the photos do the luring...

Colleges

As a university town, lets start with the collages. There are 31 collages in Cambridge and each will have its on visitor entry policy. The most popular collage is King's Collage and its Chapel. Ive explored Queens College and St Johns so far.

King's College

Queen's College

St John's College

Punting along the Cam

This is seriously touristy but also a lot of fun and a great way to see The Backs and listen to the stories of Cambridge from the antics some students get up to, to famous people who studied there, to the history of the collages and buildings themselves.

Do yourself a favour and avoid the touts along King's Parade and that area and go straight to official punting tour operators. Some of the unofficial operators will only do half the length of others. You can also try your own hand at punting if you are game ;) If you are not a fan of being on the water, the find a bridge and watch everyone else on the water, it can be quite amusing.

So have I whet your appetite? If you haven't been, give it a go, check out a few colleges, walk around the town or along the river and just enjoy a day out. Next time I go, I'd love to take a peek into some of the libraries.


Useful Links
Top Tips
Visitor Information

Travel Tips for London to Cambridge

• Travelling by train:
• Make sure you choose Cambridge (YRK)
• London Kings Cross = approx 1hr to 1hr and 25mins travel duration
• London Liverpool = approx 45mins travel duration
• Its a comfortable 20 minute walk from Cambridge train station to the centre of town (buses are available as an alternative)
• Driving to Cambridge can take about an hour and a half
• You can take a bus (eg National Express). The shortest trip is 1hr and 45 mins

Would you be interested in seeing Cambridge?

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Day Trips from London: London to York

Todays trip is to York. It is one of my absolute favourites. It is one of those places i will always recommend to people wanting a nice weekend escape - or who want good coffee, i mean honestly, Betty's, 'nuff said. Hehe, i digress. You can definitely do York as a day trip and its great over a weekend too.



So, York. Beautiful. Historic. Charming. You want narrow cobblestone laneways - check. You want original city walls you can walk on - check. How about a ruined Abbey? Yep, its got that and a ruined Norman Castle to boot. Authentic tea rooms? Did i mention Betty's? Markets, pfft! As if it wouldn't. Yeah, i kinda like York. And you know its on my wish list to revisit this year.

So come on, let me show you around this place.

We take a left outside the station and head towards the old city. Past the memorial gardens, the ferris wheel and over the River Ouse via the Lendal bridge and (what i assume is) an old toll masters cottage to find St Mary's Abbey and gardens on our left. The gardens are pretty and, the Abbey, despite being in ruins, maintaining its grandeur and possessing a melancholy beauty.

St Mary's Abbey is only a couple of streets from the largest Gothic Cathedral in northern Europe - York Minster. Inside its cool, people whisper and crane their necks to take in the soaring ceilings and stain glass windows. The choir's wood panelling is warm against the cool stone, the detailed carvings hard to appreciate in one glance. Sit down, take a moment, take it in. Don't worry, we'll be back when its a little darker to see it lit up at night.

We can take a stroll along the old city walls from near here that will go around York Minster to the top for Goodramgate before beginning to explore those charming laneways and maybe a bite to eat.





The streets between High and Low Petergate near York Minster down to Pavement and back up through Parliament Street and Davygate to Stonegate at the top. Within and around these streets you'll find the famous Shambles (including Little Shambles) which is full of tiny old shops leaning against each other for support and peering out onto the lane - try the Monk chocolate shop for a hot chocolate or some delicious chocolate truffles.

At the corner of Davygate and Blake St you'll find Betty's Tearooms, great for a meal, afternoon tea, breakfast or coffee (they have another tea room along Stonegate) you'll also find that this area is host to street performers and a general meeting point.

  



Down Stonegate you will find a host of high street shops interspersed with old pubs and a place specialising in the traditional Yorkshire Pudding. Duck into the Coffee Yard off Stonegate and explore other little hidden side streets to your hearts content.

If you are up for a drink, the Snickleway Inn (don't you just love that name?) is a pub that is full of character, is supposedly the most haunted pub in Britain, and, in the winter months, has open fires going to warm frosted hands. Parliament street and the area between it and the Shambles is where you will find markets galore.

Once you have had your fill of narrow laneways, busy markets and old shops and pubs leave all that behind for a picturesque walk along the river Ouse towards Clifford's Tower. It is all that remains of a Norman Castle that used to be on this site. The tower used to house Royalty and was spread across several floors, but all that is gone and the centre is hallowed out. The cool thing though is the views. At the top of the tower you can see across York and it is beautiful at sunset.

As a last stop before we head back to London, we head back to York Minster to see it lit up and majestic.

You know writing this post has really made me impatiently itchy to go for another visit. I'm sure there is much more to see than what i have already.

Highlights

• York Minster
• St Mary's Abbey
• Little Shambles
• Stonegate
• Markets
• Betty's Tearooms
• Clifford's Tower at Sunset
• The Snickleway Inn
• Gatehouse Coffee (a Christian missionary run cafe inside a bar that is part of the old city walls - the coffee is good and cheap and the place is entirely unique. If you are not religious, you will need to brace yourself, but its still worth a peek inside) 

Travel Tips for London to York

• Trip duration by train is approximately 1 hour 50mins to 2 hours 20 mins
• Make sure you choose York (YRK)
• Trains depart from London Kings Cross rail station
• Driving to York can take up to 3 hours and 40 minutes

If you have been to York, what was the highlight for you? Where should i go next time i visit?

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