London Travel Forum

We (2 adults and 2 kids,11 and 9) wanted to make a day trip to Stratford-upon-avon and Oxford...which is the best way to go about it, on our own or take a tour. If on our own, how do we go about it? Any other suggestions for day trips that the kids might enjoy...

You won't be able to go to both places in one day on your own (unless you hire a car) so if that is what you intend to do then you will have to take an organised tour.

Oxford is very easy to get to from London. The official railway website on

www.nationalrail.com

will give you train times and fares. The journey takes around an hour, from London Paddington station. 'Saver' return fares is 18.90GBP per adult, but if you can buy the tickets in advance (up to 6pm the night before) you can get a return fare of 13GBP. The trains you can use with the advance ticket are restricted.

A cheaper option is to take the coach. You have threee carrier choices for Oxford:

www.nationalexpress.com

www.megabus.com

and www.oxfordtube.com

Coach journeys usually take a bit longer (not much in this case) but are usually cheaper. National Express retrun fare (adult) is 16GBP, journey takes around 1h 55mins. Oxfordtube (still just a bus!) costs 15GBP return, journey takes about 1 h 40 mins. Megabus is cheaper still, at 5GBP per seat in each direction. Journey time is round 2 hours though.

It would be sensible to book tickets in advance for any of these carriers, as there are 4 of you.

Stratford-on-Avon by train takes around 2+ - 3+ hours, so it's a long journey for a daytrip (and coach will not be shorter). Saver return 29.50GBP.

Hampton Court Palace is easy to get to (you can even go by river) and your children will enjoy it (especially the Maze).

http://www.hrp.org.uk/hamptoncourtpalace/

Warwick Castle is brilliant for kids, Warwick is a lovely little town: a much better place to visit by train than Stratford, imo. Takes around 1.5 - 2 hours on the train, saver return 28.50.

http://www.warwick-castle.co.uk/

Whilst you are in Oxford (if you go) make sure you visit the Pitt-Rivers Museum:it is stuffed with weird and wonderful things which are absolutely fascinating for children, from shrunken heads through musical instruments from around the world, from Samurai warrior costumes to stone axes. A brilliant place! http://www.prm.ox.ac.uk/

I'll second the recommendation for Warwick Castle, we really enjoyed it as adults and are looking forward to taking my 14 and 12 year niece and nephew when we return in August. Someone mentioned group saver train tickets if you have 4 people or family tickets but I'm not finding the info on the Chiltern website unless you are heading TO London. I'll probably just ask when I get there and see what they come up with, if you go off peak during the week or on the weekend, the train tickets are cheaper.

Stratford isn't too far from Warwick if I recall correctly, we had looked at doing both on the same day and then decided it was too much but if you were maybe thinking about doing an overnight, it would be easier to get to Stratford from Warwick than from London

Here's info on the Shakespeare Explorer ticket
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/promotions/pr74a84f0a04000401a50937dd6825c4/details.html

It's very easy to get from stratford to Warwick (about 30 minuts o the bus) but, in truth, doing-it-yourself will require an overnight stay: you need to allow at least 3 hours for Warwick castle alone.

So you might consider an organised tour after all. Some tour operators here:

http://www.city-discovery.com/london_tours/tour.php?id=5

http://www.sightseeingworld.com/tourdetailmain.asp?TourCode=621 (includes Warwick castle)

http://london-tour.conciergedesk.co.uk/london-tour-oxford-stratford-warwick-castle.htm (ditto)

http://www.hospitalityline.co.uk/sightseeing-tours-21/oxford-the-cotswolds-stratford-tour/product.html

http://www.goldentours.co.uk/oxfordstratfordandwarwickcastle/

If you do decide on a tour, do a google search and compare prices; some agencies charge more commission than others.

thank you very much for the info....will look into it.