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If you’re based in or near London, or want to see the surrounding areas, why not compare car hire rates and explore some great places nearby?

Hatfield House is around 20 miles north of London and is the home of the 7th Marquess and Marchioness of Salisbury and their family, and the Estate has been in the Cecil family for 400 years. Every summer it’s open to visitors and this year they have the largest collection of Henry Moore sculptures ever exhibited in the grounds of an historic house making the gardens as appealing as the house itself.

The surrounding deer park and Old Palace building were owned by Elizabeth’s father, Henry VIII, who used it as a home for his children, Edward, Elizabeth and Mary. It was while she was living in the Old Palace, in 1558, that Elizabeth learned of her accession to the throne.

Hatfield House is a popular film location and was Lara Croft’s home in Tomb Raider. It can also be seen in Shakespeare in Love, Sherlock Holmes, The King’s Speech and many more.

If you have the family with you, the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre in Great Missenden, is a fun day out. It’s about 35 miles from London and is in a wonderful village location. There are galleries about Roald Dahl and his stories and there’s even a wall that looks like chocolate and smells like chocolate! It doesn’t taste like chocolate though. In the storytelling centre there are lots of arts and crafts activities and you can sit in Roald Dahl’s chair in a reproduction of his ‘writing hut’. All the children notice the hole cut in the back of the armchair he used and this was done to make it more comfortable as he had a back injury from his war service.

The onsite Cafe Twit is always worth visiting too as they serve plenty of kid’s options including the amazing “Whizzpopper” which consists of foamy hot chocolate with raspberry coulis, topped with Maltesers and marshmallows.

As the village is quite small do have a walk around. There’s a Roald Dahl Village Trail you can follow and it includes the church graveyard where he’s buried which you’ll find by following the BFG’s* footprints. (*Big Friendly Giant)

Brighton will always be a great place to visit and can be a day trip from London or a short city break in its own. It’s the seaside destination of choice for hip Londoners as it’s fun for days out and nights out too. Brighton is also the gay capital of England and has a fantastic Pride Parade and Festival every August.

Visit the Brighton Museum and enjoy a cream tea at the mezzanine cafe or visit the Royal Pavilion, the extraordinary seaside fantasy palace of King George IV, which combines an Indian mogul exterior with an exotic Chinese interior.  Chips on the beach and ice-cream on the pier make this a perfect destination for all ages.