Your favourite day or weekend trips out of London

Bath is definitely worth a weekend away (Roman baths, Stonehenge nearby, nice histrorical buildings). Oxford and Cambridge (especially Oxford) are nice to visit. Brighton is a nice retreat, although a bit touristy. I loved Dover and Folkeston. Flights are very cheap - so really you have unlimited options throughout the UK and Europe...

Stonehenge (just because it's Stonehenge), Salisbury (the catherdral and town), Bath (very interesting) and Oxford (fabulous, just fabulous). All reachable by train. Check the explorer train excursions on this link. I go on one of their walks each time I'm in London. Great fun! Plan to take one of the train trips on my next visit. http://www.walks.com/</a>

As #1 and 2
plus St Alban's for a very near trip.
Canterbury, Winchester, Norwich, possibly do Cardiff and Bristol via Chepstow.

Coastal Dorset and Hampshire. North Kent coast towns of Faversham and Whitstable.
Rye and Hastings area of Kent/Sussex

Day trips: York, Hampton Court, Windsor, Oxford, Cambridge. A few days away: Cornwall, Lake district, Cardiff

As for Brighton, sure it can be 'touristy' but there is a very good reason for that. Its only 50 minutes from London, is by the sea, has a great vibe, great for chillin and once you've had enough of that side of things head either east to the Marina or west along to lovely Hove. A day return ticket to Brighton allows you to return directly from Hove itself.

Brighton is a lot of fun. From there it's easy to get to Eastbourne and then to see the lovely Seven Sisters white cliffs and the cuckmere meandre.

Rye is beautiful and relaxed.

If you can rent a car then driving around the south east and stopping at a lot of different castles could be interesting. Herstmonceux, Bodiam, Battle Abbey, and Scotney are all beautiful, and there are many more.

Even if you don't have a lot of experience hiking the 1066 trail is really easy to navigate and to hike. It's a great introductory trail if you'd like to try hiking as something new. It passes through a lot of historic places including Pevensy and Herstmonceux, I believe, all the way to battle abbey. Try Ordinance Survey map 124 to start. The trail is really well maintained and there are always plenty of opportunities to stop at pubs so there isn't really much need to carry a lot unless you really feel like roughing it.