Travellia

The city of Brighton is a popular seaside escape, particularly with London residents, being only about an hour away by train. Situated on the southern coast, almost immediately due south of London, it has quite a trendy, fun atmosphere (well, it did the day we were there anyway!). Frequent trains leave from Victoria and London Bridge stations in London with Southern Railway and First Capital Connect . It's probably worth taking the train rather than driving, as the city often gets congested and it's difficult to find parking. Admittedly we drove to Brighton from Eastbourne and managed to find some parking, but not without some difficulty (and expense). We began the day by walking to the Royal Pavilion , an interesting and impressive royal residence that was built in the 19th Century for the Prince Regent. The architectural structure has a definite Indian flavour and the interior is richly decorated in mainly Chinese styles. There are attractive gardens surrounding the P

Eastbourne is a quiet coastal town in southern England, most famous for its Victorian style beach front and pier. We have been to Eastbourne a few times to visit friends who live there, and although it's not as vibrant and popular as Brighton , it's still a relaxing place to visit. It seems to have a reputation for being more appealing to the older, retired generation, however it is still possible for the likes of us younger travellers to have a good time there. Eastbourne is about an hour and a half train ride from London, departing from both London Bridge and Victoria mainline stations with Southern Railway . We usually drive, the route being quite scenic, however it does to tend to get quite congested at certain points along the way, making us ponder every time why we didn't take the train! There are a vast array of hotels and B&Bs in the town, most of them lining the seafront, and on one occassion we booked a room at the Langham Hotel through Lastminute .

Stratford-upon-Avon is most well known for being the birth place of William Shakespeare , and therefore host to countless tourists every year, wanting to view the sites associated with the famous Elizabethan playwright. A market town since the Middle Ages, Stratford-upon-Avon is steeped in history and situated in the picturesque English midlands countryside. Having good rail and road links, the town was our destination of choice for a short weekend break from London. We left from Marylebone station with Chiltern Railways , taking just under two and a half hours to get there. Travelling by car, along the M40, takes approximately the same amount of time and a good way of preparing a route beforehand is by visiting a site such as Google Maps and obtaining directions. National Express also offers services to Stratford-upon-Avon, taking about three hours from London. There are also numerous organised one-day bus tours from London, which usually pass through Oxford and the su

When we lived in London we enjoyed venturing out for short day trips to refresh and re-energise ourselves from the madness of the city. It was with much interest we started to hear talk from friends and colleagues of a seaside town in Kent called Whitstable, which, we were assured, was a perfect day or weekend escape from "the Big Smoke", being just under an hour and a half away by train. How right they were! Leaving from Victoria Station, there are frequent train journeys with Southeastern Railway to Whitstable about every half an hour, with day return ticket prices starting at £18.10. Admittedly, train travel isn't cheap in the UK, and if driving isn't an option, then an alternative is to take the bus. National Express has services from London Victoria to Whistab le with day returns from £12.40, taking just under two hours each way. Personally, we prefer to spend the extra money on a more comfortable and speedier train journey. On arrival we headed toward