Two days outside London advice. - escaping the city!

[Asteroidneenee]

Hello

I am looking for advice I would like to organise 2 or 3 days out of London for my birthday which is in less than a month. We would be two girls and we want to see nature and the sea and beautiful landscape! If you have any recommendations I'll be happy to read them.

I don't have a car so we would be using trains/coach whatever... We could take our bikes aswell wherever we go.

Thank you

[lavender27]

The New Forest

[Earl Aelfheah]

Whitstable is nice and not too far. Some good air bnbs

[P.O.U.S.theWonderCat]

I second the New Forest.

I realise you're probably not looking to fly anywhere, but if you want peace, charm, good food and beautiful scenery without leaving the UK, I HIGHLY recommend this place: http://www.orkneyescapes.co.uk/ In November/December it is particularly pretty up there - the light looks like it's been filtered through honey, and you get woken by sunrise on the sea if you stay in the Fisherman's Cottage.

This is a good source of inspiration too: https://www.theguardian.com/dorset-cereals-bnb-awards/gallery/2016/sep/29/dorset-cereals-bb-awards-nominees-share-their-holiday-tips-in-pictures

[Asteroidneenee]

Thanks everyone I'll check that out!

[Asteroidneenee]

Everything looks beautiful! Thank you so much!

[KidKruger]

Train to Ryde, IOW.

Taxi to Colwell Bay.

Stay at Linstone Chine, self-catering chalets in cliff top.

You can get a bus to Compton Bay which has Oregon - like beaches.

You'll feel like you've been somewhere.

[titch juicy]

P.O.U.S.theWonderCat Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I second the New Forest.

>

> I realise you're probably not looking to fly

> anywhere, but if you want peace, charm, good food

> and beautiful scenery without leaving the UK, I

> HIGHLY recommend this place:

> http://www.orkneyescapes.co.uk/ In

> November/December it is particularly pretty up

> there - the light looks like it's been filtered

> through honey, and you get woken by sunrise on the

> sea if you stay in the Fisherman's Cottage.

>

> This is a good source of inspiration too:

> https://www.theguardian.com/dorset-cereals-bnb-awa

> rds/gallery/2016/sep/29/dorset-cereals-bb-awards-n

> ominees-share-their-holiday-tips-in-pictures

This looks lovely. How on earth do you get there, does it take forever? I guess you'd fly to Inverness, but from there?

[P.O.U.S.theWonderCat]

You fly to Edinburgh, Aberdeen or Glasgow and catch a connecting flight from there. You book via BA and fly into Kirkwall. I either go from City which leaves around 2pm and arrives around 7pm, or Heathrow which leaves at around 8am and arrives at 11am. Heathrow has less of a wait between connecting flights so its worth the early start.

The other option if you have some more time is to fly to Aberdeen and then take the ferry over. It's a few hours on the ferry but a nice journey in Summer.

From Kirkwall, I catch a cab or a bus to Stromness (the fishing village where Orkney Escapes is) if I'm on my own, or hire a car if I've got a driving person with me.

The downside to Orkney is the flights can be pricy (compared to Easyjet etc) but Orkney Escapes is very well priced and everything is comparatively cheap when you get there. I'm a regular so get discounts, but I have paid less than ?50/night for the two-bedroom cottage before in the off season.

It is more of a schlep than a lot of places, but IMO it is utterly worth it. Orkney is the richest place in Europe for Neolithic sites, including 5000 year old villages, stone circles and fully in tact tombs complete with Viking graffiti. There's lots of WWI and WWII history there as well. The landscape is beautiful - more gentle than the Hebridies but dramatic contrasts between the islands. Lots of wildlife, including seals and puffins, and lots of outdoor stuff.

Wendy has done a lovely job with Orkney Escapes. It's the kind of place that you can be happy to stay in curled up in front of the fire if the weather is dodgy.

As you can guess, I'm evanglical about the place, but everyone I've taken there agees with me.

[Phlox]

Rye is a gorgeous place to visit. Easy to travel to as well.

[DaveR]

The Isle of Purbeck is beautiful - you could take a train to Bournemouth, and then take your bikes and go across on the chain ferry. Stay in Swanage, and you're on the South West Coastal Path, with great cliff top walks.