Bath and Cotswolds Transportation

Return the car in Oxford. All the majors are there. Drop off fee for the one way shouldn't be that much.

Having a car in Bath can be awkward due to lack of parking. Streets are lined with parking metres - many of which limit you to 2 hours maximum. I would go by train from London (Paddington) to Bath - leave your stuff at the hotel - and take a look around Bath on foot.
Rather than rent a car to go to Stonehenge, I would take a train for the 1 hour journey down to Salisbury - where I would take the shuttle bus up to Stonehenge: >http://www.thestonehengetour.info/timetable
On turn to Salisbury - go and see the wonderful medieval cathedral (built in the 1200’s) before catching a train back to Bath.
Trains:> www.nationalrail.co.uk

I would pay on the day at Bath station for an off-peak return to Salisbury = £18.60 - providing you catch the 9.36 or later on weekdays. (It is about £2 more for earlier services on weekdays). For PAD>BTH, you will find it cheaper to pre-book using a debit card for a specific service as pay on the day can be expensive. (The cheap fares are loaded about 11 weeks out).

Friday - hire car and then drive to Cotswolds.

If you do drive to Stonehenge, and I could see why you'd want to see it, while in the area I wouldn't miss visiting Avebury as well. The stone circle and ditch here dwarf Stonehenge and you can actually walk amongst the stones. The village is actually within the circle!

If you are up for a walk, not too far away from Avebury are Silbury Hill (mysterious prehistory man made mound - you can't climb it though) and West Kennett Long Barrow which you can climb on and poke about in! The whole area is full of prehistoric monuments of which Stonehenge is just one, albeit the most famous one, but it's fame means it has to be protected to prevent it being loved to death.

Going back, it does make sense to return your car to Oxford and take the train to London from there. I'm thinking the trains would be more direct and probably more frequent.

Have a great trip!

Ian

I was in Bath last year. The traffic is horrendous. I feel that renting a car in Bath would prove to be a nightmare. Would an Uber to the train station be available for this leg of your trip?

thank you for the responses!

I think I am a bit confused by some of the responses. Is renting a car in Bath not a good idea? To clarify, we are renting a car in Bath so that we can leave Bath and sight see in the surrounding areas. We don't plan to drive in Bath. Is this okay?

It sounds like the best option is to return the car in Oxford and train to Paddington.

Thanks!

Parking in Bath is hard, you will be back tracking if you go back to Bath just to sleep. I would suggest that after Stonehenge driving onto the Cotswolds.

Yes, driving in Bath is really awkward due to congestion - though most of the sights can be seen on foot. Car is OK for leaving Bath. For The Cotswolds - you would probably be heading north on the A46. Take a look at the map - zoom down & grab the yellow man for some street view. I would then click & drag the map to look at the roads that you will be taking. That way - you will know what to expect.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Bath/@51.4068617,-2.3794043,12.41z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x487178a6743ee12d:0x138b27d0d66d9a09!8m2!3d51.3810641!4d-2.3590167!5m1!1e1

To make your trip really simple and possibly more enjoyable, consider staying in Bath and taking a couple of tours with this company: Mad Max Tours. (Recommended by Rick Steves and mentioned in his guidebooks for England and London.) There are several tours to choose from. And you will not need to rent a car. https://www.madmaxtours.co.uk/
Tour is in a small minivan and pick up point is right behind Bath Abbey.

They do a tour (Tour Number 1) from Bath to Stonehenge that includes some Cotswold villages: https://www.madmaxtours.co.uk/tours/stonehenge-full-day-tour

Tour Number 2 is called Heart of the Cotswolds, and I would do this tour instead of renting a car: https://www.madmaxtours.co.uk/tours/cotswolds-tour

You will find that people here on the Forum are divided on the subject of renting a car in England. Some think it's a good idea, others never rent a car in England, thinking it's an unnecessary hassle.

My preference is to not rent a car, but to use trains, buses (coaches), and small van tours. But that's just my personal preference. The places you're talking about going are easy to do using trains, buses (coaches), taxis, and small van tours.

From Bath you would have an easy train back to London.

This way, you'd have one base (Bath), no need for a car, and the tours would take you everywhere you want to go. I'd do one Mad Max tour one day, then another a second day. This will keep you busy.
I realize you asked about touring with a car, but I wanted to offer an alternative.

Thanks for all the input!

I am running into challenges with the car rental because it needs to be returned by noon in Oxford. We are already on limited time so don't want to waste any. So... based on the feedback, here is what I have modified the itinerary to.

Wednesday - Arrive in Bath mid-morning and sight see Bath.
Thursday - MaxMax tour to Wells, Glastonbury and Cheddar Gorge
Friday - Rent Car early morning in Bath and spend all day in the Cottswolds
Saturday - Stonehenge, Salisbury, Avenbury - Either drive or mad max tour
Saturday 4pm - return car and train back to London Paddington

So we would mostly use Bath as a central location to venture out from. If anyone has other suggestions, please let me know.

paulg.1 - I have to agree with you. Based on what I have read and seen, I don't see Bath as a destination.. just not my cup of tea. I realize there are very different opinions on this one.

Thanks again for everyones input! So appreciated!