Summer adventures

Birds, animals, castles, gardens and boat trips … Here are six summery escapes in reach of London that will make a day trip into an adventure.

Coastliner buses

From York to the Yorkshire coast across miles of purple heather. No wonder the Coastliner was recently voted Britain’s most scenic bus ride.

RHS Garden Rosemoor

Enchanting gardens set in the wooded valley of the River Torridge

Car-free offer: Please phone for details: 01805 624067

Christmas Magic

Brighten up the gloomy winter months with these fabulous displays of festive wonder. Flowers, animals, incandescent waterfalls... you're sure to be enchanted.

Leeds

Catch a water taxi to the docks and the Royal Armouries, take a hike on wild Ilkley Moor or stroll round lovely Harlow Carr gardens.

Oxford

Avoid the traffic and stroll through Oxford’s streets on foot; find flowering meadows, stride out along the Thames or ride a bus to Blenheim Palace.

Stanstead Bury

Stanstead Bury is an intriguing house dating back to Tudor times - tours, nature gardening sessions and pop-up restaurant, by appointment only

Car-free offer: gift of home grown vegetables or beef

Falmouth

Explore the subtropical South Cornish landscapes by train, bus, boat, or on foot from Falmouth, a busy port with the world’s third deepest natural harbour.

RHS Garden Harlow Carr

An inspiring family-friendly garden, with innovative designs, creative planting and practical ideas to take home

Car-free offer: Phone for details: 01423 565418

Daffodils

Shakespeare’s Perdita longs for daffodils that “take/The winds of March with beauty”; here are six places to see daffs without a car.

Scampston Hall & Gardens

A stunning contemporary walled garden, nestled within the grounds of regency-style Scampston Hall

Car-free offer: 30% off entry with valid train or bus ticket, or bike

High Wycombe

High Wycombe is an excellent hub for car-free adventures: Disraeli’s manor house and the Hellfire caves and are each just ten minutes away by bus.

Croydon countryside

Half an hour south of the centre of London, you can find some beautiful walking country: flowering parkland, historic commons, woods and nature reserves.

Waddesdon Manor

French Renaissance-style château, home to the Rothschild Collections of paintings, sculpture and decorative arts

Car-free offer: Please contact Waddesdon for details: 01296 820414

Cambridge

Cycle downriver to Grantchester, catch a train to see Shepreth’s red pandas or hop on the bus to visit bird-haunted lakes at Fen Drayton.

Huntingdon

An hour from London by train, there are some hidden gems hiding here among the thatched villages beside the River Ouse.