Esperanza77

Hello,
I want to go to Bath on my own from London this September and have few questions:
1- Is it better to go by coach or rail?
2- Is there a good site that can tell me the must sees and what is the easiest route to follow?
3- How do I go about seeing Jane Austen's places, should I take a tour?
4- Can the whole city be done by foot or do I need to use public transport?
5- How many hours should I allow for this trip in order to do it leisurely?
Any other tips are appreciated
Thanks

PalenQ

faster by train if not cheaper and on a day trip you will want as much time there as possible - www.nationalrail.co.uk has all the rail links and fares - note that some of the cheaper tickets may not allow you to depart London weekdays before 9:30am - but trains go really fast so are faster than buses.

Trains take you to the Bath Spa train station right in the heart of town - first stop should be the Bath Tourist Information Centre right near the Cathedral and Roman Baths, two primo Bath sites - most sites you will want to see are indeed in a very compact area and the few out of town a few miles are linked by the open-top doubledecker buses that circulate constantly around Bath, stopping at all main sites - hop on hop off buses you buy a ticket on for the whole day - you can also get this right from the Bath Spa train station but I'd head to the TIC (Tourist Info) first to pick up a town map and self-guided walking tour - as I did recently.

Allow the whole day IMO returning around 6pm the earliest.

Now for the train fare - if you want to leave week days before 9:30am it could cost a lot - and if you are doing any other day trips from London and also taking the Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted Express trains into London from airports then investigate the London Plus Railpass (not sure of current name as has changed a lot - could be London and Beyond railpass or Days Out of London railpass - names that have been used. But this pass gives you a certain number of days of unlimited train travel throughout much of southeast England, including to Bath, Salisbury (Stonehenge), winchester, Oxford, Cambridge, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwick, Canterbury and zillions of other places - and you can hop any train anytime - no need deciding on say a specific train to return to from Bath (as you may not know how long you will really want to stay there) and the pass also gives you a round trip transfer by the airport express trains, trains that are rather expensive and IMO the fastest and best way to get into London, especially for folks with luggage. For details on trains in England and the pass check out these fab IMO sites - www.seat61.com (check this site's commercial link to Rail Europe to get current prices for this railpass); www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com. Again the beauty of the pass IMO is you just turn up at the station and hop on any train - anyway Bath to me is along with York and Edinburgh Britain's finest city outside of London!

yk

I believe the Bath tourist office also offers guided walking tour for a fee.

NorCal_Jo

Catch as early train as you possibly can out of London and spend all day in Bath. A guide book or the tourist office can give little maps/key sights. Also, check out visitbath.co.uk to decide what sights to prioritze and map out a loop so you can sightsee efficiently and leisurely without too much zig zagging. There is a lot to see in one long day so you may have to prioritize some things especially since many attractions close between 5-6pm. Since you specifically mention Jane Austion, I would highlight a few sights focused on the life in Georgian/Regency times...

1) Jane Austin Centre - don't get too excited as it is quite small but still interesting.
2) Assembly Rooms and Fashion Museum - Assembly rooms for the "Ball Season" and Fashion museum are very interesting for a look into Georgian/Regency time period.
3) Royal Crescent and Number One Royal Crescent museum - look into a "typical" Georgian townhouse. Only takes 30 minutes to see and some of the docents are so sweet and informative.

Other must sees are the Roman Baths and of course, just walking around and seeing the architecture and river. Lots of shopping and cute stores also (I like to go to Bath sometimes just to have lunch and shop in a beautiful city)!

PalenQ

I believe the Bath tourist office also offers guided walking tour for a fee.>

Yes indeedy as do any TIC in any vaguely touristed city in the UK I have been to - definitely in Bath as I saw one departing from the TIC when I was there - they usually go off periodically but are inevitably on foot so they move at a slow pace that everyone in the group is comfy with IME - they are typically led by a Blue Badge OAP - Old Age Pensioner or retired local nearly all of the many I have seen and partaken in. They shed a lot of local insight on the town. Check out the Bath TIC web site for details I suppose.

willit

It is a few years since I did a free tour provided by the TIC, but it lasted a couple of hours, was very well done, and I learnt a great deal that I don't think I would have got from a guidebook.

janisj

"<i>they usually go off periodically but are inevitably on foot so they move at a slow pace that everyone in the group is comfy with IME - they are typically led by a Blue Badge OAP - Old Age Pensioner or retired local nearly all of the many I have seen and partaken in.</i>"

OAP, perhaps - slow pace, hardly . . .

For free: http://visitbath.co.uk/site/things-t...-guides-p43001

For small fees: http://visitbath.co.uk/site/things-t...-tours-p392863

http://visitbath.co.uk/site/things-t...-walk-p1255293

And others on the Visit Bath TIC website.

Plan on returning to London after dinner. Or better yet -- stay the night

PalenQ

janis I were judging pace on the several such tours I have taken with TICs in other British towns and the pace was slow but perhaps in Bath things are speeded up?

bardo1

2. This has 10 different self-guided walks. You don't need to buy anything just click opn all 10 walks and make your own, customized, map.
http://www.gpsmycity.com/iphone/bath...tours-130.html

4. By foot

5. All day, have dinner, then head back (8 hours, includes lunch and dinner times).

PalenQ

my esperience with walking tours organized by the TIC is like willit's - lots of local insight - a good deal IMO.

Esperanza77

Thanks a lot and sorry for the late reply. Great info and lots of it too Will go through it and post back if I have questions.

Thanks again

PalenQ

esperanza - you just cannot go wrong with a day in Bath - IME you need not have planned anything or worry about getting around etc as this is a compact town and is a visual feast that is a beauty as a whole more than it constituent parts - when approaching by train from London you will get a bird's eye view of this wondrous cohesive Georgian architecture that dominates the whole town. You could just wonder around and not be dissapointed and of course hit the special interest things like Jane Austen stuff and of course the famous Roman Baths, recently wondrously rehabbed. So just wonder around after getting a map at the tourist office and let yourself go.

basingstoke2

Speaking of the walking tours, the Mayor's walk is free, lasts about 2-2.5 hours and leaves daily at 10AM from in front of the Roman Bath entrance - you will see people waiting. I don't know if the leaders are OIP or not but the one we took moved at a very brisk pace and covered everything from the start up to the Royal Crescent and back. Our leader was a font of local knowledge. That will give you an idea of where you would like to return to for a more in depth look.

PalenQ

Well since I believe all such guides must be certified as a Blue Badge or equivalent guide - meaning they must pass some kind of qualifying exam or whatever I think this assures a knowledgeable guide rather than just someone who is the Mayor's nephew, etc.