Susan56

Hi, We just decided to take a short family trip to London this coming February. We are arriving at Heathrow early on a Sunday morning and I thought we should just take a train (if possible) to Bath and stay overnight in Bath and head to London the next afternoon. Is this do-able? Where can I find train information? And then, I would appreciate any help with hotels in Bath. We are 2 adults and 2 teens and need two rooms. I would like to keep costs down. And finally, what are the "must sees" in Bath. The kids love history, art and are great travelers! Thanks, Susan

bettyk

Susan, for lots of info on Bath, check out this website. For things to do, go to the What to See and Do link on the left. They have info on self-guided walking tours and companies that offer tours.

For hotels, you might want to check out the Comfort Inn. Their rooms seem quite reasonably priced and it's in a good location.

bettyk

Duh, sorry. This is the Bath website:

http://www.bath.co.uk/

Roger

My best guess is to take the Heathrow express train to Paddington station in London, then a direct train to Bath. Sunday schedules show departures every hour on the 1/2 hour taking around 1 1/2 hours.

ron

By train, you would take the Airlink bus to Reading station and then the train from there to Bath Spa. It might be more convenient and cheaper(and as quick)to take the National Express coach from Heathrow to Bath. See http://www.nationalexpress.com

Bitter

Susan: Can't help with Heathrow. We stayed at the Parade Park in Bath. Decent (not fancy or upscale) in a good location in Bath at a good price, with two rooms ( double bed in one room, 2 single beds in the other). Have to go through single bed rooms to get to spartan bath. www.paradepark.uk.co I think

kaudrey

To look for places to stay, go to www.smoothhound.co.uk, and search under Bath.

Karen

kathyl

Hi Susan,

I'm just curious as to why you would want to head to Bath immediately? You may have perfectly good reasons, but I think it may be easier to do Bath as a day-trip from London. I'm not familiar with the National Express coach from Heathrow to Bath, but if you take the train first to Paddington and then another train to Bath, it just adds quite a few more hours of travel time when you may be already tired. Just something to consider.

That said, I can understand wanting to spend a night in Bath. An overnight trip from London would also be manageable and you can leave extra baggage with your hotel in London and not have to lug it all to Bath.

paulinbermuda

You can look up train times and prices on this web site- www.thetrainline.com.

janis

The logistics for getting from LHR into London are a good deal faster/easier than to Bath. If I were just arriving after a Transatlantic flight I would probably want to go into London first - and then after a few days take the train to Bath for an overnight stay.

Susan56

Thanks for all of the information. We thought that going to Bath first was a good idea for a couple of reasons 1. We could nap on the train (no joke, we find that when we have traveled overseas and had to make connections to reach our final stop, we made out much better than if we arrived directly - that short nap at airports really helped out - much better than checking in and sleeping in a proper bed - then it is harder to get up! AND 2. I don't want to have to pay for a hotel in London and then not use it for a night and on top of that pay for another two rooms in Bath. I was afraid that it is hard to get a good deal on rooms if I take 3 nights, skip one and then take another night. So, I thought, first night in Bath and then 4 nights in London with an easy trip to Heathrow at the end! That was my logic.

mclaurie

Susan, unless you're renting an apt in London (not a bad idea for 4 of you), the hotel rate should be no different with consecutive days vs split up days. As others have pointed out, there's no direct train service to Bath from LHR. You either have to train to London or bus to someplace else for a train or take the bus from LHR. If you want to follow your itinerary, I'd take the bus (at least there's no changing)to Bath & then train to London.

From another post asking this question there's a car co. mentioned that charges £100 from Heathrow to Bath. http://www.crystalcars.co.uk/airports.html For 4 of you, that's just 25/person. Not too bad.

In Bath, take the free walking tours that leave from in front of the Pump Room for a good overview fo the city.

isabel

We were in Bath this summer and stayed at a lovely B&B - Bay Tree House for 48 pounds for a double. It was about 10 minute walk from the abbey and roman baths. (email is [email protected])

I've seen many people suggest taking a guided walking tour but Bath is quite small and easily done on your own. The highlights are the Abbey, Roman Baths, Pulteney Bridge and Royal Crescent. Most quide books cover the town quite well. Just get a map (our B&B gave us one that was better than the one in the guide book, but even that would have worked). The Roman Baths were definitly worth the price and I would sugest going at dusk if possible since the lighting with the torches adds a nice touch.

jsmith

Susan56, what a great idea. The National Express site shows a fare of 42 pounds (assuming the teens are 15 or younger) and the elapsed time is given as 2 hours 35 minutes (leaves at 10:10 AM, arrives 12:45). The website emphasizes buying tickets ahead. Nap a little on the bus and you should have a good afternoon in Bath.

d1carter

Susan: My wife and I and our 13 year old flew into Gatwick and took a train to Bath upon arrival. You can do the same from Heathrow into London and then another to Bath. Trains are much nicer than buses. Much more room and much more relaxing. Since you'll be arriving early in the morning on Sunday,its a great little trip. As for Bath, do your homework, and if your only staying one night. Take one of the doubledecker bus tours(jump on-jump off) they are very easy. My son wants to go back to Bath but this year its Ireland for us. Have fun, Bath is a great day trip out of London.

jacksonjr

Susan56 Ron"s advice is the easiest way to travel to Bath from Heathrow. I bought my tickets on arrival at Heathrow walked to the bus joined the quay and a couple hours later was in Bath. A hop on and off bus near the center of town is a good way to get an overview of Bath. The Roman Baths and Costume Museum are worth a look . Enjoy your trip.