We're staying in London for a week and wanted to go to bath for a day. We didn't want to do a tour just go there on our own. Any suggestions?<BR>

Littlehouse,<BR><BR>Happened to discover a website this morning <BR>www.britainexpress.com<BR>It seems to have great information &amp; web links to everything. Here's the url for info on Bath-what to see. Bath is an easy train ride from London.<BR> http://www.britainexpress.com/Where_...brary/Bath.htm <BR>There are also walking tours you can take once you get there if you don't want to do it on your own. What else would you like to know?

BTW, Stonehenge is near Bath. It makes for a long day, but you could do both together. If you're only in London a week, it seems foolish to do 2 separate trips but it begs the question with or without tour. Your options are do both with a one day tour from London, rent a car &amp; do both on your own, train to Bath &amp; pick up a Stonehenge tour from Bath. What I suggested to someone else, although I'm not sure of the expense, is to train to Bath, rent a car in Bath (when you're ready to leave)to do the late access to Stonehenge &amp; drive back to London. This was because there didn't seem to be trains back to London from Bath late enough.

Thanks mclaurie! I went to the site you suggested and it's got a lot of good info.

Thanks mclaurie! I went to the site you suggested and it's got a lot of good info.

I didn't want a tour either about three years ago and ended up on Green Line buses. If all you want is Bath, then the train is faster and the way to go. But if you want to do Stonehenge with Bath and a quick stop over in the Cotswolds then it might be for you. They are really a bus company, but they do day trips with a guide. Not a full go everywhere you go, fully supervised kind of guide. Instead the guide is really there for the longer times between places. You do all the sightseeing on your own. It's kind of a throw in given the number of people on the bus. It's more than a bus ride but less than a tour, and that suited me at the time, so maybe you can look into that if you like.

Dear Littlehouse: On Thursday (March 27th) we did this trip on our own. Before leaving the U.S., I purchased two APEX return (round trip) tickets (for GBP 18 each --- must purchase a week in advance and charge to your credit card) on thetrainline.com, departing London Paddington at about 945 a.m. and arriving Bath at about 1115 a.m. On arrival in Bath, we walked to the center of town (not far --- just follow the signs from the station), got oriented at the visitor's information center, and then made our way to the Roman baths (a block away from the visitor's information center). At the Roman baths, we purchased the audio tour for GBP 8.50 each, took the self-guided tour and finished at about 115 p.m., in time for a lunch of pasties and Bath buns from one of the local sellers in the vicinity of the Roman baths. At 200 p.m., we joined the walking tour (free) of Bath and saw all the major sites during the next two to two and one-half hours. At the conclusion of the walking tour, we had time for a little shopping in the center of Bath, a return visit to the area of the bridge and shops, a visit to the gardens near the bridge and time for a stop in a local pub before our 643 p.m. departure back to London where we arrived at Paddington at about 755 p.m. The weather was perfect, the sites amazing, and the commentary on the free tour couldn't have been better. Total cost for the day was about GBP 36.50 per person which included our train tickets, audio tours of the Roman baths, lunch (admittedly not fancy --- we sat in the sun on a bench in the city center at the entrance to the Bath cathedral) and pub drinks. We had a great day and spent considerably less than the GBP 50 to 55 per person charged by the commercial tour operators for day trips from London (which cannot possibly provide much more in the way of sightseeing, with the possible exception of a stop at Stonehenge). The only drawback to doing it this way is that when you purchase your train tickets in advance (as I did), you are obligated to take the trains you booked yourself on. I do not believe the train tickets were refundable or changable in any way but they did include reserved seats on the trains. We took a chance on the weather being nice and happened to win that bet. Hope you do too. Bon voyage!

I'd like to suggest you take the Guide Friday bus (not limited to Fridays) upon arrival in Bath via train and I would definitely do it on your own. You get an overview of the city on this bus. You'll pass the Crescent houses which, I believe, were the first condos. There is also a costume museum on the route. The advantage of the bus is you can get off if something interests you and back on again. You can then walk the town. I saw everything I wanted from about 10:am to 8:00pm. Don't know train schedules as I had a car.

Lor' luv a duck, David. The wife and I did exactly the same trip a few years ago.

How far to drive to Bath and/or Stonehenge from North London?<BR>

I have been to Bath three times- once with a tour group, used it as a base for three days to see the area. The tour (of UK) started there. The company reccomended taking the train from Paddington which I did. The train ride was plesant and I sat opposite an older couple going to the seashore for the day. I liked this because I was with non-tourist. The second time, my mother and I were traveling together and we took a tour bus that included stonehinge and one of the large Abbeys outside of London. The trip is scheduled as a day trip- out in the morning, return late evening but we left the group in Bath and spent two nights there at a B&amp;B. I booked the bustour the night before over the phone and of course let the driver know we would not be using the return portion as a courtesy. I think the trip was through London walks. They are on the web and you will find there white tour brochres in all hotel lobbies. They are the most popular company for walking tours in London and offer &quot;Days Out&quot; trips as well. The B&amp;B my we used was Brooks Guest House located one block off the circle at the top of the hill. Rooms were beutiflu, host was friendly and helpful and breakfest excelent. Breakfest choices even included kippers. Out of season freash fruit as well. Third trip my new husband and I took train from Paddington again. Train schedule can be gotten off the web, I haver never bought a ticket in advance but siply walked up to the window and made my request and never had a problem. All of Bath that you would want to see as a tourist can be walked but it is situated on a hill. We were there on Dec. 31 and it was 7 degrees centigrade with cold wind. Be sure and plan to take an early (8am) train so you will be in time for the free guided walk. Volunteers, many of whom have been giving this walk for twenty years, lead a fascinating one hour orientation walk of the town.

I've been on two day trips to Bath and never had enough time to see everything I wanted to. But here are a few suggestions:<BR><BR>The Roman Baths - a fantastic look at Roman England. You actually get to walk through the excavated parts of the ancient baths. They're located just across from Bath Abbey.<BR><BR>The Pump Room - adjacent to the Roman Baths. If you're Jane Austen fans at all, tea at the Pump Room is a must. It's a little pricey (I think I paid around 15 pounds for mine alone), but the atmosphere is nice, and they usually have a quartet playing. You can almost see the crowds of well-to-do Englishmen and women - who flocked to Bath in Georgian times - milling about the ball room and &quot;taking the waters&quot;. <BR><BR>The costume museum - a fun look at clothing through the centuries. They have examples from as early as the 1600's, I think. Any good guidebook will give you the exact location.<BR><BR>Bath Abbey - Gorgeous structure, but the real treat (if you're interested in that sort of thing) would be if you can catch an Evensong service. This is an evening service sung by the choir in most larger Anglican churches (and some Episcopalian churches here in the U.S.). It's pretty user-friendly for the non-Anglican, as well, since it doesn't require much congregation participation. Generally, the Evensong is sung at 5pm on most days, and at 3 or so on Sunday. Ask anyone at the abbey for exact times and days.<BR><BR>Hope you enjoy Bath! There are a ton of wonderful museums and buildings that I either haven't listed or never got around to seeing. I definitely recommend spending more than a day there!

We went to both Stonehenge and Bath in one day during a week-long trip to London in March. We've been to England many times but were with friends who had never been there, so we wanted them to see some of the highlights outside of London, trusting their appetites will be whetted for a return trip in the future. Rented a car in London and drove to Oxford, where we did a walking tour through the tourist office (2 pm, free), which was wonderful. Stayed the night in a pub in the tiny village of Great Tew--wonderful. Left the next day at 9; drove to Stonehenge (very nice during this season because you can get closer than during the summer), then on to Bath. Arrived in time for the walking tour of Bath (again free, through the tourist office) at 2 pm. (There's a pattern developing here.) Fabulous! Had been to Bath twice before but had never taken a walking tour. Definitely recommended! After the tour we visited the Roman Baths (audio tour). By the time we finished there, the Abbey was closed. Oh well -- next time. We drove back to our pub, stopping for a good dinner in Chipping Norton along the way. Could you do all this in a day trip from London? Only if you were totally driven to check things off your list and never expected to get back to England. (Say it isn't so.)

Oops, on reading my posting, I see that we did a walking tour through the tourist office in Oxford. No, the walking tour was through Oxford, run by the tourist office. I'll proofread next time.