Our need to get out of the heart of London and explore more of the surrounds, has lead to a run of day trips by train to destinations within one and a half hours of the city. It’s a case of pick a direction, check the train services to see what is available, then choose a town that seems interesting. We tend to select towns that offer a range of items such as a point of interest, river or canals running through them, some architectural elements, a decent coffee and bakery as you need energy, and finally some photographic opportunities. There are plenty to choose from with this first group of Richmond, Winchester and Oxford delivering on all the essentials.

Richmond

Our first trip was to Richmond to the Southwest of London and is the place to go star spotting, with a number of high-profile identities calling the area their home. Sir David Attenborough, Tom Holland (Spiderman), Tom Hardy and apparently many more however, we saw none of them so must have visited on a bad day… although we did see a giraffe looking suspiciously like a peeping Tom.

It is a pretty place with our trip consisting of a river walk along the Thames then a trek up the hill to Richmond Park to see the skyline of London in the distance. Back down into town for a spot of lunch then a walk along the Twickenham side of the Thames to Marble Hill, paying a visit to the beautifully restored Marble House.

While we covered a lot of ground, we will need to head back to the area and take in more of the area.

Winchester

Winchester is a stunning area with a number of architectural wonders including the Cathedral which is simply massive. I will need to buy another lens with a wider angle to get some of these buildings in one shot. We walked down the high street and through the park leading to the cathedral and were simply stunned at its size. Skirting around its side we continued onto the River Itchen and follow the banks through to the Wharf Mill, the Wolvesey Castle which is a ruin of a medieval building, then take the College Walk and Keats’ Walk to St Cross Church and Hospital before looping around the cricket club and heading back to town. A long walk which saw us entering a local pub named The Wykeham Arms and enjoying what would have to be the largest fish, chips and mushy peas in England, and washing it down with drinks that were equally as large.

Refueled, we headed back to the high street and spent the next few hours wandering through the streets before heading back to London.

Oxford

Oxford is well renowned for its universities and colleges which are simply gorgeous. The town is busy and humming with excitement as we seem to have visited on what could be one of the busiest weekends of the year. There was a significant increase in people arriving in town to celebrate the graduation ceremonies of the next generation of young professionals. It’s great to see but makes moving around the main parts of the town difficult as the milling crowds spill out onto the sidewalks. That said, the feeling of achievement and new beginnings spread across the town and there is a sense of light-hearted happiness throughout.

The town itself though, has needed to grow to accommodate the increasing number of students which has stressed its historical beauty. By this I mean that there are pockets of architectural brilliance, and areas where you can seek quiet solitude but there is also the feeling that in places, this has been forgotten and given over to the need to house many people for long periods of the year.

The student accommodation is evident and the vast, and to be fair, not overly pretty. This to me shows that in the trade-off between form and function, in this case, function has been victorious, many times over.

That said, there are historical elements that are incredibly beautiful and well worth a visit to the area to see. From certain vantage points the university and college buildings are stunningly beautiful. If you have a chance, take the Broad Walk through the Merton College grounds down the The Watcher Tree on the bank of the River Cherwell and then turn and walk past the Botanic Gardens and stop on Magdalen Bridge to watch gondolas being haphazardly launched on the river. The contrast to the hustle bustle of the high street brings a sense of relief. At least for me.

I do think we will visit these towns again, on quieter weekends, and with a car to enable us to cover more ground as there is much more to explore in each one.

Maybe it’s time to invest in a convertible BMW Z4 again? They seem to be a lot cheaper in England than Australia.