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London

Westminster Abbey

Big Ben

Houses of Parliament

Downing St

Buckingham Palace

St James's Park

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Tate Modern

Shakespeare's Globe

Tower of London

The Shard

Carnaby St

Covent Garden

Take the train to Windsor, only 55 minutes out of Waterloo station, for a cheeky excursion out west to this beautiful historic town. You can pay a visit to the oldest inhabited castle in the world, and the Queen’s favourite weekend getaway, Windsor Castle. While visiting the 11th century castle, be sure to see St George’s Chapel where Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, and more recently Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, were married. The chapel also has a number of famous royal burials, including King Edward IV and his wife Elizabeth Woodville, King Henry VI, Queen Jane Seymour, King Henry VIII, King George III, King George IV, King Charles I, King Edward VII, King George V, King George VI and his wife Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (the Queen Mother), and Princess Margaret. The town centre itself is lovely – don’t miss Windsor Royal Shopping, situated inside a Grade II listed Victorian Railway station, and if it’s a beautiful day, why not take a leisurely stroll down to Windsor Great Park down The Long Walk? As you might guess, this is not a quick journey, but a fantastic 3.5 mile route through ancient forest and herds of red deer, with an iconic view of Windsor Castle in the distance behind you. At the top of Snow Hill is the famous Copper Horse statue of King George III, and from here you can see Eton College and the distant arch of Wembley stadium.

Windsor

Windsor Castle

The Long Walk

St George's Chapel

Only 37 minutes out of Waterloo Station, this is one of the favourite homes of Henry VIII. In the following century, King William III had much of the palace destroyed, and rebuilt in a elegant baroque style to rival Versailles. This leaves the building in two very distinct halves, with the Tudor architecture instantly recognisable by its red brick gatehouse, knot gardens and cobbled courtyards, and the elegant wings of Sir Christopher Wren’s rebuilding backed by jawdropping pleasure gardens. There is so much history – King Henry VIII brought all six of his wives to live here. It is where Jane Seymour died, a few days after giving birth to Henry’s longed for son and heir, and Catherine Howard was arrested for treason – it is said that her ghost still runs screaming along the corridors. The Great Kitchen evokes King Henry’s love for feasting, and the magnificent Chapel Royal still has the Tudor vaulted ceiling, from the 1530s, painted blue with gold stars. In 1603, William Shakespeare’s ‘King’s Men’ first performed Hamlet and Macbeth for the new King James I, and his son King Charles I was held here under house arrest after the Civil War. The Georgian exhibition, exploring the beautiful bedrooms and living quarters of Kings George I and II and their families. George II was the last monarch to live in the palace, and Queen Victoria opened it to the public in 1938 shortly after coming to the throne.

Hampton Court Palace

About 2 hours from London Marylebone, changing at Leamington Spa.Stratford Upon Avon's most famous son is one of England's most celebrated playwrights: William Shakespeare.You can visit his birthplace, the magnificent Tudor house where he grew up and also lived for the first 5 years of his marriage. Next, walk 5 minutes to New Place, a beautiful garden marking the site of the house, sadly demolished in 1759, that Shakespeare owned for 19 years and where he wrote many of his later great works. He died there in 1616. If it's a nice day, hire a rowing boat out on the Avon. In the evening,  take in a play at the Swan Theatre - preferably one of Shakespeare's!

Stratford-upon-Avon

Shakespeare's Birthplace

North of London, less than 10 minutes by taxi from Hitchin train station, is Hitchin Lavender Farm. Between July and August, the fragrant fields are thick with waving lavender and buzzing bees. And photographers of course!You can see the sea of purple rising up the hill as soon as you park up, and it really is gorgeous. The richness of the colour stretches in a total of 25 miles of rows for you to freely roam. On a warm sunny day it feels like rural France!We would recommend arriving in the morning to enjoy the space before it fills up in the afternoon - there were some very dedicated instagrammers who arrived later on with suitcases of clothes to change into, and we wanted to enjoy the open swathes of purple without crowds.Entry is £6 for adults, £3 for children aged 5-14 (under 5s are free), and this includes a large brown paper bag each and a pair of scissors to borrow - you can spend as long as you like cutting as much lavender as you can fit in your bag, and take it home. Lovely!Later in the summer, the farm also grows sunflowers, which you can also cut for 50p per stem.The farm has a cafe, and shop selling all kinds of lavender goodies, including soaps, essential oils, skin care and gifts.Top tips for taking photos at a Lavender Farm<ul><li>Don't be afraid of the bees! They're quite happily doing their own thing, and if you just calmly brush past them as you walk then they won't bother you. If you have any allergies you should take necessary precautions.</li><li>Shoot facing up the field so that the rows of lavender stretch endlessly away ahead of you.</li><li>Don't worry if it isn't sunny, overcast skies actually help avoid overexposing the flowers and make the purple shade look more dramatic.</li><li>Most lavender fields are open from early June, but for the densest, most purple flowers, we would recommend visiting in mid July.</li><li>Visit early in the day to avoid the crowds.</li><li>Stick to the paths! Be respectful of this beautiful place and don't damage the plants by clambering over the rows.</li><li>Get low! Sit between the rows and get as many flowers in shot as possible. Alternatively have your photographer stand a few rows away from you, to make it look as if you're surrounded by a sea of purple.</li><li>Have fun with your macro setting capturing bees and other insects on the flowers.</li></ul>

Hitchin Lavender

Paris!!!! The ultimate day trip - Up for a mad one? With Eurostar trains leaving London St Pancras as early as 5:40am and arriving in central Paris within 2 hours 16 minutes, you can definitely hop to the city of love for the day: wander the boulevards, visit the Eiffel Tower, have lunch in Monmartre, some shopping, a glass of wine in a street cafe, before heading home again. Of course if you want to fit in any of the magnificent art galleries, you'll need to make it an overnight stay. Shame...

Paris

In our opinion, London is the greatest city in the world. The museums, the theatres, the history, there is truly something for everyone!

London in 3 days, plus a couple of day trips out of town

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London in 3 days, plus a couple of day trips out of town

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