Bath by Public Transport From London

Traveling Independently Between Bath & London

Great Western Train To Bath
Great Western Train To Bath

For a day trip to Bath from London its a bit of a no brain decision. Take the train from London's Paddington Station. Trains leave broadly every 30 minutes and take approximately 90 minutes to perform the journey.


This is at least 30 minutes faster than any vehicle will take to do the same journey.

London to Bath by Train

Frequent trains run from London's Paddington station taking approximately 90 minutes to do the journey.

There are normally two trains an hour operating up until very late evening.


London - Bath Train Timetables & Fares


The railway line used is the historic line built by Brunel 200 years ago. The original end terminus was Bristol just down the line from Bath where Brunel had built the first iron steamships. The idea being to connect to these ships by rail from London then onto New York.


The tunnel, dug through Box Hill, is two miles long and located between Bath and Chippenham. When the two ends of the tunnel were joined underground there was found to be less than 5cm (2in) error in their alignment.


The station at Bath is formally called Bath Spa. It is very central, only 5-10 minutes walk from the Roman Baths


By leaving London after 09:30 during weekdays you can purchase day return tickets much cheaper than prior. At weekends, cheap fares are available at all times.


Note, visiting Bath using a guided tour from London will be little different in price to going independently and you will also stop off somewhere like Stonehenge or Windsor as well. Downside is none of the tours stay longer than 3 hours in Bath, most a lot less than that.

By going independently with trains running late in the evening you get much longer than the typical tour itinerary at Bath and of course the flexibility to do what you want to do in the time you want to spend.

Outline Rail Map Connecting Attractions
(Trains at least hourly)

Touring Independently by Train

It is quite an attractive proposition to take a 3 or 4 day tour of the main English attractions in Southern England. There are frequent trains connecting Salisbury, Bath and Oxford.


Salisbury is a good base for visiting Stonehenge in addition to its own charms. Oxford is a few miles from Blenheim Palace, Cotswolds and Stratford Upon Avon.

There are good minibus tours from both Bath and Oxford that explore the Cotswold villages where public transport for visitors is not viable.

National Express Coaches London - Bath

The bus service between London and Bath is in comfortable touring coaches complete within onboard washroom facilities. Traveling by coach is normally much cheaper than by rail, but for a day trip the 3-4 hour journey makes it a long, long day.


Coaches broadly run every 90 minutes. Most schedules call in on London Heathrow Airport on the way.

National Express Tickets & Timetables

Summary of Most Popular Guided Tours From London 2012
Including Stonehenge
Stonehenge Afternoon or Morning Tour PR £35 Full Size Bus Stonehenge only. Morning or Afternoon. Daily.
Stonehenge & London Sights PR £59 Full Size Bus Morning tour of London on red London bus. Afternoon tour Stonehenge. Daily.
Stonehenge & Bath PR £45 Full Size Bus Admission Stonehenge afternoon in Bath.
Daily
Stonehenge & Bath IF £54 Small Group Admission Stonehenge + Roman Baths at Bath. Saturdays only.
Windsor - Stonehenge - Bath PR £71 Full Size Bus Admission Windsor, Stonehenge + Pub lunch. Flexible time Bath after tour. Daily
Windsor - Stonehenge - Bath IF £85 Small Group Admission Stonehenge, Roman Baths, but not Windsor. Mon, Wed,Fri and Sat.
Windsor - Stonehenge - Lacock - Bath PR £88 Midi Size Bus Admission Windsor, Stonehenge + Pub lunch at Lacock included - Not Tues+Sat
Windsor - Stonehenge - Oxford EE £79 Full Size Bus Admissions to Windsor Catle, Stonehenge, Walking Tour Oxford. Daily
Salisbury - Stonehenge - Avebury IF £85 Small Group Admission Stonehenge+Salisbury Cathedral. Tour Avebury. Wednesdays
Lacock - Bath - Stonehenge IF £85 Small Group Admission Stonehenge + Roman Baths at Bath. Walking tour Lacock. Tuesdays.
Stonehenge - Glastonbury - Avebury IF £85 Small Group Admission Stonehenge, Glastonbury Abbey. Fridays.
Stonehenge - Glastonbury - Avebury AN £75 Small Group Admission Stonehenge, Glastonbury Abbey. Daily.
Salisbury - Stonehenge - Bath EE £74 Full Size Bus Admissions to Salisbury Cath, Stonehenge, Roman Baths. Daily
Stratford - Cotswolds - Stonehenge - Bath PR £80 Full Size Bus Admission Stratford, Stonehenge, Tour Cotswolds Tues,Fri,Sun
Oxford - Cotswolds - Bath - Stonehenge IF £169 2 Day small group with hotel Includes admissions, walking tors and good hotel. Every Weekend
Stonehenge Special Access Tours
Stonehenge - Lacock - Bath PR £97 Various Special access admission at Stonehenge plus Roman Bath
Stonehenge - Salisbury or Avebury AN £79 Various Special access at Stonehenge plus either Avebury or Salisbury
Stonehenge From Salisbury   £85 Various Evening Special access at Stonehenge from Salisbury
Cotswolds, Oxford, Stratford Upon Avon, Warwick Castle
Oxford - Stratford - Warwick Castle PR £71 Full Size Bus Admission Christ Church Oxford and Shakespeare's Birthplace + Warwick
In depth Cotswolds + Lunch - Stratford PR £76 Full Size Bus With lunch + Cream Tea in Cotswolds, Walking Tour Stratford. Tues, Thur, Sat
Oxford - Cotswolds - Stratford IF £85 Small Group Guided tours of Oxford, Stratford, Burford, Boutron On Water. Thursday & Sunday
Oxford - Cotswolds - Stratford AN £75 Small Group Guided tours of Oxford, Stratford, Cream T Cotswolds. Daily.
Oxford and Stratford AN £50 Full Size Bus Includes Anne Hathaway's Cottage.
Tues+Thurs+Sat+Sun
Windsor - Stonehenge - Oxford EE £79 Full Size Bus Admissions to Windsor Catle, Stonehenge, Walking Tour Oxford. Daily
Stratford - Stonehenge - Bath PR £80 Full Size Bus Admission Stratford, Stonehenge, Roman Baths. Tues,Fri,Sun
Oxford - Cotswolds - Bath - Stonehenge IF £169 2 Day small group with hotel Includes admissions, walking tors and good hotel.Every Weekend
Canterbury, Greenwich Thames River Cruise, Leeds Castle & Dover
Leeds - Canterbury - Dover - Greenwich PR £71 Full Size Bus Admission Leeds Castle, Canterbury, Lunch Dover. Greenwich tour+cruise.
Scotland, Amsterdam & Paris
Day Trip Paris - Train & Metro/River Pass PR £119 Eurostar Train Day return on Eurostar train. Paris public transport pass and Seine cruise.
Escorted Day Trip To Paris PR £149 Eurostar Train Pickup from hotel. Eurostar day return. Fully escorted tour of Paris
Luxury Day Trip To Paris PR £209 Eurostar Train Pickup from hotel. Eurostar day return. Tour + Champagne lunch on Eiffel Tower.
3 day Weekend Break In Paris IF £229 Coach 2 nights in Paris with full sightseeing.
Optional Versailles trip.
3 Day Weekend Break In Edinburgh IF £189 Train 2 nights in Edinburgh with guide, optional trips to Highlands. Every Friday.
3 Day Weekend Break In Amsterdam IF £229 Coach 2 nights in Amsterdam with guide and full sightseeing programme.
IF - International Friends (Uses 16 seat minibuses)
AN - Anderson Tours		 EE - Evan Evans Tours
PR - Premium Tours