My wife and I are planning to spend two full days in Bath but we are undecided on how much time to spend south of Bath (Wells, Glastonbury, Avebury, etc.) Does anyone have any suggestions as to how much time to spend? What other sights are worth seeing? We'd like to visit parks & gardens as well as castles, churches, etc. Any input would be appreciated.

Wells (town and cathedral) is very much worth a visit - at least half a day. The abbey and town of Sherborne equally so. For gardens, look for Lytes Cary, Tintinhull, Montecute and Barrington (Gertrude Jekyll). And of course: the Coast and the villages along there - Lyme Regis, Branscombe, etc.

Frankly, I'd spend less time in Bath and more in the above spots...

Completely agree.

Avebury is a delight. Quite a number of the Stonehenge-type stones that you can wander through and let your imagination run wild. The village is quite small and quaint. Outside the town is the largest man-made hillock in the U.K.

Cheers,

Jinx Hoover

Glastonbury and Wells would make a very nice day trip. Allow enough time to climb Glastonbury Tor, visit the Chalice Well Gardens then visit the Abbey ruins. It is a short drive from there to Wells for lunch and time to see the Cathedral. I would suggest a side trip from there to Cheddar Gorge to see the limestone mini-canyon. Then head from there back to Bath.
Avebury is in the opposite direction and would be difficult to combine with the other places without a long drive. Combine Avebury stone circles with West Kennet Longbarrow (3500BC burial chamber) and Silbury Hill, returning to Bath via Marlborough and the M4 and if you are running early, come off the motorway at the Bath turn but go briefly north on the A46 and visit the wonderful gardens at Westonbirt Arboretum.

I totally agree with Tuck! Athelhampton House, Sherborne castle and sherbourne, Blandford Forum, Dorchester, Kingston Lacey, Corfe..the list goes on. In fact having been to Bath several times, I've found other areas near there much more interesting.

If you want to visit parks and gardens, you must go to Stourhead. The Michelin Green Guide says it is "one of the supreme examples of English landscape style". It is a must see.

Though I've never been, I've seen raves for Longleat which was landscaped by Capability Brown.

Both are in the same area.

jsmith..you are so correct Stourhead is magnificent..the house as well as the gardens! They have a tower there that overlooks the entire gardens..it is wonderful no matter the time of year!

Stourhead is magnificent to our eyes but some gardening purists maintain it was debauched and degraded by the Victorian taste for rhododendrons and the like.

Before Stourhead was replanted it was a true landscape garden, evidently.

The beauty was in the structure (natural hills; lakes formed from medieval monastic fish-ponds) and the trees.

The Victorians made it exotic, showy and vulgar, to quote the purists.

The area south of Bath is most definitely "worth it". I've spent a lot of time over several trips in Wiltshire, Somerset and Dorset and still have barely scratched the surface. You've received all sorts of good suggestions here.

Avebury is also "worth it" -- but in case you haven't looked at a map it is not south of Bath. Avebury is eastwards back towards London. You could visit it enroute if you are driving out to Bath from London on the M4.

Yes to all above suggestions, including the possibility of subtracting a day from Bath. My favorites -- Wells, Avebury, Montecute House, and Lyme Regis. You can even drive west to Lorna Doone country in Exmoor. You'll never exhaust the possibilities. J.

Responding to tedgale's comments, I'd like to be counted in as one of his "purists".

Stourhead has the ambience and scale of a 'park' - not of a 'garden'. I'd say that Stourhead is to Landscape Design as Hidcote, or Sissinghurst, is to Garden Design (or Horticulture).

The OP did ask to "visit parks" so this could be one (Longleat as well).

Thank you tedgale, for your accurate description of Stourhead.