Here's part two of my attempt to compile a comprehensive list of sightseeingworthy places within 10 miles of the Greater London boundary. That's actual attractions or places of interest, not nice pubs or great walks because there are hundreds of those. Yesterday I covered south of the Thames, and today I'm working clockwise around the north. If I miss out anything good let me know and I'll try to add it, the idea being that this builds into a useful resource for anyone to refer back to. And if you're ever bored in the future and in need of inspiration, simply click back to April 2019 on this blog and hopefully something from the list will take your fancy.
SURREY(Spelthorne)
• Sunbury: The Sunbury Millennium Embroidery is displayed in the Sunbury Embroidery gallery(free, 10-4pm, closed Mondays) within the 18th century Sunbury Walled Garden [blogged].
• Staines:Spelthorne Museum(free, 9.30-5.30pm, closed Sunday) can be found downstairs within Staines Library [blogged].
BERKS
• Slough: Since 2016 Slough Museum(free, 9-5pm, closed weekends) has been located in The Curve, Slough's 'Cultural Hub', and is based around eight themed exhibition ‘pods’. John Betjeman gets a mention.
• Eton: You won't get round the college, but you can visit the stuffed exhibits in Eton College Natural History Museum(free, 2.30-5pm, Sun). Over in Eton Wick, the History On Wheels Museum(£7, 10-5pm, last Sunday of the month) majors on motors, militaria & memories.
• Burnham: The fabulous grounds of Cliveden(£16, 10-5.30pm, NT), the Astors' Italianate mansion overlooking the Thames, are open daily. The chapel and a small part of the house only open for two hours on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays [blogged]. Burnham Beeches provides a cheaper landscape treat [blogged]. The Chancellor's refuge at Dorneywood(2-4pm, must be pre-booked, NT) opens its gardens on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons (and the house for a fortnight in July).
• Beaconsfield: Britain's finest model village, Bekonscot(£10.90, 10-5.30pm) features an extensive labyrinth of tiny worlds and mini railways [blogged]. Full size farm animals and tractor rides can be enjoyed at Odds Farm Park(£14, 10-5.30pm) in Wooburn Common.
• The Chalfonts:Milton's Cottage(£7, 2-5pm, closed Mon, Tue) is the only surviving home of poet and parliamentarian John Milton [blogged]. The Chiltern Open Air Museum contains over 30 reconstructed historic buildings from an Iron Age roundhouse to a 1940s prefab (£9.50, 10-5pm)[blogged]. Chenies Manor(£9, 2-5pm, Wed, Thu) is a chimneyed Tudor manor house in a fine garden [blogged]
• Amersham: A revamped Amersham Museum(£3, 12-4.30pm, closed Mon, Tue) opened in Old Amersham in 2017.
• Berkhamsted: Don't expect too much if you head to what's left of Berkhamsted Castle(free, 10-6pm).
• Apsley: The Frogmore Paper Trail(£8, Thursdays and the first Sunday of the month), on the Grand Union near Hemel Hempstead, provides engrossing tours of the world's first mechanical paper mill [blogged].
• Rickmansworth:Three Rivers Museum(free, 2-4pm weekdays, 10-4pm Saturday) is the home of heritage in SW Herts. [blogged]. They also organise visits to Croxley Great Barn on the last Saturday morning of the month (Apr-Oct).
• Watford:Watford Museum(free, 10-5pm, Thu-Sat) is housed in the former Benskins Brewery, whereas Bushey Museum and Art Gallery(free, 11-4pm, closed Mon-Wed) is bespoke [blogged]. The world skips those and goes to Hogwarts instead at the Warner Bros Studio Tour London(£45, 8.30am-10pm, pre-book), by far the most expensive attraction on my list.
• Welwyn/Hatfield: The main attraction is the Tudor palace of Hatfield House(£19, 11-5pm, closed Mon, Tue). Alternatively step out of town to enjoy the watermill at Mill Green Mill(£3.50, 10-5pm, closed Sunday mornings, Mon, Fri and Sat)[blogged]. Discovered beneath the A1, now buried under Junction 6, are Welwyn Roman Baths(£3.50, 2-5pm, weekends only)[blogged].
• Hertford/Ware: The county town's treasure trove is Hertford Museum(free, 10-5pm, closed Sun, Mon). One of the weirder places described in Ware Museum(free, 11-4pm, Tue, Wed, Sat, plus Sunday afternoons) is Scott's Grotto(£1, 2-4.30pm, Saturdays), a series of subterranean chambers constructed over a 30 year period inside a chalk hillside.
• Broxbourne:Paradise Wildlife Park(£21.50, 9.30-6pm) has lions, tigers, leopards, zebras, armadillos, lemurs, guinea pigs and fibreglass dinosaurs in its menagerie. Up in Hoddesdon, Lowewood Museum(free, 10-4pm, closed Sun-Tue) has a stuffed tiger [blogged]. Tudor Rye House Gatehouse will hopefully reopen for the summer soon.
• Harlow: Alas they've cut back the hours at Harlow Museum(free, 9.30-3.30pm, Tue & Thu only)[blogged]. To enjoy the town's chief architect's home and modern sculpture collection, head to The Gibberd Garden(£5, 2-6pm, Wed, Sat, Sun).
• Waltham Abbey: As well as the 'abbey' itself, the town is home to Epping Forest District Museum(free, 10-4pm, closed Thu, Sun) and the Lee Valley White Water Centre(8am-8pm) which was opened for the 2012 Olympic canoeing [blogged]. The Royal Gunpowder Mills(£10.50, 10-5pm, check dates) cover a fascinating site, often with explosively special event weekends thrown in [blogged]. Littl'uns will enjoy the animals and activities at Lee Valley Park Farms(£10, 10-5pm). Out towards Epping is Copped Hall(£8, arrive at 10am on the third Sunday of the month), a historic county house under restoration [blogged].
• North Weald: Make tracks to the Epping Ongar Railway(£14, mostly weekends) which runs heritage services along the former Central line to Ongar [blogged]. Or to North Weald Airfield Museum(£2, 12-5pm, weekends) if airborne military operations are your thing. On the way to Ongar is Greensted Church, which is nothing less than the oldest wooden church on the planet [blogged].
• Brentwood:Brentwood Museum(free) doesn't make it easy to visit (10.30am-12.30pm on the first Saturday of the month and on the subsequent Sunday, then 2.30-4.30pm on the subsequent Monday, Apr-Oct). Ingatestone Hall(£7, 12-5pm, Wed, Sun) offers tours of a Tudor family home, plus gardens, further up the A12. St Mary The Virgin in Great Warley (2-3.30pm, Thu) boasts a remarkable Arts & Crafts/Art Nouveau interior. And don't tell anyone, but the Secret Nuclear Bunker(£7.50, 10-5pm) at Kelvedon Hatch is one of the weirdest tourist attractions you will ever enter [blogged].
If you have any further thoughts on places you'd go out of your way to visit, please add them in the specific comments box above and I'll add your best choices later.
In April 2015 I compiled a comprehensive list of sightseeingworthy places to visit in outer London, quadrant by quadrant, to counter the usual inner London focus. This April I thought I'd turn my attention to the Home Counties, specifically anywhere within 10 miles of the Greater London boundary, and compile something similar. I'm not interested in nice pubs or great walks, because there are hundreds of those, but actual attractions or places of interest. I'm doing south of the Thames today, clockwise, and will head north tomorrow. If I've been and blogged about it, I'll link to that. I'm going to be quite strict about the 10 mile limit. If I miss out anything good, let me know and I'll try to add it, the idea being that this builds into a resource for anyone to refer back to. Summer's coming up, could be useful.
KENT
• Dartford: OK, Dartford Museum(free, 9am-5pm, closed Sundays) won't detain you long, but might be preferable to a haul round Bluewater or a walk underneath the QE2 Bridge [blogged]. Nearby medieval chapel/garden St John of Jerusalem(£2.80, 2-6pm, NT) is only open on Wednesdays.
• Cobham:Owletts(£4.20, 11-5pm, Sundays, NT) was the 17th century home of 20th century architect Sir Herbert Baker.
• A20/M20: The Swanley New Barn Railway(£1, weekends and school holidays, Apr-Oct) runs a brief service with ride-on trains round Swanley Park [blogged]. Petrolheads would no doubt prefer the thrill of a race day at Brands Hatch(£16-ish, various events). Great Comp Garden(£8.50, 11-5pm) near Wrotham, covers a quirky seven acres. Old Soar Manor(free, 10-6pm, closed Fridays) in Plaxtol is what's left of a 13th century knight's house.
• Darent Valley: A beautiful place for a day out, and dead easy to reach by train. Lullingstone Roman Villa(£8.10, 10am-6pm) rubs up against Lullingstone Castle(£9, noon-5pm, Fri-Sat), the former properly historical, the latter more for the horticultural [blogged]. Eynsford Castle is medieval but in ruins, and always open. The Shoreham Aircraft Museum(£5, 10-5pm, Sat, Sun) is an Aladdin's cave of crashed military debris [blogged]. It takes about two hours to explore the Otford Solar System[blogged], and rather less time to look round Otford Heritage Centre(free, weekday mornings, weekend afternoons).
• Sevenoaks: The town's lovely (though the museum's skippable). Top suggestion is to walk out through the Deer Park to Knole(£15, 11-5pm, NT), a magnificent 400-year-old archbishop's palace, and if you're feeling fit stride further along the Greensand Ridge to Ightham Mote(£14.40, 11-5pm, NT), a pristine 14th-century moated manor house [blogged].
• Westerham: National Trust members are spoilt for choice hereabouts. In Westerham itself is Quebec House(£5.90, 12-5pm, NT, closed Mon, Tue), once home to soldier James Wolfe [blogged]. A more impressive draw is Chartwell(£15.50, 11-5pm, NT), Winston Churchill's downland hideaway, accessible by Oyster-friendly 246 bus on Sundays [blogged]. A hike from there via Toys Hill (also NT) leads to Emmetts Garden(£12, 10-5pm, NT) with its seasonal bursts of colour (and a bluebeller's treat) [blogged].
• Eden Valley: Further out, another heritage cluster. Hever Castle(£17.75, 10.30-6pm), Anne Boleyn's childhood home, is a moated manor plus lake, maze and landscaped parkland, so not to be rushed. 19th century Chiddingstone Castle(£9.50, 11-5pm, closed Thu-Sat) is filled with art and antiquities and can be found within Chiddingstone Village(NT). Beyond lies Penshurst Place(£12, 10.30-6pm), another stately home complex with extensive gardens and activities. Over in Edenbridge the small Eden Valley Museum(free, hours vary, closed Mon, Tue) tells West Kent's social history [blogged].
• Oxted: Less than one mile from the London border, enveloped by the North Downs, Titsey Place(£8, three afternoon tours, Wed, Sat, May-Sept) offers a charming house/garden/tearoom combo [blogged].
• Caterham: The East Surrey Museum(free, 10-5pm, Wed, Thu, Sat) is small and homely (and very near the station) [blogged].
• Reigate: Pride of the town are Reigate Caves(£5, 10-4pm, 2nd Saturday of the month, May-Sept)[blogged], mined for sand beneath Castle Hill, and definitely worth seeing on the few days they're open. Climb Reigate Hill for one of the best vistas on the Downs, nip into Reigate Fort, then follow the escarpment to Gatton Park[blogged].
• Epsom: To 'discover the fascinating past of Epsom & Ewell', pop upstairs in the flying saucer at Bourne Hall Museum(free, 9-5pm, closed Sun, Mon)[blogged].
• Dorking: In town is Dorking Museum(£2, 10-4pm, Thu-Sat), a decent and recently-upgraded delight [blogged]. Staff run occasional tours into the South Street Caves, but tickets sell out fast. Climbing Box Hill, perhaps via the Stepping Stones, is a knackering must [blogged]. On the opposite side of the valley is Denbies Wine Estate where you can stroll amid the vines or take a wine-tasting tour [blogged]. Beyond Ranmore Common is Polesden Lacey(£13.60, 11-5pm, NT), the quintessential Edwardian country retreat and one of the National Trust's finest [blogged].
• Clandon:Clandon Park(£8.40, 10-5pm, closed Mon, Tue) burned in 2015, but the National Trust welcomes those who'd like to see how restoration's going. The country house at Hatchlands Park(£11.80, 2-5pm, Tue-Thu & Sun, also NT) opens four days a week, but the surrounding garden and parkland daily.
• Woking: The town where HG Wells wrote War of the Worlds now has a Martian in the town centre and a modern culture-shed called The Lightbox(£5, 10.30-5pm, closed Mondays) mixing history with art [blogged].
• Weybridge: Transport fans should head to Brooklands Museum(£14.50, 10-5pm) for a display that's mostly cars and aircraft (including an actual Concorde you can actually board), but also includes the London Bus Museum[blogged].
• Chertsey: I should mention Chertsey Museum(free, 12.30-4.30pm, closed Sundays and Mondays), the museum of the borough of Runnymede, but the true attraction hereabouts is of course rollercoastertastic Thorpe Park(from £33, from 10am, Mar-Oct)[blogged].
• A3: Near Esher you'll find Claremont Landscape Garden(£9.50, 10-6pm, NT), a gorgeous place to roam, and also the boarding point for trips to The Homewood(£14.35, pre-booked tours, Friday or Saturday), a Modernist country villa [blogged]. Further down near Cobham is Painshill(£8, 10-6pm), a particularly elegant 18th century landscaped garden [blogged], and on the other side of the M25 the ever-popular RHS Garden Wisley(£14.50, 10-6pm).
• Windsor Great Park:Virginia Water(free) has a gorgeous landscaped lakeside, notably the Valley Gardens, [blogged]. For more formal horticultural delights try The Savill Garden(£11 summer, £6 winter, 9.30am-6pm).
• Egham:Egham Museum(free, 10-4.30pm, Tue, Thu, Sat) is little known, whereas the meadow at Runnymede(free) where Magna Carta was signed is world famous [blogged].
• Windsor: Obviously there's Windsor Castle(£22.50, 10-5pm, occasionally closed), which'll be thronged with tourists. For a rarely-seen royal hideaway make a date instead with Frogmore House(£7+£9, three days a year, late May/early June)[blogged]. Windsor Museum(£2, 10-4pm, closed Mondays) fills the ground floor of the Guildhall. Finally let's not forget the brick wonders at Legoland(from £29, 10-6pm).
• Cookham: The Stanley Spencer Gallery(£6, 10.30-5pm) displays the artist's works and temporary exhibitions in a converted Wesleyan chapel.
If you have any further thoughts on places you'd go out of your way to visit, please add them in the specific comments box above (Kent, Surrey or Berks), and I'll add your best choices later.
