I'm looking to do a direct train trip somewhere in England on July 5th. I planned to go to Cardiff for the day but apparently their direct trains are down and now the 1 hour journey takes 2 hours...not what I was hoping for. Where else can you go directly in 1 hour or less from Bath? I'll be traveling with a 5yr old. We will likely enjoying a little walking, some lunch, maybe a little more things to see and then head back to Bath. Open to all ideas!
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17572 posts
Salisbury is 54 minutes away by direct train. A pretty town for walking, and a lovely cathedral and park nearby. Trains run 1-2 times per hour.
Posted by
Royaume-Uni nul points, pas plus
2603 posts
Posted by
Royaume-Uni nul points, pas plus
2603 posts
more Somerset ideas - not everything needs a train
Posted by
2610 posts
I have responded in the Wales forum.
Posted by
Tennessee
444 posts
Bradford on Avon is a lovely village a short distance from Bath by train.
Posted by
OP
45 posts
I'd like to stick with the train as I bought a Britrail pass so I am hoping to make the most of it. I have been to Salisbury once before so I wanted to try and see new things.
Posted by
2610 posts
The thing is with making short trips is that you not not getting the most bang for your buck with the Britrail pass. Just look at the walk on return pay on the day fares for the shorter rail journeys and you will see what I mean. I bet the daily rate of the pass is more than what the fare would have been for these shorter trips.
You could consider taking the train from Bath to the seaside at Weymouth - if the weather is good. The direct trains take about 2 hours to do this trip and they slowly wind through the countryside calling at various towns and villages.
https://www.visit-dorset.com/explore/towns/weymouth
Posted by
OP
45 posts
I think I might look into the town of Bradford upon Avon. And if we are feeling more adventurous we will look into Dorset. I did the rail pass because I just could not predict the exact times and dates we would need trains and didn't want to pre-book. I'd like to get the most out of it but ultimately just really needed the flexibility it offered over the saving of money on train tickets.
Posted by
Denver, Colorado, USA
713 posts
I did the rail pass because I just could not predict the exact times
and dates we would need trains and didn't want to pre-book. I'd like
to get the most out of it but ultimately just really needed the
flexibility it offered over the saving of money on train tickets.
I did a two week (solo) trip taking trains around the UK a couple of years ago. I had a BritRail pass for those very reasons. I didn't want to be tied down to catching, say the Tuesday 0935 departure from Edinburgh to York on Platform X, at the cost of losing the entire prepaid fare if it miss it - which is what those bargain advance fare tickets require. In fact I changed my itinerary after landing in the UK, which I could do without losing money because I had the BritRail pass. I traveled Glasgow --> Einburgh --> York (with rail day trips from there including Durham) --> Penzance --> London --> Brighton --> Gatwick.
After I got home I went onto nationalrail.co.uk and priced out my actual trips taken as best I could, including the fact that I changed the Edinburgh-York trip by a full day, and the Brighton trip to visit friends wasn't nailed down until after I was in York - which meant I'd have paid walkup fares. I'm satisfied that the pass cost me less than all that travel would have if booked separately (even partly in advance). (Oh, I think I did just by a cheap walkup ticket for the short hop between Glasgow and Edinburgh.) But if I broke even or spent a bit more for the pass, it was well worth it for the flexibility and even a sense of security that I wasn't going to have to pay out of pocket to get to my next destination as long as the trains were running.
I hope you and your daughter have a fun trip!