Travel advice?

[luzula]

My plans for the 29th-1st have probably fallen through, so I need backup plans. I'll arrive in London on the morning of the 29th and had planned to go to the Victoria and Albert museum for the day. But after that I currently have nothing until I go to Paris on the afternoon of the 1st.

Of course, I could find a hostel in London, there's certainly plenty to do there. But is there any other place in southern England you would recommend? I like natural history, botany and birdwatching, hiking, and history (especially 18th century). Or if you live in southern England and would like to meet up, let me know.

Comments

[naraht]

Well, I would say Oxford, but I'm biased because I live here! We're probably not the best spot for natural history but plenty of historical sites, including eighteenth century. I would certainly be happy to meet up for dinner if you came here, and to show you around a bit.

We are about an hour from London by train, so it's an easy day trip, although it's nice to stay over if you can manage. (I would offer you my guest room but my parents are visiting at the moment.)

[ursula]

If your interests stretch to early nineteenth century, I thought the Royal Pavilion in Brighton was absolutely fascinating!

[philomytha]

Kew Gardens should be pretty good for all things botanical. Or if you wanted to get a bit out of London, Knole House is fairly easy to reach by train, Charing Cross -> Sevenoaks and then a 20min walk up to Knole (I used to live in this area) and it has a spectacular collection of Stuart interiors, plus an enormous deer park to walk in.

[garonne]

In your situation I would probably go to the Royal Navy Museum in Portsmouth and the submarine museum in Gosport. But maybe you are all Navy-ed out after going to Greenwich recently :D

[seascribble]

It's only a couple hours to Bath on the train, and I really love Bath. It's longer (2-3 hours) to Chichester but the Roman Villa there is absolutely amazing. Dover and Rutupiae (in Richborough) are about the same distance as well, and also really great. I hitchhiked to actually get to Rutupiae, but it can easily be walked from the train station as well. ALl very charming in the small, out of the way manner of British Roman ruins.

[sanguinity]

When I was in London, the two things on my must-see list were HMS Victory and Down House, both of which were day trips from London.

HMS Victory probably needs no introduction from me, although there are other ships to see at the Historic Shipyard, too. (Although we didn't see them, having spent all our time on Victory.)

Down House is Charles Darwin's house, with exhibits about his life, travels, writings, and experiments -- some of the experiments were still set up when we were there. I had an absolutely lovely afternoon exploring the grounds and nerding out.

[edwardianspinsteraunt]

Oooh, I'd definitely recommend going to Rye in East Sussex for eighteenth century history and birdwatching! It's fairly reachable from London (40 minute train journey from St Pancras to Ashford, then about 20 minutes on the local branch line) and contains a very interesting museum and many cool historical buildings, including some old smuggling inns frequented by the Hawkhurst Gang! Then Rye Bay Nature Reserve is about an hour's walk from the town, with lots of bird life :)

[ysilme]

Firmly seconding Kew Gardens!

[luzula]

Thanks for the invitation! I am looking into possibly going to Stowe House and gardens (for the Flight of the Heron connection) near Buckingham on one of my days, so in that case maybe I could go back to London by way of Oxford and have dinner with you? That is, the evening meal...getting confused at all its appellations. If so, would the 29th or 30th be better for you?

[luzula]

Thanks for the input! Yes, I could stretch to early 19th century. : )

[luzula]

Thanks for the tips, both of those sound good! I am spoiled for choice. : )

[naraht]

If you do decide to see Oxford, the 30th would be better for me. But it's a long way to go out of your way just for a meal, so no worries if it doesn't work out.

You have a difficult decision I must say... everyone's suggestions below are really good too.

[luzula]

I confess I have very little interest in submarines! : ) But I might very well go to the Royal Navy museum for the HMS Victory...

[luzula]

Oh cool, I'm glad you got to see actual Roman ruins in Britain during your time in Sutcliff fandom! : D I would find that interesting as well, but I think I will prioritize the 18th century...

[luzula]

You know, I actually didn't know you could go and see the HMS Victory! So thanks for that, I might very well do that. : )

Down House also sounds delightful, but I might prioritize Stowe House, for the FotH connection...

[luzula]

Oh, that's a good suggestion, thanks! regshoe tells me that the house where D K Broster and her particular friend lived is fairly close by (near Battle), so I may combine those...

[edwardianspinsteraunt]

It would definitely be doable to visit both Rye and Battle in one day- you can get between them by train, if you change at Hastings, or alternatively via this hiking route: https://www.visit1066country.com/things-to-do/1066-country-walk-p881061

[sanguinity]

Check to see if she's open, of course -- last I heard, they were replacing her topmasts, and she might have been closed to visitors? I'm not sure. But yes, as a usual kind of thing, she's open to visitors.

Tell us all about Stowe House, if you go!

[seascribble]

I'm a bit of a one trick pony when it comes to things to do in Europe. Hit me up if you run out of stuff in your current fandom, though! I know most of Bath is very interesting architecturally, but whether 17th, 18th, or 19th century I sadly could not tell you.

[luzula]

Well, Oxford would pretty much be on my way back, if I went to Stowe House! : ) I might not have much time to look at Oxford itself, but I'd need to have dinner anyway, so I'd love to have it with you. I'll look up the travel times some more and get back to you...

[naraht]

Great! Do let me know.

[tgarnsl]

If you don’t mind a bit of a journey, Brownsea Island near Poole was recommended by my partner, who is a naturalist — it’s a fantastic spot for birds and wildlife, and is apparently absolutely worth a visit. It’s about 2 hours from Waterloo, but you can break the journey up with a stop in the New Forest if you like.

Otherwise my recommendation is always Oxford, but I’m prejudiced. Shotover Hill, Port Meadow (and Burgess Field beyond it), and Wytham Woods are all personal favourites (though you need a permit for Wytham, and I’m not sure if they do daily permits). The Museum of the History of Science is always worth a visit, along with the Ashmolean and the Pitt Rivers.

[luzula]

Would 17.10 at the train station in Oxford work for you? My feet will probably be rather tired and I'm not the best at walking for a long time on hard streets, but you could show me around a little and we could have dinner. And then I'd take the train back to London later that evening.

[naraht]

Unfortunately I have work on Thursday so I probably wouldn't be able to make it into central Oxford much before 6pm. If you're taking the bus from Buckingham - as I assume you are? - then it would bring you into Gloucester Green bus station, which is a little more central than the train station and probably a better place to meet.

But I wouldn't blame you for not wanting to wait around till I'm done work after a long day of sightseeing.

[luzula]

No worries, I need to go back via either Oxford or Milton Keynes anyway, and need to eat dinner anyway. So that's no problem! I'll take the bus from Buckingham that's at Gloucester Green at 17.40, then, so come whenever you can. If you won't be too tired from work, that is? Also, regshoe might join us, she lives in Oxford.

(Wow, Milton Keynes sounds like a smushname for the enemy pairing Milton Friedman/John Maynard Keynes...)

[naraht]

If that timing works for you, then it would be great to see you and meet regshoe! I'll take the conversation to PM at this point...