Is Richmond nice for a night away?

[helpyhelperton]

If we like Rye, Holt and smallish, pretty towns - would we like Richmond? We also like Marlowe but want somewhere a bit bigger?

Other recs welcomed for one night away where you can browse independent shops, have nice coffee stops and a decent dinner (prefer non-chains)

Thank you!

Richmond London or Richmond Yorkshire?

SW London or NYorks?

Yes it would be great, but it doesn’t feel like a town but somewhere much bigger/busier.
For other towns in the south east similar to the ones you’ve suggested, have you been to Henley and Lewes?

Richmond in Yorkshire is worth a night away, yes.
Richmond near London is, also.

I love Richmond in London. It’s lovely. We stayed for a night. Went to a lovely restaurant and plenty of cafes and shops to browse by day. We also went for a gorge walk in Richmond park.

If you mean SW London, yes it’s great for a night away. My in laws live there and I love going to see them. There is more people obviously but it has a great chilled out vibe.

Sorry for the confusion - Richmond SW London!

Love Richmond.

You can walk along the river to the Common, see the deer. Pay a visit to Petersham nurseries!

Walk up the hill for the view and see the planes landing at Heathrow. If you’ve watched Ted Lasso it’s where it was filmed. Good shops.

I’ve enjoyed Deal, Tunbridge Wells, Winchester and Folkestone. Also Bath but that’s obviously bigger. All very walkable with interesting shops, things to see and nice places to eat.

On my list which might fit your bill but I haven’t been yet is Cheltenham.

I will follow your thread with interest for inspiration for other trips!

Thanks for all the replies - is Henley nicer? Busy enough?

Yes. You can go to Kew Gardens, Richmond Park. The river is lovely - you can take a boat trip to Kingston or even Hampton Court and there are cafes and pubs and lovely walks too. You could have afternoon tea in the Petersham Hotel or Petersham Nursery, a picnic on Richmond Green. Lots of little shops to investigate, lots of pubs and restaurants.....

I like Henley.

Out of all the places listed I would choose Richmond. It has quite a unique atmosphere. You know London’s there but you can’t quite believe it. Gorgeous cafes, the river, the park and the deer (there’s a lovely cafe hidden half way up the slope of Richmond Hill with views of the river), Petersham nurseries, you can walk along the river to Ham House if you like a bit of history.

Yes Richmond is lovely, harbour hotel or Bingham

If you want to go, don't go at the weekend. It gets full of chavs and "Don't 'it 'im Darren" types by the river. It's absolutely ghastly at those times.

During the week it's not so bad.

No more so than anywhere else and a lot less than most places.

Henley is a nice place to spend a night. There’s a good selection of pubs and restaurants. The Angel on the Bridge is a great place to sit and have a drink when the weather is good. Marlow has a similar vibe.

It’s a lovely area- we used to live there , however please note it’s not picture perfect and compact in the centre in the way somewhere like Marlow is - it’s much more like a London place, quite a bit of empty shops, non stop buses and cars and vans On the flight path and slightly grubby in bits and lots of bustle , especially near station - river front though is very nice as is walking up Richmond hill for good views plus the gorgeous huge park - so if you plan on the park, the hill, river front etc great, if you want a day wandering around a town centre I do think there are nicer town centres and it’s not that big either . Having lived there i would personally stay in Kingston and do Richmond park and river from there - town centre has a lot more going for it if you plan on shopping etc - just my view as someone who lived in the area and still goes regularly and if you want cute and cosy and beautiful park on doorstep , in all honesty I would stay in Hampstead , unless you live there - premier inn there is very decent, my favourite one in the country