I'm sure I will be posting several messages prior to my trip. So here goes... We are flying in to Gatwick, staying in the Seven Oaks area and then making our way to Winchester and Salisbury before heading to Bath. We are renting a car and do have some time to ramble about. My husband and I would like to visit both cities. Here are my twenty ?'s. (Sorry) How much time is needed to see the sights in both cities. Is one nicer than the other? Which city would you overnight in? Also, does anyone know what the distance in drving time is from Salisbury to Bath? We will probably take a side trip to Stonehenge. I think we'll need to find accomodations along the way either in one of those cities or therabouts. Any recommendations of a charming place to stay around the areas mentioned that are fairly reasonable. Thanks! Your help is much appreciated!

Hi,I live about midway between Salisbury and Winchester,so know the places quite well. I prefer Salisbury myself but you would find both cities interesting. The journey between the two is easy and should take no more than 30-40 minutes depending on traffic conditions so you could easily base yourself in say Salisbury and explore both places. Spending a day in each place you could see most of the sights but if you want to explore more thoroughly to say include walking by the water meadows in Winchester or visiting Wilton House near Salisbury I would allow a couple of days in each. If you do travel between the two places do stop at Stockbridge, on the main road between the two cities, its at the heart of the Test Valley and worth a look. IMHO I like the exterior of Salisbury cathederal but prefer the interior of Winchester see what you think. You don't say when you are visiting the area this would make a difference as to whether you would need to prebook hotels etc. I was in Salisbury today and it was pretty busy. Living in the area I can't really recommend any hotels or B&B's though an american couple I helped earlier in the year on this forum re Salisbury stayed in a nice B&B within the Cathederal Close, if you would like I will look up the web address and let you know, (its bookmarked on my computer at work). As for distance between Salisbury and Bath it is aprox. 40 miles, its on non- motorway type roads so I would allow about 1 to 1hr 15 mins. for the trip. If I can help with anything else feel free to email me.

Jan! <BR>Thanks so much for wonderful advice. Couldn't have done better than to hear from someone who lives in and knows the area. We will be traveling the area the first week of October so hopefully the summer crowds will be mostly gone and my husband and I can ramble around taking our time to see your lovely country. I would be very interested in knowing the website of the B&B near Salisbury Catherdral. Thanks again for your expert advice!

I haven't been in Winchester so I can't help you with that but I have been in Salisbury twice and enjoyed the time I spent there. Both times were for a half day although I overnighted there this year. We stayed at the Red Lion Inn and while the courtyard is nice the interior is very old and needs lots of work. I definitely would not stay there. The town has lots of canals with swans and can be very pretty when you walk around neighborhoods outside the center. The center has a nice shopping district all within walking distance to the cathedral. The close is lovely and I enjoyed visiting the Mompesson House and Garden-- especially the garden, but I'm not sure what it will be like in October. FYI, the London scenes of the most recent Sense and Sensibility were filmed on the close and in the house. The cathedral also has one of only four original copies of the Magna Carta. The nicest thing to do in town is to walk the townpath which gives you a sense of the countryside. There is a hotel nearby which looked nice from the outside but I really don't know anything about it. I would say that a good half day (5-6 hrs) is enough in the town but it's worth a visit.

Hi Marlena,The original web site I talked about does not seem to have the said B&B on it any more, but I have found it on:- www.wiltshiretourism.co.uk if you click on accomodation then B&B's you will find it about half way down a very long list!It is called Cathederal Close situated at 19a The Close Salisbury. There is an email address and it looks like you can even book on line, only problem there are not any pictures on this site, but I can tell you it looks right out over the close and the cathederal.Another good site for accomodation is http://www.s-h-systems.co.uk/salisbur.html, and this one does have some photos. <BR>If you like gardens do try and visit Stourhead while you are in the area, its not too far from Salisbury and is a lovely NT garden and house, the garden is open daily but the house isn't. (Check out on the NT web site for opening times). If I can help further let me know, we are off to Colorado in a couple of days for our vacation but we will be back by the forth week in Sept.

Hi-- One good thing about Stourhead is that it's not so much a traditional garden (lots of flowers and flowering shrubs...) but is more of a magnificently landscaped park which is perfect to visit when there is some foliage. I would definitely recommend it as well. There are many other great gardens in the area but this is one that I think would be perfect in any season. Enjoy.

Hi Marlena, <BR>We stayed in Salisbury for a week one time using it as our "home base" and it was really a great choice. Jan (who lives there) really gives you some good advice. We liked Salisbury very much and went someplace every day fromt here (Winchester, Bath, Castle Combe, Lyme Regis, over to Cardiff, Wales, and a few other places). It was a good central location and distances are not really too far. Also visited Beaulieu and Longleat - both worthwhile seeing.

Jan, the area resident who wrote a lovely and helpful reply to you, is VERY accurate. BELIEVE HER! We did, having heard from her via the Forum before our trip to Salisbury. We did stay in the Cathedral Close, 19a as she mentioned. However, I think the hosts there are going out of the b & b business in October--at least that's what they told us. Their goal was to pay for their caravan (i.e. camper), and I think October was some sort final point. <BR> <BR>However, if they are still there, it was a lovely place to stay. You cannot imagine the tranquility and glory of seeing that Cathedral from your bedroom window. I will never forget it. <BR> <BR>Jan is right, the exterior of Salisbury Cathedral is very fine. But Winchester's interior is more of an adventure. We spent HOURS in there. HOURS. There is a web site--or there was at one time anyway--dedicated to the cathedral, and it had a very thorough walking tour of the inside. I had printed it out, and we took it along. See if you can find it. I will rummage around for the URL and try to post it if I find it. Good restaurant there at the cathedral (refectory), too, so you can really just be absorbed by the whole experience. <BR> <BR>I liked Salisbury and Winchester better than Bath. Not sure why, just did. Glad to have seen all that famous stuff in Bath, but it didn't feel like a living, breathing place to me--a showplace, yes, but not as interesting to visit. Perhaps I just don't resonate with the 18th century "rage for order" and all those columns, utterly well-laid out promenades, and other anal-retentive architecture. Oops. My biases are showing. <BR> <BR>There is an old mill in Salisbury that is an Inn and restaurant, not sure of its name, but it would certainly rate as charming. It might be on line. <BR> <BR>I envy you all of it . . . the planning and the actual going! Enjoy.

A couple of years ago we stayed in Salisbury twice. The first B&B was certainly nothing fancy, although the price was right. It was called Cranston's, on Wain-a-Long Road. The second B&B was wonderful. It's called Glen Lyn House, 6 Bellamy Lane, Milford Hill, Salisbury, SP1 2SP. Phone 44 01722 327880 It's on the "wrong" side of the ring road from the Cathedral, but the walk was not too far. Very nicely furnished, quiet, and a lovely back garden. Our breakfast was especially tasty - my travel notes tell me I had scrambled eggs with smoked salmon on toast! Our double room (en suite) was 43 pounds in March 1998 and included a shower (we'd had nothing but tubs for days, and hot showers were much appreciated!) I hope you can fit a trip to Avebury into your schedule - well worth spending time exploring this intertwined standing stone circle and village, not to mention the nearby marvelous West Kennet Long Barrow.

I wrote above about an internet site about Winchester Cathedral. Here is the URL: <BR> <BR>http://home.clara.net/reedhome/winchester/interior.htm <BR> <BR>That's the stuff we printed and then used as we walked slowly about the place, reading as we went. It was wonderfully throrough and enriched our visit. <BR> <BR>It just hit me that the posting asked a question "Salisbury or Winchester?" and I only implied the answer--YES! i.e. do both!

Thanks for eveyones help! We are leaving in just a day or two and all of your wonderful advice will surely be taken! Will promise to post a message once we return in a few weeks! We are staying in Winchester the first night at the Wykham Arms. Hopefully will be nice. From there we will be going to Salisbury. This is such a great forum! Thanks again!