Day Trips Podcast
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In this podcast you are going to hear a conversation between two people talking about day trips from London by train. Let’s listen.

Dave: Hi Karen, how are you?
Karen: I’m good thanks Dave, and you? You’ve been away, haven’t you? I haven’t seen you in the office for a while.
Dave: That’s right, I’ve been on holiday in England. I went on a bit of a sightseeing trip with my cousins. They live in London but as I know London quite well from previous trips, I fancied visiting some different places this time and it was great, I felt like a real tourist!
Karen: Fantastic! Where did you go? I am interested in seeing more of England. Everybody goes to London and yes, it is an amazing city, but from what I’ve read there’s so much more to see outside the capital.
Dave: Well, where do I start? First of all, we went to the Cotswolds, it’s an area north-west of London, a bit further on from Oxford. Have you heard of it?
Karen: Oh yes! The Cotswolds, I have! That’s where they have all those quaint country cottages, don't they? Oh, I’d love to go but I’m very nervous about driving on the other side of the road. I’ve been living in Spain too long. Did you go by car?
Dave: No, we did all our travelling by train from London and you’re right, those traditional cottages are made from the local stone. None of us fancied driving. We wanted to be able to relax and chat on the journey and not worry about getting caught in traffic, so we agreed to just visit places that were easily reachable by train from London.
Karen: Oh, that sounds great! Do you know much about the main train stations in London then? There are quite a few, aren’t there?
Dave: Yes, there are a lot. We had to do a bit of research and found that the website uktravelplanning.com helped a lot. It explains which stations serve the different areas in the UK.
Karen: Oh, that’s useful to know. So, what was the train journey like to The Cotswolds?
Dave: Well, we took a direct train to the lovely village of Moreton-in-Marsh from London Paddington. It took about 1 hour 40 minutes, but it was worth it. It’s got an 18th century high street and J R R Tolkien got a lot of inspiration for his Lord of the Rings from here.
Karen: Sounds lovely! And the villages are very picturesque, aren’t they?
Dave: Yes, they are, it’s like being transported into a storybook. The area is full of honey-coloured cottages, trickling streams, rolling hills and rose gardens. It’s no wonder it’s designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty!
Karen: A what? What does that mean?
Dave: An area of outstanding natural beauty, or an AONB as it is also known, is an area of land that is protected by law, in this case by what is called the Countryside & Rights of Way Act of 2000, or the CROW Act. It protects the land to conserve and enhance its natural beauty.
Karen: Oh, I see! I didn’t know that. Did you venture further or just Moreton-in-Marsh?
Dave: Oh, we also visited other popular picture postcard villages by bus, called Chipping Campden and the Slaughters.
Karen: The Slaughters? That’s a weird name.
Dave: I know! There are two tiny villages, there’s Upper Slaughter and Lower Slaughter.
Karen: Oh I see, how funny, one sits higher than the other I suppose! Were the buses expensive? And how often did they run?
Dave: They were about 5 pounds each way more or less and, as you can imagine, they are no way near as frequent as city buses because you are in the countryside, so you need to know the bus timetable and plan your day beforehand. I definitely recommend visiting the area if you can though.
Karen: I will, it sounds lovely. Did you visit anywhere else?
Dave: Not in the Cotswolds but we did another trip from London to Shakespeare’s hometown Stratford-upon-Avon. Did you know that towns that are located on rivers are sometimes named like that, with ‘upon’ separating the town name from the name of the river? So, the town of Stratford sits on the river Avon. Stratford-upon-Avon.
Karen: Yes, like the London towns, Richmond-upon-Thames and Kingston-upon-Thames. Although I believe you can also say ‘on’ instead of ‘upon’. Henley, for example, where the famous annual rowing regatta takes place is known as Henley-on-Thames. Anyway, back to Shakespeare country, yes, I went to Stratford a couple of years ago! I didn’t know you could get there from London by train though.
Dave: Yes, it was quite a journey, so we decided to stay overnight. The train went from London Marylebone and took about two and a half hours.
Karen: That’s about the same time it took to go by car. I loved Stratford-upon-Avon. We visited where Shakespeare was born and where he died. I can’t remember the name…
Dave: Holy Trinity Church. We did the same. Did you go to the Tudor farm museum where his mother lived? Mary Arden’s Farm?
Karen: Yes, that was Shakespeare’s home, wasn’t it?
Dave: Yes, it was great to experience the sights, sounds and smells of a farm as it would have been in those days. We also saw the Royal Shakespeare Company perform Much Ado About Nothing but we had to get the tickets way in advance.
Karen: Did you get to immerse yourself in a Tudor-era school lesson? We did, when we visited Shakespeare’s Schoolroom. We even got to dress up in period costumes!
Dave: No, unfortunately we couldn’t get tickets for that but we had a very relaxing time having a picnic in Bancroft Gardens next to the river and afterwards we went on a river cruise along the Avon.
Karen: How lovely. The weather was kind to you then?
Dave: It was dry during the day but in the evening we had to eat inside. I was looking forward to eating in the beer garden of one of the traditional pubs but actually because of the rain we ended up inside. It worked out better anyway because you can’t beat being inside a traditional old pub. We ate in The One Elm but there are plenty of other lovely pubs.
Karen: Oh, I know, my favourite is The Encore, in the town centre. I had some cinnamon churros for dessert there! Delicious! It sounds like you had a fabulous time. Where else did you go?
Dave: Our last excursion was to Blenheim Palace which is just over half an hour by bus from Oxford. Once again starting from London Marylebone station, we got the train to Oxford which took about an hour and a half and then discovered there are various buses to take you to this very extravagant country estate, in a town called Woodstock.
Karen: Oh, Blenheim Palace has a connection with Winston Churchill, doesn’t it?
Dave: Yes, that’s right! In fact, Blenheim holds many claims to fame. Sir Winston was born there and he proposed to his wife there too. It’s also known as the ‘real life Downton Abbey’.
Karen: Wow! Is it anyone’s official residence now?
Dave: It’s still the official residence of the Duke of Marlborough who is a distant relative of both Sir Winston Churchill and Lady Diana but there are many luxurious state rooms the public can enter like the Long Library, Great Hall and Churchill’s Life Exhibit room.
Karen: I expect there are some nice gardens too.
Dave: Yes, the Blenheim Gardens are a beautiful mix of formal, manicured spaces and open fields. It has some lovely views over a nearby lake and a wonderful rose garden and, if you like exploring, there are loads of hidden paths.
Karen: Sounds idyllic.
Dave: Yes, I think it’s got something for everyone, outstanding architecture, mazes for children, pretty gardens and of course it’s full of interesting history. We had such a great day there and its location near to Oxford is a big draw too.
Karen: Thanks for all that information Dave, it’s definitely going on my list. The other palace that interests me is King Henry VIII’s Hampton Court. And I want to visit Windsor Castle, as well as Stonehenge. So many places and never enough time!
Dave: Well, if you manage to get to any of them then you let me know, I’m really keen to do more day trips out of London.
Karen: Oh, I will. In fact I’m going to check out when the next bank holiday dates are right now and get planning.
Dave: Great idea! Good luck!
Karen: Thanks! I’ll let you know when I’m going!

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