jperon

There will be four of us in London and thought we'd like to go to Bath for the day. According to the rail website, it looks like round trip train fares (first class which we tend to prefer) are about $155 each. It seems that maybe we should go out to Heathrow on the tube and rent a car for the day instead of spending over $600 for train fares. Is this logical, or am I missing something? I've driven in the UK before and don't think it would be difficult. How difficult would parking be in Bath? Any interesting short stop coming or going if we have a car? And also, are most things open in Bath if we do this on a Sunday? Thanks in advance for your help.

Ellen

Day return train tickets would be far cheaper; I guess you pay plenty for taht first-class ride. It's only two hours, maybe you could bite the bullet and pass on the first-class. <BR><BR>Driving to Bath isn't too bad, though parking in Bath is horrendous and driving within Bath is impossible. On the way to or from, you can stop at Salisbury, Stonehenge or Old Sarum.

janis

You won't have to pay that much for train tix - get what are called "cheap day returns". These are very inexpensive tickets that are good for round trip on the same day for about the same as a one way ticket - and sometimes even less if there is a special excursion running. You don't need to buy these ahead of time.<BR><BR>But for 4 - a rental car would be cheaper - but you'd have to add in the cost of the LHR express to get to heathrow to pick up the car (you don't want to drive throug central London)<BR><BR>Driving in bath is VERY congested and parking can be a major problem. But they have a couple of good Park-and-ride lots on the outskirts. Park the car for free and take a shuttle bus into the city center. By driving you would have enough time to visit Avebury on the way back. OR if you got a VERY early start you could drive SW to Salisbury and Stonehenge and the on to Bath.

janis

jperon: Ellen posted at the same time I was writing my post. As you can see two great minds with but one thought

Ellen

Ah, janis, how true. But I forgot to mention Avebury, which I liked better than Stonehenge because they have not one but two great interpretive museums on the premises.

jperon

So many quick replies! What and where is Avebury? But the one day return specials sound like a good idea to me. Didn't know about them and I guess they won't come up on the website. Are those good on Sunday as well??<BR><BR>Why take the heathrow express? Since we will be right off the Piccadilly Line, I just thought we'd take the regular tube -- no luggage to worry about, and we'll have passes for that anyway -- or just add for the extra zone.

janis

jperon: Avebury is a wonderful site. It is the largest (in area) neolithic stone circle in northern Europe. The stones are not as big or imposing as Stonehenge - but the experience is much better. During the middle ages a small village grew up amid the stones and it is enchanting. the stones are not fenced off like at S-Henge and you can walk the earthworks and among the stones.<BR><BR>As for the LHR express vs the tube to Heathrow - the reason I said take the train is because the tube takes about an hour to get to LHR and an hour back and that would take a LOT of out of your limited time for Bath. <BR><BR>Sundays can be very good for train excursions - sometimes you can get 2 for 1's or really good fare specials.

trevor

Stick with taking the regular tube to Heathrow since you're already on the Pic. line. By the time you'd enter the tube, take it to Paddington, and then wait for the next Express to Heathrow, and add the 20 plus minutes to get there, you will have spent just as much time as going direct and spent a whole lot more money.<BR>

David White

Take a look at this website for realistic advanced purchase train ticket prices...<BR><BR> http://www.thetrainline.com<BR><BR>they will sell them online, but they will not mail the tix outside of the UK. You can also pick up tickets bought from The Train Line at Euston rail station in London.<BR><BR>Buying train tickets in advance from other sites like Britrail or Rail Europe is usually the most costly way to go...they add handling fees and don't often offer lower cost fares.<BR><BR>Dave White<BR>http://www.kidstolondon.com<BR><BR>

ron

I find the choice that jperon has presented us quite odd. A comfortable first class train ride on the one hand; a relatively uncomfortable one hour tube ride, a 10 minute walk from the Heathrow station to one of the terminals, wait for a shuttle bus to the off-site car rental depot, the shuttle bus ride, the completion of documentation, driving out of the somewhat confusing Heathrow conurbation and then the drive to Bath on the other hand. And doing the reverse later the same day. Frankly, if first class on the train is too expensive, standard class sounds 10 times better than this alternative.<BR><BR>Unless this is a scavenger hunt to collect the most tourist sights possible in one day, the idea that, if you rent a car, you can combine a visit to Bath with visits to Salisbury, Sarum, Sarum and Avebury is ridiculous. Why not add Wells and Glastonbury as well?

janis

ron: "the idea that, if you rent a car, you can combine a visit to Bath with visits to Salisbury, Sarum, Sarum and Avebury is ridiculous. Why not add Wells and Glastonbury as well?"<BR><BR>If you will read the posts more closely, no one suggested doing Salisbury, Sarum, Sarum (you probably meant Stonehenge?) Avebury and Bath in one day.<BR><BR>The suggestions were 1) Avebury/Bath OR 2) Salisbury/Sarum/Stonehenge/Bath. <BR><BR>Both these options are very realistic. Stonehenge takes 45 min Maximum, Old Sarum even less so one could easily drive to Salisbury/Sarum/Stonehenge and still be in Bath by Lunch time and have a good 6 hours in bath before having to drive back to LHR. The easier choice (Avebury / Bath) would entail driving to Bath and spending 8 or more hours there and then stopping at Avebury for 30 to 60 mins on the way back to LHR.

David

Believe me, you want to take the train. I did the same thing just last week (Bath to London, Paddington). There is NO difference in First Class or standard seating, except for a little extra space. And I emphasize the "little"! We were in standard seating and we had 2 really large "industrial" size luggage bags with us (my wife loves to shop-what can I say?) It cost us 32 GBP each. It was so easy. You do not want to rent a car and drive in Bath either, that would be a mistake. The roads are very narrow, and VERY busy with other cars and pedestrians. There is also no reason top buy tickets ahead of time. Hope this helps.

tania

While I much prefer to do things on my own, I don't feel the agravation of getting to Bath and Stonehenge on my own is worth it.<BR><BR>A poster said that the train is &pound;32 which equals $76.80 CDN.<BR><BR>Tours with Evan Evans Tours or Golden Tours (or similar) costs &pound;50 or $122 CDN snd includes entrance fees, transport, and pickup at my hotel.<BR><BR>Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and take a tour no matter how independent you want to be. We just returned from 10 days in Florence and Monaco, where we did only one tour during the entire trip, from Florence to San Gimignano and Siena at a cost of $60 CND or $37 UD because it made financial and time-wise sense to do so (CAF Tours). We couldn't have done the two efficiently on public transport in one day. A car! How much time do you waste just finding the place? (Did that scenario in Pompei)<BR><BR>my 2 cents<BR><BR>Tania

jperon

OK, I guess I was a bit off base with the first class train idea. After reading these replies I agree that it makes a lot more sense to just take the train that to do all the complications of the car rental. We'll just hope for some good one day return fares. I think we'll also forget about the idea of doing any more than just Bath.<BR>In regards to the idea of a tour, that is the reason my wife and I want to return to Bath. We did a tour there some seven or eight years ago and felt constricted by the itinerary. They herded us on and off a bus a number of times and other than dumping us in a "shopping" area which meant nothing to us, we really didn't have any time on our own. We definitely want to go back on our own this time. We'd also like to take time to have a really wonderful and liesurely lunch. Any suggestions? The couple of restaurants I've heard of appear to be closed on Sunday, which remains the day we'd prefer to do this trip.

Lesley

Can I just say something about our rail network. Once upon a time, you used to turn up at the station and ask for a day return which worked out cheaper. Not any more. If you turn up on the day and ask for a ticket you may need a mortgage to buy it. The variation in prices for the same journey are incredible and unfathomable. I travelled from Bristol (next stop after Bath) to London by rail last month. I bought the ticket a week early, I bought on the internet and I nearly died when it cost &pound;79. I mean the journey is 1hour 20minutes. you CAN get cheaper tickets, but it isn't straightforward any more. I would suggest that you contact the ticket office in Paddington Station once in London and ask them what is the cheapest ticket to Bath they have. It may be at certain times of the day, and it will almost certainly be for a day in the future, but the train is preferable to drivng from London. As other posters have said, driving in Bath is a nightmare, parking is worse. (There is a good park and ride about a mile from the motorway.) In addition, the M4, the motorway from London to Bath is very crowded. Traffic travels fast and trucks will pull out in front of you with no warning. I live here and I wouldn't dream of driving myself to London, it's such an unpleasant experience. An alternative to the train is the coach. Coaches leave from the Victoria coach station and are a fraction of the price of the train (about &pound;25 return).<BR>The second part of your question - no, many things are not open on a Sunday. The Baths are, the pubs and restaurants are. Most of the shops aren't.

Catherine

I see that no one has mentioned taking a bus tour to Bath! I was in London 2 wks ago and my party (3 adults) took a bus tour to see both Stonehenge and Bath. I beleive it was about 50 pounds a piece including admissions to Stonehenge and the Roman Baths. We took the Evan Evans tour which had new, clean buses and a nice tour guide. They picked us up at the hotel and dropped us near a tube station so we could go to Chinatown after our day trip. It was nice not having to drive and having everything taken care of. I think they even have an option where you can spend the night in Bath and they will pick you up the next day. You can check out their tours on the internet (just look up "Evan Evans" in a search engine). We didn't even book until the day before and it was fine. And a word of caution, the spring water in Bath that they let you try... I suggest one glass for 4 people because I was feeling that water in my body the *whole* day.

Carolyn

I see that no one has mentioned the Explorer day trip to Bath or Salisbury / Stonehenge with the London Walks Company. I checked into their website for walking tours in London & found that they have day trips to these and other areas out from London. I found that the expense is alot less that going with Frames Rickard or Evans tour groups - Has anyone eles taken these day trips? I Hope to use London Walks for several outings on a 7 day trip to London next summer.