For
a day trip to Bath from London its a bit of a no brainer. Take the
train from London's Paddington Station. Trains leave broadly every
30 minutes and take approximately 90 minutes to perform the journey.
The alternative is bus/coach travel by National Express from Victoria
Coach Station. This can be much cheaper than train but journey time
is between 3 and 4 hours, a bit too much for a return day trip. |
 |
|
|
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 to that.
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. By going independently you get much longer than the 2-3 hours
of 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.
|
Touring
Independently by Train
It
is quite an attractive proposition to take a 3 or 4 day tour of the
main English attractions. 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. |
Outline
Rail Map Connecting Attractions
(Trains at least hourly) |
National
Express Coaches
The bus
service between London and Bath is in comfortable touring coaches
complete within onboard washroom facilities. Travelling by coach is
normally much cheaper than by rail, but for a day trip the 3-4 hour
journey makes a long, long day.
Coaches broadly run every 90 minutes. Most schedules call in on Heathrow
Airport on the way.
National Express
Tickets & Timetables |
 |
|
