Bath Travel Forum

Hi hope someone can help. We are booked for 5 nights in London and were planning a day trip by train to Bath. However now that we`ve begun working out our itinery
I`m wondering if it`s going to be better to hire a car and spend a night.
This way we can incorporate Windsor Castle( another train trip) and perhaps detour to Stratford Upon Avon in our two 2 trek. Is the train as expensive as we think? The `walkup` fare is so much cheaper but will we be able to get on? Also is one day enough in Bath including 3 hour roundtrip train travel? Thanks in advance.
Anna&kym

Bath and Windsor, Windsor and Stratford or Bath and Stratford by car ok but not all 3 and you will miss a lot in all areas.Do Bath first, getting there early to get back to Windsor before the Castle shuts. You will miss the Guards band though (check which days from my pages),this means your close to London to get back.Or do Windsor first and carry on to Stratford after, staying the night. That gives you the chance to see Oxford on the way back, if you wish. Because you're breaking your journeys i think the train is expensive, as the need for an early start is important, whichever you do.

Walk-up fares are usually more expensive than pre-purchased 9up to 6pm the day before usually). You'll have no trouble getting on the train, though you may not get a seat.

You can do Bath in a day by train (though, obviously, you won't see evrything); Windsor is also easily do-able. It wouldn't be feasible to incorporate these two and/or Stratford into a day by train, nor would it be by car (imo). By the time you got to Bath by car (and navigated/parked) you'd only have a short time before you had to leave so that you could get to Windsor (or Stratford, a longer journey) before everything closes (5pm ish).

It would be possible to 'do' Bath by car, stay a night then visit either Stratford or Windsor.

Really, it's your call; take into account that petrol is expensive (1GBP per litre), driving in London & navigating yuour way in/out of it can be a nightmare, roads (especially the M4, M25 and M6) can get very congested and parking is often difficult/expensive.

Personally, I'd tend to 'do' Windsor and Bath on two separate days, by train, and leave Stratford for another time (unless you want to give up another day of your stay).

Thank you both for your ideas. Yes, I think that dealing with traffic jams and hassles with parking will outweigh the freedom and convenience of having a car.
We really don`t travel on public transport here in Australia, so just the idea of
relying on the train system for getting everywhere is quite overwhelming but I can see the logic in using it here, certainly.
I`ll look at the train travel times/prices more thoroughly and work out the details. Thanks again, Anna&kym

I think it would be easy for you to underestimate the parking hassles, the congestion (not just in London), the expense and the sheer volume of traffic crammed into our tiny island.

So, in your case, daytrips by train seem much more sensible (and you'll both be able to look at the countryside that way, rather than one at the road and the other at the map...and the road!).

Have a look at www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk - they run the trains to Bath and Windsor. Then look at www,southwestrains.co.uk - they also run trains on a different route and then www.chilternrailways.co.uk. Now all of these companies have very comprehensive web sites and all ahve details of special offers that may be of help.
If you are coming from Australia driving would be OK but London is not a good place to drive and petrol and parking prices are so high - the trains are frequent and despite what some may say very reliable - they also go centre to centre.

Suggest you give Bath a full day as there's so much to see. Bath is difficult to get into by car and if you have a lot of luggage you may not want to use a Park and Ride facility which allows you to park your car on the outskirts of the city and be driven in on a bus. The train station in Bath is quite central for the sights and it would save you parking fees - if your hotel doesn't offer free parking.

Having visited various Australian cities, I know that you may find driving in London quite a different and harrowing experience, so suggest you use public transport as much as possible.

Have a great time!