Best Bath day trip

I should have mentioned that we will not have a car in Bath so will need to rely on public transportation.

Cardiff is a great trip. It is easily reached by train. I went to St. Fagan's Museum one day and Caerphilly Castle the next day, spending 3 nights in Cardiff. Both of those sights are easily reached by public transportation from Cardiff.

Do you actually have a whole (first) day in Bath? Or is that partly eaten up in getting there?

Great question. We arrive Tues PM from Heathrow. Wed is all day in Bath. Thurs is Glastonbury and Wells (maybe). Friday is Mad Max Stonehenge tour. Saturday pick up car and drive to Cotswolds.

Depending on your arrival time to Bath on Tuesday PM, the Mayor of Bath walking tours have a 6pm option on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. So that would save time to see more on your wed full day in Bath.

I’d absolutely avoid travelling to Glastonbury on Thursday. The Glastonbury festival starts on Friday so I’d expect heavy traffic. Most people are already on site before Thursday so it could be ok but I think it’s likely that the area will be very busy. The festival is not actually in Glastonbury itself but it causes traffic jams as far back as where I live which is an hour away. Head in the other direction.

Glastonbury is not up to much and the roads in the area are slow & windy. Wells has a lovely medieval cathedral but Salisbury Cathedral is more impressive. You don’t say if you are in Bath now or in the future. If now - beware all the thousands of people will be arriving in Glastonbury for the festival leading to traffic jams.

Cardiff is an easy day trip by train (direct hourly) and takes just over 1 hour from Bath - buy return tickets on the day. St.Fagans Museum of Welsh history has been mentioned & is a 30 minute bus (Cardiff Bus 32) ride from the city centre. If visiting today (Tues 20 June 2023) or tomorrow - beware that Harry Styles is playing the stadium so trains will be very full. Buses will be diverted to the periphery of the city centre - hence the diversion of the 32 >https://www.cardiffbus.com/services/CB/32
Also note that The National Museum of Wales (free) is a 13 minute walk NE of Cardiff Castle:> https://www.visitwales.com/things-do/attractions/museums-galleries/national-museums-wales

Museum (free) about Cardiff right in the middle of the city:> https://cardiffmuseum.com

If you were to visit Cardiff and intend to go to St.Fagans (free entry as under museum service) - I would do that first to ensure that you have time over do see Cardiff Castle in the city centre. Likewise - if you want to see the large medieval fortress at Caerphilly - do that first and then spend afternoon in Cardiff. For Caerphilly Castle - transfer at Cardiff Central to platform 6 (usually) & trains are every 15 minutes (less on Sundays). https://cadw.gov.wales/visit/places-to-visit/caerphilly-castle

Of course, you could just visit Cardiff city centre and see the castle and perhaps go down to the Bay (waterfront).
https://walesguidebook.com/castles/south-wales/cardiff-castle/
https://www.visitwales.com/destinations/south-wales/cardiff/top-things-see-and-do-cardiff-bay

Trains = www.nationalrail.co.uk

PS. The Anglican Cathedral in Cardiff is at Llandaff = about 2 miles NW of the Castle. https://www.llandaffcathedral.org.uk
Castell Coch is yet another castle in the Cardiff area - located on a hillside on the northern edge of the city. Too much for a day trip from Bath but I have included in case anyone reading this intends to stay in Cardiff. https://cadw.gov.wales/visit/places-to-visit/castell-coch

As stated, forget Glastonbury this weekend. You won't get near the place due to the Festival. Hundreds of thousands of music fans converge on the area.

Cardiff is an easy day trip from Bath and a very nice city. You can get direct trains from Bath to Cardiff, no changes, in just over an hour. Don't worry about not having the RS book. You can do it without him. Millions of people do.

https://www.visitwales.com/inspire-me/city-breaks/things-do-stay-cardiff?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgIGD7LjR_wIV1e7tCh00SQybEAAYASAAEgK-9_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I've never been to Glastonbury, but you could easily spend a day in Wells. There is a regular bus service (services 173 or 174) either taking about 90 minutes through some pretty villages. There is the Catherdral, Bishop's Palace and the Vicar's Close. It has a Wednesday and Saturday market.

To be honest, I’d avoid Wells also just purely for traffic reasons as it’s en route to Glastonbury. The roads are not dual carriage way and I’d expect them to be really busy.

Bristol is another alternative by bus or train. There is a recent thread about things to do there.

Thank you so very much for all of your replies! Based on all your feedback, I am now planning a day trip to Cardiff on this Thursday! When we book train tickets, it looks like we need to commit to a return time? I would prefer open ended so we can be flexible don’t see that as option?

If we want to add on Caerphilly castle, assume we need a ticket purchased separately since the return would be to Cardiff for the rest of the afternoon?

And if we choose St Fagans can we buy bus tickets upon arrival?

Speaking of arrival, how does it work when crossing from England to Wales? I assume we need to bring our US passports? Anything else we need to know?

Thank you again!

Also, should we book the train tickets in advance? Thank you again!

Speaking of arrival, how does it work when crossing from England to Wales? I assume we need to bring our US passports? Anything else we need to know?

It’s not an international border crossing! No need for passports as you are remaining within the same country (the United Kingdom). It’s not like you’re crossing from Canada to the US.

(Pages could be spent explaining how the UK is a country, but also the national status of England and Wales and Scotland, let alone Northern Ireland - but all you need to know, passport-wise, is that you’re within the UK. As the popular BBC TV quiz Pointless puts it, “by country we mean a sovereign state that's a member of the UN in its own right.”)

If by this Thursday, you mean tomorrow, then advance fares won't save you much if anything at this stage.

Your cheapest option is an anytime day return to Caerphily £33.90 if travelling before 0930, or Off Peak Day Return £29 on the 0950 or later. You can break your journey anywhere and multiple times if you want in either or both directions and have total train flexibility.
Buy at Bath station tomorrow morning, either at the booking office or from the machines.

Just buy your ticket to St Fagan's on the bus.
I think you'd need to be up early to be at Cardiff by 9 or 10am to do both St Fagans and Caerphilly Castle on the same day- given the hourly bus to St Fagans- £2.20 each way.

As Caerphilly Castle opens at 0930 I think the 0730 train from Bath is a good idea- arrives at Caerphilly at 0922.

I don't think you could travel from Bath and do both Caerphilly Castle and St.Fagans as well as see Cardiff all in the one day.

In the event that you opt for Caerphilly, as has been stated - buy an Anytime Day Return at Bath station for Bath to Caerphilly for £33.90 as you will have to travel at peak times to get going early. Obviously, it would be a little less for just Cardiff Central. If you have the Caerphilly ticket, when you return to Cardiff, it will probably not work the barriers so see a member of staff nearby and say you wish to break the journey - which you are entitled to do with that ticket - and they will open the barrier.

When arriving in Caerphilly station (which is due for modernisation) - walk towards the road bridge and turn right and then down the hill passing some rather tatty shops and you will reach the castle in about 8 minutes. (The best view is from the south west side where you can get good photos of the famous leaning tower. The entrance is on the east side).

On returning from Caerphilly by train and then wishing to see Cardiff Castle - you could alight at Cardiff Queen Street and walk west down Queen Street to reach the Castle - which can also be reached from the Central station. The Central station would be the one nearest to the buses (32) for St.Fagans. Note that Cardiff Buses do not give change if using real money. If opting for St.Fagans, be sure to know the times of the buses back to the city. Note that an electronic gate (east of the castle) can let you out into St.Fagans village. The bus stop by the church should not be used - go back to where the bus dropped you at the main entrance.

When wishing to return from Cardiff Central to Bath, although you will have direct trains hourly (usually at x27), note that on the hour trains leave for Bristol Temple Meads and the south-west. You could use one of these to reach Bristol Temple Meads and then find the next train going to Bath. (The Cardiff to London trains are NOT the ones you need). The direct trains to Bath normally have an ultimate destination of Portsmouth.

Wales along with Scotland, England & Northern Ireland is all part of the UK and send MP’s to Parliament in London. Wales has a certain amount of devolved powers over things like education, health and transport. You will for instance hear Welsh first on the announcements at the stations - even though everybody speaks English and only 18% of the people of Wales can speak Welsh. A Welsh Nationalist party called Plaid Cymru would like to gain total independence for Wales. They come third in the elections and tend to get their support from the Welsh speaking section of the population. Should you go to St. Fagans, you will find that virtually all of the staff are Welsh speakers.

When you are on the train to Cardiff, not long after leaving Bristol you will join the London to south Wales mainline and notice that it is electrified. You will pass through a short tunnel and then start descending into a deep cutting before entering the Severn Tunnel. This is the world’s first undersea railway tunnel (opened in 1886) and is the place where you pass under the Severn estuary and come up in Wales.

Come back and tell us how it went as it will help others who are reading this.

Think of traveling between England and Wales as traveling from one state to another in the US. It's still the same country but some of the local laws will be different. Nothing that will really affect you.

The only thing you will be asked for on the train is your ticket.

Jersey Girl you have a lot of stamina if you want to do all this as a day trip 2 days after landing. It sounds very tiring to me. Saying that, I’ve never been to Caerphilly but St Fagans is a brilliant day out, and the weather has been great all week, so I’ll think you’ll have a super time and you’ll definitely get a good dose of Welsh culture and history.

I have been to both Caerphilly and St. Fagan's Museum. I would only do St. Fagan's-I was there for 2/3 day and would have stayed longer but it was pouring rain.

You have all been so fantastic with advice. Thank you so very much! I will be discussing the options with my family tonight. If we decide to spend the day in Cardiff and do Cardiff Castle, National museum, Cardiff museum and waterfront…

Do you think this is a full day?

Are there any other sights in Cardiff you would recommend?

Is the waterfront right there? When I google mapped it, it seemed far, so want to check with the experts.

If we stay in Cardiff, we should get train tickets to Cardiff Central (just confirming correct stop)?

THANK YOU AGAIN!!!!

The waterfront is just over 1 mile south of the Central Station but don’t waste time walking it - take Cardiff Bus 6. To find the correct bus stop - leave the Cardiff Central station by the north exit (R side as train arrives is north). Turn R with the railway on your R. You come to a road with a traffic light crossing - cross the road and turn left. Walk up the pavement to the Wyndham Arcade and you will find the correct bus stop for the number 6 Bay bound. Get off in the Bay where you see the Wales Millennium Centre (opera house/concert hall). You will find boats that could take you back up the river to the Castle via the landing stage in Bute Park.

Alternatively - walk through the Wyndham Arcade and out the other side. You will see modern shopping malls - worth a look - but continue N up The Hayes & you will see the Old Library ahead - enter on R side and they may have a paper street map available. The Cardiff Story Museum is located here. After that - continue walking N and you will see a church = one of the oldest buildings in the city centre. Just before the church = you will see the Market on your left. You may like to walk through the market and out the other side & turn right. The Castle is now straight ahead (though you could have walked straight up St.Mary Street).

The Castle - you can enter the green for free but 3 price tiers exist for other parts. Once done with the castle, you could turn R (west) & walk along the pavement by the animal wall to enter Bute Park (flower borders on path near river & further in). You will see a pontoon from which boats leave to take you down river to the Bay - takes about 25 minutes. The other alternative is to leave the Castle and turn left (east) and walk into Queen Street and by the Principality Building Society turn left into The Friary. Walk N to the City Hall (use underpass) & National Museum of Wales. (Another Park is behind the City Hall).

So, you can do things either way / order. It might be best to firstly take Bus 6 to the Bay - boat back to the Castle - then walk to the National Museum of Wales before wandering through the city centre taking in the Cardiff Museum before ending back at the station.

Just wanted to follow up with a major THANK YOU for all the great insight, advice, and recommendations posted by the very knowledgeable members of this forum! We had a fantastic day trip to Cardiff! The train was super easy. We started our day at Cardiff Castle and did the tour which was well worth it. Our guide was great and we saw several other interesting rooms not accessible without the tour. We stopped by Cardiff Market and had some delicious pizza on the upper level and bought some yummy Welsh cakes on the main level. Next was the National museum which was way bigger and better than expected. We really enjoyed the science exhibits, impressionist art, dinosaurs, and the special BBC exhibit.

I honestly cannot thank this group enough for all of the wonderful, detailed guidance. Cardiff was not even on my radar initially, yet after visiting, we want to go back for another trip so we can spend time exploring St. Fagan’s museum and Caerphilly Castle!

THANK YOU AGAIN!

So nice of you to come back and tell about the advice you received. This really is the best travel forum.