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Can I do Stonehenge and Bath from Isle of Wight in 1 day?

Can I do Stonehenge and Bath from Isle of Wight in 1 day?

Old Feb 17th, 2017, 04:42 AM
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Can I do Stonehenge and Bath from Isle of Wight in 1 day?

Planning a trip in April 2017 and renting a car at Heathrow Airport. Driving to ferry port to spend first day and night on Isle of Wight. The next morning we would like to cross by ferry to Lymington and visit Stonehenge and Bath. Is that reasonable(timewise) in one day?
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Old Feb 17th, 2017, 04:55 AM
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Where are you arriving from? Is jet lag likely to figure in all of this? How long are you on the Isle Of Wight?
Do you realise how expensive the ferries are to the IOW?
Basically I would say if you are planning on returning to the IOW the same day no, it isn't doable. Especially if you are at all likely to be jet lagged. I'm not even sure driving to the IOW on arrival after a long fight is a sensible thing to do. The motorways are fast and tricky, especially if you aren't used to them or driving on the left, even if you are wide awake.
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Old Feb 17th, 2017, 05:01 AM
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As hetismij suggests . . . There are a lot of holes in your post.

LHR to the IoW is not at all recommended IF you are flying in long haul. Plus there can't be much day left after traveling down from LHR. How many days are you on the IoW?

Are you asking about one way to Bath, or round trip drive back to the IoW?

What is the rest of your itinerary like?
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Old Feb 17th, 2017, 05:18 AM
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Sounds a stupid idea. Take the coach to Bath, spend the night there to get over jetlag, wander around Bath, THEN hire a car and go to Stonehenge on the way to the Isle of Wight
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Old Feb 17th, 2017, 05:36 AM
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Please don't call ideas stupid, dotheboyshall.

That being said, it looks like you could go to Stonehenge first. If you have time, take in the Salisbury Cathedral. Then go on to Bath. I'd spend the night in Bath so you can take a full day to visit the baths.

It has been many years since I was in that part of England. Can folks advise about need for pre-ordering tickets for Stonehenge and Bath?
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Old Feb 17th, 2017, 05:53 AM
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wow, what about the Isle do you want to see? If you are say going to Yarmouth to see family then no need to take a car, just go as a foot passenger. See also Cows.
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Old Feb 17th, 2017, 05:55 AM
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Pre ordering? Not for Stonehenge, but you do need to book parking.

As for Bath - it is a city so no tickets. Do you mean the a Ronan Baths? you can buy on line but no need.


We are all sort if shooting in the dark since we need more info from the OP . . . Could be a 'stupid' idea, or not.
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Old Feb 17th, 2017, 05:57 AM
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>>See also Cows
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Old Feb 17th, 2017, 06:07 AM
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Ah, yes Cowes, so many jokes so little time.
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Old Feb 17th, 2017, 09:13 AM
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Surely, you didn't think I meant tickets for a city, janisj. Thanks for parking and Roman Baths info.
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Old Feb 17th, 2017, 10:37 AM
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vernayocum - if you simply look at googlemaps or similar, you may have an unrealistic idea of how long it'll take to drive to the IoW and what there is to see there. In my childhood we spent whole weeks there for our summer hols and though it was a long time ago, i don't remember getting bored or running out of things to do. So not only is it a long way to go from LHR, but you are seriously underestimating it as a destination. plus it's expensive to get there so you might as well maximise your time there if you can.

personally I like the idea of getting the train to Bath [better than driving after a long flight] staying there for a couple of nights, then picking up a car and driving to the IoW via Stonehenge and Salisbury.
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Old Feb 17th, 2017, 10:49 AM
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Just answering your question of timings to get from IOW to Bath via Lymington and Stonehenge in one day. You will be leaving early to fit this in so you will hit traffic on your journey.

The ferry from IOW to Lymington is 40 mins, but you have to get to the ferry terminal and need to be there 30 to 60 mins before it departs.

You will probably hit traffic around the M27, this is one busy road connecting Bournemouth to Southampton and Portsmouth, I have spent a stationary hour not moving at all during peak travel time around this area! There is a lot of people living round here trying to get to a lot of cities in a small area.

Salisbury is also very busy and the ring road can be difficult to navigate.

Once you have got past Salisbury traffic does calm down as you approach Stonehenge. But you are going to want to spend at least a couple of hours here to justify the entrance fee.

From Stonehenge, you can have a reasonably easy drive to Bath if you drive via Shrewton across the plains. (this is a lovely drive)

So you are looking at aprox 1.30 to get to Lymington. Possibly 3 hours to get to Bath with 2 hours at Stonehenge.

Not including time to travel from your accommodation to the ferry you are looking at a 6 and a half hour itinerary to get from IOW ferry terminal to Bath with a decent stop at Stonehenge.

So if you catch the 08.50 ferry, you could be in Bath for half past three to four in the afternoon.

If you are planning on returning to IOW, you won't have any time to enjoy Bath. If you are staying in Bath, you really won't have had time to enjoy IOW. Taking this into account the drive from Heathrow to IOW really isn't a pleasure even when you don't have jet lag and you are used to driving on the left.

I like a road trip but I wouldn't want do this journey in your time frame.
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Old Feb 20th, 2017, 01:45 PM
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Okay, so we are visiting UK for 2 weeks. We are arriving Heathrow at 7:30 am, picking up the car driving/ferry to Isle of Wight for the remainder of that day and night. Taking the ferry from Yarmouth to Lymington next morning. From there we would like to go to Stonehenge and then Roman baths in Bath. We are not returning to Isle of Wight. My basic question is can we do Stonehenge and Bath from Lymington in one day? Thank you,!
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Old Feb 20th, 2017, 02:10 PM
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I just posted to your other thread. That plan is plain silly . . . First of all you don't want to drive directly off a long haul flight. 2nd - by the time you get through immigration, take the shuttle to the rental agency, arrange the car, and drive down it will be mid afternoon or later before you can possibly get to the Isle. Then you have to turnaround the next morning and take your second (expensive) ferry ride in 18 hours.

just awful . . .
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Old Feb 20th, 2017, 03:51 PM
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Just wondering if I can get an answer regarding doing Stonehenge and Roman Baths starting out from Lymington late morning.
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Old Feb 20th, 2017, 05:01 PM
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Perhaps you would get better responses if you were to say please and thank you. Your tone is rather gruff.
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Old Feb 20th, 2017, 05:22 PM
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It isn't the missing please/thank you. It is that they have a daft plan and are not happy that people are saying so.

Driving from LHR to the IoW after an overnight flight, then leaving the IoW the next morning to visit Stonehenge and Bath.

Stonehenge and Bath are 'doable' in one day -- but it is bat s#&t crazy to drive to the IoW and back.
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Old Feb 20th, 2017, 05:56 PM
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vernayocum - where are you moving onto from Bath?

Can you do Stonehenge and Bath from Lymington in one day - yes, if you don't mind not seeing very much of Bath. If you take the 8:50 ferry you'll be in Lymington for around 10am. Traffic allowing, you can be at Stonehenge by 11:15 - allowing 90 minutes to see the museum and stones, then another hour to Bath, find parking etc (Not always easy) and it will be between 2 and 2:30

What people are trying to tell you, in various degrees of politeness, is that your initial plan seems expensive and inefficient. If your flight arrives on time, factor in a minimum of 2 hours to get through immigration, baggage pickup, and sort out the hire car. From there it is about 90 minutes to one of Lymington, Southampton or Portsmouth (the IOW ferry terminals) and a minimum of 90 minutes to get on board a ferry and cross to the IOW - so say Lunchtime.

The IOW has many "quaint" narrow roads - If you are flying overnight, driving in unfamiliar environments, possibly on the wrong side of the road - it is a recipe for disaster. People have been jailed in the UK for causing fatal accidents as a result of jet lag.

It is going to cost you a minimum of £90 for the ferry
At least look into the possibility of taking a train/bus to Southampton or Portsmouth, going to the IOW as a foot passenger, and using public transport there (or even hiring a car for the day)
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Old Feb 21st, 2017, 12:22 AM
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I agree that it seems like an inefficient and expensive use of your time to include IOW in your itinerary for 1 night only to leave first thing in the morning. Not to mention the dangers of driving with jetlag.

Taking the train/bus to Bath seems like a better use of time/resources. I believe you can even pick up a tour of Stonehenge from there - eliminating the need for the car until you leave Bath so you don't need to pay for a hire car or worry about parking.
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Old Feb 21st, 2017, 05:20 AM
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On your other thread you just posted that you are staying two nights on the IoW and someone else (someone who is not flying in) is doing the driving - neither of which was mentioned before. That changes things (quite a LOT actually)

It is still a lot of driving but much more doable. BTW -- on that other thread you say you are staying two different place on the IoW. With less than 1.5 days there it would make more sense to stay in one place.
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