Southampton Travel Forum

hi,
I will be on a cruise on the QE II in October 22nd-27th and 2 days before that cruise and 3 days past the cruise I would like to explore the area around Southampton, mainly :
Beaulieu - for the car-museum
Stonehendge
what else is there to be seen ?
I would like to do these excursions by public transport or by organized bustours

For Stonehenge, you'll need the train to Salisbury then the bus.

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

Journey time is around half an hour, return fare 7.20GBP.

For bu times (goes from outside Salisbury station) look here:

http://www.thestonehengetour.info/

the ordinary bus has changed into the 'Stonehenge Tour', I'm afraid.

Salisbury has a wonderful cathedral, so allow yourself time to explore it (I have pages).

Am now pondering Beaulieu......

Beaulieu not so simple.

I'm guessing the Motor Museum so transport info is here:

http://www.beaulieu.co.uk/motormuseum/visitorinformation.cfm

You can get a train from Southampton to Brockenhurst: takes about 13 minutes. Then you'll need a taxi (not cheap).

There may be a local bus which goes somewhere nearer: hopefully someone nearer Southampton can help.

I'd highly recommend Winchester as another possibility: a lovely city (the ancient capital of England), with an excellent cathedral. Lots and lots of architecture, history, riverside walks, cafes etc etc (yes, I've got a page). Train journey from Southampton can takes as little as 15 minutes.

thanks a lot for the links, they are very helpful !

You're welcome!

[PS: Winchester really is a good idea! :-)]

Winchester would definitely be a good choice.

My favourite part of the world!

Public transport will eat up a lot of your time, but it's reasonably good around the area. A hire car would really be the best option if you can do that.

Beaulieu is a beautiful little village, and in addition to the motor museum the house and old palace are worth seeing. Also the nearby Bucklers Hard if you have time. Certainly Winchester (have a look at the Great Hall) and Salisbury (amazing cathedral with an original of the Magna Carta to see) are worth spending some time exploring. If you get the train to Brockenhurst or Lymington you'll see some of the New Forest too.

The only bus that goes to Beaulieu is route 112 - the current timetable is at www.wdbus.co.uk/htm/ttSouthern/S_112.pdf. To reach it you will need to take the bus to Lymington (see www.wdbus.co.uk/htm/ttSouthern/S_56-56A.pdf) or the train, or take a bus to Hythe (see www.bluestarbus.co.uk/bs9.shtml).

However this is going to use up most of one of your days as it would be difficult to combine it with a trip to Stonehenge or Winchester.

isle of wight is nice too and there is a fast ferry over to cowes
i'm just back from my holiday in bournemouth not far from southampton, at the local tourist informaion they had diffrent tours , bus and boat ,among the bus tours there was stonehedge, bath, shaftbury etc so i think contacting the local tourist information might help you out on organiced tours,we rented a car and manage to enjoy stonehedge, bath and shaftbury in one day without rushing it.
i really wanted to se beaulieu aagain but next time for sure :-)hope you have a great holiday

thanks a lot for the informations, maybe I will take to car and will be more flexible that way.

That really will allow you to see so much more in the limited time you have. When you go to Beaulieu also have a look at Lymington, a lovely Georgian town. Especially, walk down Quay Hill at the bottom of the main street to the marina.
I love the New Forest, so I'd spend a little time just driving around the area.