Top Day Trips in United Kingdom

Bray (Berkshire riverside dining) ★ 4.8 · London

Bray on the Thames in Berkshire, 45 minutes from Paddington, runs Heston Blumenthal's three-starred Fat Duck and the Hinds Head pub. The Riverside Brasserie at Bray Marina is the cheaper option.

Tip: Fat Duck booking opens three months ahead and sells out in minutes. Lunch at the Hinds Head Sunday roast is the easier visit at £40.

St Andrews and the East Neuk (Fife) ★ 4.7 · Edinburgh

The East Neuk villages of Anstruther, Pittenweem and Crail are one hour from Edinburgh. Anstruther Fish Bar is consistently voted Scotland's best fish and chip shop.

Whitstable (Kent oysters) ★ 4.7 · London

Whitstable in Kent, a 90-minute train ride from London, runs The Whitstable Oyster Company since 1856, Wheelers Oyster Bar from 1856 and a fishing-village seafront. Oysters at the beach.

Tip: The Whitstable Oyster Festival runs the last weekend of July; book lunch a fortnight ahead. Visit October to April for native oyster season.

Kingsbarns Distillery and Visitor Centre (East Neuk, Fife) ★ 4.5 · Edinburgh

Kingsbarns opened in 2015 in a converted steading on the Cambo Estate. Family-owned Lowland single malt with distillery tours and a cafe using East Neuk produce.

Glenkinchie Distillery (East Lothian) ★ 4.4 · Edinburgh

Glenkinchie, 15 miles from Edinburgh, is the Lowland malt known as the Edinburgh Malt. Victorian red-brick buildings frame a sensory tour ending in a tasting room.

Margate (Kent seafood) ★ 4.4 · London

Margate on the Kent coast, 90 minutes from St Pancras, the seaside town reopened post-2010 by the Turner Contemporary; The Sett, Buoy and Oyster, and Sargasso run serious seafood-focused kitchens.

Tip: Visit Saturday for the Turner Contemporary and lunch at The Sett. The Old Town fish-and-chip counters run from 11:00 on the seafront.

Rye (East Sussex) ★ 4.4 · London

Rye in East Sussex, 90 minutes from St Pancras, the medieval Cinque Ports town runs The Mermaid Inn (1420), Webbe's Fish Cafe and the cobbled-street tea-rooms of Mermaid Street.

Tip: Visit weekdays to skip the weekend crowds; the antique market runs every Tuesday. Webbe's books a fortnight ahead for weekend lunch.

East Lothian Food Trail ★ 4.3 · Edinburgh

The East Lothian food trail covers farm shops, artisan bakeries in Haddington, soft-fruit farms and the NB Gin distillery near North Berwick.

Oxford (university-city pub lunches) ★ 4.3 · London

Oxford, an hour from Paddington, runs historic university pubs (The Turf Tavern from 1381, The Eagle and Child) and the Covered Market for traditional British lunches.

Tip: Sunday roast at The Magdalen Arms is the canonical pub lunch in town. Walking tour of the colleges fills a morning before lunch.

Cambridge (river-and-college lunches) ★ 4.3 · London

Cambridge, an hour from King's Cross, runs Fitzbillies's century-old Chelsea bun bakery (1920), Midsummer House two-Michelin-star riverside dining and the punting-and-lunch combination.

Tip: Punting on the Cam in summer paired with lunch at The Cambridge Chop House is the canonical day. Fitzbillies for Chelsea buns and morning coffee.

Brighton (seaside Italian and seafood) ★ 4.3 · London

Brighton on the south coast, an hour from Victoria, runs The Salt Room beachfront dining, The Lanes' twisted alleys of fish-and-chip shops and the Royal Pavilion's Indian-themed lunches.

Tip: Visit a Saturday for the Beach Box food carts on the seafront. Sundays at Petit Pois in The Lanes for the small-plates lunch.

Peebles and the Scottish Borders ★ 4.1 · Edinburgh

Peebles and the Borders, 40 minutes south, offer Peebleshire lamb, a farm market at Traquair House and independent bakers and butchers in the market town.

Stirling (Stirlingshire) ★ 4.0 · Edinburgh

Stirling is 55 minutes from Edinburgh by train. A historic royal town with the Stirling Gin distillery and a Saturday market beside the castle.