Bath to Canterbury - 4 days

Some initial thoughts from me:

-I would visit Stonehenge- I've been twice and I don't think it's overrated, altho I know that opinion does come up on here so others may disagree.
-I think fitting in all the sites in Portsmouth plus Arundel (and even Seven Sisters) might be too much for one day, but you know yourself and your pace best. There's enough in Portsmouth for a full day.
-I would definitely pick Tunbridge Wells over Maidstone. It's just a nicer town, you can walk down the Pantiles, etc. Maidstone is perfectly fine but it's not that nice, in my opinion.
-For me, Leeds Castle, Rye, and Bodiam Castle is too much for one day. I would just pick two. It's a lot easier getting around with a car. I have taken many buses in Kent and some are not very frequent and you wind up having to plan your entire day around the bus schedule, that's if there's even a bus that goes where you want to go.
-I would take the train from Tunbridge Wells to Canterbury (I believe it requires a change).
-In terms of what you might be missing- I love the Kent coast (Whitstable, Margate, Broadstairs, Deal, etc)- if you like coastal towns I might look at trying to fit that in.

I'm sure others will have many thoughts as well, good luck as you continue to plan!

Hi! No surprise that I agree 100% with CatVH on all advice and particulars.

My small addition is that Brighton is skippable. I was just there today with family. I’ve visited quite a few times over the years, starting in the 1980s, and it just doesn’t float my boat. The promenade is lovely on a nice day, and the Pavilion is low key weird/glorious, but the city itself is dumpy and a tad hardscrabble in places in a way that doesn’t appeal. There’s better beachfront elsewhere. There are amusement piers that are less drug-dealy. (Yes, drug deals are obvious .) There are seaside towns that aren’t falling to wrack and ruin.

So… just a brief paragraph to dump on Brighton. Sorry. :-(

all the sites in Portsmouth plus Arundel (and even Seven Sisters) might be too much for one day …

Thanks, Cat. Indeed, I see that one could spend an entire day in Portsmouth. I’m not sure my wife would enjoy that, however.

But since we looked out over the Atlantic from the coast of Spain (in 2005) to where the battle of Trafalgar occurred offshore, a visit to the HMS Victory and perhaps one or two sights in Portsmouth would be a nice 2 or 3 hour prelude to lunch and more sights to the east on our way to Kent. Plus, of course, our 2027 visit to London’s National Gallery will take us to Trafalgar Sq. and Nelson’s Column.

(I try to plan our travels thematically, in part.)

LATE NOTE. I see there will be a good 3-1/2 hours driving from Salisbury to Portsmouth to Arundel to Eastbourne to Tunbridge Wells. So yes, that may be a tad ambitious, even if we manage an early start in the morning.

If the Battle of Trafalgar is of interest you may be aware of the Trafalgar Way from Falmouth to London.

HM Schooner Pickle landed at Fish Quay, Falmouth on 4 November 1805 with dispatches (news) of the Victory which was conveyed to the Admiralty, London in 38 hours by Lieutenant John Richards Lapenotiere, Captain of the Ship. A series of 40 plaques now mark each stop to change horses etc (the normal mail coach then took a week, so this was some journey- 271 miles and 21 changes of horse).
One of the plaques is at Fish Row, Salisbury (when you are passing through). The concluding plaques in central London are at Canada House (Trafalgar Square) and the Old Admiralty Building at 26, Whitehall.

I have done the whole journey over time, in a lot, lot more than 38 hours (more like 38 months!!), and it is quite some trip through southern England for a military historian.
The feeling of achievement even now on arriving at Canada House and the old Admiralty building was quite something, even if done in 21st century comfort.

Stuart, you keep teaching me how little I know and how little we will get to see! Thank you … and I mean that sincerely.

We are still discovering our own country … recently returned home from our Memphis to New Orleans journey … mostly via the legendary Highway 61 with its music and other history - from slavery to the civil war, Jim Crow and the murder of Emmet Till, with a side trip to Louisiana’s bayou and Cajun Country.