Thank you texasbookworm. Reading your first hand account of the day in Chawton is exactly what I was hoping for. The rest of your trip report is great too. :)

Excellent advice janisj. I talked to my sister about that today: 9 or 10 days total will be better. Next step: book plane tickets. Replies to my post have been even more helpful than I hoped. Thanks to all.
SusieIowa

Susie--Glad to help. The trip you are reading about was my 6th visit to London, so I'd "seen" all of my "must-sees"; a week is not too much for a beginning taste of London! But if you want to have a day trip or 2, it's possible. My fave is always Oxford, but Austen sites are great, too!

<<....and a taste of some of the great literature we have been reading all our lives>>

You might enjoy a visit to the Charles Dickens Museum in London.
https://dickensmuseum.com/

Has anyone done the torchlit dinner at the Roman Baths? Wondering if it's a good idea.

Haven't done a dinner but have toured the Baths in the evening and it was quite special.

Thanks, Janis. I think it's actually a torchlit tour/dinner package. Thought it sounded like it might be nice.

Do we need to do both the torchlit visit and daytime as well?

>>Do we need to do both the torchlit visit and daytime as well?<<

I probably would not . . . But then, I've visited the Baths several times. I'm not sure how the dinner packages work but assume they allow entrance well before the dinner service. If so, and if you can get in maybe 90 mins in advance, IMO there is no reason to also do a daytime tour. Time of year could make a little difference -- In June the 'torchlight' visit will be in broad daylight and in December it will be dark by 4:30.

The daytime hours can be very crowded so you'll have a much nicer/quieter tour in the evening.

Thanks. I have to look at the description again, but I'm pretty sure you can get in ahead of time with plenty of time to see everything. We will be there in September, probably the second week.

Shakespeare?
 

Have you considered a trip to Stratford upon Avon? I believe you can visit 4 or 5 houses that have a link to Shakespeare and then go to the theatre to see one of his plays. There are some delightful towns and villages just to the south, in the Cotswolds.

Is the express coach to Bath easy to find at Heathrow ? We are flying overnight and want something not to hard to navigate as we will be tired and maybe not at our sharpest.!!! . It looked to me like locating the coach might be easier than train. We had thought of hiring a car since we are 3.

We decided to do Bath for 3 nights before London. . Any suggestions about lodging in Bath ? We are thinking of a hotel in city center or a bnb. We are a party of 3 adults and prefer 3 beds. So far, it looks like we would need to book 2 rooms if we use a hotel.

We just adored this apartment in Bath 2 years ago. It's too small for you, but you might want to contact Laura, the host, and see what else she has available.

https://www.booking.com/hotel/gb/cry...tml?aid=304142

We rented from Bath Holiday Rentals last month and would gladly recommend them. Our apartment is too small for your needs, but they have a wide selection. The location was perfect for us - quiet yet convenient.

https://www.bathholidayrentals.com/p...rden-apartment

I just remembered there's a small Jane Austen museum on Gay Street in Bath. You might enjoy that.

Bath is definitely the place to go. We got there on a bus with no trouble. Once there, it's very walkable. Most of Austen's characters end up in Bath at some point- and they do a great job or re-creating that atmosphere.

If you decide to stay in Bath you might consider a side trip to Wells... a cathedral town an hour plus bus ride from Bath.
Years ago my husband and I were driving thru England and he became frustrated by all the roundabouts in the approach to Bath -:) So he said... to H*** with it and we took the easier road to Wells. I've never heard of Jane Austen visiting there but I'm certain she would have felt right at home. We found Wells charming enough to revisit on a subsequent visit to England.

Bookmarking.