Outdoors & Nature

Ideal for a sunny day. And for a cold rainy day: "There's no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing".

Paddington: the Thames valley and the Cotswolds by train

The Thames valley, the Ridgeway at Goring, the Cotswolds in an hour and a quarter, and Bath and Oxford besides.

Day trips by trainCountryside

Windsor Castle's grey stone towers above the moat garden in summer, with lawns, flower beds and clipped shrubs on the slope below the walls. — Windsor, with a change at Slough. Photo by APK, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Thames at Henley in spring, wide and full, with willows on the far bank, boats moored by the town's riverside houses and pub tables on the bank in front. — Henley, an hour with a change at Twyford. Photo by Steve Daniels, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A green-and-red narrowboat passing under Marlow's white suspension bridge on the Thames, with a riverside pub on the left bank and trees beyond. — Marlow's suspension bridge, with a change at Maidenhead. Photo by Oxfordian Kissuth, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The spire of the University Church of St Mary in Oxford lit at dusk, with a gas lamp on the wall of All Souls to the left and bicycles against the railings. — Oxford, an hour. Photo by Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Pulteney Bridge's arches and the shops built along it above a horseshoe weir, with a pleasure boat on the river and trees on the bank. — Pulteney Bridge and the weir. Photo by Andy Li, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Bath Abbey's west front and tower of pale stone with tall pinnacles, in evening light, with people crossing the paved square in front. — Bath, an hour and twenty minutes. Photo by GarfieldJAustin, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A canal lock with its gates and a wide pound of still water reflecting the sky, a church tower with pinnacles on the bank behind, and a towpath on the left. — Newbury Lock on the Kennet and Avon. Photo by Steve Daniels, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Also in Science & Engineering.

Brunel's terminus runs west along the river: Windsor and Henley with a change, Marlow the same, and Goring & Streatley, where the Ridgeway crosses the Thames and the chalk of the Chilterns meets the Berkshire Downs, in an hour. The Cotswold line reaches Charlbury and Moreton-in-Marsh in a little over, for the stone villages, and the main line gets to Oxford in an hour and Bath in an hour and twenty minutes. Newbury and the Kennet and Avon canal are for towpath walking; the West Country trains go on to Devon and Cornwall, but that is a weekend, not a day.

Where: Praed Street, W2 1HQ

Google Maps cotswolds.com

Trains from early morning until after midnight

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Data is compiled from public sources including OpenStreetMap, under the ODbL. Hours change often, so check before making a journey.