Greater London Travel Forum

I am trying to plan a one-day trip out of the city.

1) Is 1 day enough for bath?
2) I am also trying to decide between oxford and bath..any suggestions/comments about the two?
3) What about travelling to those places? It's pretty easy getting there using public transportation, right?

Thanks!

Well, yes.......you can get the train to either, or the bus/coach to Oxford (it wouldn't be feasible to do a daytrip by coach to Bath, imo, but www.nationalexpress.com will list times if you want to check).

www.nationalrail.co.uk for train times and fares.

Bath is much further away than Oxford, so you will have much less time there (and the fares will be higher).

Journey time to Bath from London Paddington is around and hour and a half, return fare can be as low as 19.50 if (and it's a big if) you buy tickets in advance. As lots of people have had problems doing this from abroad (although you can also buy them from the station up to 6pm the night before, there is no guarantee that they will still be available) it is more likely that the ordinary 'saver' return will cost you 47GBP.

Whether you consider there will be enough time to 'see' Bath is up to you. Remember that most things in the UK close around 5pm.

Oxford takes about an hour by train from London Paddington, ordinary 'saver' return is 18.90 (though you can get cheaper advance fares for some trains, as before).

You can also go by bus/coach to Oxford, which will be cheaper. www.oxfordtube.com and www.nationalexpress.com for services/timetables/fares.

From London you can travel by Express Coach from Victoria Coach Station to Oxford. Coaches depart every 30 minutes.
You can also take the train from Paddington.

Bath can be reached by train from Paddington. (regular trains).

I prefer Oxford as there is more to do.
Both cities are easily reached.
Have a nice day!!

I haven't been to Bath for a long time but it is beautiful and you would only need a day. Oxford is very easy to reach from London. It's one hour by train from Paddington (Make sure you get the fast train without many stops though!) - around £20 return off peak, and about 2 hours by coach. The coachs to Oxford run from near Victoria coach station in Buckingham Palace Road, and cost £10 return. (There are a couple of companies that do it, I usually use the 'Oxford Tube'.) Oxford is a beautiful city to wander around, wonderful buildings and parks. Have a great trip!

Have a look at the official tourist infor sites on

www.visitoxford.org

and

www.visitbath.co.uk

for ideas and information, and also at the VT pages on each place. That will help you decide which you most want to visit.

Never been to Bath but if you are in London Oxford is quite suitable for a day-trip. Train fares start from 4 GBP for a single ticket Paddington-Oxford, that is 8 quid return (two singles). The train takes an hour and the station is close to the city centre. In order to get a cheap fare you will have to buy both tickets 2-3 days before you travel (you can do that online: www.firstgreatwestern.com). You can also book cheap advance fares for the coach from London Victoria to Oxford at megabus.com

Oxford is beautiful in spring, very green and really a pleasant experience. It is still term time and you are likely to get a good feel of student life in Oxford. However, Oxford isn't too exciting apart from visiting the colleges of the university and perhaps going down the river on a punt. Bath might offer a greater variety regarding what to do and see.

Disagree.

Oxford has two brilliant and very unusual museums: the Ashmolean and the Pitt-Rivers.

It also has a Saxon church tower, a castle (albeit in ruins, many Medieval buildings, some excellent (and old) pubs......the Hobgoblin, for example, which was frequented by JRR Tolkien of 'Lord of the Rings' fame..... and lovely walks by the river though the college meadows. And excellent shopping too, if that's what you like.

Bath has Roman baths, links with Jane Austen, museums, architecture (the Royal Crescent) and lots of shops (and both places have lots of tourists in season).

if you are NOT committed to accomodation in London you might find you save money by spending a night in Bath. I guess the same for oxford. neither are Cheap, but not as bad as london...

You are indeed right that there are more things to do in Oxford, pubs and museums being some of them. But I think that this is just not special. Pitt Rivers and Ashmolean are interesting because they take you back to the days when Britain was an empire, but if in Oxford on a sunny day or having been to the British Museum in London I wouldn't simply go there. There are some traditional pubs that you may indeed not find in other big cities. However, they are not as lovely as the old countryside pubs. The Tolkien pub is called 'Eagle and Child' - the 'Hobgoblin' is a pub outside the city centre. Still don't see the point in going to a pub only because it's linked to some famous author. But if one is really interested in the life of some influential people, Oxford is the place to go: Oscar Wilde, JRR Tolkien, Lewis Carroll, Bill Clinton...

Oxford Castle is a dump and located in one of the ugliest areas of the city centre, the shopping in Oxford is absolutely boring (basically chain stores, except for the Covered Market), the Saxon tower and the Carfax are old - but not necessarily nice.

But you're absolutely right, the scenery in spring is simply beautiful and a walk along the river is very enchanting.

Oxford castle and the area surrounding have been redeveloped: it is now extremely pleasant, with outdoor seating for cafes, a swish hotel, little shops, a museum etc etc.

http://www.oxfordcastle.com/home.html

http://www.oxfordcastleunlocked.co.uk/

Countryside pubs are indeed lovely, but they don't exist in Bath either.

Our concept of 'boring' shopping is not the same as that of visitors, and there are plenty of independent shops in Oxford as well as chains.

If you are not keen on museums, or see them only as representations of a past empire and its looting, then clearly neither the Ashmolean nor the Pitt-Rivers (nor any other UK museum) will appeal.

Oooh..Thank! Those are good tips, I'll keep it in mind when making my decision.